This master thesis deals with the user experience of computer interfaces, pointing out the importance of including users’ needs and requirements in the development process of new technologies. In the theoretical part, we overview the key characteristics of user experience, identify the central facets and principles of user interface development, and present three computer interface design approaches that focus on user needs: user-centered design, participatory design and co-design. We describe the main characteristic of email as a means of computer-mediated communication and we underline the main drawbacks of user interfaces on contemporary email clients. In the case study of Loop Email app, which combines e-mail, chat and teams features, trying to satisfy user needs and requirements in business communication, we aim to disentangle how the Loop Email app developers' understanding of user experience is reflected in the end users' needs. The case study is based on the data collected with usability tests using the think-aloud method. Drawing on the results of usability tests we prepared an interview guide for semi-structured interviews with the developers of the Loop Email app. In this way, we sought to find out to which design approach the thinking of the developers of the Loop Email app is closer to. The results showed that the developers understanding of user experience dissociates from the needs and wishes of the end users. Thinking of the developers mostly resembles the user centered design, even though they understand differently the effectiveness and advantages that users would yield from other more participative development approaches.
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