Discovering Error Handling Strategies for Improving End User Experience in Collaborative Distributed Real Time Systems

Abstract

This thesis investigates error-handling strategies in collaborative distributed realtime systems, focusing on enhancing the end-user experience. Collaborative environments like Yolean, characterized by complex distributed architectures, often suffer from errors that negatively impact user satisfaction and system functionality. Through a combination of Research Through Design, Requirements Engineering, and Design Thinking, this study identifies error patterns and evaluates user preferences for managing these errors. Our research involved semi-structured interviews, affinity diagramming, storyboarding, prototyping, and iterative user testing to develop an understanding of user expectations and effective error-handling strategies. We developed and refined prototypes addressing two main scenarios: Distributed architecture and collaborative interactions with human-induced errors. The proposed error-handling strategies aim to provide intuitive and non-disruptive user support, enhancing system usability and reliability. The findings from the study are summarized as an initial framework to guide the exploration of error-handling strategies in such environments. Results from the study indicate that the design artifact improved the end-user experience compared to the current state of the Yolean application. However, further research would be needed to draw generalized conclusions and guide further refinement of the proposed framework.