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Over the past three decades, a significant shift has occurred in how we interact with computers. We now have access to an unprecedented range of powerful computing devices with varying features, functions, and technical capabilities, which was not the case in the entire history of computing (Oulasvirta, 2008). As computing devices have become more widespread, users now engage with products and services on a broader range of computing platforms (hardware and software). As a result, the use of cross-platform services is expanding, and the demand for “always-on services” has been growing rapidly (Forrester Research, 2013; Lascau, Wong, Brumby, & Cox, 2019; Microsoft, 2013; Monge Roffarello & De Russis, 2021).
In the context of the proliferation of computing devices and their rapid adoption by people, many terms emerged to describe interactive systems accessible through multiple platforms. The term ‘cross-platform service’ is used to describe “a set of user interfaces (UIs) for a single service encompassing two or more computational platforms for interacting with the service” (Majrashi, 2016; Majrashi, Hamilton, & Uitdenbogerd, 2015). The term ‘multiple user interfaces’ (MUIs) is also used to describe views of the same information and services accessed by users from different platforms (Nilsson, 2006; Samaan & Tarpin-Bernard, 2004; Seffah & Javahery, 2005). Other terms are also used to describe cross-platform interactive systems, including ‘cross-platform user interfaces’ (Majrashi, Hamilton, & Uitdenbogerd, 2018; Richter, 2007), ‘multiple platform user interface’ (Ali, Perez-Quinones, Abrams, & Shell, 2002; Meskens, Vermeulen, Luyten, & Coninx, 2008), ‘distributed user interface’ (DUI) (Bång, Larsson, Berglund, & Eriksson, 2005; Gallud et al., 2011), ‘cross-device user interface’ (Lin & Landay, 2008; Nebeling, Mintsi, Husmann, & Norrie, 2014), ‘multi-channeling’ and ‘cross media’ (Segerståhl, 2008).
Several terms are used to describe interactions with cross-platform interactive systems, including ‘cross-platform interaction’ (Majrashi, Hamilton, & Uitdenbogerd, 2017), ‘cross-device interaction’ (Hamilton & Wigdor, 2014; Santosa & Wigdor, 2013), and ‘multi-device interaction’ (Raptis, Kjeldskov, & Skov, 2016; Santosa & Wigdor, 2013).
Cross-platform services allow users to perform tasks using multiple devices, such as desktop computers, smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Users currently perform different activities across devices, such as searching for information, managing finance, social networking, planning a trip, shopping online, and watching a video (Google, 2012; Jokela, Ojala, & Olsson, 2015; Microsoft, 2013).
In response to the spread of cross-platform services, multi-device adoptions, and cross-platform interactions, new research themes have emerged in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), such as inter-usability and cross-platform or cross-device user experience (UX) (Zhang et al., 2021). Inter-usability concerns the ease of use of interactive systems when switching between them across devices (Denis & Karsenty, 2004), and cross-platform UX refers to an individual’s perceptions resulting from interaction with the systems across devices (Majrashi, 2016). According to Wäljas, Segerståhl, Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, and Oinas-Kukkonen (2010), the primary aim of the cross-platform design is to ensure that the user experience is coherent. Shin (2016) further highlighted that this emphasizes the importance of inter-usability as a crucial factor in the development and success of cross-platform services.