Citizen-Led Personalization of User Interfaces: Investigating How People Customize Interfaces for Themselves and Others

TL;DR

This study investigates how users personalize web interfaces for themselves and others, revealing motivations, challenges, and opportunities to democratize UI customization through community efforts.

Contribution

It introduces a custom tool for UI customization and explores user behaviors and motivations in personalizing interfaces for self and others.

Findings

People enjoy customizing for others more than for themselves.

Requests for help motivate users to engage in customization.

Users need support with creative aspects of self-customization.

Abstract

User interface (UI) personalization can improve usability and user experience. However, current systems offer limited opportunities for customization, and third-party solutions often require significant effort and technical skills beyond the reach of most users, impeding the future adoption of interface personalization. In our research, we explore the concept of UI customization for the self and others. We performed a two-week study where nine participants used a custom-designed tool that allows websites' UI customization for oneself and to create and reply to customization assistance requests from others. Results suggest that people enjoy customizing for others more than for themselves. They see requests as challenges to solve and are motivated by the positive feeling of helping others. To customize for themselves, people need help with the creative process. We discuss challenges and opportunities for future research seeking to democratize access to personalized UIs, particularly through community-based approaches.