Exploring Design Parameters for RSVP Reading of Mobile Notifications

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) has been both praised and scorned as an effective reading technique. While it enables text rendering on small screens, its dynamic text display tends to demand heightened attention from users. Previous work has implemented RSVP reading interfaces on a range of devices, such as watches, glasses, and phones, but none have gained widespread adoption. Considering its ability to display information on devices with small screen real-estate effectively, we explored its applicability to reading smartphone notifications. Following a user-centered design process, we first elicited the main design parameters through a focus group. Informed by these insights, we implemented our RSVP notification prototype, SpeedNotification. We tested SpeedNotification's specific design parameters in a lab study and evaluated RSVP notifications more broadly in a field study. We present the essential functionalities and challenges for creating a feasible RSVP user experience for mobile notifications and discuss associated issues and opportunities.