A mobile service using anonymous location-based data: finding reading rooms

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a mobile service, based on anonymous location-based data, to help students find available reading rooms on a university campus. To evaluate this mobile service, both a usability test and a technology acceptance test were carried out. Design/methodology/approach – The research followed a design science approach, including developing a prototype and evaluating the developed prototype. Findings – The results from the usability test indicated good usability of the developed mobile service. The results from the technology acceptance test demonstrated students’ intention to use this mobile service. Most respondents indicated that they would like to use this mobile service to find available reading rooms when they are on campus. Research limitations/implications – The results imply that there are other contexts where anonymous location-based data are also useful. A similar mobile service can be developed for other contexts, such as, hospital complexes, shopping malls, and airports. Originality/value – To the authors best knowledge, the authors have not found any mobile services aiming at counting the density of people residing in a room by using anonymous user location-based data on a university campus. This research fills this gap by developing the mobile service, called finding reading rooms.