Preference-Guided Multi-Objective UI Adaptation

Abstract

3D Mixed Reality interfaces have nearly unlimited space for layout placement, making automatic UI adaptation crucial for enhancing the user experience. Such adaptation is often formulated as a multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem, where multiple, potentially conflicting design objectives must be balanced. However, selecting a final layout is challenging since MOO typically yields a set of trade-offs along a Pareto frontier. Prior approaches often required users to manually explore and evaluate these trade-offs, a time-consuming process that disrupts the fluidity of interaction. To eliminate this manual and laborous step, we propose a novel optimization approach that efficiently determines user preferences from a minimal number of UI element adjustments. These determined rankings are translated into priority levels, which then drive our priority-based MOO algorithm. By focusing the search on user-preferred solutions, our method not only identifies UIs that are more aligned with user preferences, but also automatically selects the final design from the Pareto frontier; ultimately, it minimizes user effort while ensuring personalized layouts. Our user study in a Mixed Reality setting demonstrates that our preference-guided approach significantly reduces manual adjustments compared to traditional methods, including fully manual design and exhaustive Pareto front searches, while maintaining high user satisfaction. We believe this work opens the door for more efficient MOO by seamlessly incorporating user preferences.