Improving Usability for Non-Technical Users of Decentralised Applications

UX, usability, and socioeconomic considerations are largely overlooked and rarely considered in the DI and SSI domain [1, 2]. Cryptographic key management, key recovery, and user consent represent the fundamental usability problem. For instance, user consent to privacy and data sharing notices is not easy to implement but is mandated by the regulations (e.g., GDPR), which leads to “consent fatigue” where a user is continuously required to respond to privacy notifications [3]. Addressing usability and UX, while preserving decentralization, is essential to ensure effective and safe identity management for non-technical users [4, 5]. DI and SSI systems should be easy to understand and use by all categories of users, irrespective of their knowledge and previous experience [6].

This thesis will focus on improving the usability and UX of DI and SSI systems, particularly for non-technical users. The research will involve identifying usability principles and guidelines specific to DI and SSI applications, designing a user-friendly front-end interface, and conducting usability testing (e.g., A/B testing) to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed design. The goal is to ensure that DI and SSI systems are accessible, intuitive, and capable of communicating the benefits of decentralization to users.

Sources to Consider: 

[1] A. Khayretdinova, M. Kubach, R. Sellung and H. Rossnagel, “Conducting a usability evaluation of decentralized identity management solutions” In: Selbstbestimmung, Privatheit und Datenschutz: Gestaltungsoptionen für einen europäischen Weg, pp. 389–406, Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (2022).

[2] G. Laatikainen, R. Agrawal, X. Wang and P. Abrahamsson, “The state of self-sovereign identity in spring 2021: Results of a survey”, 2022.

[3] R. Soltani, U. T. Nguyen and A. An, “A survey of self-sovereign identity ecosystem”, Security and Communication Networks, 2021, vol.1, 8873429. 

[4] F. Ghaffari, K. Gilani, E. Bertin and N. Crespi, “Identity and access management using distributed ledger technology: A survey”, International Journal of Network Management 32(2), e2180 (2022).

[5] A. Slavin: Reimagining digital id (2023), https://www.weforum.org/publications/reimagining-digital-id/. 

[6] S. Mahula, E. Tan and J. Crompvoets, “With blockchain or not? opportunities and challenges of self-sovereign identity implementation in public administration: Lessons from the belgian case”, The 22nd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research. pp. 495–504 (2021).