Suggesting Research Directions for the User Experience in the Connected Age Jiyoung Kwahk (kjy@postech.ac.kr), Sung H. Han (shan@postech.ac.kr), Mingyu Lee (mk3215s2@postech.ac.kr), Hyeji Jang (wdfokj@postech.ac.kr), Dawoon Jeong (jdw0303@postech.ac.kr) Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, POSTECH, Pohang, 37673 ABSTRACT With the rise of IoT, we are about to experience radical changes in the way we live and work. The growth of consumer IoT market, however, is reported to be slower than was originally expected. Analysts report that relentless realities caused by a premature user experience (UX) such as the use of unfamiliar techy terms, lack of empathic understandings of user needs, or lack of interoperability are among the worst barriers of consumer adoption. This is why UX is now considered crucial to the success of IoT business. The goal of this study is to address some UX challenges in the upcoming connected age and to suggest the desirable research directions. A systematic review and meta-analysis study was conducted to obtain the background data. This study is expected to ignite constructive discussions on how to make the IoT world more people-friendly. Keywords: User Experience, Connected, Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, ESK-JES Joint Session 1. Introduction We are now entering a connected, multi-device age. Prompted by the prevalence of connected products, we are experiencing radical changes in the way we interact with the world. For instance, thanks to connected products, people can now consume contents across multiple devices all day long. They own multiple products (e.g., smartphones, tablets, speakers, etc.), put them in a number of places (e.g., home, office, car, etc.) or carry them around everywhere. Because they want to use them together to accomplish their goals, they expect the products to work in harmony, so that they can always stay connected whenever and wherever they are. To make the multi-device age to blossom, user experience (UX) designers in the consumer electronics industry had to struggle with a challenging mission of making devices connectable first. They collaborated with the engineers to resolve the technical difficulties of connectivity functions and to devise easier methods to connect and share files from one device to another. In pursuit of appropriate business models for the device connectivity, a new paradigm called Internet of Things (IoT) emerged. Considering the potential benefits of IoT applicable to a variety of domains (CBInsights, 2016), it was convincing enough that IoT would be the next wave of disruptive changes to redefine the landscape of the global industry and market. The growth of consumer IoT market, however, is reported to be much slower than we initially expected (Farley, 2016). Analysts point out that the use of unfamiliar techy terms, the lack of empathic understandings of user needs, and the lack of interoperability are among the worst barriers of consumer adoption (Accenture, 2016). People still do not understand exactly what IoT means when they are asked. People are not sure if it can help them solve the real problems they struggle with every day. Moreover, unlike the scenarios, the relentless reality is that many connected devices cannot still talk to one another and each device comes with its own app, which can be confusing. Lack of user adoption caused by premature UX is a reflection of the importance of UX to the success of IoT business. Disappointed at the lukewarm response from the consumer market, some IoT companies are turning their business focus to Industrial IoT (IIoT, aka Industry 4.0) with more emphasis on public, enterprise or industrial applications. Since the end-users of IIoT are also consumers, they will encounter the same market responses without taking UX concerns seriously. The goal of this study is to address the UX challenges in the upcoming connected age and suggest the desirable research directions for UX professionals to confront the challenges more effectively. 324 人間工学 Vol.53, Supplement ('17) I6-4