User-Centered Investigation of Features for Attention Management Systems in an Online Vignette Study

Notifications and interruptions have shown to significantly impede task performance while causing stress. Attention management systems aim at mitigating these negative effects, for example, by delaying interruptions to task boundaries or times of low mental load. However, while the theoretical benefits of such an approach are well-documented, it is quite unclear how holding back information from users is accepted, especially in times of the "always-on-mentality". Thus, we conducted an online vignette experiment with N=163 participants, who were presented hypothetical private and work-related scenarios where interruptions are delayed by attention management systems. Participants rated how long they would allow particular interruptions to be delayed, as well as which data collection methods a system could use to perform these decisions. Our results show that interruption management is desired by potential users, provided they feel in control. We conclude with recommendations for the design of attention management systems.