The study was a qualitative usability and acceptance test with an early user interface prototype. The participants tested it by walking through predefined scenarios that showed the main functionality of the di.me private service.
The study participants appreciated the general di.me userware concepts and in particular rated the full user-control by giving concrete advantages like ad-hoc networking e.g. on business events. While the potential complexity of such a system generally was seen critical, the participants also appreciated some advanced functionalities. Features which are in the research focus of the project, like giving privacy-warnings and recommendations, can provide individual benefit for many of the participating users. The general positive experience was stronger for power users having a broader practical experience with social networks and internet services. In addition to these results on the general concept, the study yielded a lot of valuable insights about the user interface navigation and information architecture.
The usability testing results are now used to finetune the user interface and underlying data models of the dil.me personal information sphere.