Mobile App UI Video Analysis for Perceived Speed Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software testing methods fail to accurately measure user subjective experience and quality of software applications, particularly in mobile environments, as they primarily focus on total task completion time without considering the user's perception of task progression.
Innovation Solution
Implement a video-based analysis of user interface changes over time to estimate perceived performance, using functional test tools to record and analyze UI changes, and calculate a perceived speed rating, such as the Speed Index, to evaluate user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional functional test tools are used to measure software performance, then total task completion time can be recorded, but the measurement precision of user subjective experience is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces video recording as an intermediary medium to capture user interface changes. The video recorder acts as a mediator between the software application and the analysis system, recording visual changes that occur during task execution. This allows indirect measurement of perceived performance through visual analysis rather than direct user feedback, thereby improving measurement precision without significantly increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical timing methods with video-based visual analysis. Instead of using complex instrumentation to directly measure user perception, the system uses video recording and frame-by-frame analysis to capture and evaluate UI changes. This substitution of mechanical measurement systems with visual analysis methods improves the precision of subjective experience measurement while keeping the implementation relatively simple.
2Measurement precision
If video-based analysis is implemented to measure perceived performance, then measurement precision of user experience improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential visual information needed for performance measurement from the video recording. Instead of analyzing all video data, the system focuses on detecting and measuring specific UI changes such as element appearance, disappearance, and position changes. This extraction of relevant information from the video stream improves measurement precision while avoiding the complexity of comprehensive video analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the video analysis process into distinct stages: recording UI changes, detecting frame differences, identifying specific UI elements, and calculating performance metrics. By dividing the analysis into discrete, manageable segments, the system achieves high measurement precision for perceived performance while keeping each individual processing step relatively simple and modular.
3Reliability
If traditional timing methods are used to measure task completion, then the testing system remains simple, but the ability to detect performance degradation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where video analysis results are continuously compared against baseline performance metrics. The system detects UI changes, calculates perceived performance metrics, and compares these against historical data to identify degradation trends. This feedback loop improves the reliability of performance degradation detection by providing continuous monitoring and comparison, while the automated nature of the feedback process prevents excessive system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for evaluating software systems are provided, including measurement of performance ratings of features of an app-under-test are described. The evaluation may include analysis of a video recording of the user interface of the app-under-test, where the video analysis may include comparing the changes over time of co-located pixel in the video to produce a performance rating, for example a speed index. The results of multiple such tests can be compared by comparing the performance rating produced during execution of different tests.