Contexts of Applying User Psychological Needs in Information Technology Field:A Systematic Mapping Study

First, this study aims to identify and review the primary studies in which user psychological needs have been applied to solve problems related to the field of Information Technology; then, it tries to provide a suitable framework for researchers and designers of IT products by classifying these studies and investigating the contexts of user needs application.

Having a qualitative approach, the research carried out a Systematic Mapping Study (SMS) based on the 5-step framework presented by Petersen et al. (2008). In total, 1152 research with full access were identified without any time limit, by searching valid domestic and foreign scientific databases. Finally, a group of 45 studies was selected through selection criteria. Then, the selected researches were classified based on the obtained criteria and were analyzed using quantitative content analysis and descriptive statistics.

In the last two decades, the application of user psychological needs for solving problems related to a wide range of IT products has grown increasingly in the form of using well-known theories or exploiting the components of needs (without referring to a specific theory) or as a general concept. The review of primary studies shows three thematic contexts for applying psychological needs: 1) user experience design 2) analysis of product quality aspects and 3) analysis of user behavior.

The review of the literature background of these three contexts and mapping them with the classification criteria of selected researches (time, type of product, application of needs, and methodology) has clarified the boundaries and characteristics of these three thematic contexts as a mind map for researchers. Finally, by analyzing these criteria, especially the application of needs in the field of IT, suggestions are presented for future studies.