Whereas Depth Interviews are a qualitative method for ensuring that a prototype or product is perceived as valuable and appealing (i.e. useful, usable and desirable) to customers, Appeal Assessment is a quantitative method for doing the same thing. It is important, whenever possible, to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to converge on the truth.
Appeal, as defined by Hassenzahl (2004), is the combined effect of usefulness and usability, plus attractive qualities such as novelty, surprise, fun, visual attractiveness, perceived high ratings on adoption factors.Adjectives that describe an appealing product are:
- Pleasant
- Pleasant
- Good
- Inviting
- Attractive
- Motivating
- Desirable
Appeal is very important, as it is emerging as one of the top known reasons for why people decide to buy or adopt new products. Appeal is usually more important than usability and is sometimes more important than usefulness. Indeed, one of the primary problems with physical products, web sites and online applications is that their ‘look' is either outdated or just plain ugly and unappealing.
Most people think of appeal as something that is totally subjective and cannot be measured. This was true until fairly recently. There are methods, adopted from the worlds of academic research and urban design, have been shown to reliably measure product appeal.
