Interaction Design IMP
Personas
Capture a set of user characteristics (user profile). Not real people and should not be idealised. Bring them to life with a name, characteristics, goals, personal background.
Personas
Capture a set of user characteristics. Should not be idealised
Direct observation in a controlled environment is good for
Capturing the detail of what individuals do
Compositional thread
Concerned with the narrative part of an experience, as it unfolds, and the way a person makes sense of it. The internal thinking we do during our experiences. An example, asking yourself what or why you are doing something.
Soft-systems methodology principle behind it
Considers organisation as a whole - so views stakeholders and technology as components of the larger context of the organisation. Want to learn and appreciate the problem situation between group of stakeholders rather than set out to solve pre-defined problem.
UH4 (C)
Consistency and Standards situations/actions/words
Interaction Design
Designing spaces for human communication and interaction
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.
DENOTATION
Dictionary definition
What is user experience?
Encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services and its products
The process of interaction design
Establishing requirements, designing alternatives, prototyping, evaluating.
Fitt's law
Estimate human movement time to select target on display. Says that movement time increases as distance to time is increased. Movement time decreases as size of target increases.
ERGO
Ethics and Research Governance Online -Application form for permission to carry out online study
Reading Distances
Ideally, text size can be adjusted for optimal viewing!
Advantages/purpose of conceptual model
Identifies differences between real-world situation, models how the stakeholders perceives the system, can use as basis of debate and inform change/development through comparing different conceptual models that represent different viewpoints
Information processing
Input or stimuli: -> encoding -> comparison -> Response selection -> response execution -> :Output or response
Cost of Change over Time
Jakob Neilson 100x more expensive to make changes after they've been coded up biggest improvements in user experience come from gathering usability data as early as possible
The three Ms
Mode. Median. Mean
Participatory Design
Participatory design is an approach focused on involving stakeholders, end-users and the team into the design process.
Reflective emotion + how to design for it.
Parts of brain which enable contemplation Design with strong aesthetics to encourage contemplation.
Usability testing data
Precise, accurate, measurable
Gestalt principles - Closure
Preferring complete shapes, we automatically fill in gaps between elements to perceive a complete image; so, we see the whole first.
What is task analysis (e.g. task model) good at identifying?
Problems e.g. long action sequences, closure
Technical Evaluation
Program runs without errors
Questionnaire data type
Quantitative and qualitative
The design space
The space the team want's to design for/in.
Interaction Design
The art of facilitating interactions between humans through products and services
Interviews are good for
Exploring issues
Structured interview
Follow script carefully Can be replicated May lack richness
Conceptual design
From user to goal do's - Metaphors - affordance - constraints - prototype - iterate
Prototypes can be transitioned from paper to computers using:
Tool kits like arduino and senseboard
Touch interface disadvantage
Virtual keyboard error-prone and slower than physical one
Ten Usability Heuristics UH1 (V)
Visibility of system status system should keep users informed, appropriate feedback
What are the 5 common design principles?
Visibility, Feedback, Affordance, Consistency, Constraints
What is median?
The sum of all numbers divided by the number of answers
Match between system and the real world
The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order
if the user characteristics are expert, then
flexibility and access/power should be central
STACKING
the process of placing like materials of simular size and shape on top of one another, in an orderly and vertical fashion, without space between the components; The technique may also be done in horizontal manner, positioning a series of relatively flat material next to each other, surface to surface.
INTEGRATED
the use of two or more different stem placement techniques in a composition.
What do closed questions use?
yes/no, inventory check list, rankings, ratings likert scales semantic scales
IxD involves working in multidisciplinary teams what are the Benefits?
• Many people from different backgrounds involved • Different perspectives and ways of seeing and talking about things --> More ideas and designs generated
Perceived Affordance
"Bad affordances" eg: when something on a screen looks like a button and isn't
When to use Direct Manipulation Interaction
"Doing" Tasks - Designing - Drawing - Flying - Driving
How should an abstract question like "what is the work flow for this use case" be reformulated?
"Is the work flow like this? How do you want to change it?".
Interface Metaphors
"Shopping basket", "Folder", "Desktop" etc.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
"Suggests that people need to fulfill their basic needs before moving to more complex psychological and social needs"
What did Nielsen suggest?
- on average 5 evaluators identify 75-80% of usability problems
Low fidelity
- paper prototypes (physical rearrangement) - drawings (less flexible)
What are the elements of the human centered design process
- plan user-centred process - understand context of use - specify user requirements - produce design options - evaluate options - understand context of use
What is the rule of thirds?
- refers to splitting the page into three sections - sections can be combined to draw attention
What does schema.org do?
- structured data markup - provides meaning to content found on the web - allows machines to understand the content
What does mobile-first design refer to?
- where mobile devices are designed for first then desktops - can use responsive or break-point design
Paper Materials
- widgets -connectors - drawing
High fidelity prototype disadvantages
-More resource intensive to develop - Time consuming to create - Inefficient for proof-of-concept designs - Not effective for requirements gathering
Pet Robot Advantages
-Therapeutic Qualities - Reduce stress and loneliness
What is the issue with software prototyping tools?
- Can't interact with tangible objects or include touch or gesture - an issue as technology is no longer an app or a web-page anymore
Modern HCI Theory
- Cognitive models not well suited to design - Interplay between user and device - Turn to the "Social" :(
Wearable Interface R&D Issues
- Comfort - Hygiene - Ease of Wear - Usability
1980's interfaces
- Command - WIMP/GUI
Design Process
- Establish Requirements - Design Alternatives - Prototype - Evaluate
What are experiments?
- controlled companions between different scenarios - a lot of evaluation takes the form of experiments
UH8 (A)
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design dialogues with relevant info
Scenario
An imagined sequence of events in the daily life of a persona based on assumptions.
Choosing Participants
An important aspect of focus groups is getting the feedback from your target audiences/ demographics. When recruiting, researchers usually select participants based on specific traits or characteristics, including: ~ Age ~ Occupation ~ Experience ~ Education ~ Ethnicity
What is a prototype?
An incomplete, early version of a product. Main reason = to allow user testing and get objective feedback from this.
When to use Conversation Interaction
Children, novice users, constrained interaction modes
Data gathering - Relationship with participants
Clear an professional. Informed consent when appropriate.
User profile
Collection of attributes for a typical user
Aggregation Affordance
Combining Artefacts to form a compound mediator
Evidence-based Design
Design that incorporates Research, Evaluation and Critical Thought
What is evidence based design?
Design that incorporates evaluation, research and critical thought
Synthetic Design
Design that produces things: Products, Services, Concepts, Ideas
Usability
Extent to which a system, product or service can be user by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use
Cognitive Tracing
Externally manipulating items into different orders or structures
Environment (root definitions)
Factors that influence the system
Mobile Interfaces definition
Handheld, used on the move
Give an example of a prototyping software?
Balsamiq
Model Human Processor
Have separate stores for different levels of memory, difference processors for difference purposes.
Critical
If we do not fix this, users will not be able to complete the scenario.
Implement and Retest
If you cannot implement all the recommendations, develop priorities based on fixing the most global and serious problems.
Interaction types
Instructing Conversing Manipulating
What is the gulf of execution & evaluation?
Intention, action specification, input devices, interface display, interpretation, evaluation
What is the difference between Internal & External Consistency?
Internal consistency refers to designing operations to behave the same within an application External consistency refers to designing operations, interfaces, etc., to be the same across applications and devices
Good mappings
It is possible to determine the relationships between actions and results, between the controls and their effects, and between the system state and what is visible. E.g. Turning a steering-wheel to the right will make the wheel to the right and the car turn to the right.
Puristic walkthrough
Multiple experts work separately through the walk through and then a carefully managed discussion takes place which leads to agreed decisions
How to people prefer learning?
Learn by doing
What is law of context?
Make sure that the interface controls are close to the object it controls
What is Participatory Design?
Methods and ways to help users communicate their ideas and impressions
What does the model human processor do?
Models information processes of a user interacting with a computer
Direct observation in the field data type
Mostly qualitative
Motor processor
Motor memory, movement response. motor processes takes from working memory, produces movement response e.g. arms moving to produce reaction. Can be as result of cognitive processing e.g. pressing a button
Exploring
Moving through a physical or virtual space. Physical through sensors etc and virtual through VR etc
Manipulation [Interaction Type]
dragging, dropping, zooming, selecting when interacting with a system
What is Classical HCI theory influenced by?
cognitive psychology
What topics come under values?
family, health, enjoyment, career, wealth, wisdom, love. wealth, health, freedom
Instructing [Interaction Type]
direct text/voice commands
User experience definer
Nielsen
Who can web accessibility also benefit?
Older people with changing abilities due to aging
Saccade pathways
Saccade pathways trace the eye's movement between areas of focus. The movement is not unlike watching a hummingbird move between flowers. Periods of attention and then rapid movement. A red circle is the area of focus, while the red line indicates the flight.
Same participants
Same participant used in all different versions of test Less users needed Order is crucial as can add bias
Sequence Mapping
Sequence mapping is a way to label multi-step selection processes.
What is Disability?
The effect of an impairment on abilities
Participatory design
The end user should be included in the design process
Participatory design
The end user should be included in the design process It is an approach to design strategy that brings customers into the heart of the design process. Also known as "co-creation", "co-design", or "cooperative design", it emcompasses techniques useful to both initial discovery and subsequent ideation phases of a project, where the end-users of a product, service, or experience take an active role in co-designing solutions for themselves.
Understanding Phase
The second phase of the HCI Process
Ethonography
The study of culture, Immersing the researcher into foreign cultures.
Task
The thing that the product is supposed to do, however the user may have several sub uses for the product
The gulf of execution (Norman Model)
The time/phases between intention and execution (steps are: -User has intention -User plans actions -user executes actions )
What is law of easing?
The user feels more inclined to perform actions if it's broken down into smaller steps
What is law of preferred action?
Understand what the user prefers to do and make that in a clear position
Direct observation is the field is good for
Understanding context of user activity
Mental models
Users develop a mental understanding of how a product works through using it. can make inferences using mental models to figure out how to handle new and unexpected situations Requires conscious and subconscious processes
Can HE be carried out on a prototype?
Yes, ofc can also be carried out on the actual UI if available
conceptual model
an explanation for how a system works or is organised so designers can straighten out their thinking before starting the project
Fields studies are good for
appropriation data collection - using observation and interviews qualitative analysis
What is usability testing?
asking users to perform various tasks with the interface observing how they perform in terms of efficiency/effectiveness analyzing the results and then revising the interface
How do you perform a usability test? sdiaht
select a number of representative users (participants or subjects) normally 5-12 define a number of typical interaction tasks invite participants to the lab acquire informed consent to participate have them perform each of the tasks take performance measurements sdiaht
what should storyboarding convey?
setting: people involved, environment, tasks being accomplished sequence: steps involved satisfaction: motivation, what can be accomplished, what need does system fulfill?
Cost of not doing an UE:
severe: loss of productivity extra resources needed to support an unusable product.
The second principle of a user centered approach is empirical design. Explain the concept
specific usability and user experience goals should be identified, clearly documented, and agreed upon at the beginning of the project. They can help designers to choose between designs, and to check progress as the product is developed. identifying specific goals up front means the product can be empirically evaluated at regular stages as it is developed.
What are non functional goals/requirements?
specifications of parameters/constraints on a system involves usability goals that are critical and measurable, and experience goals learnability/efficiency/exciting/engaging
3. Minimum Work Necessary
strip out unnecessary features - square root graph (x-time spent, y-learning)
If the user characteristcs are novices, then
insructions should be step by step prompted, constrained, with clear info
How long does info persist in sensory buffers
order of 0.5 seconds
How does a questionnaire test reliability?
repeating the same question and check if the response is the same
usability testing measures:
- users perceptions about the effectiveness and efficiency of the product -users satisfaction with the product -tendency for errors with the product **effective, efficient, satisfying, error-free
What is high-fidelity prototyping?
- uses materials you would expect to be in the final product - prototype looks more like the final system than a low-fidelity version
in 1985 Gould and Lewis laid down 3 principles which are generally accepted as the benchmark for a user centered approach, they believed would lead to a useful and easy to use computer system, what where they?
(1) Early focus on users, and tasks (2) Empirical measurement (3) iterative design
What are the 3 main factors which can influence the impact a user can have on a project?
(1) Kind of product being developed. (2) Kind of user involvement possible (3) Application domain
Questionnaires advantages
- Can reach many people with low resource
High fidelity prototype advantages
- Complete functionality - Fully interactive - User-driven - Clearly defined nav scheme - Use for exploration and test - Look and feel of final product - Serves as living spec - Marketing and sales tool
Semi-structured Inteview
- Guided by a script - Interesting issues explored in-depth as desired - Balances replicability and richness
Components of a Conceptual model
- Metaphors and analogies - Concepts people are exposed to through the product - Relationships and mappings between concepts
Voice Interfaces
- Person talks to system - Used by people with disabilities
Environment
- Physical - Technical - Social - Organizational
Principles of Design
- Unity - Gestalt - Hierarchy - Balance - Contrast - Scale - Dominance
What is the independent variable?
- a variable we control, like button colour or size
What are the advantages of HTML5
- better document structure with new semantic elements - semantic elements give meaning to content
Design composition
- golden ratio - rule of thirds
Where are card-based prototypes often used?
- in website development - each card represents one screen
What are the stages of the human information processing model?
- input stimuli - encoding - comparison - response selection - response execution - output response
What qualitative methods can be used to perform contextual enquiry and Evaluation?
- interviews - ethnography - diary studies - cultural and technology probes
List three research methods
- interviews - surveys - observations
button states
- normal - focused - pressed - inactive
What the W3C's web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG)?
- perceivable - robust - operable - understandable
What do cognitive walkthroughs focus on?
- the ease of learning
What does the user experience honeycomb include?
- useful - credible - usable - valuable - find-able - desirable - accessible
What are motivating values?
- values provide motives for doing things - experienced as needs - suggest preferable outcomes
qualitative usability methods
-Can uncover why usability problems exist and sometimes how to fix them -produce text, video, or audio and can include interviews, focus groups, direct or video recorded observation
VR R&D Issues
-Designing safe/realistic training VRs. - VR Navigation - Controlling interactions - Information Interaction - Level of realism to aim for
phases of usability testing
-planning: usability is focused on analysis of users needs and tasks before any design discussions begin (focus groups, individual interviews, contextual interviews, task analysis, card sorting) -designing: the development team changes focus from understanding needs to brainstorming ideas for the health IT solution (napkin testing, single prototyping, storyboarding, parallel designs) -testing- involves people outside of the design team: UX experts and actual users. main point is to understand what users experience and improve health IT -deploying: when they use it in training or for the first several months. usage and error logs can be collected.
Task based vs open exploration vs. co-discovery
-task based is easy to control -open exploration is hard to control -co-discovery has a lot of data -co-discovery has high costs
How can we understand users needs?
-what are people good/bad at -listen to user needs ...
Quantitative Analysis Lecture
...
Scale of severity rating in HE
0 = evaluators don't agree that it is a usabiltiy problem, 1 = cosmetic problem, 2 = minor usability problem, 3 = major usability problem (important to fix), 4 = usability catastrophe (can't perform task, MUST fix)
Interaction design cycle
1) establish requirements 2) develop alternatives 3) prototype 4) evaluate 5) iterate
Core characteristics of interaction design
1) users should be involved in the design process 2) specific usability and user experience goals should be identified, agreed upon and documented at the start of the project
Testing Process:
1. Develop test plan 2. Set test environment (usability labs) 3. Find/select participants 4. Prepare test materials 5. Conduct test session 6. Debrief the participants 7. analyze data 8. report findings
Detailed Design Flow
1. Plan the user-centered process 2. Understand Context of Use 3. Specify user and organisational requirements 4. Produce Design Options 5. Evaluate Options 6. Return to 2.
4 main principles of good design:
1. Visibility 2. A Good Conceptual Model 3. Good mappings 4. Feedback
Nielsen's Heuristics
1. Visibility of System Status 2. Match Between System and Real World 3. User Control and Freedom 4. Consistency and Standards 5. Error Prevention 6. Recognition rather than Recall 7. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use 8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design 9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors. 10. Help and documentation.
Nielsen's Heuristics
1. Visibility of system status 2. Match between system and the real world 3. User control and freedom (undo) 4. Consistency and Standards (conventions) 5. Error prevention (eliminate error-prone conditions, get confirmation) 6. Recognition rather than recall 7. Flexibility and efficiency of use 8. Aesthetic and minimalist design 9. Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors 10. Help and documentation (easy to search, focused on task, concrete)
Limitations to testing
1. artificial situation 2. results don't prove that it works 3. participants aren't always representative of target population
Moderating issues
1. easy to jump to conclusions 2. you can be too rigid 3. youc an be too cocky
user, goals, context of use
3 critical elements of usability: specific: ___, ____, ____.
How many items of information someone can remember
5-9
What are the 6 tips when choosing a colour?
60-30-10 rule, steal from nature, colour psychology, contrast is friend, strive for colour harmony, cultural differences
Facial Recognition
A face recognition system is a computer application capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source. Studies have shown that people have tendencies to look at a face more than any other image on a page.
What is a persona?
A profile created of the final user. Is based on gathered information, from observation, interviews or from experts
Personae
A profile of the primary target audience for a product.
Divergent and Convergent
A type of thinking (usually during a brainstorming session) used to fully explore possible ideas with the intent of coming to a final decision/conclusion. Divergent thinking is brainstorming creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions • e.g. Exploring all possible running patterns from interviews Convergent thinking is focusing on a single, well- established answer to a problem • e.g. Narrowing (clustering) down those patterns into themes/concepts
Dependent Variable
A variable we measure
Call to Action
A visual prompt (call) by the designer to the user in hope of a response (action) Urgent language that activates attention
Cultural Probes
Probe packs sent out by researchers for participants to fill out. An insight into people's daily lives, habits, attitudes and activities.
Two types of retrieval from long-term memory
Recall, recognition (see item you're trying to remember)
UH6 (R)
Recognition over recall minimise memory load by making objects, actions, options visible
Population stereotype
Responses that are found to be widespread in a user population.
User Experience data
Rich qualitative
Convinience Sample
Sampling participants near to you
An example of analogical icon
Scissors icon to represent 'cut' action
Core threads of Holistic experiences
Sensual, emotional, compositional and spatio-temporal
Sequence and Motion
Sequence is the order that elements are arranged in Motion is the result of putting enough elements in an order
Five key issues of data gathering
Setting goals. Identifying participants. Relationship with participants. Triangulation. Pilot studies.
What is an aggregation affordance?
Some artefacts can be combined with others to form a larger-scale combined mediator; such as the combination of mobile phone with headphones to form a personal music player
Perception
Strong clues for possible usage
What is HTML5 used for?
Structure the content of web pages
Concepts that people are exposed to through the product
Task-domain objects, their attributes, and operations (e.g. saving, revisiting, organizing)
Maintenance Affordance
Tech allows maintenance ie batter changing etc.
User characteristics (non-functional requirements)
Technical ability of user, age, nationality, education, any physical/mental disabilities, preferences
Eyetracking
Technique and study of following a user's eye path while reading screen or print-based content.
Instructing
Tell system what to do using commands like command line Faster and more efficient Steep learning curve
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 2010)
The Act that states it is illegal for a website provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide a service that is generally available.
Virtual Reality
The Illusion of participation in a synthetic environment rather than external observation of such an environment
What are situated actions?
The notion that people's behaviour is contextualised (highly dependent on the context which the action takes place)
User population
The range of users for a particular product or system.
Affordance
The relationship between the environment, the actor and the product.
What is an affordance?
The term used to refer to an attribute of an object that allows people to know how to use it and understand its properties (implicit suggestions of use that objects posses)
Usability testing session
The testing of a product with potential users to find out how usable the product is.
What is grounded theory based on?
The thematic approach called 'coding' or 'thematic analysis'
What is a contextual inquiry?
The user is the expert and the designer is an apprentice
Feedback
The user receives full and continuous feedback about the results of the actions.
What does UX Include
The user's emotion, beliefs, preferences, perception, physical and physiologic
Fitt's Law
This scientific law predicts that the time required to rapidly move to a target area is a function of the ratio between the distance to the target and the width of the target.
How do grounded theory and traditional analysis differ?
Traditional analysis fit your findings into existing theories while you build your own theory with grounded theory
What is the most important part of the root definitions and why?
Transformations - they're used in conceptual model to define what is achieved , and how it is achieved
Traditional method of qualitative data analysis
Try and explain findings by basing them around existing theories Bad because basic theories can't explain complicated human behaviour
What does traditional (quantitative) experimental theory involve?
Trying to explain your findings through existing theories
Why should you involve users?
Understand them and their needs. Expectation management. Ownership.
Metaphors and analogies
Understand what a product is for an how to use it for an activity
Nominal data
Unordered groups or categories
The definitions of accessibility commonly overlap with:
Usability
Quesenbery's 5E's
Usability = multi dimensional concept Effective: completeness and accuracy with which users can achieve their goal Efficient: speed and accuracy with which users can complete their tasks Engaging: degree to which product is pleasant to use Error-tolerant: how well system helps prevent errors/recovery Easy to learn: how easy to use unassisted, remember how to use
Usability objectives
Usability objective include usefulness, effectiveness, learnability and likeability.
What does ethnography involve?
Used to involve weeks-long immersions now shorter more targeted observations
Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA)
Used to understand participants' thoughts as they interact with a product by having them think aloud while they work. The goal is to encourage participants to keep a running stream of consciousness as they work.
User Error
User Error is a mistake made by the human user of a complex system, usually a computer system, that stops them from their intended goal. Causes Users usually do not pay full attention to the computer system while using it. Poor design that does not take human limitations into consideration.
What is user research?
User behaviors, needs and motiviations
wizard of oz prototyping
User interacts with system, but developer responds
What is the WCAG operable principle?
User interface components and navigation must be operable
Consistency and standards
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
What is the danger of high-fidelity prototyping?
Users think they have a complete system and see compromises
What is low-fidelity prototyping?
Uses a medium which is unlike the final medium e.g. paper cardboard
"Interacting Through" technology
Using technology to interact with people, eg: the poke button on Facebook.
Mixed Reality
Views of the real world are combined with views of a virtual environment
Augmented Reality
Virtual Representations are superimposed on physical devices and objects
Principles of good design
Visibility, consistency (internal and external), affordances
Give and example of recognition:
Visual based options that users need to browse through until they recognise one
Attention span
Visual/stamina Reading long texts Familiarity
Cognitive walkthrough (CW)
Walk through task in form of action sequences, any recommendations at each action
Big prototypes
Walter Teague's airplane cabin, Apple Store mockup
What is the opening statement of the agile manifesto
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing ti and helping others do it. through this work we have come to value (1) Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. (2) working software over comprehensive documentation (3) Customer collaboration over contract negotiation. (4) Responding to change over following a plan.
Gestalt principles - Continuation:
We follow and "flow with" lines.
Gestalt principles - Proximity (Emergence):
We group closer-together elements, separating them from those farther apart.
Gestalt principles - Meaningfulness (Familiarity):
We group elements if they form a meaningful or personally relevant image.
Gestalt principles - Element Connectedness:
We group elements linked by other elements.
Gestalt principles - Symmetry:
We seek balance and order in designs, struggling to do so if they aren't readily apparent. Synchrony: We group static visual elements that appear at the same time.
Gestalt principles - Similarity (Invariance)
We seek differences and similarities in an image and link similar elements.
What is a functional requirement?
What a system is supposed to
What is participatory design?
When users are involved in design team rather than just treating them as subjects of analysis. This is because users are the experts on their work situation.
Owner (root definitions)
Who the system belongs to, and who can allow changes in the system
3 main characteristics of participatory design
Work focused, collaborative, iterative
Advantages of using multimedia
You can find the right medium to enable best learning Encourage exploration of a product
Pilot studies
You can run small studies before the official one
Factors Affecting Cost
Your testing costs depend on : ~ Type of testing performed ~ Size of the team assembled for testing ~ Number of participants for testing ~ Number of days you will be testing
THROW AWAY PROTOTYPING
a small part of the system is given to the user to try out. User provides feedback which will be included within the system. That prototype is then thrown away reason for throw away is that it makes sure that the requirements are validated and clearly understood by the users
What are experimental designs with same participants?
all participants appear in both conditions with counterbalancing to neutralize the learning effect
EVOLUTIONARY PROTOTYPING
an initial prototype is given to the user and they will provide feedback and suggestions that they have to improve it. then another prototype is created when the improvements included, the user will provide feedback again. This cycle continues until user is happy so each prototype has 'evolved'
DESIGN TECHNIQUE
any number of specialized procedures and methods for placing PLANT MATERIALS and decorative accessories into a composition.
Unknown Unknowns
aspects of a design that you don't know are open issues
Known Unknowns
aspects of a design that you know you don't understand yet and wish to learn
When do data gathering activities occur
at the beginning to understand the user/problem, during design to test prototypes, and in the end for a final usability study
Habituation to UI leads to what (hick's law)
b decreases so decision time decreases
DSDM
based on RAD usually produces results fairly quickly that closely mirror the immediate desires of the user sometimes the resulting applicatoons dont fare well over time
What is the aim of GOMS
check that frequent goals can be achieved fast through variations, modelling time taken, check whether similar tasks can be carried out similarly i.e. is functionality covered consistent for user across different tasks
Questions in a questionnaire in a usability test can be either:
close ended quantitative analysis, open ended qualitative analysis
What are the steps in the requirements acquisition process?
data gathering activities, data analysis activities, requirements modeling and representation
THROW AWAY DISADVANTAGES
developers could be persuaded into delivering the prototype as a final system hours putting together prototype wasted and thrown away
Summative Evaluation
evaluating something at the end of development, summarising the whole process
Under what circumstances could the scope for considering design alternatives be limited?
example 1: I.E. If software running windows, elements of the design will be prescribed to you because you must conform to the windows look and feel. example 2: If producing an upgrade to an existing system design elements may be limited to ensure you keep the familiar elements of it.
efficient
how quickly this work can be completed
engaging
how well the interface draws the user's attention
error tolerant
how well the product prevents errors
easy to learn
how well the product supports both the initial orientation and continued learning throughout the complete lifetime of use
What does data analysis entail?
identifying issues and assessing user experience
if the user characteristics are frequent, then
implement short cuts
Operable (Accessibility Goals)
interface and navigation must be easy to control.
What are the stepts to the interview process?
intro, warmup, main body, cool off period, closure
How does user involvement help with expectation management?
involving users throughout development helps with expectation management because they can see from an early stage what the products capabilities are
the third principle of a user centered approach is Iterative design. Explain the concept.
iterative design allows design to be refinsed based on feedback. however good the designers are, and however clear the users may think their vision of the artifact is it will be neccessary to revise ideas in light of feedback, several times. This is particularly true when trying to innovate. Innovation rarely emerges whole and ready to go. it takes time, evolution, trial and error, and a great deal of patience. Iteration is inevitable because designers never get the sollution right the first time (Gould and Lewis 1985)
efficiency measures in usability studies
learnability time input rate mental effort usage patterns error prevention expert assessment
Low fidelity prototype
likely a Cardboard prototype or similar
Should the researcher guide the user through the interface?
no if learnability is something to be measured yes if the system is complex and there is no other way to get to the parts under study
what is the insider researcher approach (passive observer)
no participation in activities, subjects may not know they're being observed
WATERFALL DISADVANTAGES
no working software is produced until late during the life cycle cannot accommodate changing requirements it is difficult to measure progress within stages
Similarity rating in card sorting
no. times two cards appear together / no. groups
what is ethnography?
philosophy with a set of techniques that include participant observation and inteviews
what is indirect observation
post-hoc examination of traces that events have left, diaries, logs
What are functional requirements?
specifications of something the system should do (its function)
WOO examples
speech recognition - human listened to user commands and adjusted interface accordingly intelligent tutors Robi (cute robot guy)
what is funneling?
start with broad questions, and progressively narrow down the scope
Claim
state something without providing evidence or proof.
SHADOWING
the close placement of one material directly behind or beneath the primary material, giving a three-dimensional appearance and enhancing the sense of depth; results in the suggestion that the first material is being echoed or reflected by the second.
Usability definition (ISO 9241)
the extent to which a product can be used by specified user to achieve a goal with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction EFFECTIVENESS< EFFICIENCY< SATISFACTION
null hypothesis
the hypothesis that states there will be no significant difference
what does context of use entail?
the physical (limited space e.g.), social (sharing of files, e.g.), organizational/cultural(hierarchy, competition, e.g.)
MIRRORING
the placement of identical materials or groups of materials in a COMPOSITION such that one appears to reflect the other.
HAND TYING
the process of arranging stems of design materials, such as flowers, foliage and accessories in the hand, using disaplined method of placement, such as SPIRALING, and then securely fastening at the BINDING POINT.
DIP-DYING
the process of changing or intensifying the COLOR of a flower or other material by submersing it head down in a dye solution.
FISHTAILING
the process of cutting the end of a ribbon or other flat material, such as a leaf, into an indented 'v' SHAPE.
BASING
the process of finishing the foundation of a COMPOSITION with intricate, textural details, providing a decorative surface of materials from which design emerges; is accomplished by techniques such as clustering, layering, terracing, and pave', and is typically employed in parallel-systems and vegetative designs.
BUNDLIING
the process of firmly tying a quantity of stemmed materials together, forming a radiating PATTERN above and below the binding point.
BUNCHING
the process of gathering several similar materials together and inserting them into an arrangement as one unit; oftern used as a labor saving technique.
CLUSTERING
the process of inserting a collection of small, textural flowers and/or greens of a single kind closely together so thaht the individual components become a single kind closely together so that the individual components become indistinguishable from the total mass.
WEAVING
the process of interlacing strips or strands of materials in a crisscross fashion to construct a new dimensional PATTERN or sculptural form.
SECTIONING
the process of isolating like materials within their own specific area.
TAILORING
the process of modifying, altering, or adding detail to a material's appearance by trimming, gluing, stapleing, or pinning, such as rolling a blade of an aspidistra leaf back on itself and securing it so as to change its SHAPE.
SEQUENCING
the process of placing flowers or other materials in an orderly succession, with gradual shift of some aspect, such as color (lightest to darkest), size (smallest to largest), or spacing between them; can be utilized to acheive transition as well as rythm.
TUFTING
the radial clustering or bunching of relatively short-stemmed materials near the base of a design to emphasize the overall color and texture of the bunch rather than the individual materials. Each essentially becomes a design component itself.
prototyping definition
the rapid creation of an approximation to a design idea for the purpose of retrieving feedback and knowledge
What is a dependent variable?
the response/effect you are wondering if it should be attributed to the independent variable
REASON FOR PROTOTYPING
there is a long delay between the idea of a new system and the actual creation of it. users find it hard to imagine the system when it's designed on paper users would prefer something real in front of them that they can use and touch
RAD - REUSE SOFTWARE
to speed up the delivery time of the prototype developers would reuse procedures and functions from previous projects Also developers would use open source software that has been created by other developers that would be considered stable and acceptable to use.
What are the types of interviews?
unstructured (rich data, no script), structured(replicable, scripted questionnaire), semi-structured (rich and replicable, script bust also exploratory)
What is the learning effect/order effect?
when participants use interface a they familiarize themselves with it and the experimental process more likely to perform better using interface b as a result ordering becomes a confounding factor differences in responses may not be due to quality of interface but the sequence of testing
What are experimental designs with different participants?
when separate groups of participants are allocated randomly to each of the experimental conditions
When to conduct usability experiments?
when you want to compare candidate interfaces, like old and new tere is an eed for generalization for a larger class of systems, like interest in statistical significance when there are larger and representative sample sizes to have more rigorous control of other influencing factors
What are user characteristics?
who the users are and their abilities
Reporting Severity Levels of Problems
~ Critical ~ Serious ~ Minor
Quantitative Data
~ Enter the data in a spreadsheet to record data or make calculations such as: > Success rates > Task time > Error rates > Satisfaction questionnaire ratings ~ You may want to add participant's demographic data so that you can sort by demographics to see if any of the data differ by the demographic variables. ~ Make sure you identify the task scenarios for each of the metrics.
Benefits of using a SUS
~ Is a very easy scale to administer to participants ~ Can be used on small sample sizes with reliable results ~ Is valid - it can effectively differentiate between usable and unusable systems
Qualitative Data
~ Record data related to: > Observations about pathways participants took > Problems experienced > Comments/recommendations > Answers to open-ended questions ~ Make sure your problem statements are exact and concise. For example: > Good problem statement: Clicked on link to Research instead of Clinical Trials. > Poor problem statement: Clicked on wrong link. > Poor problem statement: Was confused about links.
Incorporating Visuals to Illustrate Specific Points
~ Screen shots to readers visualize what you were testing ~ Short video clips to illustrate specific points
dimensions of usability
• Effectiveness - the accuracy and completeness with which users achieve specified goals • Efficiency - the resources expended in relation to the accuracy and completeness with which users achieve goals • Satisfaction - the freedom from discomfort and positive attitudes towards the user of the product
Potential research biases
○ Ordering & Instructions ○ Within-groups studies, counterbalanced order ○ Mood factors ○ Rewards before or after ○ Experimenter attitude ○ Selecting participants
What is visual design?
Aesthetically pleasing interface in line with broad goals
AFFORDANCES
Affordances are clues about how an object should be used.
What does UX encompass
All aspects of the end-users interaction with the product Person's perception and responses resulting from the use of a product
What is a mental model?
An explanation of ideas how a system should work or what it should do
How it Works
As a participant looks at a webpage, the eye tracking device focuses on the pupil of the participants eye and determines the direction and concentration of their gaze. The software generates data about these actions in the form of: ~ heat maps ~ saccade pathways
Universal Design - Equitable
Avoid segregating or stigmatising users
Fogg's equation
B=MAT behaviour = motivation, ability and trigger
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Both are types of research Both are data sets One describes (qualifies) vs. defines (quantifies)
DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
Boundaries or limitations placed on a design or design system
Profiling users
Budget: small Duration: quick Demographics: age, work positions, job roles etc.
What is the realisation of Modern HCI theory?
Cognitive models are not necessarily well suited to doing design
Focus groups are good for
Collecting multiple viewpoints
Sensual thread
Concerned with our sensory engagement with a situation. Interactions can involve thrill, fear, pain and comfort f.ex.
Direct manipulation
Continuous display of objects and actions of interest. User uses the application solely through clicking buttons etc
What does the visual hierarchy consist of?
Contrast, Size, repetition, colour, proximity, white space, alignment, texture and style
The visual hierarchy
Contrast, proximity, texture & style, white space. color, alignment, size, repetition.
What is interaction design?
Creating engaging interactive systems
Content graphics
Deliver the information they user is seeking
Rich picture
Detailed description of problem situation - who are stakeholders, what groups do they work in, what tasks do they perform
Reading and speaking
Different people prefer reading/ listening/ speaking more or less than others Design implications Speech based menu options need to be quick and simple Allow larger text modes Add accents to artificial speech to make it easier to understand
Measuring usability
Different tasks have different priorities - balance goals Need to find specific and measurable characteristics = more consistent and accurate outcomes
Contextual Interview
During these interviews, researchers watch and listen as users work in the user's own environment, as opposed to being in a lab. Contextual interviews tend to be more natural and sometimes more realistic as a result. They are also usually less formal than lab tests and don't use tasks or scripts.
What is the explanation of the cycle in Norman Model?
Establish goal, form intention, specify actions, execute actions, perceive system state, interpret state, evaluate state in terms of goals and intentions
Heuristic evaluation
Evaluate user interface against recognised usability principles ( heuristics)
What is laboratory testing good for?
Evaluating technical aspects and early iterations of user interfaces
What is formative evaluation?
Evaluations done during design to check that a product continues to meet users' needs
What is summative evaluation?
Evaluations that are done to asses the success of a finished product
Familiarity
Example: Windows start
What is expectation management?
Expectation management is the process of making sure that the users expectations of the new product are realistic
Non-User Evaluation methods
Experts review Guidelines review Consistency inspection Cognitive walkthrough - simulate user taks Formal usability inspection - expensive/time consuming Heuristic Evaluation
Interviews
Face to face usually Can be open ended or close ended Good because it encourages contact between developer and audience Bad because audience may get intimidated by intimate setting
Low fidelity prototype - cons
Facilitator-driven Limited usefulness after Requirement establishments Flow limitations
Wizard of Oz prototyping
Facilitator: provides product, creates tasks and gives instructions to participant. Notes down how participant interacts with product Participant: operates the user interface Easier to operate than fully functional prototype User centred development Feedback delivered instantly Easy to commit to designs that are not technologically possible Can not simulate every feature
Touch interface advantage
Faster to scroll through wheels etc. by flicking
UH7 (F)
Flexibility & Efficiency of Use accelerators for expert users, user can tailor frequent actions
What are the 3 parts of choice of technique in data gathering?
Focus of the study, Involved participants, Nature of the technique
Use-case
Focuses on user-system interaction
W(i)mp - Icons
Forms - similar - analogical - arbitrary Design - skeuomorphism - flat
UH10 (HD)
Help & documentation docs should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, not too large, list conrete steps
Training and support
Help and guidance such as tutorials or instructions on how to use the product
Navigation graphics
Help the users find the information they need
What does HCI Stand for?
Human computer interaction
Implication of hick's law on design
If do have lots of options, separate into hierarchy to reduce decision time through chunking, figure out groups through card sorting. Allow filter and search.
What is law of guided action?
If you want the user to do something, ask them to do it, don't expect them to do it otherwise
Heuristic Evaluations and Expert Reviews
In a heuristic evaluation, usability experts review your site's interface and compare it against accepted usability principles. The analysis results in a list of potential usability issues.
Where does the failure of a project most often happen?
In defining requirements stage - is expensive and time-consuming to fix later to important to get requirements right!
Where to evaluate?
In natural and laboratory settings
Explain: (1) establishing requirements
In order to design something to support people we must know who our target users are and what kind of support an interactive product could usefully provide. these needs form the basis of the products requirements, and underpin subsequent design and development.
Scenarios
Informal narrative story, simple, 'natural', personal, not generalisable
Percievable (Accessibility Goals)
Information and contents must be presented in understandable way
What does distributed cognition focus on?
Information propagation and transformation
Remote Robot Advantages
Investigate Bombs, other dangerous material
Memory
Involves first encoding and then retrieving knowledge as well as filtering and processing what is attended to remember.
What are the advantages of low-fidelity prototyping?
Is quick, cheap and easily changed
What is Fogg's behaviour model?
It plots motivation against ability
Relationship with participant
Keep professional + get consent
Milgram Experiment
Lab study on obedience to authority figures
What was the Milgram Experiment?
Lab study on obedience to authority figures
Command-based interface disadvantage
Large overhead to learning set of commands
Disadvantage of command-based interface?
Large overhead to learning set of commands
Learning
Learn how to use an app, people learn best by doing.
Make changes and test again
Make a follow up study Iterative testings
What is law of feedback?
Make sure of provide feedback after every action so the user know that what he thinks he has done, has actually been done
Recognition rather than recall
Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.
User error
Mistakes and slips when using the product due aspects such as complexity or inefficiency
Annotation
Modifying existing representations through making marks
Ways of coming up with conceptual design metaphor
Mood board
What is important when it comes to running focus groups?
Need to select participants that represent well the target users
Ornament graphics
Neither guides the user nor deliver information
Advantage of 'different' experimental design?
No order effects
Should a manager expect developer prototypes to conform to general quality assurance standards?
No.
Do you need to present a complete system during requirements gathering?
No. The focus should be on presenting functionality relevant to the questions being explored. "the simplest thing we can program that will convince us we are on the right track".
Similarity
Occurs when objects look similar to on another
Questionaire
On paper / online
What should functional and non-functional requirements focus on and why? What are the repercussions of not focusing on this?
On the user! Otherwise they won't design it, leading to having to redesign, do user training (e.g. call centres) - both of which cost time and money
Running a Usability Test
Once you have planned your test and recruited your test participants, it's time to get ready to conduct your test.
Infinite Canvas
One page of content which allows for a variety of interactions, narrative structures, and information to be organized
What should prototypes aim to address?
One specific problem within the whole
internal consistency
Operations within the application behave the same for similar purposes
Ordinal data
Ordered groups or categories
behavioural emotion + how to design for behavioural emotion
Parts of the brain for everyday/learnt behaviours: talking, typing, driving. design for usability and conventions/habits
User
Person utilising the product, person who is being affected by the product or who is reaping benefits/drawbacks
User experience
Person's perceptions and responses resulting from the user and/or anticipated use of a product, system or service
Strategies for UCD
Personae, scenario, user case, etc...
Predictive Models
Predict how a interface will behave
Open-minded
Prevents design teams from becoming narrowly focused early on.
Standard Interview Outputs
- Notes - Audio recording - Other props/materials
Steps in Data Gathering
- Setting Goals - Identify Participants - Engage Participants
Which types of prototypes have a short longevity?
- Throw-away. - Evaluation.
Structured Interview
- Tightly scripted - Like a questionnaire - Replicable but may lack richness
Contextual inquiry
- What are the problems people face in their task - Identify the assumptions people make - Observe people's actions and practices - Who are your users - What are their tasks?
AR/MR R&D Issues
- What kind of digital augmentation in relation to environment? - What kind of device?
What is a prototype?
- a series of screen sketches - a storyboard - a power point doc - a cardboard mock-up
What is the dependent variable?
- a variable we'll measure (like frequency of clicks)
What is in the ACM code of Ethics?
- contribute to society and human well-being - avoid hard to others - be honest and trustworthy - be fair and take action not to discriminate - honor property rights including copyrights and patent - give proper credit for intellectual property - respect the privacy of others - honor confidentiality
What can conceptual models be described in terms of?
- core activities - objects - interface metaphors
Basic prototyping process
- define questions regarding design and building something to answer those questions
What does Contemporary HCI theory turn to?
- design - culture: draws on the arts - the wild: observe use in everyday life/ study in context than in isolation - embodiment: draws together many ideas
What are the design implications of perception?
- design readily perceivable - legible text - easy to read and distinguish icons - bordering and spacing for grouping information
What are sharable interfaces?
- designed for more than one person to use - eg interactive tabletops or large wall displays - supports flexible group working - can support more equitable participation compared to groups using a single PC
How may we externalize to reduce memory load?
- diaries, reminders, calendars, notes, shopping lists, to-do lists, post-its
What is software logging?
- does not require elevator to be present and data analysis can be automated - can be combined with video and audio (allows evaluators to relate body language to the interaction) - costly
What are the design implications for memory?
- don't overload users - promote recognition than recall - provide users various ways of encoding information
What does axial coding involve?
- exploring how the concepts are related to each other using an affinity diagram
Why do some people have erroneous mental models?
- general valve theory - understanding incomplete or based on inappropriate analogies
What are features of usability testing?
- improve products - few participants - results inform design - usually not completely replicable - conditions controlled as much as possible - procedure planned - results reported to developers
What did Craik describe mental models as?
- internal constrictions of some aspect of the external world enabling predictions to be made
What are the types of mental modes and what does it involve?
- involves unconscious and conscious processes - can have deep and shallow models
What are the design implications of attention?
- make information most noticeable when it needs attending to - make things stand out using colour etc. - avoid clustering interface with information
What does annotation involve?
- modifying existing representations through making marks (e.g. crossing off, ticking, underlining)
What are the range of techniques in software logging?
- time-stamped key-presses - interaction logging - click-tracking
Interface Metaphor Problems
- Break conventional and cultural roles - Constrain designers view of a problem space - Conflict with design principles - Limit understanding of novel features that are not well encapsulated by the metaphor
Universal Design Principles
- Equitable - Flexible - Simple and Intuitive Use - Perceptible Information - Tolerance for error - Low Physical Effort
Execution part of Interaction
- Establishing the goal - Forming the intention - Specifying the action sequence - Executing the action
Memory
- First encoding and retrieving knowledge - We don't remember everything - Context affects memory - Recognition better than recall - Eye observation better than photograph
Touch Interface R&D issues
- Fluid Interaction (Freehand, pen-based) - How size, orientation, shape affects collaboration
Representative Experience
- Gained from qualitative data - Stratify - Random Sample
What legislation is in place for accessibility?
- General - e.g. UK: Equality Act - Specific - e.g. US: 508
What are the characteristics of requirements that would incentivise you to use throw-away prototypes?
- High risk. - Poorly understood.
Affordance Types
- Instrumental - Effector - Handling - Learning - Maintenance - Aggregation
What are the characteristics of requirements that would incentivise you to use incremental prototypes?
- Low risk. - Well understood.
Lessons from IDEO Camera
1. prototypes are almost always incomplete 2. goal is to SIMULATE specific aspects of the design//acquire knowledge regarding these targeted aspects
Shneiderman's 8 golden rules
1.Strive for Consistency 2.Enable frequent users to use shortcuts 3.Offer informative feedback 4.Design dialog to yield closure 5.Offer simple error handling 6.Permit easy reversal of actions 7.Support internal locus of control 8.Reduce short-term memory load
What is the design implication of sensory buffers?
Buffers are constantly overwritten by new info so can't assume that just because user has seen/heard msg 5 seconds earlier, that they will remember this. Best strategy= keep msg displayed until no longer needed or allow user to apply this info immediately
Thematic analysis process
Category construction Sorting, expanding and reducing categories Check back again with data Compare with co workers
Principle of Least Effort
Coined by Harvard Professor George Zipf States that humans will naturally choose the path of least resistance or "effort"
Purpose of data gathering
Collect data that is accurate and sufficient enough to produce set of requirements. You can use data to also evaluate product based on feedback from users
Interface types
Commands Speech WIMP and GUI Data entry Multimedia Etc
CUES
Cues are the responses that a signal has been activated.
Productivity
Developing products and services with the user in mind so that they can reduce time wasting and simplify complex aspects of the product
Cognitive prosthetic devices
Devices that reduce the need for the user to remember by allowing you to search up the stuff e,g. Google
Gulf of evaluation
Distance from physical system to user
What is the gulf evaluation?
Distance from the physical system to the user
What is the gulf of execution?
Distance from the user to the physical system
Responsibilities of stakeholder (considered in requirements development)
Does the stakeholder have to consider any particular issues relating to responsibility, security, or privacy?
Unstructured interview
Don't follow any script Can't be easily replicated Very rich but may go off topic
Design implications for memory
Don't overload users' memories with complicated procedures for carrying out tasks. Design interfaces that promote recognition rather than recall.
What is the idea behind distributed cognition?
Don't think of people's cognition beginning and ending with their own brain
What Conceptual models enable
Enables Designers to straighten out their thinking before they start laying out their widgets
Orientation
Enables design teams to ask specific questions about how the conceptual model will be understood.
User experience
Encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services and its products
The process of interaction design
Establishing requirements, Design alternatives, prototyping, evaluating
Inspection methods
Experts use their knowledge and experience of users and the field to review usability On average you only need 5 experts to get 75% to 80 % of errors Heuristic evaluation Cognitive walkthroughs
Fitt's vs Hick's law
Fitt's estimates human movement time to select target on display vs Hick's estimates time taken to make a selected decision
What are technology probes?
Flexible, adaptable technologies used for understanding needs of users, based on cultural probes
Technology Probes
Flexible, adaptable technologies used for understanding the needs and desires of users.
Behavioural design
Focussed on use and understanding, this considers how people will use a product, focussing on functionality.
Semi structured
Follow script for the most part but can expand on interesting questions
Explain: Users are consulted through development
From the earliest phases, to the latest phases users are consulted and their input is seriously taken into account. It is important users are respected by designers.
What does GOMS stand for?
Goals, operators, methods, selection rules
Direct observation in controlled environment
Good to get understanding about what users do Results might not be representative of real life
Direct observations in the field
Good to understand context of user activity Ethnography: immerse yourself into a new culture without any previous judgements or prejudice Ask questions like what, where , how, why Time consuming to collect data
Axial Coding
Grouping categories produced in open coding
What is mean?
Help us find the average value, with regards to outliers
How many chunks of info can the avg info hold?
7 +- 2 chunks
Field research
A first hand observation of customer's user experience. It is essential for the research to be conducted in the user's environment.
Focus Groups
A focus group is a moderated discussion that typically involves 5 to 10 participants. Through a focus group, you can learn about users' attitudes, beliefs, desires, and reactions to concepts.
Effectiveness
A measure of the speed of performance or error rate and its relation to the capabilities of a product.
Usability
A quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use
What is Usability
A quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use -learn ability -efficiency -memorability -errors
What is a requirement
A statement about what and how a future software/product should perform
What are scenarios?
A story describing one example of use of product or achieving a goal
Instrumental Affordance
A way a user can act through a tool to bring change in the world [Affordance type]
When is the severity rating assigned to problems?
After collating results from different evaluators, evaluators together rate severity, then use this to feedback into design
What is conceptual model?
An account of how a system works
What are the outcomes of incremental prototypes?
An application for the end user.
What is an affordance?
An attribute an object has that allows people to know how to use it e.g. mouse button invites pushing
What are the outcomes of throw-away prototypes?
An executable prototype and better understanding of the requirements.
ANALOG &DIGITAL DEVICES
Analog signals use waves and digital uses binary code.
Understandable (Accessibility Goals)
Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
What is the WCAG perceivable principle?
Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive
Affordances for interaction design
Interfaces = virtual, don't have affordances the same way physical objects do. Better to conceptualise interfaces as having 'perceived' affordances i.e. learned conventions of mappings between action and effect at the interface
Mental Models
Internal constructions of some aspect of the external world enabling predictions to be made
How is the rich picture developed?
Interviews with ppl in organisation, observations of work practices, workshops
Human Information Processing Model
Is a cognitive modeling method used to calculate how long it takes to perform a certain task. Focused on the way people pay attention to the environment events, encodes information and relates that information with already stored knowledge for learning, and how information is then selected and retrieved when needed
Instructing
Issuing commands and selecting options. An example, vending machines.
Fogg's Model
The concept that for a behaviour to occur, the user must have motivation, ability and a trigger at the same time. If a behaviour doesn't occur at least one of these elements is missing.
Interface Type
The concrete means of facilitating interaction (buttons etc.)
Deep vs shallow mental models
The depth of knowledge known. Knowing how to drive a car vs knowing how a car works
Shannon and Weaver Communication Model
The interactive model is similar to the linear model except it incorporates feedback such as return messages. It allows for a feedback element because after a message is encoded and sent to the decoding receiver, the roles then reverse and the receiver encodes and sends a response to the original sender who has now turned receiver.
Product acceptance
The knowledge that a product or service paid for will meet up to its defined expectations
DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD
The minimum amount that something needs to change in order for a person to notice the difference Related to brightness, loudness, line length, visual weight of fonts in typography, color matching etc.
Retrospective Think Aloud (RTA)
The moderator asks participants to retrace their steps when the session is complete. Often participants watch a video replay of their actions, which may or may not contain eye-gaze patterns.
Natural environment
The monitoring of the user interacting with the product in their homes, place of work or other natural product usage environments.
What is distributed cognition concerned with?
The nature of cognitive phenomena across individuals, artifacts and internal and external representations
Summative
Type of testing done after the product is finished; required number of statistical validity
Formative
Type of testing done while the product is in development; based on small studies
Psycho-pleasure
Types of pleasure that comes from cognition, discovery, knowledge and other things that satisfy the intellect.
Testing house
Typically a company that will test products on their site.
Usability Testing
Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users.
Logical constraints
Use reasoning to determine the alternatives. Thus, if we ask the user to click on 5 locations and only 4 are immediately visible; the person knows, logically, that there is still location left.
UH3 (U)
User Control and Freedom Support undo and redo
Gestalt principles - Common Fate:
We group elements that move in the same direction.
Faux/False Choice
When a decision between multiple choices ends in the same outcome; helps in controlling overgrown system outcomes and keeps the path of the user in the direction the designer wants.
Flow State
When a person is highly engaged / immersed in an experience or task and loses sense of time and is less aware of what is happening around them
W.I.M.P
Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers
BRAIDING
a decorative process of interweaving three or more strands of fiber, ribbon, or foliage, etc., by overlapping in a diagonal pattern.
Explain (2) Empirical measurement
early in development the reaction and performance of intended users to printed manuals etc, are observed and measured. later on users interact with simulations, and prototypes and their performance and reactions are observed, recorded and analysed.
Explain Systems Design
is a structured rigorous and holistic design approach that focusses on context and is particularly appropriate for complex problems in system design. It is the system, i.e. the people, computers, objects, and devices that are the centre of information while the user's role is to set the goals of the system.
What is a confounding factor?
other influencing factors that, if left uncontrolled, won't let you prove the connection
MASSAGING
the process of bending or curving a branch or flower stem by applying gentle pressure and warmth with the thumbs, fingers, and hands. Working with PLANT MATERIALS that are at room temperature facilitates this process. Pussy willow, Calla, and Scotch broom respond well to this thechnique, which is often used in traditional styles of IKEBANA.
COLLARING
the process of completely encircling a flower, a bouquet, or the edge of a container with foliage or other decorative materials, creating a finished appearance.
DETAILING
the process of completing and refining a COMPOSITION by making precise placements of design materials.
BALING
the process of compressing and tying PLANT MATERIAL into a three-dimensional geometric shape, simulating a bale of tied grasses or hay,
Define usability engineering
usability engineering involves specifying quantifiable measures of product performance, documenting them in a usability specification, and assessing the product against them.
What are the sources of data?
users, stakeholders, environment in which the users exist, documentation, existing systems (competitors)
Video Prototyping
video including the WHOLE task (with motivation and success) that draws on tasks you observe
Why the User's First Click is Important
~ A participant who clicks down the right path on the first click will complete their task successfully 87% of the time. ~ A participant who clicks down the wrong-path on the first click, tends to only successfully complete their task 46% of the time.
Conceptual models
Mental models of rhings formed through experience, training, instruction
Disadvantages of HE
No task-focused, doesn't use actual people so can be unreliable/miss issues real users would find, not rigorous, requires pre-evaluation training to get evaluators up to scratch on problem scenario, can only identify problems covered by the heuristics, not other problems
Usability
Not inherent in products that are complicated to use
What is a working prototype?
One that actually works but might be limited in features, shows how actual use plays out but form might not be entirely accurate
Coding
Open: identify categories and distinct themes Axial: find links between categories and sub categories Selective: form theoretical scheme
Rules of Play
Operational Rules- written out rules Constitutive rules- logical or mathematical rules (tic tac toe) Implicit Rules- unwritten rules that are connected to etiquette and sportsmanship.
External consistency
Operations between applications etc behave the same for the similar purposes
Learning Affordance
Opportunity to learn by providing information, eg tooltip
Distribution of practice effect
Optimised by spreading learning over time - important to remember when training users on new systems/when to send reminders
Facilitating stakeholder
People involved in system's design, development, maintenance i.e. developers
Secondary stakeholder
People who produce input for the system, or receive output from the system, but won't directly use it/will use it occasionally only
The 7±2 rule.
People's immediate memory capacity is very limited. Present only 7 options on a menu, 7 tabs on top of a page, etc.
What do content delivery networks do?
Place content closer to the user
Personas
Predict how users will act and think Combination of motivations and behaviors Based on factual research data
What are closely related to heuristics but a little more formal?
Predictive Models
Storyboards
Present user activities, show sequential storyline. Need to consider personas (user profiles based on characteristics), tasks and scenarios i.e. role play.
Cognition
Provides information about what a user can/ can't physically do and how to design their product optimally to Minimise effort and strain of user
Participatory Design Reasoning
Provides methods and ways to help users communicate their ideas and impressions
In wizard-of-oz prototyping, what does the 'facilitator' do?
Provides the tasks, instructs the participants and takes notes
"DECISION SCALE"
Pyramid showing the types of decisions a player can make and the impact/consequence of the decision.
Give examples of qualitative methods?
Qualitative interviews, direct observation, diary studies, cultural probes, technology probes
Indirect observation data type
Quantitative (logging) and qualitative (diary)
What are the different types of data gathering techniques?
Questionnaire, Interviews, Observation, Study documentation, Similar products
Empirical measurement
Reactions and performance of intended users to printed scenarios are measured early in the development. Later, users interact with simulations and prototypes and their performance and reactions are observed and analyzed.
What is a 'user centered' approach?
Real users and their goals, not just technology are the driving force behind product development, as a consequence a well designed system will make the most of human skill and judgment will be directly relevant to the activity in hand and will support rather than constrain the user. This is less of a technique and more of a philosophy.
Skeuomorphism icons
Realistic 3d icons of an object
What do external representations at the interference do?
Reduce memory load and facilitate computational offloading
Learnability
Refers to how easy a system is to learn to use
Effectiveness
Refers to how good a product is at doing what it is supposed to do
What is recognition?
Remember that you have seen/done something before
When to use Instructive Interaction
Repetitive tasks - Spell Checking - File management
Responsive Design
Responsive web design is the approach that suggests that design and development should respond to the user's behavior and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation.
Attention
Selecting a stimulus for your mind to focus on out of a set of stimulus Allows user to focus on more important stuff Design implications Avoid cluttering interface Make info easy to spot Use colours to highlight important information
A/B Testing
Showing one group of participants the old/control website (A) and then also showing another group a modified B website, and viewing the effects.
What is a stakeholder?
Someone who would in some way or the other be involved in the new system
Functional requirements
Something that the system must do (Robertson & Robertson 1999) - the most common type of requirement Example: The web-site system shall purchase a request ticket Must be measurable and testable.
What do walkthroughs involve?
Stepping through a pre-planned scenario noting potential problems
Cognitive walk though
Stepping through preplanned scenarios, spotting problems Designers present product and scenarios. Tell experts about population and use of the product etc
Scenario
Story describing one example of use of product or achieving goal
Synthesizability
Support for the user to assess the effect of the past opeartions on the current system state (learnability, ex. Update)
Cloud Computing
A metaphor for the internet ● Storing, accessing, and sharing file information online ● Not a local computer hard drive ● Data or programs can be accessed from anywhere with internet connection
Voice Interface R&D issues
- How to design systems that can keep convo on track - Type of voice actor - Privacy considerations
Learning
- How to learn to use an app - Preferential learning by doing
Accessibility Terminology
- Impairment - Disability - Disabled
Tangible Interface R&D Issues
- New Conceptual Frameworks - Coupling between action and effect - What sort of physical artifact
Open questions
- No predetermined answers - Provide qual data
Qualitative Data
- Words - Good for understanding an issue in depth, generating ideas/hypotheses
questionnaire question types
- Yes/No - Select from list - Rating - Open-ended responses - Ranking
What is heuristic evaluation?
- a form of inspection - experts are HCI experts - judge compliance with accepted HCI heuristics
Natural Language Interfaces
- Directed Dialogues, system is in control of conversation - Specific questions requiring specific responses - More flexible systems = better user initiative - High error chance - Guide prompts to get people back on track
VR Cons
- Displays uncomfortable to wear - Can cause motion sickness, disorientation
What are the four types of robotic interfaces?
- remote - domestic - pets - sociable
effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction
3 critical measures of usability: ___, ____, ____.
Learnability, Flexibility, Robustness
3 principles to aupport usability
How long does info persist in working memory?
<= 10 seconds
Usefulness
= usability + utility a very usable system that lacks required functionality is NOT USEFUL a system with lots of functionality, but is not easy to operate is similarly NOT USEFUL.
Explain how heuristic evaluation (HE) works?
>1 evaluator (usually 5), can be team of developers, check whether UI complies with usability heuristics, then bring problems identified together to inform redesign
What to evaluate?
A conceptual model, early prototypes of a new system and later, more complete prototypes
Prototype testing session
A session where a test product is made and tested - all experiments are conducted before making the final product, making all changes necessary that can be seen when the prototypes are used.
usability testing
A technique used to evaluate a product or information system by testing it with representative users
Affinity Diagramming
A tool used to organise ideas and information.
Heuristic evaluation
A type of inspection where experts are HCI experts. Judge compliance of the product against HCI heuristics
What is a lifecycle model
A lifecycle model is a term used to represent a model that captures a set of activities and how they are related. A lifecycle model can also be descirbed as a simplified version of reality.
User experience
A person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service, this can modify over time due to changing usage circumstances
Ethnography
A philosophy with a set of techniques that include participant observation and interviews. Data gatherers immerse themselves in the culture that they study
What is Impairment?
A physical, sensory or cognitive issue
Secondary personae
A profile of those who are not the primary target audience for a product, but whose needs the product should meet.
What is visibility
A quality that assesses easy user Interfaces are to use. The extent to which a system can be used by a specific user to achieve goals with effectiveness and efficiency
DESIGN PATTERNS
A reusable solutions to reoccurring usability problems Template for how to solve a problem in different situations Patterns make it easier for users to understand an interface and accomplish their tasks Design patterns are standard reference points for the experienced user
Physio-pleasure
A sensual pleasure that comes from touching, smelling, hearing or tasting something. It can also be derived from a feeling of satisfaction that comes from the effectiveness of an object in enabling an action to be performed
Use case
A set of possible sequences of interactions or event steps between a user and a product to achieve a particular action.
Chunking
A short-term memory strategy ● Organizing large amounts of information into groups and sub-groups ● Helps the user to navigate the product
Human Information Processing Model.
A simple input output model. input -> encode -> comparison -> response selection -> response execution -> output
What is a scenario?
A situation created, based on the persona created, where the persona goes through steps of wanting to do something, how it wants to dot and what it needs to do to reach its goal
What is a prototype?
A small project within a longer term software development process which implements a part of the complete functionality required for the final system.
What should you aim to produce at the end of the requirements phase?
A stable set of requirements after having identified the needs (understood as much as possible about users, task, context)
A requirement
A statement about an intended product that specifies what it should do or how it should perform
What is instrumental affordance?
A way in which a person can act through a tool to bring about change in the world, by mediating between a user and an object. An instrumental affordance can be decomposed into a handling and effector affordance.
Handling Affordance
A way in which a person can interact with a tool itself (eg: scrollbar) [Affordance type]
Effecter Affordance
A way in which a tool can bring about change in an object
Effecter Affordance
A way in which a tool can bring about change in an object [Affordance type]
What is socio-technical analysis
A way of gathering requirements focused on technical, social, organisational, human aspects of human design
Branching and Nodes
A way of structuring information Interaction where a user is making choices and different results occur Most know for early game design but is now widely used through UI
Where do alternative designs originate?
(1) Individual designers flair and creativity (2) Cross fertilisation of ideas from different perspectives eg the kettle driving the idea for the steam engine. (3)Evolution of existing products through use and observation. (4) Copying of other similar products. (5) Alternatives come from seeking different perspectives and looking at other designs.
Eason 1987 identifies 3 categories of user, what are they?
(1) Primary user: i.e. a frequent hands on user. (2) Secondary: Occasional user, or those using the system through an intermediary. (3) Tertiary: Those affected by its introduction, or who influence its purchase/implementation.
What are the 2 common lifecycle models for interaction design
(1) Star model (2) international standard model (ISO 9241-210)
Explain User centered design
(1) The user knows best and is the only guide to the designer. (2) the designer's role is to translate the user's needs and goals into a design solution.
There are 3 fundamental requirements recognised in all design fields, i.e. Mech engineering design, architecture, software design etc, what are they?
(1) Understanding the requirements. (2) providing a design which satisfies those requirements (3) Evaluating those requirements
Name 5 categories of stakeholders
(1) Users (2) Development team (3) Managers (4) Direct users (5) Recipients of system output
There are 5 principles behind an Early focus on users and tasks - what are they
(1) Users tasks and goals are the driving force behind development. (2) Users behaviour and context of use are studied and the system is designed to support them. (3) Users characteristics are captured and designed for. (4) Users are consulted throughout development (5) All design decisions are taken within the contect of the users, their work, and the environment.
What are the 3 common lifecycle models for software engineering
(1) Waterfall (2) Spiral (3) (RAD) Rapid applications development (Sommerville 2010)
What are the main agile software development methods
(1) eXtreme programming (Beck/Andrews 2005) (2) Crystal (Cockburn 2005) (3) Scrum (Schwaber and Beedle 2002) (4) Adaptive software development (ASD) Highsmith 2000 (5) Dynamic Systems Development method
Choosing colors
- 60, 30, 10 rule - contrast is a friend - color psychology - cultural differences - color harmony - steal from nature
Ways to become disabled
- Accident - Disease - Age - Loud music - Keyboards (RSI) - Mobile - etc.
1990's Interfaces
- Advanced graphical - web - Speech - Pen, gesture, touch - Appliance
ACM Code of Ethics III
- Articulate social responsibilities of colleagues and encourage full acceptance of those responsibilities - Manage resources to design and build systems that enhance the quality of working life - Support food use of computing and communication resources - Ensure that users have their needs assessed during the design of requirements and that the system is validated to meet these - Support policies that protect the dignity of users and others - Create opportunities for members of the organization to learn the principles and limitations of computer systems
Cognitive Processes
- Attention - Perception - Memory - Learning - Reading, Speaking, Listening - Problem-solving, planning, reasoning, decision-making
Model Human Processor Limitations
- Based on modelling activities exclusively in the head - does not account for people interacting properly
How to approach participants
- Be clear - Be professional - Be ethical
Contemporary HCI
- Beyond efficiency and productivity - Design, Culture, the Wild, Embodiment
Mobile Interface R&D issues
- Can be cumbersome to use, especially for people with fat fingers - Designing for small screen real estate and limited control space
Direct observation in a controlled environment advantages
- Can focus on the details of a task without interruption
Material Metaphor
- Card is popular UI - Has familiar form factor - Gives appearance and physical behaviour
Given the user stories: register an account, create a team, assign a team and schedule a match. What can the corresponding prototype be used to do?
- Check the system will be of benefit. - Validate understanding of problem domain model. - Evaluate web-based platform for hosting the system. - Use as an initial iteration of the project.
Recognition vs Recall
- Command based requires users to remember many names - GUI provides visual options - As do web browsers
Command-based interfaces
- Commands types into prompt, system responds
Interface Metaphor
- Conceptualize current task - A conceptual model instantiated as an interface - Visualising an action
External cognition
- Concerned with explaining how we interact with external representations (maps, notes etc.) - What are cognitive benefits, processes - How they extend our cognition? - Computer-based representations to help more?
Distributed Cognition
- Concerned with the nature of cognitive phenomena across individuals, artefacts, and internal and external representations - Described in terms of propagation across representational state - Info transformed through media
ACM Code of Ethics I
- Contribute to society and human well-being - Avoid harm to others - Be honest and trustworthy - Be fair and take action not to discriminate - Honor property rights including copyrights and patent - Give proper credit for intellectual property - Respect the privacy of others - Honor confidentiality
Questionnaires disadvantages
- Design is crucial - Response rate may be low - Responses may not be what you want
Experiments for research
- Discover knowledge - Many participants - Results validated statistically - Must be replicable - Strongly controlled conditions - Experimental design - Scientific report to community
Involved in Distributed cognition
- Distributed Problem solving - Role of verbal and non-verbal behavior - Communication that takes place - How knowledge is shared and accessed
Manipulating Interaction
- Dragging, selecting, opening, closing, zooming - Exploit knowledge of how to interact with physical world - Wii, Kinect, Tagged objects
User Centered Approach
- Early focus on users and tasks - Empirical measurement - Iterative Design
Learning Design Implications
- Encourage exploration - Constrain and guide learners - Dynamic linking of concepts and representations can facilitate complete material learning
List of Assistive Technologies
- Enlarging software - Speech recognition - Synthetic speech readback - Refreshable braille display - Scanner / OCR system - Alternative keyboards - Alternative pointing devices
What is Execution in the Norman Model of Interaction?
- Establishing the goal - Forming the intention - Specifying the action sequence - Executing the action
What are the implications of Milgram's Experiment?
- Ethical issues & participants rights - Studies need to be approved by ethical committees - Participants need to sign informed consent form - Experimental conditions may affect participants behaviour
Design Flow
- F pattern - Z pattern - The Gutenberg Diagram (The pattern applies to text-heavy content. Think pages in a novel or a newspaper. The pattern isn't meant o describe every possible design.)
Advantages of Wizard of Oz Prototyping?
- Faster to iterate and cheaper than fully functional prototypes - easy to create multiple variations - user-centred development - feedback about a design straight away
What are the advantages of inspections?
- Few ethical and practical issues to consider because users not involved - best experts have knowledge of application domain and users
Advantage of 'same' experimental design?
- Few individuals - No individual differences
Classical HCI theory
- Heavy Cognitive Psychology Influence - Design guidelines from psych research - WITH Interaction
VR Pros
- High level of fidelity with objects represented compared to multimedia - Induces a sense of presence - Provides different Viewpoints
Focus groups advantages
- Highlights areas of consensus and conflict - Encourages contact between users and developers
Robot R&D issues
- How do Humans react to robot behavior - Should robots be designed to look like humans - Interaction with computers or like other people?
Perception Design Implications
- Icons should be obvious - Bordering/spacing are effective - Sounds should be audible and distinguishable - Text legible - Tactile feedback differentiable
Use of field studies
- Identify opportunities for new tech - Determine design requirements - Decide how best to introduce new tech - Evaluate tech to use
How can you make an accessible website?
- Images + annotations - add descriptions - Multimedia - captions + descriptions - Hyperlink - use text that makes sense, not Click - Page organisation - headings, list, CSS - Graphs + charts - summarize - Tables - make suitable for line by line reading
Usability Testing
- Improve Products - Few participants - Results inform design - Usually not completely replicable - Conditions controlled as much as possible - Procedure planned - Results reported to devs
Which types of prototypes have a long... longevity?
- Incremental. - RAD. - User interface (ish).
Shareable Interfaces
- Interfaces designed for more than one person to use - Multiple inputs/outputs - Large wall displays - Interactive Tabletops
Interviews Advantages
- Interviewer can guide interviewee if necessary - Encourages contact between users and developers
Contextual Inquiry Qualitative Methods
- Interviews - Ethnography - Diary Studies - Cultural probes - Technology Probes
Data Collection Techniques
- Interviews - Questionnaires - Observations - Cultural Probes - Literature Reviews
What is high risk
- Invasive equipment, materials or processes are involved - Some participants are unable to withdraw at any time - Animals are involved - Human tissue is involved - Biological samples are involved
Problem-solving, planning, decision-making
- Involve reflective cognition - Conscious process - May involve working through scenarios
Indirect observation disadvantages
- Large amount of quant data needs tool support to analyse (logging) - Participants memories may exaggerate (diary)
Shareable interface Advantages
- Large interactional space to support flexible group working - Can be used by multiple users - Better participation than i using a single PC
Usability factors
- Learnability - Efficiency - Memorability - Errors
Conversing Interaction
- Like having a conversation - Simple voice menus through to NL - Make novice users feel at ease - Breaks down on bad input
Low fidelity prototype disadvantages
- Limited Error Checking - Poor detailed spec to code to - Facilitator driven - Limited utility after reqs established - Limited usefulness for usability tests - Nav, Flow limitations
Elements of Visual Design
- Line - shape - Negative/White Space - Volume - Value - Colour - Texture
Question types to avoid
- Long questions - Jargon, complex language - Leading questions or assumptions - Unconscious biases
Low fidelity prototype advantages
- Lower development cost - Evals multiple design concepts - Useful comms device - Addresses screen layout issues - Useful for identifying market requirements - Proof of concept
Attention Design Implications
- Make information salient when it needs dealing with - Use techniques to make stuff stand out - Avoid interface clutter - eg Search Engines
Interface Metaphor benefits
- Makes learning a system easier - Helps users develop a working model that matches the model of the designers - Makes technology accessible to a wider range of people
2000s Interfaces
- Mobile - Multimodal - Sharable - Tangible - Virtual - Augmented/Mixed reality - Wearable - Robotic
Model Human Processor
- Models the information processes of a user interacting with a computer - Predicts which cognitive processes are involved when a user interacts with a computer - Enables calculations to be made of how long a user will take to carry out a task
Shareable Interface R&D issues
- More fluid/direct styles of interaction - Effects of size, orientation, shape on collaboration - Horizontal vs vertical surfaces - Effect of larger-size tabletops
Types of Graphics
- Navigation (help users find what they need) - Content (deliver information the users need) - Ornament (neither guides nor delivers information)
Unstructured Interview
- No script - Rich but not replicable - Steered by both parties
Analysing quantitive data
- Norminal data (are used for labeling variables, without any quantitative value) - Ordinal data (are typically measures of non-numeric concepts like satisfaction, happiness, discomfort, etc.) - Interval data (are numeric scales in which we know not only the order but also the exact differences between the values) - Ration data (give us the ultimate-order, interval values, plus the ability to calculate ratios since a "true zero" can be defined.) Simple analysis: numerical methods to ascertain size and magnitude values Central tendency: arithmetic methods to ascertain mode, median and mean value
What is moderate risk?
- Not all data is anonymous - Personal data is collected or processed - Data may be processed outside the UK - There is some inducement to participants - The study could be intrusive - There is some risk of harm during the study - The true purpose of the study may not be communicated to every participant - The study can involve deception - Participants may be minors
How should you select participants?
- Number of participants should balance out individual differences - Systematic bias may be due to experimental design - Random sampling or selecting a specific population
Quantitative Data
- Numbers - Good for performance, large-scale analysis of adoption/retention, A/B testing, hypothesis testing
Direct observation in the field advantages
- Observing actual work gives insights tat other techniques can't give
Mobile interfaces example
- PDAs - Mobile Phones
Areas related to building the user experience
- Project Management - User research - Usability Evaluation - Information Architecture (IA) - User interface design - Interaction Design - Visual design - Content strategy - Accessibility - Web analytics
P-S,P,D-M design Implications
- Provide more info for users who want to be more effective - Use aids to support rapid decision making and planning
Questionnaire advice
- Question ordering important - Different versions for different populations - Provide clear instructions - Avoid long questions - Decide phrase positivity
Cognitive Prosthetic Devices
- Reliance on internet / smartphones - Extended mind - reduces need for memory - Enhances memory for finding it
Types of Robotic Interface
- Remote For hazardous settings - Domestic to help people - Pets as companions - Social for collaboration/peers
Included in a Persona
- Represent a particular group of people - Include goals, needs, interests - Allow the developer to reflect on different user skills and abilities - Aid the discovery of universal features and functionality
Direct manipulation Interaction
- Schneiderman 1983 - Continuous representation of objects and actions of interest - Buttons, physical actions - Rapid reversible actions, immediate feedback
Types of prototype
- Screen sketches - Storyboard - Powerpoint - Video - Lump of wood - Cardboard mockup - Limited software mockup
Attention
- Selecting things to concentrate on from the mass of things around us - Focus on relevant information - Audio/visual senses - Changing it allows us to be selective about competing stimuli - Info at interface structured to capture it
Tangible Interfaces
- Sensor-based interaction - Person manipulates physical object - Digital effects in response`
Interface Metaphor
- Similar to physical entity, also has its own properties - Based on activity, object, both - Exploit Familiar knowledge to understand the unfamiliar
Mobile Interface challenges
- Small Screen - Small numbers of keys - Restricted number of controls
What are the research and design issues of a mobile interface?
- Small screens, small number of keys and restricted number of controls - mobile interfaces can be tricky and cumbersome to use
Low Fidelity Strategies
- Storyboarding - Video Prototypes - Paper Prototyping
Shneiderman's 8 Golden Rules
- Strive for consistency - Enable frequent users to use shortcuts - Offer informative feedback - Design dialog to yield closure - Offer simple error handling - Permit easy action reversal - Support internal locus of control - Reduce short-term memory load
ACM Code of Ethics II
- Strive for quality, effectiveness and dignity at work - Acquire and maintain professional competence - Respect existing laws pertaining to professional work - Accept and provide appropriate professional review - Evaluate computer systems and their impacts and risks - Honor contracts, agreements, responsibilities - Improve public view of computing and its consequences - Access computing and resources only when authorized
Ethnography
- Study of culture - Origins in Anthropology - Used to involve weeks-long immersion in foreign cultures
Data Collected should be
- Sufficient, - Accurate - Relevant
Why we need to understand users
- Tech interaction is cognitive - Need to account for cognitive processes involved - Provides knowledge about what users can do - Identifies nature / causes of problems users encounter - Supplies theories, modelling tools, guidance, methods that can lead to improved design
Instructing Interaction
- Tell system what to do - Quick, efficient - Common Conceptual model - Some better than others
Conceptualizing people
- The Design Team - The System Image - The User
Fitt's Law
- The average time taken to click something is proportional to the distance from the target divided by the size - it's quicker to click something that is big and close to the cursor
What is low risk?
- The study funder is a commercial organisation, i.e. distinct from a research or education institutions - There are restriction upon the study, such as publication - Access to participants is through a third party, e.g. through a school or hospital
What is a Persona?
- They represent a particular group of people and defines who the users are (e.g. attitudes, motivations, abilities based on knowledge of real users)
Hybrid data gathering methods
- Think-aloud - Wizard-of-oz (prototype + observation) - Speculative design (present design options to prompt discussion)
Types of usability data
- Time to complete a task - Time to complete a task after time away from product - Number and type of errors per task - Number of errors per unit time - Number of times online help and manuals used - Number of users making an error - Number of users successfully completing task
Interviews Disadvantages
- Time-consuming - Artificial environ may intimidate interviewee
Why use prototypes?
- To demonstrate features. - To support requirements gathering. - To investigate feasibility of requirements or design. - To experiment. - To use as the main development for a project. Overall, to manage risk.
Why Evaluate?
- Understanding the real world - Comparing Designs - Engineering towards a goal - Conforming to standards
User Experience Factos
- Usability - Accessibility - Utility - Satisfaction
User Experience Honeycomb items
- Useful - Credible - Usable - Valuable - Findable - Desirable - Accessible
Indirect observation advantages
- User doesn't get distracted by the data gathering - Automatic recording means that it can extend over long periods of time
Mental Models
- Users develop system understanding through using and learning - Inferences via mental models to carry out tasks
Direct observation in the field disadvantages
- Very time-consuming - Huge amounts of data
What are the aspects of emotional design?
- Visceral: make products which look/sound/feel good - Behavioural: design for usability and known conventions and behaviours - Reflective: aesthetic, encourages contemplation
Nielsen's Heuristics
- Visibility of system status - Match between system and real world - User control and freedom (undo) - Consistency and standards (conventions) - Error prevention - Recognition rather than recall - Flexibility, efficiency of use - Aesthetic, minimalist design - Help users recognise, diagnose and recover from errors - Help and documentation
What does a contextual inquiry involve?
- What are the problems people face in their task? - Identify the assumptions people make - Observe people's actions and practices - Who are your users? - What are their tasks?
Steps to formulate a conceptual model
- What will the users be doing when carrying out their tasks? - How will the system support this? - What kind of interface mataphor, if any, will be appropriate? - What kinds of interaction modes and styles to use?
Undertaken in Contextual Inquiry
- Where is it - Activities/tasks/habits undertaken in the space - Tools used in - How people interact - Organisational structure - Cultural influences - Uncovers design requirements
Why should you not use a throw-away prototype in production?
- Will not have been designed with consideration for integrating with wider system. - Architecture will become 'hacked' to demonstrate extra features. - Non-functional requirements will be been relaxed. - Documentation will be poor. - etc.
Cognitive walkthrough questions
- Will the correct action be sufficiently evident to the user? - Will the user notice that the correct action is available? - Will the user associate and interpret the response from the action correctly?
How do you avoid bias?
- Within-groups do comparative studies to counterbalance results - reduce mood factors - weather - reward consistently before or after
What are the testing conditions?
- a controlled space ( a usability lab or similar) - emphasis on selecting representative users (typically 5-10) - developing representative tasks (typically 30 minutes duration) - test conditions are the same for every participant - informed consent form explains procedures and deals with ethical issues
What is evaluation using analytics?
- a method for evaluating user traffic through a system or part of a system
What do cognitive walkthroughs involve?
- a usability evaluation method - one or more evaluators work through a series of tasks - ask a set of questions from the perspective of the user - as the experts work through the scenario they note problems
What is usability testing?
- a way to see how easy to use something is by testing it with real users - users complete tasks, typically wile being observed by a researcher, to see where they encounter problems and experience confusion - observe and time users - use data to calculate performance times and identify and explain errors - evaluate user satisfaction using questionnaires and interviews to gather data about users' opinions
What does participatory design provide?
- a wealth of methods for including stakeholders in the design process - focus groups - workshops - activities - working with tangibles - making complex concepts available to everyone
What values relate the the device itself?
- accuracy - consent - privacy - beauty
What does grounded theory involve?
- aims to derive theory from systematic analysis of data - start from ground up. build your own theories of interactions out of your findings instead of trying to fit to existing theories
What are the cognitive processes?
- attention - perception - memory - learning - reading, speaking and listening - problem-solving, planning, reasoning and decision-making
Video Considerations
- audio not necessary - interface fidelity can differ - show success and failure - don't spent too much time editing
What are the limitations of the model human processor?
- based on modelling mental activities that happen exclusively inside the head - does not adequately account for how people interact with computers and other devices in the real world
Why consider values?
- better products - commercial success - socially-desirable outcomes
What are the different types of experimental design?
- between-subject design: different participants - within subjects design: same participants (all participants appear in both conditions) - pair-wise design: matched participants ( participants are matched in pairs, e.g. based on expertise, gender etc)
What are the challenges to do with values?
- bounded rationality - limited knowledge (can be hard to make links between a practice and the values it influences) - value heterogeneity (individual variation in values and motivations)
What is the user experience a consequence of?
- brand image, presentation, functionality, system performance, interactive system, user's internal and physical state resulting from prior experiences, attitudes, skills and personality and the context of use
What does the heuristic evaluation process include?
- briefing session: tell your experts what to do, how issues are logged, scored, ranked - evaluation period: spend some time using the product - debrief: discuss findings, compare notes, prioritise issues and discuss solutions
How does the direct manipulation interaction type work?
- buttons and physical actions instead of issuing commands - rapid reversible actions with immediate feedback on the object of interest
What are the disadvantages of inspections?
- can be difficult and expensive to find experts - important problems may get missed - many trivial problems are often identified - experts have biases
What are the problems with interface metaphors?
- can break conventional and cultural rules - can constrain designer in at the way a problem space is conceptualised - conflict with design principles - limit understanding of novel feature that are not well encapsulated by the metaphor
What are the pros and cons of VR?
- can have a higher level of fidelity with objects they represent - induces sense of presence and provides different viewpoints - head mounted displays uncomfortable to wear, can cause motion sickness and disorientation
What do personas do?
- capture a set of user characteristics - not real people but synthesised from real users - should not be idealised - include name, characteristics, goals and personal background -
Give examples of natural language interfaces?
- chatbots - speech interfaces
Give an example of tangible interfaces?
- chromarium cubes - Microsoft Surface 1.0
7 laws of design
- clarity - preferred action - context - default - guided action - feedback - easing
How is the scope of Contemporary theories different to that of Classical theories?
- classical has an intrinsic scope while contemporary has more focus on external
High fidelity
- coded models - physical models **still functionally incomplete
What do we need to take into account when understanding users?
- cognitive processes involved when interacting with technology - cognitive limitations of users
What are the research and design issues of wearable interfaces?
- comfort (light, small, fashionable) - hygiene - ease of wear - usability
List the advantages of a high-fidelity prototype:
- complete functionality - fully interactive - user-driven - clearly defines navigational scheme - use for exploration and test - look and feel of final product - serves as a living specificaton - marketing and sales tool
What is virtual reality?
- computer generated graphical simulations profiling illusions of a synthetic environment - creates highly engaging user experience
In distributed cognition, what forms of media may information be transformed through?
- computers - displays - paper - heads
What does an interface metaphor do?
- conceptualise the task we're doing somehow - e.g. the Desktop metaphor, embeds a certain conceptual model that mirrors a physical desk with folders
How can evaluation be set up?
- controlled settings involving users: usability testing, experiments in laboratories - natural settings involving users: field studies - settings not involving users: predict analyse and model aspects of the interface analytics
What are the research and design issues of tangible interfaces?
- develop new conceptual frameworks that identify novel and specific features - kind of coupling to use between physical action and digital effect (for learning explicit mapping critical, for entertainment, better to be more implicit) - what kind of physical artefact to use? (bricks , and cubes commonly used because of flexibility and simplicity)
What are the issues with personas?
- difficult thinking as real people - may fail to represent the chosen population
How may you decide which conceptual model to use?
- direct manipulation for 'doing' tasks - instructive for repetitive tasks - conversational for constrained interaction modes or novice users - hybrid models can take longer to learn but allow for multiple ways to achieve something
What are the techniques available for observing and monitoring?
- direct observation - indirect observation - verbal protocols - software logging
What are natural language interfaces?
- directed dialogs where system is in control of the conversation - ask specific question and require specific responses - more flexible systems allow user to take the initiative - more chance of error so prompts included to help get callers back on track
What are the features of experiments for research?
- discover knowledge - many participants - results validated statistically - must be replicable - strongly controlled conditions - experimental design - scientific report to scientific community
What does distributed cognition involve?
- distributed problem-solving - verbal and non-verbal behavior - various coordinating mechanisms - communication takes place as the collaborative activity progresses
Disadvantages of Wizard of Oz Prototyping?
- easy to get over-commit for tech in the design (i.e. technologies which are impossible to design) - cannot simulate all system features
What points must usability include?
- easy to use - learn-ability: first time use - efficiency: speed, effort - memorability: re-use - errors: number, severity, recover-ability
Design implications of leaning?
- encourage exploration - guide learners - linking concepts
Give examples of assistive technologies:
- enlarging software - speech recognition - synthetic speech read back - refresh-able braille display
What are the universal design principles?
- equitable - flexible - simple and intuitive use - perceptible information - tolerance for error - low physical effort
Expand on the universal design principles?
- equitable: avid segregation or stigmatizing users - flexible: accommodation preferences and abilities - simple and intuitive use: easy to understand, regardless of experience, knowledge, language skills - perceptible information: effective regardless of experience, knowledge, language skills - tolerance for error - minimizes hazards and adverse consequence of accidental or unintended actions - low physical effort - efficient and comfortable use with minimum of fatigue
What does the design process include?
- establish requirements - design alternatives - prototype - evaluate - (and iterate this)
Why do we need prototypes?
- evaluation and feedback are central to interaction design - stakeholders can see and interact with a prototype more easily than a document or drawing - encourages reflection - support designers in choosing between alternatives - easier to change prototype than a final design
How to evaluate?
- evaluation is research and has similarities with understanding context - evaluation makes the designed artefact the target of research
How do you evaluate?
- experiments, interviews, questionnaires, observations, analytics - lab or field settings - heuristic inspections, walk-through, usability testing, analytics
What are inspections?
- experts use their knowledge of users and technology to review software usability - expert critiques can be formal or informal
What does cognitive tracing involve?
- externally manipulating items into different orders or structures (e.g. playing Scrabble)
User Experience tests
- field study - observations - questionnaire - interviews - product reaction cards - diary study - analytics - focus group interviews
What does open coding involve?
- finding distinct concepts, themes and categories - first iteration and second iteration of this
Wi(m)p - menus
- flat - expanding - contextual
What does Modern HCI theory focus on?
- focuses on the interplay between user and device - often uses analytic tools than predictive models
What are the different web-page elements affect the speed of scanning?
- fonts: use heads to direct user to relevant content - words: remove unnecessary words - colours: have strong meanings associated with them
Advantages of diary studies?
- gathers data in the moment not in recall such as in interviews - takes up minimal researcher time - doesn't require training to conduct as participants record their data for you - good for when participants are unreachable
What are the research and design issues with robotic interfaces?
- how do humans react to physical robots? - should robots be designed to be human-like - should people interact with the robot as if it were another man being or more human-computer-like?
What are the research and design issues with voice interfaces?
- how to design systems that can keep conversations on track? - the type of voice actor - privacy considerations
What are field studies used in product design to do?
- identify opportunities for new technology - determine design requirements - decide how best to introduce new technology - evaluate technology in use
What are verbal protocols?
- insight to the cognitive activity to the user - think aloud protocol (user speaks out their thoughts) - easier to carry out
What are the interaction types?
- instructing - conversing - manipulating
How does the conversing interaction type work?
- interact as if having a conversation - makes novice feel at ease - breaks down if input can't be parsed
What is the structure if a semi-structured interview?
- introduction - primer questions - pointy questions - insight questions
How does the manipulating interaction type work?
- involves dragging, selecting, zooming on virtual objects - exploits knowledge of how to move and interact in the physical world - physical movement (wii), gestures (kinect)
What is the issue of designing based on 7?
- it is the inappropriate application of the theory - people can scan lists of bullets or tabs for the one they want - they don't have to recall from memory - small number of items good but it depends on the task and screen estate
Paper Considerations
- keep materials in one place - work quickly and make components reusable - if something is difficult to simulate, use verbal description - backgrounds can provide context - can mix and match hardware and software - include familiar operational elements when appropriate
Why consider values?
- known to the user - these are the reason a task is undertaken - may be unknown to the user - may be discovered through experience - stakeholders other than the end user also have values
What are the styles of evaluation?
- laboratory: they come to you, sophisticated equipment, controlled experiments, can lack real context - field studies: you go to them, life context and interaction, noisy, interruptions, less control over the environment
What must be avoided in an interview?
- leading questions - hypothetical questions
List the disadvantages of a low-fidelity prototype:
- limited error checking - poor detailed specification to code to - facilitator-driven - limited utility after requirements established - limited usefulness for usability tests - navigational and flow limitations
What does the multi-level model of memory include?
- long-term memory - working memory - perceptual buffers
Digital Mockups
- looks like the actual digital device (or site) with limited functionality **can use pwpt to simulate design
What are storyboards?
- low fidelity - used with scenarios to bring more detail - series of sketches showing how a user might progress through a task using the device - used early in design
List the advantages of a low-fidelity prototype:
- lower development cost - evaluates multiple design concepts - useful communication devices - address screen layout issues - useful for identifying market requirements - proof of conept
What are the benefits of interface metaphors?
- makes learning a system easier - helps users to developing a working model that matches the model of the designers - makes technology accessible to a wider range of people
What are the components of a conceptual model?
- metaphors and analogies (understand what a product is for and how to use) - concepts that people are exposed to through the product - relationships and mappings between these concepts
What is the danger of making assumptions?
- miss-specifying the problem and creating a flawed design
What are at the research and design issues of sharable interfaces?
- more fluid and direct styles involving pen-based gestures - design concerns include effect of size, orientation and shape of display have on collaboration - horizontal surfaces allow collaborative working better than vertical ones
What are the research and design issues with touch interfaces?
- more fluid and direct styles of interaction with freehand and pen-based gestures - slower to type using a virtual keyboard -
List the disadvantages of a high-fidelity prototype:
- more resource intensive to develop - time consuming to create - inefficient for proof-of-concept designs - not effective for requirements gathering
What are the research and design issues of VR?
- must research on how to design same and realistic VRs to facilitate training - design issues (how best to navigate and interact)
Wizard of Oz Motivation
- need feedback, but can't get feedback unless something is built - what if your system is complicated?
Advantages of direct manipulation?
- novices can learn basic functionality quickly - experienced users can work rapidly - error messages rarely required - users gain confidence and mastery
Difference between values and need?
- only humans can be said to have values - all animals have needs - values can change how needs are experienced
What are the two main levels of 'coding'?
- open coding: identify categories - axial: flesh out and link to subcategories
Why might we conceptualise?
- orientation (all design team to ask specific questions) - open-minded (prevent design team becoming too narrowly focussed early on) - common ground (agree set of common terms within the team)
What does Participatory Design allow?
- people to have a genuine say. not just consultation, but active participation in the design process - design becomes co-design - taps the potential of users as experts in their own domain
What features do accessible websites typically have?
- perceivable and intractable with alternative devices - can be easily and effectively navigated navigated independently of the modalities used - easily understandable
What are voice interfaces?
- person talks with a system that has a spoken language application e.g. timetable, travel planner - used for inquiring about ver specific information e.g. flight times
Collecting Data with WOO
- practice first - recruit users later - 2 roles: facilitator = provides tasks and takes notes, wizard = operates interface
What are the areas related to building the user experience?
- project management - user research - usability evaluation - information architecture (IA) - user interface design - interaction design - visual design - content strategy - accessibility - web analytics
Do's of Buttons
- proper size - label with text saying what it does - put it where it is expected to be
Design implications of problem solving, planning and decision making?
- provide extra information for users who wish to understand to carry out things effectively
Why do we need to understand users?
- provides knowledge on what users and can cannot be expected to do - finds and explains natures and causes of problems users encounter - supplies theory for better design of interactive products
What is attention?
- selecting things to concentrate on - allows us to focus on relevant information
Give some more advanced examples of interfaces?
- sensor network user interface - autonomous drive user interface - brain-computer interface
When to use heuristic evaluation?
- short on time - low on budget - if the product is not finished to show to people
Give example of cognitive prosthetic devices?
- smartphones and the internet - reduces extent we need to remember
What is at the core of a HCI professional job?
- teamwork - technological know how - understanding of user - expressing ideas
What are the types of evaluation?
- technical evaluation: program runs without errors - user evaluation: meeting users' needs
How does the instructing interaction type work?
- tells system what to do - quick and efficient
What is the structure to experiments?
- test hypothesis - predict the relationship between two or more variables - is validated statistically and replicable
What does statistical testing do?
- tests for a difference between two sets of numbers - tests for correlation between two sets of numbers
What do external representations remind us to do:
- that we need to do something - what to do - when to do something
Give an example of a material metaphor?
- the card is a very popular UI because it has a familiar form factor
What is the Central premise of Participatory Design?
- the end-users of a new product or service ought to be included in the design of things that will affect them - users experts in their own domain and designers are only experts in design
What is the Hawthorne Effect?
- the environment in which evaluation is conducted influences or even distorts the results - people behave differently when they know they are being watched
What are the methods of analysis of qualitative data?
- theoretical frameworks - thematic analysis - grounded theory - distributed cognition - affinity diagrams
Pros of Video Prototyping
- ties interface design to tasks - great communication tool (portable, self-explanatory) - cheap and fast - can serve as a 'spec' - can be any level of fidelity
What are the types to data involved?
- time to complete a task - time to complete a task after a specified time away from the product - number and type of errors per task - number of errors per unit of time - number of times online help and manuals accessed - number of users making an error - number of users successfully completing a task
What analytics may be recorded in an evaluation?
- times of day - visitor IP addresses
Why do we evaluate?
- to see if what we've done is good enough - to improve what we've done - understanding the real world - comparing designs - engineering towards a goal - conforming to standards
What are tangible interfaces?
- type of sensor-based interaction, where physical objects, e.g. bricks are couples with digital representations - person manipulations physical object a digital effect also occurs - digital effects can take place in a number of media and places or can be embedded in the physical object
What is laboratory testing not so good for?
- understanding actual use in the home or long term usage trends
What are mental models?
- understanding of a system through how to use the system and what to do in unexpected situations
What the types of values?
- universal (10 types) - cultural (spirituality, democracy)
What points must user experience include?
- usability - accessibility - utility - satisfaction
How may you design for users with dyslexia?
- use images and diagrams - align text to left to keep consistent layout - use audio and video
How can information at in interface be structured to capture the user's attention?
- use perceptual boundaries (windows) - colour - reverse video - sound & flashing lights
Why can it be difficult to gather a complete knowledge of the user?
- user behaviour is variable - users intentions may not be apparent from their actions
What is wizard-of-oz prototyping?
- user thinks they are interacting with a computer but developer is responding to output rather than the system - usually done early in design to understand users expections
What does the user experience include?
- user's emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, behaviors and accomplishments that occur before, during and after use
What does Participatory Design Involve?
- users from the very beginning - interviews, focus groups, prototyping
Pros of Paper Prototyping
- very fast evaluation and testing - easy to change and adapt - user involvement at an early stage - encourages creativity
What are the first steps in formulating a conceptual model?
- what will the users be doing when carrying out their tasks? - how will the system support these? - what kind of interface metaphor will be appropriate? - what kind of interaction modes and styles to use?
What are research and design issues of augmented and mixed reality?
- when in the physical environment? - needs to stand out but not distract from ongoing task - needs to be able to align with real world objects - what kind of device?
when to use WOO?
- when there is advanced technology involved and there is no time to build it - when you haven't determined how to best implement a feature
What questions may be asked of an expert in a cognitive walkthroughs?
- will the correct action be sufficiently evident to the user? - will the user notice that the correct action is available? - will the user associate and interpret the response from the action correctly?
Breadth of Experience
-Gained from qualitative data - Find edge-case participants
Why Conceptualise?
-Get all of the design team to ask specific questions -Prevent design team for being too narrowly focused too early -Agree common set of terms in the team
With Interaction
-Hardware allows interaction WITH computer - Scrollbar interacts WITH document
Closed Questions
-Predetermined answers - Often yes/no - Choice from list - Provide quant data
Design Values
-Security -Privacy -Health -Intimacy -Freedom
User experience honeycomb elements
-Useful -Credible -Usable -Valuable -Find-able -Desirable -Accessible
The Norman Model of Interaction
-User has intention -User plans actions -user executes actions -State of the system is perceived -State of the system is interpreted -State of system is evaluated This is a loop
Use case benefits
-Who is using the website -What the user want to do -The user's goal -The steps the user takes to accomplish a particular task -How the website should respond to an action
quantitative usability methods
-can show how many usability problems exist -produce numbers such as counts, frequencies, and ratios. -tasks, surveys, usage logs, error logs
Qualitative Methods Lecture
...
Usability test stages
0. pilot test 1. Prepare Prototype -Get required consent 2. read instructions out loud 3. take notes 4. post session interview
5 Level of interface development (ranked highest to lowest granularity)
1 - Hardware level 2- Programming level 3- The terminal (legibility, keyboard efficiency) 4- the interaction dialogue (colour, sound) 5- the work setting
Why is testing not scientific experiment
1. Experiment control isn't necessary 2. Data measurement not precise 3. procedure can be changed
How to make stuff usable?
1. Focus on user + user tasks 2. Evaluate/measure product usage 3. Iterate
When to test?
1. Formative = test when forming new design 2. Summative = test at end of project for evaluation
7 Stages of Action
1. Forming the goal 2. Forming the intention 3. Specifying an action 4. Executing the action 5. Perceiving the state of the world 6. Interpreting the state of the world 7. Evaluating the outcome/goal In Norman's 7 stages of action, a gulf means something that would thwart your action to achieve your intended goal. There are 2 gulfs that occur in this theory which is the Gulf of execution and the Gulf of evaluation.
Testing characteristics:
1. Goal is to improve usability 2. Participants are real users 3. Participants do real tasks 4. You observe/record what participants do/say 5. Analyze data, diagnose problems, recommend changes
Components of Usability
1. Learnability 2. efficiency 3. memorability 4. errors 5. Satisfaction
Strength of Prototypes
1. Low fidelity 2. High fidelity
Product Prototype Flow
1. Paper Sketches 2. Interactive Mockups 3. Coded Prototype 4. Beta Version 5. Production
Reporting Usability Test Results
1. Quantitative Data 2. Qualitative Data
Pros of WOO
1. fast/cheap means more iterative prototypes possible 2. easy to create multiple variations 3. more "real" than paper 4. id's bugs and problems with current design 5. places user at center of development 6. can envision future technology needed to build application 7. designers learn by playing wizards
Types of prototypes (3)
1. feel (and look) 2. implementation (how does it work?) 3. role (experience?)
Reasons to Prototype (3)
1. gain insights to user behavior 2. communicate ideas to other teammates and stakeholders 3. collect data for arguing the best design choice
Pros of Storyboarding
1. holistic focus 2. avoids commitment to a particular UI 3. helps get all stakeholders on the same page
WOO Steps
1. map out scenarios and application flow 2. put together interface skeletons 3. develop "hooks" for wizard input 4. put it all together 5. rehearse wizard role with a colleague
Prototyping Rules
1. not required to be complete 2. should be easy to change 3. should be disposable
Video Prototyping Steps (4)
1. outline 2. obtain equipment 3. focus on MESSAGE 4. film
Prototyping Strategies (4)
1. paper prototypes 2. video prototypes 3. digital mockups 4. wizard of oz
Cons of WOO
1. simulations may represent imperfect/impossible technology 2. wizards require training and can be inconsistent 3. playing wizards can be exhausting 4. some features are difficult/impossible to simulate 5. may be inappropriate in seom venues
What are Shneiderman's 8 Golden Rules?
1. strive for consistency 2. enable frequent users to use shortcuts 3. offer informative feedback 4. design dialog to yield closure 5. offer simple error handling 6. permit easy reversal of actions 7. support internal locus of control 8. reduce short-term memory load
Types of user feedback
1. think aloud (speak as performing tasks) 2. retrospective (discuss after task is performed) 3. heuristic evaluation (experts watching interaction unfold)
What are Neilsen's Heuristics?
1. visibility of system status 2. match between system and the real word 3. user control and freedom (undo) 4. consistency and standards (conventions) 5. error prevention (eliminate error-prone conditions, get confirmation) 6. recognition rather than recall 7. flexibility and efficiency of use 8. aesthetic and minimalist design 9. help users recognise, diagnose and recover from errors 10. help and documentation (easy to search, focused on task, concrete)
Prototyping Process (3)
1. what are your goals/what do you wish to learn? 2. how can you measure whether or not that goal has been met? 3. what is the MIN amount of work necessary to produce, measure, and learn from your prototype?
Why are things not usable?
1.Target audience changes 2. Design focused on system not users 3. Design + implementation mismatch
Nielsen Heuristic Evaluation (10) V, M, CF, ER, EP, RR, FE, AM, H
10 general principles for interaction design Groups of 3-5 independently examine for compliance NOT a replacement for usability testing Inexpensive, useful suggestions Can have biases, different severity ratings
What is the system usability scale SUS?
10 likert style questions with responses ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 ( strongly agree) and 3 is neutral
Co-discovery =
2 users work together to accomplish a task
What % of windows xp service pack errors were resolved based on info collected from the windows error reporting system?
29%
Measuring usability example:
5E's need to be measurable Some measurable goals for moodle Effective: 95% of contributions to a wiki logged correctly Efficient: locate and download something within 30 seconds Engaging: higher rate of students prefer moodle submissions over hard copy Error tolerant: upload up to 3 assignment submissions Easy to learn: 99% surveyed students agree..
Method of extremes
A common sampling method where users are selected to represent the extremes of a user population, typically the 2.5th and 97.5th percentile. Products are then designed and/or tested to ensure that they function efficiently for those users.
Ubiquitous Computing
A concept where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere in any data format across any network. The term was coined by Mark Weiser in 1991. He proposed three basic forms for ubiquitous system devices: tabs, pads and boards Tabs: accompanied or wearable centimeter sized devices, e.g., smartphones Pads: hand-held decimeter-sized devices, e.g., laptops Boards: meter sized interactive display devices, e.g., horizontal
User-centred design
A design process that pays particular attention to the needs of potential users of a product by involving them in all stages of the design process.
Design for emotion
A design strategy that focusses on increasing user engagement, loyalty and satisfaction with a product by incorporating emotion and personality into product design.
What is Interactive Design?
A fancy word for every kind of design: -software design -web design ...
The four-pleasure framework
A framework devised by Professor Lionel Tiger that encourages design for pleasure and emotion. It comprises of four areas: Socio-pleasure; Physio-pleasure; Psycho-pleasure; and Ideo-pleasure.
The attract/ converse/ transact (ACT) model
A framework for creating designs that improve the relations of users with a product and intentionally trigger emotional responses.
Focus Group
A group interview
Conceptual Models
A high level description of how a system works and is organised.
Multi-threading
Ability of the system to support user interaction pertaining to more than one task at a time
Observability
Ability of the user to evaluate the internal state of the system from its perceivable.... (ex. protector)
Recoverability
Ability of the user to take corrective action once an error has been recognized
What is a case study?
About a real user
Essential use cases
Abstract away from details, do not have the same assumptions as use cases.
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Accelerators — unseen by the novice user — may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
Gibsons definition of Affordances
Affordances of the environment are what it offers to the animal. (in nature)
What is Agile Software Development?
Agile software development is an umbrella term for a set of methods and practices based on the values and principles, expressed in the agile manifesto. Sollutions evolve through collaboration, between self organising, cross-functional teams utilizing the appropriate practices for their context
Grounded theory
Aims to create a theory from the systematic analysis of data . Based on categorisation approach called coding
What is User Experience?
All aspects of the end-user's interaction with the company, its services and its products. Is more feeling related as well as user's pleasure and satisfaction when using a product. The overall impression of how good it is to use.
User Experience Avoidances?
All bad Attributes!
User Experience Goals?
All good Attributes!
What is the ACM Code of Ethics?
All individuals would have equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or other such similar factors
Substitutivity
Allowing equivalent values of input and output (ex. Options jpeg png in saving)
Real affordance
Allows an actor (a person, an animal, a robot) to interact with an object or environment in specific ways in the real world. The real affordances of a computer are its physical components: the screen itself, the keyboard, the trackpad.
Common ground
Allows design teams to establish a set of commonly agreed terms.
Attention
Allows us to focus on information that is relevant to what we are doing. Selecting things to concentrate on at a point in time from the mass of stimuli around us.
Advantages and disadvantages of using windows
Allows you to view lots of data at the same time and multiple tasks can be performed together Hard to switch between windows without getting the user distracted Multiple windows makes it hard to focus and find the right one
Claim
An Assertion that something is true
Conceptual Model
An account of how a system works
Variable Narrative Forms
An interactive forms of storytelling composed with a branching structure where a single starting point may lead to multiple developments and outcomes. Typically seen in interactive media like: -Video games -Gamebooks(choose your own adventure) -Visual novels
Ted Nelson 10 Second Rule
An interface should be understood by a novice within 10 seconds (in an emergency)
Think aloud process
Ask: thoughts Observe: body language, attention
Use cases
Assume an interaction with a system as well as detailed understanding of the interaction.
Task evaluation in cognitive walkthrough
At each step do users know what to do, how to do it, and whether they've done it correctly after you've done it
Questionnaires are good for
Answering specific questions
Perceived affordance
Anything that appears on a computer screen is a perceived affordance. Is one that a person can sense (with one or more senses) to be conceptually like an affordance, but that may not be really there. Can be generally identified because they are not congruent across all senses. For example, buttons are sometimes drawn to create the appearance of volume, and therefore create a visual affordance that is not matched by the sense of touch.
Usability testing
Applied to experimentation phase to check if system is usable by audience
Pareto Principle
Approximately 80% of the results are created from 20% of actions. Term coined by Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist. In an interactive project, it allows us to focus our efforts on the areas that bring the most rewards.
Affordance
Are an object's properties that show the possible actions users can take with it, thereby suggesting how they may interact with that object. For instance, a button can look as if it needs to be turned or pushed. The characteristics of the button which make it look "turnable" or "pushable" together form its affordances.
How did chapter 1 define interaction design?
As being concerned with designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday working lives.
Explain: All design decisions are taken with the context of the users, their work, and the environment.
As it says - all design decisions are ultimately taken with the context of the users, their work, and the environment in mind. However this does not neccessarily mean that users are involved in the design decisions.
Methodology
As with all usability testing, it is best to assure that your participants are drawn from the target audiences for your site. ~ When creating tasks, focus on providing the participants with a problem to solve ~ Make sure you know and have documented the correct path to compete each task, both for yourself and for your observers. ~ Track each click. ~ Time how long it takes the user to make this click. ~ After each task, assess whether the participants feel they were able to find the correct information using a satisfaction or confidence scale. ~ Next assess the ease or difficulty of completing each task.
Cognitive processes
Attention. Perception. Memory. Learning. Reading, speaking and listening. Problem-solving, planning, reasoning and decision-making.
WIMP
- Windows - Icons - Menus - Pointing Device
What does WIMP stand for?
- Windows - Icons - Menus - Pointing Device
Formative Evaluation
evaluating something during a particular time in development
BINDING
the functional process of tying or securing materials together with a wire, ribbon, or string; it can also serve a decorative purpose.
Define Desirability
how desirable is system to users?
Define Usefulness
how much value system offers user?
Real Affordance
"Good" affordances", eg: when a handle is there we know to pull.
Independent variable
A variable we control
What is used to reduce the amount of content?
AJAX
Ratio data
Continuous data with a zero point
User evaluation
Meeting users' needs
Flat design icons
Simple 2d icons of an object
An example of arbitrary icon
'X' to represent closing something
What is a learning affordance?
(itself a second-order mediation) is required in order to access the other affordances of a tool. A learning affordance provides the opportunity to learn, by providing information. Examples include tool tips, or the USB icon that informs users about the possibility of inserting a USB device.
What is the appropriate scope for a prototype?
A clearly defined, small set of user requirements.
What is a user profile?
A collection of attributes for a typical user
Observation
A collection of responses from users, a trail of observation of users interacting with the product
What is an analogical form?
An icon that represents the action through an object with similar functionality
Storyboarding
ALL about tasks and task flow, not specific interface elements
Case study
About a real person
Field studies
Aim to understand what users do naturally in their environment Used to identify opportunities for new technology and how to implement them
Interviews
Ask participants question -Can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured
What does CASE stand for?
Computer Aided Software Engineering.
WearableComputing
Computer technology that is seamlessly integrated into clothing and objects that are worn.
What does the human information processing model do?
Conceptualizes human performance in metaphorical terms of information processing stages
What is an interaction type?
Conceptually the way that concepts and commands are used
Emotional thread
Concerned with our emotions related to products. An example., being angry at a computer when not working.
Disadvantages of 'same' experimental design?
Counter-balancing needed because of ordering effects
How to analyse quantitative data?
Datat types, central tendency and visualisation
Persona
Defines who the story is about
Similar icons
E.g. a picture of a file to represent the object file
External Cognition for Cognitive tracing
Entails the manipulation of external representations to form new information. An example of cognitive tracing can be seen in various content-sharing software containing user annotations marked with the date and time of the last annotation. This allows for the user to follow what happened or what's been manipulated when they work on something and go back to it later.
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
UH5 (E)
Error prevention present users with confirmation dialogue or eliminate error prone conditions
Open Coding
Finding all initial catagories
Evaluation techniques
GOMS, Heuristic Evaluation (HE), Cognitive Walkthrough (CW)
Heat maps
Heat maps represent where the visitor concentrated their gaze and how long they gazed at a given point. Generally, a color scale moving from blue to red indicates the duration of focus. Thus, a red spot over an area of your page might indicate that a participant, or group of participants, focused on this part of a page for a longer period of time.
Comment on the idea of 'too much involvement'
Heinbokel et al (1996) found that high user involvement projects tended to run less smoothly. Svorgyman et al (2010) also identified that high levels of user involvement can generate un-neccessary conflics and increased reworking
Use case
Is a written description of how users will perform tasks on your website. It outlines, from a user's point of view, a system's behavior as it responds to a request. Each use case is represented as a sequence of simple steps, beginning with a user's goal and ending when that goal is fulfilled.
Cultural constraints
Learned conventions that are shared by a cultural group. The fact that the graphic on the right-hand side of a display is a "scroll bar" and that one should move the cursor to it, hold down a mouse button, and "drag" it downward in order to see objects located below the currently visible set (thus causing the image itself to appear to move upwards) — all this is a cultural, learned convention. E.g We assume that the handle rotates clockwise and should, therefore, be pushed downwards. However, purely from observation, we can't say with certainty whether that's the case here. If it did rotate clockwise in this case then it makes that particular door handle pretty well designed.
Disadvantage of 'different' experimental design?
Many subjects and individual differences a problem
What types of tasks does the task model not allow for modelling?
Overlapping tasks, interruptions, collaborative tasks
HCI cycle
Plan user centred process Understand and specify how product will be used Specify what the user needs from the product Produce solution Evaluate design against user requirements If it's met requirements then deliver
What is project management?
Planning and organizing project and its resources
Ideo-pleasure
Pleasures linked to our ideal, aesthetically, culturally and otherwise.
Focus groups disadvantages
Possibility of dominant characters
Cognition
Processing in the human mind.
Random Sample
RaNdOm
What is RAD?
Rapid Application Development. A software development method which exploits characteristic features of information systems in order to reduce software development effort.
Mapping
Relates to the correspondence between the layout of the controls and their required action
Disadvantage of diary studies?
Relies on participants remembering to make entries
System Usability Scale (SUS)
The System Usability Scale (SUS) provides a "quick and dirty", reliable tool for measuring the usability. It consists of a 10 item questionnaire with five response options for respondents; from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree.
Mediated Reality
The ability to modify one's reality by adding to or subtracting from what the person see. Types of Mediated Reality: ● Augmented Reality ● Virtual Reality ● Modulated Reality ● Mixed Reality
Task migratability
The ability to pass control for the execution of a given task
What is Fitts' Law?
The average time taken to click something is proportional to the distance from the target, divided b the size (its
Why does more attention being paid to something allow for it to be more likely to remembered?
This means the more it's processed thinking about it and comparing it to other knowledge
Z-pattern
Traces the route the human eye travels when they read - left to right, top to bottom.
F-pattern
Traces the way our eyes move when we read content online. First across the top of the page, then down the left side, lastly across the page again to read bolded text
Methods of qualitative data analysis
Traditional method Grounded theory
Gestalt principles - Good Form:
We differentiate elements that are similar in color, form, pattern, etc. from others—even when they overlap—and cluster them together.
Recall retrieval
When you don't need a prompt to remember the data
high fidelity prototype
a prototype made close to the final product with matching/similar materials.
memory
ability to recall
What are characteristics and skills?
ability, background, and attitude to computers
What are the advantages of interviews
can collect large amounts of info, gauge people's real feelings, flexibility
What is the solution to the learning effect?
counter balancing by splitting particpants where half do a then b, and half do b then a this cancels it out
Example of a perceived affordance
e.g. scrollbars to afford moving up/down
User goals can be split into
functional and non-functional goals/requirements
PARALLEL
having parts arranged in the same direction or course with continuous equal space between them.
HCI
is multidisciplinary; a specialized field of study concerned with thr interaction between people and computers
Exploring [Interaction Type]
moving through physical/virtual space as a was of interacting with a system
What are the disadvantages of interviews?
needs skill, hard to make sense of the result and compare with other stakeholders, expensive
Distributed Cognition
people, environments and artefacts all being considered as one large cognitive system.
satisfaction measures in usability studies
preference satisfaction with interface users attitudes and perceptions
Conversing [Interaction Type]
talking and having a conversation as a was of interacting with a system (eg: facebook bots/ google assistant )
DYEING
the process of changing or intensifying the COLOR of an object or PLANT MATERIAL by applying dye from an aerosol can or spray bottle, or placing it into pigment solution. IE: dip-dying, spray-painting, stem-dying.
What are the challenges of interviews
unanswerable questions, tacit knowledge (undisclosed knowledge from the interviewee), removal form context, bias
What is a handling affordance?
way in which a person can interact with a tool itself
Which socio-technical model aims to identify stakeholders?
CUSTOM Stakeholder Analysis
Name 2 socio-technical models used for gathering requirements
CUSTOM stakeholder analysis, requirements development
What does the model human processor enable?
Calculations to be made of how long a user will take to carry out a task
An example of similar icon
Calculator icon for a calculator application
Advantages of HE
Can be carried out on prototype if full UI not available, cheap and quick, easy to learn, finds a lot of problems that are non-task related
What is a prototype?
Can be series of sketches, storyboards, slide show, mock up, a software with limited functionality
Constraints
Can be used to avoid usage errors or minimize the information to be remembered
Disadvantages of cognitive walkthrough
Can't identify cross-task interactions (does for single action at a time), can't evaluate every single task users will perform - might have different action sequences for each user and is too much to test in model. Cost of needing to be done by experts (analysts),
Main idea when trying to inform design using cognitive aspects
Can't redesign people! So have to understand mental models of users to design accordingly - many users, can user models how minds tend to generally operate.
Disadvantages of 'matched' experimental design?
Cannot be sure of perfect matching on all differences
Card Sorting
Card sorting is a low-tech technique for organizing your navigational system, usually a website
Transformations (root definitions)
Changes the system performs on things in the environment
Physical constraints
Closely related to real affordances: Thus, it is not possible to move the cursor outside the screen: this is a physical constraint.
Analysis that can be done on card sorting
Cluster analysis, similarity rating
What is web analytics?
Collection, reporting and analysis of website data
Hybrid card sorting
Combination of open and closed card sorting e.g. give some groups
Multimedia interface
Combines different media within a single interface, namely, graphics, text, video, sound and animations.
Aggregation Affordance
Combining artefacts with others to form a larger purpose: eg: mobile with headphones [Affordance type]
Give an example of recall:
Command based interfaces
What are command-based interfaces?
Commands typed in at the prompt to which the system responds
Flowcharts
Communicates the sequential order of the steps in a process. • Allows users to understand a process in a simpler way • Enhanced using arrows and different shapes
Emotional Interaction
Concerned with how we feel and react when interacting with technology. Covers different aspects of the user experience from how we feel when first finding out about a new product to finally getting rid of it.
8 golden rules of design (Scheniderman)
Consistency, universal usability, informative feedback, dialogs with closure, prevent errors, reversal of actions (undo), user in control, reduce short-term memory
What are cultural probes?
Consists of probe packs that are sent out to participants with activities for them to complete and return probe packs to the researchers
Robust (Accessibility Goals)
Content must be robust enough to be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents using assistive technology.
What You Learn From Contextual Interviews
Contextual interviews combine observations with interviewing. By going to the user, you see the user's environment and the actual technology the user works with. ~ Any issues that users are facing ~ Equipment they are working with ~ How their space is set-up ~ Preference between mouse and keyboard` ~ The type of internet connection they have ~ How long does it take to complete common or target tasks ~ Whether there are people there and willing to assist the user if they need help completing a task
What are the Gestalt principles?
Continuity, Closure, Proximity, Figure and ground, Similarity, Common region, Focal point
Interval data
Continuous values with no zero point
Types of evaluation
Controlled settings with users - usability testing Natural settings with users - get feedback of product from users in natural user environment Settings without users - predict and analyse interface analytics
Visibility
Controls should be easily accessible to the human eye
Copyright: explain the concept of Copyright
Copyright covers the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. i.e. there are numerous mp3 players on the market, and all have similar functionailty, this does not represent an infringement of copyright as the idea has been expressed in different ways and it is the expression which has been copyrighted. Copyright is free, and is automatically with the author of something. eg writer of as book or programmer of a piece of software holds the copyright unless it is signed over to someone else. some employment contracts state anything producted during the period of employment by an employee belongs to the employer.
Example of conceptual model wrt. serving customer in restaurant
Core activities of finding out what customer wants, serving them, clearing table, ensuring food is paid for. Achieving payment has sub-achievements of producing bill, collecting money, possibly producing receipt, etc.
Explain: Users behaviour and context of use are studied and the system is designed to support them.
Before development begins, a comprehensive study of the users, what they they do, and what they are trying to achieve should be completed. As the project moves on the re-evaluation, re-design should be based on ultimately what those tasks and goals are
Types of participatory design (how can you get the user involved)
Brainstorming, conceptual development, prototyping, storyboarding, workshops
What is hierarchical task analysis?
Breaks the task in to groups which can the be broken into subtasks. Are grouped as plans which specify how the tasks may be performed
Stages of heuristic evaluation
Briefing to inform experts what to do Evaluation period - experts work separately, take a pass to get a feel for the product and then take a second pass to look more in depth into the product Debrief with other experts to prioritise the problems
Button Interaction States
Buttons are an everyday element of interaction design meant to direct users into taking action ❖ Static State - Looks like a button ❖ Hover State - Offers visual feedback ❖ Active State - May animating or change its elements ❖ Visited State - Looks like a pressed button
Visibility
By looking, the user can tell the state of the device and the alternatives for action.
Interaction Design
Creating User experiences that enhance and augment the way people work, communicate and interact.
What things can go wrong in the requirements phase?
Customers can explain their needs ambiguously, designers can understand the customers' wishes wrongly, programmers can implement something not asked for
Why do people forget info?
Decay - info is gradually lost over time, interference of new info replacing old (need to handle this when replacing old system with new as users might be on autopilot)
Data gathering - Setting goals
Decide how to analyze data once collected.
Data gathering - Identifying participants
Decide who to gather data from
Process of CW
Define inputs (who are users, what are tasks, what are action sequences for tasks), get analysts, perform task evaluation, record important info, redesign UI (any suggestions?)
Root definitions of the system
Define what stakeholders perceive to be the activities taking place in the organisations - may be several different definitions from different stakeholders' perspectives
In HCI, how are affordances defined?
Defined in terms of perception therefore how objects suggest possible uses
Wireframe (lo-fi prototype)
Defines scope of system, provides schematic info architecture, shows relationships between content/navigation between screens
What is Accessibility?
Degree to which a product is usable and accessible by as many people as possible -Focus on Disabilities
Cartesian Coordinates System
Depicts three axes that cross each other to help stimulate 3-D imagery. Virtual/digital applications are possible because of software that creates geometric models
What does it mean for participatory design to be work focused?
Design focuses on improving workers' environments and tasks they perform than just on the system requirements.
Design implications for learning
Design interfaces that encourage exploration and constrain and guide learners.
What do we mean by Consistency?
Design interfaces to have similar operations and use similar elements for similar tasks - easier to learn and use - e.g., always keep "Cancel" on the same sid
Visibility
Design makes the conceptual model apparent to users; design tells the user what actions he can perform
What is synthetic design?
Design produces things: products, concepts, services, ideas
Reflective design
Design that evokes personal memory focussing on the message, culture and the meaning of a product or its use.
Visceral design
Design that speaks to people's nature in terms of how they expect products and systems to function and how they expect to interact with them.
What is interaction design?
Designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives. Creating user experiences that enhance and augment the way people work, communicate, and interact.
How do you choose amongst alternative designs?
Designs must be in a form that can reasonably be evaluated by users, not jargon. One form traditionally used for communicating a design is documentation e.g. descriptions showing how something works or a diagram. Prototyping involves producing a limited version of the product with the purpose of answering specific questions about the designs feasability or appropriateness. Another basis to choose between designs is quality. This is why the process of writing down formal, verifibale, and hence measurable isability criteria is a key characteristic of an appraoch to interaction design called usability engineering.
Identify participants
Determine audience and sampling method
Planning a Usability Test
Develop a plan for the test. The purpose of the plan is to document what you are going to do, how you are going to conduct the test, what metrics you are going to capture, number of participants you are going to test, and what scenarios you will use.
Goals for interaction design
Develop products that are easy to use and learn. It's important to involve users in the process
GEON THEORY
Developed by Dr. Irving Biederman View and recognize shapes (Geons) Shapes are put together Identify the object by their shapes
Iterative design
Developed through user centred evaluation and based upon the six principles of iterative design.
Who can perform CW?
Developers/designers/experts, but must be aware of cognitive aspects to be able to take on mind of user
Motor skills
Dexterity/visual Hand movements
7 stages of Action - 7. Evaluating the goal
Did I achieve my goal? E.g. If the water flowed in my stomach, and my thirst had gone, I have succeeded
Alternative designs differ in _____ design but remain the same in ______
Differ in physical design but stay the same in conceptual design (i.e. system will stay the same in what it does/how it behaves but what it will look like/what the user does to interact with the system might change)
What is bad design?
Difficult User feels stupid Can not delete a process Crucial introduction step left out No logical order Controls are far away from Device Complex Inconsistent Not too simplified
IxD involves working in multidisciplinary teams what are the Disadvantages?
Difficult to communicate and progress forward the designs being created
Direct Observation
Directly observe what's happening
Conversing
Interacting with a system as if having a conversation. An example, search engines.
Manipulating
Interacting with objects in a virtual or physical space by manipulating them. An example, with physical controllers (Wii) or air gestures (Kinect).
Through Interaction
Interacting with other People through technology - Facebook pokes
Conversing
Interacting with system like you're having a conversation with it Easy to learn for technophobes because they're using a medium that's comfortable to them Problem with interpreting speech accurately
What does the Norman Model of Interactions say?
Interaction is a cycle based upon two components: Execution and Evaluation
What is an interface type?
Interface types are the concrete means of facilitating interaction
CONNOTATION
Interpretation of the meaning: An idea or feeling that a word or imagery can invoke
Interpreting Scores
Interpreting scoring can be complex. The participant's scores for each question are converted to a new number, added together and then multiplied by 2.5 to convert the original scores of 0-40 to 0-100. Though the scores are 0-100, these are not percentages and should be considered only in terms of their percentile ranking.
Research Methods
Interviews, Surveys, Observation
Data gathering for requirements
Interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, researching similar products, observation, studying documentation
Structure of interviews
Introduce yourself and the tasks you're about to go through today Warm up with some easy questions The main body where you ask the bulk of the questions in a good order Cool off period with easy questions Thank them for coming and end interview
Memory
Involved encoding and then retrieving knowledge Standard memory is 7+-2 this can be increased with memory aids.
Ownership
Involved users that feel that they have contributed to a product's development are more likely to feel a sense of ownership towards it and support its use
Feedback
Involves sending back information about what action has been done and what has been accomplished. Immediacy is important as delay can annoy the user. An example, highlighting a button when pressed.
External Cognition for Annotations
Involves the explanation or modification of external representations. For example, annotating documents can relieve the user of having to scan the whole document in the event of returning to the document in future. Allowing users to make annotations has the added benefit of permitting large amounts of information to be synthesized into small, personalized notes. Annotations shift the burden away from users by allowing them to externalize their thoughts, instead of them having to recall previous thoughts and figure things out all over again every time they revisit the same section of information.
What is a use case?
Is a focus on user-system interaction
Contextual Inquiry
Is a semi-structured interview method to obtain information about the context of use, where users are first asked a set of standard questions and then observed and questioned while they work in their own environments. The four principles of it are: - Focus - Plan for the inquiry, based on a clear understanding of your purpose - Context - Go to the customer's workplace and watch them do their own work - Partnership - Talk to customers about their work and engage them in uncovering unarticulated aspects of work - Interpretation - Develop a shared understanding with the customer about the aspects of work that matter The results of it can be used to define requirements, improve a process, learn what is important to users and customers, and just learn more about a new domain to inform future projects.
Gulf of execution
Is the difference between the intentions of the users and what the system allows them to do or how well the system supports those actions
Gulf of Evaluation
Is the difficulty of assessing the state of the system and how well the artifact supports the discovery and interpretation of that state
User scenario
Is the fictitious story of a user's accomplishing an action or goal via a product. It focuses on a user's motivations, and documents the process by which the user might use a design. User scenarios help designers understand what motivates users when they interact with a design - a useful consideration for ideation and usability testing.
Explain (4) Evaluating
Is the process of of determining the usability and acceptability of the product or design that is measured in a variety of usability and user experience data.
What does it mean by work-group attributes? (in context of requirements development)
Is there some kind of attribute about this group of stakeholder e.g. something about people who become waiters that will affect how well they will accept new restaurant order taking system?
Command-based interface
Issuing commands through pressing certain combinations (cmd + s). An example, terminal.
Mental Model
It helps interactive designers do three things regarding a user: ● understand Past experience with a product ● Skill level while using a product ● Digital Device or Interface of product
Serious
Many users will be frustrated if we do not fix this; they may give up.
UH2 (M)
Match between systems and real world language/phrases similar to user follow real-world conventions info in natural/logical order
Dialog initiative
Maximizes the ability of the user to pre-empt the user (ex. Dialog boxes, message boxes)
Disadvantage of researching similar products
May inhibit creativity
Display Devices
Measured from one corner of device to opposite kitty-corner 2. Screens are defined by width x height 3. Screens are viewed in units of pixels/points Target Device size- Lower screen resolution = larger icons and less screen space. Higher screen resolution = more details (small icons), interface elements and more screen space Screen Components: Designing only works when considerations is given for interface elements on a screen, such as menu bars and web browser components Liquid Layout: Liquid Layout (sometimes called "fluid" or "fluid width") uses relative units (e.g. percentages) instead of fixed units (e.g. /pixels), but any relative unit of measurement usually can. Often fills the width of the page, no matter width of the browser being used - e.g. Ergonomic Factors: Ergonomics: (or human factors): is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions of among humans and other elements of a system.
Components of conceptual models
Metaphors and analogies, concepts that people are exposed to through the product, relationship and mappings between these concepts.
Components of conceptual model
Metaphors and analogies: under stand how a product is used and how it's used Concepts users are exposed to: the product task domain, specifying the specific operations the user will be able to perform like saving file, loading a file etc Relationship and mappings between different concepts
Components of conceptual model
Metaphors and analogies: understand how a product is used Concepts users are exposed to: the product task domain, specifying the specific operations the user will be able to perform like saving file, loading a file etc Relationship and mappings between different concepts
Context (LTM)
Mindset people bring to a situation e.g. only used to seeing neighbour in garden, not on tube. Affects how easy it is to perceive things.
Wizard-of-Oz working prototype
Mock up the interactivity and designer/developer controls interaction behind the screen but user can still interact with the system as they would if the system actually worked (i.e. designer/developer acts as Oz behind the scenes)
Prototype
Mockup of a product that is easy to alter based on feed back from users, team and clients. Should aim to address one aspect of product functionality
Conceptual model wrt. SSM and root definitions (not metaphor one!)
Model constructed with details of what the system has to do to meet the root definitions
Customizability
Modifiability of the user interface by tge user or the system
Hick's law
More choices given to the user, larger decision time. constants a and b can increase if choices are presented in a confusing manner despite no. choices being the same as another situation where choices are presented straightforwardly. DT = a + blog(n+1)
Gestalt principles - Figure/Ground (Multi-stability):
Disliking uncertainty, we look for solid, stable items. Unless an image is truly ambiguous, its foreground catches the eye first.
Gulf of execution
Distance from user to physical system
Strategy of chunking based on limited capacity of short term memory
Divide info into 7+-2 chunks for grouping items
7 stages of Action - 4. Executing the action
Do steps I have specified. E.g. Attempting the action that I had intended.
Form model (lo-fi prototype)
Does not work but shows form, can be rough or refined but important thing is that it is how the object/system will be in the real world and allows handling the thing directly e.g. mockup of pocket computer
What are the disadvantages of the task model?
Doesn't scale well for large tasks with lots of sub-tasks, doesn't allow for modelling overlapping tasks or interruptions, doesn't allow for communication/collaboration on tasks, tends to just focus on how things are done already
Requirements specification
Eliciting information about the work domain from the customer
What does the requirements specification involve?
Eliciting information about the work domain from the customer
Traits of usability testing
Few users used Conditions are as controlled as possible: controlled lab space, select representative users, develop representative tasks, test conditions the same for all users Usually not replicable Results inform future design choices of product Focus on time taken for user to complete tasks and the number of errors
What are personas?
Fictitious characters that embody generalised attributes of real people interviewed as part of previous user research
7 stages of Action - 6. Interpreting the state of the world
Figure out if anything had changed. E.g. Is my thirst gone?
6 principles of Gestalt psychology
Figure-ground, proximity, similarity, symmetry, continuity (alignment), closure
Advantages of cognitive walkthrough
Finds more specific problems that HE misses (is task-orientated vs HE is general, concerns usability heuristics), very easy to carry out - can be performed by a typical developer/any user, finds pain-points in specific tasks, don't need users
DIGITAL SKEUOMORPHS
Items that resemble their real life counterparts also represents "perceived affordances"
prototype example
Jeff Hawkins' block of wood (palm pilot)
Affordance re-definers
Kaptelinin & Nardi
Who defined the 6 types of Affordance?
Kaptelinin & Nardi
Impact of 7+-2 chunks of info memory load on design?
Keep displays simple, action sequences short, make commonly used operations visible on first screen so that user can do these straightaway
Basic guidelines to follow when gathering data
Keep focus on identifying stakeholder needs, involve all stakeholder groups, with more than one rep from each group, try and triangulate - combine techniques of gathering data to allow collection of more than one type of data, balance functional and non-functional requirements, support with prototypes and task descriptions, consider how to record data
Considerations when using a SUS
Keep the following in mind: ~ The scoring system is somewhat complex ~ There is a temptation, when you look at the scores, since they are on a scale of 0-100, to interpret them as percentages, they are not ~ The best way to interpret your results involves "normalizing" the scores to produce a percentile ranking ~ SUS is not diagnostic - its use is in classifying the ease of use of the site, application or environment being tested
Types of operators in KLM model of GOMS
Keying, pointing, homing (move from keyboard to mouse, etc.), mentally preparing, responding (time to wait for response to input)
What is contextual inquiry?
Know your context before you jump in and design something
At what stage are field studies usually done?
Later in the design process and is a critical step in evaluating any consumer-ready device, good for long term trends
What are the 7 laws of UI design?
Law of clarity, law of context, law of default, law of preferred action, law of guided action, law of easing, law of feedback
Consistency
Likeness in input and output (ex. Cebu pac, air asia, pal)
Constraints
Limitations on how the product can be used.
Mappings
Link between what you want to do and what is perceived possible
First Click Testing
First Click Testing examines what a test participant would click on first on the interface in order to complete their intended task. It can be performed on a functioning website, a prototype or a wireframe.
Early focus on users and tasks
First understanding who the users will be by directly studying the characteristics. Observing them in normal tasks
What is the Z pattern?
Follows natural eye movement, top of the page from left to right, down to the left side and back to the right
What is the overarching goal of SSM?
For designers to better understand context in which new system(s) are to be placed - remember, SSM concerns organisation as a whole
What are the 7 stages of action?
Forming the goal, forming the intention, specifying the action, executing the action, perceiving the state of the world, interpreting the state of the world, evaluating the state of the world
Frame Mobility
Frame Mobility is the concept of dividing a larger scene or object into separate divisions while continuously keeping part of the subject within the viewing frame.
What are the two types of requirements?
Functional requirements & non-functional requirements
Gamification
Gamification is the concept of applying gaming principles and theory to non-gaming applications. Tasks go from being chores, to a sense of play.
Alternatives:
Generating alternatives is a key principle in most design principles, and one that should be encouraged in interaction design.
Explain genius design
Genius design is different from the other 3 approaches. Because it relies solely on the experience and creative flair, of a designer. 'Rapid expert design' - in this approach, the users role is to validate ideas generated by the designer and users are not involved during the design process itself. Apple does very little user research / testing.
What are diary studies?
Gets participants to record information in a diary
Closed card sorting
Give cards with content and an initial established set of primary groups. Participants asked to place cards into these set groups.
Open card sorting
Give cards with content but no pre-established groupings. Participants asked to sort cards into groups how they feel and then describe each group.
Rapid Ethonography
Give participants the product, see how they use it, get their feedback
Advantages of GOMS
Gives quantitatve measure for efficiency and model explains results, can compare different UI designs, less work than user study (requires no users), easy to modify when UI is changed
Methods in GOMS
Go down further level from operators, what sequential steps are needed to do these operators
What type of tasks is GOMS good at modelling?
Goal-directed tasks
Vision
Goals that drive research and development
Advantages of studying documentation to gather data
Good source of steps involved in an activity, helps to understand legislation and get background info, doesn't use up stakeholder time (which limits most other data gathering techniques)
Grounded Theory
Grounded theory is starting from the ground up and using your own research to derive theories of interaction.
HOT AND COOL MEDIA
HOT MEDIA: High level definition or resolution Requires less effort Cool: Lower definition, Requires more involvement
In wizard-of-oz prototyping, what does the 'wizard' do?
Hidden human who operates the interface
How are achievements (which are defined using transformations) modelled in conceptual model?
Hierarchically list core relevant activities that are used to make achievements desired
Two common types of compromises in prototyping
Horizontal: Provide a wide range of functions, but with little detail Vertical: Provide a lot of detail for only a few functions.
user experience
How a product behaves in real life and how people respond to it. You can't create a user experience, you can only design for one
User experience
How a product behaves in real life and how people respond to it. You can't create a user experience, you can only design for one How the product makes the user feel. Helps designer know the nature of the product based on the emotions they want the user to emote Desirable traits- satisfying, easy to use, fun, entertaining Undesirable- boring, hard to use, frustrating, annoying
What is a non-functional requirement?
How a system does what it is supposed to do
effective
How completely and accurately the work/experience is completed.
What is the design of everyday thing?
How design servers as the communication between object and user, and how to optimise that conduit of communication in order to make the experience of using the object pleasurable
What is accessibility?
How disabled individual accesses site, system or application
Syntax, semantics, pragmatics, specialized language
How does human get info? (SSPS)
Nature of activity (considered in requirements development)
How frequent is the stakeholder's task, how fragmented is it, what are the choice of actions e.g. busy waiter will have to perform many fragmented tasks with high frequency to keep diners happy
Perception
How information is acquired from the world and transformed
Perception
How information is acquired from the world and transformed into experiences
Perception
How information is acquired from the world and transformed into experiences.
Memory
How information is encoded into our brains and retrieved from our knowledge Design implications Don't overload users memory with complicated instructions Encourage recognition over recall Use ways to help encode information
Perception
How information is gathered and turned into experiences Design implications Make text legible Icons are easily distinguishable Spacing used effectively to show different sections
Perception
How information is gathered and turned into experiences Design implications Make text legible Icons are easily distinguishable Spacing used effectively to show different sections The principle of perceivability acknowledges that our experience of any interactive product passes through our senses first. The more prominently an element of an interface engages the user's senses, the easier it is for the user to perceive that element, which is a prerequisite to understanding what that element does and how to interact with it. For example, the louder the voice of a satnav, the stronger the vibration of a mobile phone or the bigger an icon on a screen, the easier it is for the user to perceive those stimuli.
What is information architecture?
How information is organized, structured, presented
What is the propagation of representational states?
How information is transformed across media, is mediated by technology and is mediated mentally
Recruiting Usability Test Participants
How many participants are enough? ~ Usability Tests: test 5 users lets you find almost as many usability problems as you'd find using many more test participants. ~ Quantitative studies (aiming at statistics, not insights): test at least 20 users to get statistically significant numbers; tight confidence intervals require more users. ~ Card sorting: test at least 15 users. ~ Eye tracking: test 39 users if you want stable heat maps
What factors should you consider when choosing between the various data gathering techniques to use?
How much time do you have? What level of detail do you need and what is the risk associated with the findings from this method (e.g. bias, etc.), how much knowledge does the analyst need and does your analyst have this? what kind of task is being studied?
Affordance
How objects suggest possible uses - defined in terms of perception in HCI
World view (root definitions)
How the client perceives the system
User experience
How the product makes the user feel. Helps designer know the nature of the product based on the emotions they want the user to emote Desirable traits- satisfying, easy to use, fun, entertaining Undesirable- boring, hard to use, frustrating, annoying
Non-functional requirements
How the system should perform
Responsiveness
How the user perceives the rate of communication with the system
What is Emotional Interaction to do with?
How we feel and react when interacting with technology. It covers different aspects of the user experience from how we feel when first finding out about a new product to finally getting rid of it
Define Usability
How well system satisfies intended use
What is usability evaluation?
How well users learn and use project to achieve goals
Setting goals
How will you analyse the collected data to retrieve information relevant to you
Learning
How you learn through a computer based application Design implications Interface should have help options Should encourage exploration
What is the Norman Model of Interaction?
Human <-> Interface <->Computer
Explain: Users characteristics are captured and designed for
Humans have limitations. Design should take those limits into account, and should thereby limit the mistakes we make. Characteristics can be general, i.e. height, male or female, etc or they can be specific to the intended user group.
Findings and Recommendations
List your findings and recommendations using all your data (quantitative and qualitative, notes and spreadsheets). Each finding should have a basis in data—in what you actually saw and heard. You may want to have just one overall list of findings and recommendations or you may want to have findings and recommendations scenario by scenario, or you may want to have both a list of major findings and recommendations that cut across scenarios as well as a scenario-by-scenario report. Keep in mind: ~ Although most usability test reports focus on problems, it is also useful to report positive findings. What is working well must be maintained through further development. ~ An entirely negative report can be disheartening; it helps the team to know when there is a lot about the Web site that is going well. ~ Each finding should include as specific a statement of the situation as possible. ~ Each finding (or group of related findings) should include recommendations on what to do.
Data gathering - Triangulation
Look at data from more than on perspective. Collect more than one type of data, e.g. qualitative from experiments and qualitative from interviews
Triangulation
Look at data from multiple different angels and collect lots of different data sets so you can get a thorough understanding of your audience
Lo-fi prototype
Low fidelity -is fast. Rough designs, user considers how they would use it, can identify problems with design through trouble users have as they move through it. Then address problems in next iteration.
How does the CUSTOM Stakeholder Analysis model work?
Identify primary, secondary, tertiary, facilitating stakeholders
How to analyse problem space
Identify problem with user experience and product Propose a better solution Evaluate new designs effectiveness
What do focus groups work well for?
Identifying conflicts in terminology or expectations from different groups e.g. new technology being introduced like VR
How to analyse qualitative data?
Identifying recurring patterns and themes, categorising data, looking for critical incidents
Conducting Contextual Interviews
In a contextual interview, you watch and listen as the user works. You don't usually give the user tasks or scenarios. To understand what a user is doing or thinking you can ask questions as the user navigates the site. The results are usually qualitative, observed data, rather than quantitative, measured data.
ACM Code of Ethics
In a fair society, all individuals would have equal opportunity to participate in,or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or other such similar factors.
Explain: Users tasks and goals are the driving force behind development:
In a user centered approach to design while technology will inform design options and choices, it should not be the driving force. Instead of saying 'where can we deploy this new technology say 'what technologies are available to provide better support to users goals'
How is distributed cognition described?
In terms of propagation across representational state
Background Summary
Include a brief summary including what you tested (website or web application), where and when the test was held, equipment information, what you did during the test (include all testing materials as an appendix), the testing team, and a brief description of the problems encountered as well as what worked well.
Test Results
Include an analysis of what the facilitator and data loggers recorded. Describe the tasks that had the highest and lowest completion rates. Provide a summary of the successful task completion rates by participant, task, and average success rate by task and show the data in a table. Follow the same model for all metrics. Depending on the metrics you collected you may want to show the: ~ Number and percent of participants who completed each scenario, and all scenarios (a bar chart often works well for this) ~ Average time taken to complete each scenario for those who completed the scenario ~ Satisfaction results ~ Participant comments can be included if they are illustrative.
Methodology
Include the test methodology so that others can recreate the test. Explain how you conducted the test by describing the test sessions, the type of interface tested, metrics collected, and an overview of task scenarios. Describe the participants and provide summary tables of the background/demographic questionnaire responses (e.g., age, professions, internet usage, site visited, etc.). Provide brief summaries of the demographic data, but do not include the full names of the participants
What is the WCAG understandable principle?
Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable
What is distributed cognition?
Information transformed through different media
Paradigm
Inspiration for conceptual model
Interaction types
Instructing Conversing Manipulating Exploring
What are the 4 interaction types?
Instructing, Conversing, Manipulating, Exploring
Interaction types
Instructing, conversing, manipulating and exploring.
HICK'S LAW
Named after William Hick Present and overwhelming amount of information. It takes the user longer to decide when presented with too much information.
Disadvantages of GOMS
Not great at modelling creative tasks that aren't goal-directed, takes time and effort - not as easy as HE, assumes expert performance i.e. no error/interruption/reliability issues, assumes no error & user is expert (but users often make mistakes in real life e.g. vim has high learning curve for learning keyboard shortcuts), doesn't address how easy it is to memorise icons/how usable interfaces are, etc. Timing assumptions might not be fully accurate.
Analysing quantitive data
Numerical data Simple analysis: numerical methods to ascertain size and magnitude
Methods for data gathering
Observation, interview, focus groups, card sorting, questionnaires, studying documentation, scenarios/use cases, researching similar products, web analytics
Indirect observation is good for
Observing users without disturbing their activity; data captured automatically
Closure
Occurs when an object is incomplete or a space is not completely enclosed.
Proximity
Occurs when elements are placed close together. They tend to be perceived as a group.
Figure and ground
Occurs when the eye differentiates an object from its surrounding area. A form, silhouette, or shape is naturally perceived as figure while the surrounding area is perceived as ground.
Continuity
Occurs when the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object.
Storyboards
Often used with scenarios, bringing more detail, and a chance to role play. Series of sketches showing how a user might progress through a task using the device.
External Cognition to Reduce Memory Load
Over decades, there have been numerous strategies developed to reduce memory load by externalizing information. Examples of things that are better to be externalized include information that is difficult to remember such as phone numbers and addresses of your personal contacts, birthdays, or appointments. The various bits of information are easier to handle when they are offloaded from your memory and externalized either in the form of paper notes or software.
What other reasons / justifications are there for user involvement in interaction design?
Ownership: Users who are involved and feel that they have contributed to a products development are more likely to feel a sense of ownership towards it and support its use.
Visceral Emotion + how to design for Visceral Emotion
Part of brain which is pre-wired to respond to events: ie: fear, joy, sadness. Make products look/sound and feel good
Screening Participants
Participant screeners are composed of questions that will help those recruiting for your test to rule individuals in or out of contention. They may be as simple as gender and age or as complex as your target audience dictates. For examples, please see our screener templates.
Matched participants
Participants are paired based on traits such as intelligence etc Reduce effect of individual traits Can not take into account all individual differences
Patenting: explain the concept of Patenting
Patenting is an alternative to copyright. it does protect the idea rather than the expression. It is unusual for software to be patented because the process of obtaining the patent is slow and expensive. However there are some exceptions: i.e. amazon one click purchase.
What / Who are the stakeholders in a project?
People or organisations who will be affected by the system and who have a direct or indirect influence on the system requirements
Clients (root definitions)
People who benefit or accept output from the system
Primary stakeholder
People who will use the system (frequent, hands-on)
Tertiary stakeholder
People who're affected by system being introduced or will influence its purchase, but aren't primary nor secondary e.g. owners/management
Web accessibility
People with disabilities can use the web
What does web accessibility mean?
People with disabilities can use the web (perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to the web)
In model human processor (MHP), what are the 3 processor?
Perceptual processor, cognitive, motor
Instrumental Affordance
Person acts Through tool to bring about change in the world. Decomposes into handling + effector
Environmental requirements
Physical (cold, crowded, dirty?), social (collaborative app?), organisational (person vs enterprise), technical (any compatibilities needed)?
Manipulating
Physical actions like using cursor to click a button to perform action Users can quickly see the results from their action Can be useful to learn basic functionality More complex concepts can't be explained through objects and clicking objects Takes up lots of space Slower than using key board short cuts
What are the 4 types of constraints?
Physical, semantic, cultural and logical
Socio-pleasure
Pleasures that come from a feeling of belonging to a social group, social-enablers, and other ways that one can identify oneself with social groups.
Usability goals
Practical goals on how the application should behave Effectiveness - How well does it do what it should Efficiency - minimises user effort Safety - can recover from errors safely without data loss Utility - does what you need it to Learnability - Easy to learn Memorability- easy to remember how to use
Usability goals
Practical goals on how the application should behave Efficient - minimises user effort Safe - can recover from errors safely without data loss Utility - does what you need it to Easy to learn Memorable- easy to remember how to use
What is needed in HE before it can take place (= cost)
Pre-evaluation training: have to train evaluators on domain/scenario (i.e. context of system/scenario/app)
Pilot Testing
Prior to conducting a usability test, make sure you have all of your materials, consents and documentation prepared and checked. It is important to pilot test equipment and materials with a volunteer participant. Run the pilot test 1-2 days prior to the first test session so that you have time to deal with any technical issues, or change the scenarios or other materials if necessary. The pilot test allows you to: ~ Test the equipment ~ Provides practice for the facilitator and note-takers ~ Get a good sense whether your questions and scenarios are clear to the participant ~ Make any last minute adjustments
Problem-solving ability
Process of finding solution to an unfamiliar situation Handling errors
Machine Learning
Programs take data, analyze it and create interpretations and decisions based on that Algorithms are key
What is natural mapping?
Proper and natural arrangement between controls and their movements to the outcome from such action into the world
HUB AND SPOKE PARADIGM
The analogy of a wheel where each path is connected off a central area. The central or main hub is where items or info are distributed from To go a different path, the user needs to return to the main hub
Material Metaphors
The card layout and other surface appearances.
What are communication pathways?
The channels which information is passed between people (i.e. phone, email, gesture etc)
What can bridging the gulf reduce?
The cognitive effort required to perform tasks
Sympathetic
The decisions required for the product to be the most helpful for the user given certain conditions.
Task conformance
The degree to which the system services supoort all of the tasks the user wishes to perform in the way the user understands them
Dominant design
The design contains those implicit features of a product that are recognized as essential by a majority of manufacturers and purchasers.
Inclusive design
The design of mainstream products and/or services so that they are accessible and usable by as many people as possible without the need for adaptation or specialised design.
Persuasive design
The design that focuses on influencing human behaviour (based on Fogg's model)
A Good Conceptual Model
The designer provides a good conceptual model for the user, with consistency in the presentation of operations and results and a coherent, consistent system image.
Generalizability
Support for the user to extend knowledge of specific interactions within and across applications to other similar situations
Predictability
Support to the user to determine the effect of future action based on past action history (learnability)
What do you do in interaction design
Take into account users needs and the activities they want to perform to produce a product that alligns users needs with activities. Optimise interactions between user and product
According to model of memory, why do you want to prioritise recognition over recall?
Takes time to move information from long-term memory into working memory
Describe the perceptual processor in MHP
Takes visual, auditory, haptic channels as inputs from senses, and then produces outputs in visual image store and audio image store
Assumption
Taking something for granted
Maintenance Affordance
Technology often requires maintenance, and so must provide affordances for doing so [Affordance type]
What is a maintenance affordance?
Technology often requires maintenance, and so must provide affordances for doing so. Examples could include a mobile phone with the facility to change the battery or sim card.
Participatory Design Premise
The end-users of a new product or service ought to be included in the design of things that will affect them
Hawthorne effect
The environment in which the evaluation is conducted influences or distorts the results
Usability
The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals effectively and efficiently, while functioning in a predictable and consistent manner.
Usefulness
The extent to which a product enables the user to achieve their goals.
Learnability
The extent to which a user can operate a product or system at a defined level of competence after a pre-determined period of training.
Planning Phase
The first phase of the HCI process
What does 'Above the Fold' refer to?
The first thing the user will see
Affordance
Property of an object that indicates how it can be used. Buttons afford pushing, knobs afford turning.
Stratified Sample
Proportionally splitting groups into their groups of different strata, based on the general population. ie: if you expect your users to be 70% male, you will take a sample that is also 70% male
What are throw-away prototypes?
Prototypes designed to resolve uncertainty about the project. The process involves: - Formulating the questions to be asked. - Checking the questions have been answered. - Iteratively ensuring we are asking the right questions. - Evaluating the lessons we have learnt.
WIREFRAMES
Prototypes of web sites, apps or digital device interfaces.
Affordances
Provide strong clues for possible usage so that no instructions or labels are needed
Predictive models
Provides a way to evaluate products without the need of users Less expensive than user testing Usefulness limited to tasks that are predictable with predictable input such as button presses Based on export error free behaviour
Feedback
Provides information about the effects of a user's action
What is the F pattern?
Read the headline first, move down the left side, next look at titles
Scanning vs Reading
Reading: the experience is void of interactive functions and major distractions. Scanning: User scans the web site or digital interface until something closely meets what he is looking for and chooses that.
Since there may be several different root definitions representing different perspectives of stakeholders, what needs to be done later to root definitions?
Reconcile different definitions
Costs of Recruitment
Recruiters generally charge a fee for each participant "successfully" recruited. A successful recruit is one that meets the criteria, appears for testing and is able to complete the test. A good recruiter will screen, schedule and remind the participants about their test appointment to assure all of their recruits are successful.
What are Affordances?
Refers to an attribute of an object that allows people to know how to use it
Affordance
Refers to an attribute of an object that allows people to know how to use it. The possibility of an action on an object or environment. 'To give a clue'
Consistency
Refers to designing interfaces to have similar operations and use similar elements for achieving similar tasks, such as using the same operation to select all objects.
Constraints
Refers to determining ways of restricting the kinds of user interaction that can take place at a given moment. An example, greying out buttons that are not pressable. Another example, usb sticks can only be inserted in one way
Memorability
Refers to how easy a product is to remember how to use, once learned. An example, using meaningful icons, relevant menu options or placement of functions, such as the 'search' option on websites
Safety
Refers to protecting the user from dangerous conditions and undesirable situations. Preventing users from making serious errors such as not having the 'quit' and 'save' button next to each other or having a dialog box to ensure the user wants to, for example, quit an application
Mean
Refers to the central value of a discrete set of numbers. The sum of the values divided by the number of values.
Accessibility
Refers to the degree to which an interactive product is accessible by as many people as possible, where focus is on people with disabilities, both physical and mental
Virtual Reality interface
Refers to the experience of interacting with an artificial environment, which makes it feel virtually real. Can provide opportunities for new kinds of immersive experience.
Utility
Refers to the extent to which the product provides the right kind of functionality so that users can do what the need or want to do. Example, software that provides packages with powerful computational tools to help with tasks.
Spatio-temporal thread
Refers to the space in time in which our experiences take place and their effect upon those experiences. An example, time speeding up or slowing down while doing something.
External Cognition for computational offloading
Refers to the use of some physical tool in combination with an external representation to allow the user to interact with the tool and work out a computational problem. A simple example can be seen whenever we use a pen and paper to perform calculations. The user is utilizing physical tools like pen and paper to externalize a mathematical problem that originally existed in their heads.
Efficiency
Refers to the way a product supports users in carrying out their tasks. An example, saving contact information in websites so the user does not have to fill them again and again
Time info is available in long-term memory is proportional to what?
Rehearsal time i.e. more time you spend rehearsing info, more time it will be available in LTM
Things to consider when evaluating data
Reliability - is data replicable Validity - does data do what we need it to Ecological validity - does environment where tests are done effect the results Bias - are there biases that'll distort the values Scope - how generalisable are the results
What is a use case?
Representation of what the user needs, the interactions need and how the system should handle it
Which socio-technical model aims to understand stakeholders?
Requirements development
Concurrent Probing (CP)
Requires that as participants work on tasks—when they say something interesting or do something unique, the researcher asks follow-up questions.
Retrospective Probing (RP)
Requires waiting until the session is complete and then asking questions about the participant's thoughts and actions. Researchers often use RP in conjunction with other methods—as the participant makes comments or actions, the researcher takes notes and follows up with additional questions at the end of the session.
What do we mean by Constraints?
Restrictions can prevent user from selecting incorrect option. -eg. constrain input to accept exactly five digits
Direct observation in a controlled environment disadvantages
Results may have limited use in the normal environment because the conditions were artificial
Task based Testing
Revolves around a set of tasks
How does SSM (soft systems methodology) understand the organisational context? (3 points)
Rich picture, root definitions, conceptual model
Prototyping is used to reduce what factor that is caused by uncertainty in software projects?
Risk.
Attention
Selecting things to concentrate on from the mass of stimuli surrounding us
What are the steps of the human information processing model?
Sensory input, encoding, comparison, response selection, response execution, change in the world
Where is info stored in memory?
Sensory memory, working memory, long term memory
Framework
Set of related concepts that state what you're looking for
Key issues with data gathering
Setting goals Identify participants Relationship with participant Triangulation Pilot studies
Key issues with data gathering
Setting goals - how will you analyse the collected data to retrieve information relevant to you Identify participants: determine audience and sampling method Relationship with participant - Keep professional + get consent Triangulation - look at data from multiple different angels and collect lots of different data sets so you can get a thorough understanding of your audience Pilot studies - you can run small studies before the official one
Selection rules in GOMS
Several methods available for goal
What methodology of gathering requirements is based on the principle that tech is developed as part of a wider organisational environment rather than in isolation?
Socio-technical analysis
Two types of methods for gathering requirements
Socio-technical models, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)
Focus groups data type
Some quantitative data but mostly qualitative
Interview data type
Some quantitative data but mostly qualitative
Gestalt principles - Regularity:
Sorting items, we tend to group some into larger shapes, and connect any elements that form a pattern.
People
The new computing is about what ___ can do.
Computers
The old computing is about what ___ can do.
What does 'Below the Fold' refer to?
The part hidden from the user until they scroll
What is recognised as one cognitive system?
The people, environment and artefacts
Distributed Cognition
The people, environment and artefacts are regarded as one cognitive system
Attitude
The perceptions, feelings and opinions about a product by a user.
Environment
The place where a product is likely to be used.
Emotional Design
The practice of considering the visceral, behavioural and reflective parts of the brain when designing
The Problem space
The problems that the team want's to attempt to solve and their surrounding issues and stakeholders.
Expectation management
The process of making sure that the users' expectations of the new product or realistic.
ABSTRACTING
The process of removing parts or pieces of a PLANT MATERIAL to distort or change the appearance; the positioning of plant material in unusal ways within a composition.
Feedback
The provision of information as a result of an action. This can be a audio, visual or aesthetic response.
How can prototypes be used during testing?
The same input is passed to both the prototype and the production system. The outputs are compared and a difference report is compiled. The differences can then be investigated and resolved.
What do the sensory buffers do?
The sensory memories act as buffers for stimuli received through senses: iconic memory for visual stimuli echoic memory for aural stimuli haptic memory for touch
Explain (3) Prototyping
There are different types of prototype available. A working piece of software is not always needed, but protoyping is important because it allows users and designers to interact with the products prior to the development of a fully live version.
Characteristics of a good user-product interface
These include: simplicity and ease of use; intuitive logic, organization and low memory burden; visibility; feedback; affordance; mapping; and constraints.
How are all of these systems similar
These systems differ, but they all stress the importance of itteration, early and repeated user feedback being able to handle emergent requirements and striking a good balance between flexibility and structure. They also emphasise collaboration, face to face communication, streamlined processes, and the importance of practice over process. i.e. getting the work done.
How are affordances deliberately created?
They are created to be intuitive.
Non-Functional Requirements
They express the quality of the system and there are different types: -performance requirement - time to do things -look-and-feel requirement - how end user perceive the product -device requirement - features of the product -accuracy requirement - level of precision to be achieved -usability requirement - how people will interact with the product -training requirement - level and nature of training to use the product -availability requirement -maintainability requirement -recoverability requirement -portability requirement -reliability requirement -security requirement -safety requirement
What do personas help with?
They help with user centered design
What is recall?
Thinking back how something works
WHAT IS A PROTOTYPE?
This is a small representation of the full system. a prototype is not a fully working system but it gives the user an idea on how the system would work. lets the user present some ideas and feedback for improvement it's much cheaper to build a prototype and fix issues rather than develop the main system straight away
Explain (2) Designing alternatives
This is the core activity of designing. Actually suggesting ideas for meeting the requirements. This activity can be broken down into two further sub-activies (1) Conceptual design: Conceptual model for the product which describes an abstraction outlining what people can do with a product, and what concepts are needed to understand how to deal with it. (2) Concrete design: Considers the detail of the product including, colors, sounds, and images to use, menu design and icon design.
Constraints
This is when the interactive options and functions of an interactive product are temporarily restricted. Such restrictions may be imposed to prevent users from making mistakes or from following dead end paths when completing tasks that require multiple steps. For example, on certain pages, the menu items of a website may be temporarily disabled and, to spare the user unnecessary frustration, those items may be greyed out to signal that they are disabled. Can be - Logical - Semantic - Cultural - Physical
Explain (1) Early focus on users and tasks
This means first understanding who the users will be by directly studying their cognitive, behavioural, anthropomorphic, and attitudinal characteristics, this requires observing users doing their normal tasks, studying the nature of those tasks, and then involving the users in the design process.
Modern HCI
This type of HCI was more focused on connection between user and device than previous HCI types.
Holtzblatt and Jones 1993 define users as what?
Those who manage direct users, those who receive products from the system, those who test the system, those who make the purchasing decision, and who use competitive products.
When to evaluate?
Throughout design; finished products can be evaluated to collect information to inform new products.
How are interface metaphors designed?
To be similar to the physical entity but also has own properties
What is ethnography?
The study of culture. Of developing rich understandings and description of everyday life
Visibility of system status
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
Touch Target
The target area of a digital button or link in relation to a person's finger size. • This principle is concerned mostly with mobile interface design—screen size needs to be balanced with content layout. • Improper proximity of buttons around the ouch target may cause incorrect selections
What is the magic number '7+-2'?
The theory of how much people can remember
Specify Phase
The third phase of the HCI Process
FITTs principle
The time taken to point at an object is based on the distance from the object and how big the object is Smaller the object and the further away you are, the longer it'll take to point to the object
The gulf of evaluation (Norman Model)
The time/phases between execution and the next phase of intentions. (steps are: -State of the system is perceived -State of the system is interpreted -State of system is evaluated )
Median
The value separating the higher half of a data sample from the lower half. Can be thought of as the 'middle' value.
Mode
The value that appears most often in a set of data values
Handling Affordance
The way a person interacts with a tool
Interaction type
The way concepts and commands are represented
What is interaction design?
The why as well as how of our daily interactions with computers
Interaction Design
The why as well as the how of our daily interactions with computers
What user characteristics of the stakeholders should be considered in the Requirements Development model (in Socio-technical model)
Their aims (what do they want to achieve, how is success measured), sources of satisfaction, knowledge and skills, attitudes to work & tech, work-group attributes, nature of activities, responsibility, working conditions
Why evaluate?
To check users' requirements and that they can use the product and they like it
What are workshops usually used for in participatory design?
To fill gaps in designer's understanding about the situation, by providing a forum for discussion where designs and users can share perspectives.
Indirect observation
Tracking users without disturbing their environment. Can collect results automatically through logging and diary entries . Can collect large amounts of data without much effort because it's automatically collected Bad because diary entries etc means reliance on subject to enter their findings regularly and accurately
Benefits of Usability Testing
Usability testing lets the design and development teams identify problems before they are coded. ~ Learn if participants are able to complete specified tasks successfully and ~ Identify how long it takes to complete specified tasks ~ Find out how satisfied participants are with your Web site or other product ~ Identify changes required to improve user performance and satisfaction ~ And analyze the performance to see if it meets your usability objectives
User-Centred evaluation methods (5)
Usability testing/eye-tracking issues: it emphasises first-time usage, has limited coverage of the interface features. field testing A/B Split Group User Surveys User acceptance - pre/post release, testing/changing
Low-fidelity prototype
Use a medium which is unlike the final medium. Is quick, cheap and easily changed.
Indirect observation
Use instrumentation (eg web analytics, click tracking, screen recorder)
Low fidelity prototype
Use materials unlike what you would use for the final mockup Cheaper and easier to change
Low fidelity prototype - pros
Use materials unlike what you would use for the final mockup Cheaper and easier to change Lower development cost Evaluates multiple design concepts Useful communication device Effective for identifying requirements Effective for exploration and test Effective for proof of concept
High fidelity prototype - pros
Use materials you'd expect in the final product. Can use actual software and hardware Complete functionality Fully interactive User-driven Use for exploration and test Look and feel of final product Serves as a living specification Marketing and sales tool
High fidelity prototype
Use materials you'd expect in the final product. Can use actual software and hardware
7 stages of Action - 5. Perceiving the state of the world
Use my senses to gather information about the world and/or systems I'm working with. E.g. I feel my throat and the water in it.
Design implications for attention
Use techniques that make things stand out like color, ordering, spacing, underlining. Avoid cluttering the interface with too much information.
Ten usability heuristics
Visibility of system status, match between system and real world, user control and freedom, consistency and standards, error prevention, recognition > recall, flexibility and efficiency of use, aesthetic & minimalist design, help recognise/recover from errors, help and documentation
Heuristic evaluation
Visibility of system status. Match between system and real world. User control and freedom. Consistency and standards. Error prevention. Recognition rather than recall.
Gestalt principles - Common Region
We group elements that are in the same closed region.
Gestalt principles - Synchrony:
We group static visual elements that appear at the same time.
Semantic constraints
We know that red lights mean stop and green lights mean go, so we infer that a red light means a device is off or inoperative, and a green light means it's on or ready to function. We have a slow cooker that uses lights in the opposite way and it screws me up every time.
Gestalt principles - Prägnanz:
We perceive complex or ambiguous images as simple ones.
Gestalt principles - Convexity:
We perceive convex shapes ahead of concave ones. convex describes a surface that curves outward, or is thicker in the middle than on the edges. Concave is an adjective that describes a surface that curves inward, or is thinner in the middle than on the edges.
What is the relation ship between IxD and HCI?
We see IxD as the something that includes HCI
Operators in GOMS
What tasks need doing to achieve goal e.g. perceptual/motor/cognitive acts
What are non-functional requirements?
What the constraints on the system are - data, environmental, user characteristics, usability goals and user experience goals
Functional requirements
What the system should do
What are functional requirements?
What the system should do
Conceptual design vs physical design
What the system will do, how it will behave vs screen and menu structures, icons, graphics, I/O devices, interaction types/styles
What to consider when doing data gathering?
What the tasks are, what the goals are, what the context is
Goals in GOMS
What user wants to achieve
What are User/business goals?
What users actually want or will want
7 stages of Action - 2. Forming the intention:
What would I do to satisfy this goal? E.g. I will drink the water from the bottle.
Evaluation
Why - check user requirements to ensure product fits user requirements so it's liked by the user What - a conceptual model, early prototype and more complete prototype Where- in natural setting or in labs When - should be doing them through design process
What do you do after the tasks in a usability test?
administer a questionnaire to asses other parameters like overall experience and satisfaction level, perceived ease of use, suggestions etc.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to using same participants?
advantages - few individuals, no individual differences disadvantages - counterbalancing needed because of ordering effects
What are the advantages and disadvantages to using different participants?
advantages - no order effects disadvantages - may subjects and individual differences become a problem
What are the advantages and disadvantages to using matched participants
advantages - same as different participants but individual differences are reduced disadvantages - cannot be sure of perfect matching on all differences
why use a focus group?
allows diverse or sensitive issues to be raised, provides direct evidence of similarities and differences between participants, participants help guide the discussion, efficient
What is a focus group (group elicitation)
an inquiry based on meeting of a group of individuals where interviewer is a mod of the group and is less structured than interviews
Wizard of Oz
an interactive application without much code (only front interface coded up) that allows designers to get feedback from real users - human simulates system functionality behind the scenes
What is the master/apprentice model?
analyst is the apprentice that wants to learn a craft form the master, the interviewee
what is the insider research approach or participant-observer?
attempts to become a full member of the group interact with members of the group share common language and culture of the group
SSAADM
based on traditional structured programming techniques It uses a formal design process that is a direct descendant of the "waterfall" methodologies This process tends to be relatively slow, but because the process tends to be exhaustive in both finding and debating every CN is a thorough process
What are the steps for conducting an interview
before: establish objectives, select the interviewee, study related material, build a list of questions during: go in pairs or small groups, listen talk little, master-apprentice model, ask for details, take notes, avoid tape recording after: review notes, construct clarification questions, thank interviewee
What is qualitative data?
body language and facial expressions (frustration, confusion, etc) articulated comments (expressing difficulty, confusion)
ADVANTAGES OF RAD
changing requirements can be accommodated progress can be measured increase reusability of code (saves time) encourages customer feedback
What are the two types of interview questions
closed (per-determined answer) and open ended
What are questionnaires?
collection of questions answered by a large number of respondents
2. Measuring Goals
dependent on the falsifiability of usability requirements
What are field studies?
done in a natural setting aim is to understand what users do naturally and how tech impacts them used to identify opporutnities for new tech, determine design requirements, decide how to be best intro new tech, evaluate tech in use observation and interviews are used to collect the data
Inspection
evaluate a product by asking experts
What does questionnaire design entail?
factual: pertaining to objective facts attitudinal: measuring how people react to stimuli open or close ended
if the user characteristics are casual/infrequent
give clear instructions, e.g. menu paths
RADIAL
having parts arranged like spokes or rays emerging from a common center.
ABSTRACT
having parts arranged with no apparent plan or order.
ABSTRACT STEM PLACEMENT
having parts arranged with no perceivable plan or order.
Advantages of card sorting
helpful to understand terminology i.e. what people call things, relationships (proximity, similarity), categories (groups and names)
The System Usability Scale
When a SUS is used, participants are asked to score the following 10 items with one of five responses that range from Strongly Agree to Strongly disagree: 1. I think that I would like to use this system frequently. 2. I found the system unnecessarily complex. 3. I thought the system was easy to use. 4. I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system. 5. I found the various functions in this system were well integrated. 6. I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system. 7. I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly. 8. I found the system very cumbersome to use. 9. I felt very confident using the system. 10. I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system.
Poka Yoke
When a physical constraint is applied to an object or task so it will become error proof. Influences safety and efficiency in industrial design Shape of an electrical plug can only fit properly into the correct outlet
Computational offloading
When a tool is used in conjunction with an external representation to carry out a computation (e.g. a pen and paper)
Wizard-of-Oz prototyping
When a user interacts with a fake system controlled by the developer, pretending to be a real one
Fogg Behavior Model
When core motivators line up with ability factors, behavioral triggers are achieved ex. picking up a ringing phone
Iterative design
When problems are found in user testing, they are fixed and tested and observed again.
Empathetic
When the designer takes the place of the user to see who potentially could use the product and the object could be better suited for the consumer.
What is known as breakdown?
When the meditational means becomes the focus of our attention for some reasons and our task feel interrupted
Participatory design
When users representing the target market for a product perform realistic tasks by interacting with a paper version of the user-product interface manipulated by a person acting as a computer who does not explain how the interface works.
Recognition retrieval
When you need a prompt to remember data
What is context of use?
Where and under what conditions the system shall operate (environmental, organizational, cultural, etc)
Data requirements
Where from and what kinds of data need storing? How should it be stored/how long for/how accurate does stored data need to be? What data representations are needed?
Different participants
Where participants are separated into groups and different groups experience different conditions No order effects Many subjects required and subjects have individual differences
Explain (3) Iterative Design
Where problems are found in user testing, they are fixed and then more tests and observations are carried out to see the effects of these fixes. This means that design and development is iterative with cycles of design - test - measure - redesign being repeated as often as necccessary.
What is an incremental prototype?
Where the prototype is adopted as the main focus of development effort.
What does the model human processor predict?
Which cognitive processes are involved when a user interacts with a computer
What are three questions we aim to answer through the requirements phase?
Who are the users? What do the users want? What do the users need?
Paper Prototyping
literally use paper to produce a potential interface (moveable pieces)
Summative evaluation
looks at the impact of an intervention on the target group. This type of evaluation is arguably what is considered most often as 'evaluation' by project staff and funding bodies- that is, finding out what the project achieved. can take place during the project implementation, but is most often undertaken at the end of a project. As such, it can also be referred to as ex-post evaluation (meaning after the event).
RAD - RAPID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
many projects take so long to complete that by the end of them the user requirements have radically changed large changes that happen at the late stages of system development will most likely result in late delivery and being over-budget. The project may even be cancelled as a result. RAD offers a solution by enabling system to be developed in a much faster time frame, often less than six months from start to finish
Hierarchical task analysis
model tasks as goals, actions and dependencies
Prototyping over time
more prototypes in early stages --> less as time goes on (higher fidelity)
what is direct observation?
observing actual events as they happen (think aloud)
What goes on an in a focus group
open ended questions, participants are subjected to stimuli and observed / solicit reaction
What are experimental designs with matched participants?
participants are matched in pairs, based on expertise gender etc
A summary of data collected includes
performance data during the task - logged by the interface (via clicks, keypresses), and video recorded and processed afterwards experience data during the task - voice/video recordings of the participant and the interface experience data after the task - questionnaire and/or discussion
Stages if usability testing
preparing conducting interpreting and reporting the date
1. Prototyping Goals
presented by usability goals and requirements
What are the possible biases of questionnaires?
prestige bias - exaggeration or understatement to appear more prestigious loaded words - words that evoke responses of automatic approval/disapproval (unemployment, intelligent) leading questions - implicitly suggest what the answer should be or disclose the opinion of the questioner
What's more important, quality or quantity? (in samples)
quality
DISADVANTAGES OF RAD
requires user involvement throughout the life cycle suitable for project requiring shorter development times requires highly skilled developers/ designers high dependency on modelling skills
WATERFALL ADVANTAGES
simple to user and understand phases are processed and completed one at a time works well for smaller projects where requirements are very well understood
Elements of a Test Plan
~ Scope: Indicate what you are testing: Give the name of the Web site, Web application, or other product ~ Purpose: Identify the concerns, questions, and goals for this test. ~ Schedule & Location: Indicate when and where you will do the test. ~ Sessions: You will want to describe the sessions, the length of the sessions (typically one hour to 90 minutes). ~ Equipment: Indicate the type of equipment you will be using in the test; desktop, laptop, mobile/Smartphone. ~ Participants: Indicate the number and types of participants to be tested you will be recruiting. ~ Scenarios: Indicate the number and types of tasks included in testing. ~ Metrics: Subjective metrics: Include the questions you are going to ask the participants prior to the sessions (e.g., background questionnaire), after each task scenario is completed (ease and satisfaction questions about the task), and overall ease, satisfaction and likelihood to use/recommend questions when the sessions is completed. ~ Quantitative metrics: Indicate the quantitative data you will be measuring in your test (e.g., successful completion rates, error rates, time on task). ~ Roles: Include a list of the staff who will participate in the usability testing and what role each will play.
Identifying Test Metrics
~ Successful Task Completion: Each scenario requires the participant to obtain specific data that would be used in a typical task. ~ Critical Errors: Critical errors are deviations at completion from the targets of the scenario. ~ Non-Critical Errors: Non-critical errors are errors that are recovered by the participant and do not result in the participant's ability to successfully complete the task. ~ Error-Free Rate: Error-free rate is the percentage of test participants who complete the task without any errors (critical or non-critical errors). ~ Time On Task: The amount of time it takes the participant to complete the task. ~ Subjective Measures: These evaluations are self-reported participant ratings for satisfaction, ease of use, ease of finding information, etc where participants rate the measure on a 5 to 7-point Likert scale. ~ Likes, Dislikes and Recommendations: Participants provide what they liked most about the site, what they liked least about the site, and recommendations for improving the site.
Consider these elements when budgeting for usability testing:
~ Time: You will need time to plan the usability test. ~ Recruiting Costs: Consider how or where you will recruit your participants. ~ Participant Compensation: If you will be compensating participants for their time or travel, factor that into your testing budget. ~ Rental Costs: If you do not have monitoring or recording equipment, you will need to budget for rental costs for the lab or other equipment.
Purpose of Eye tracking
~ Where they are looking ~ How long they are looking ~ How their focus moves from item to item on your web page ~ What parts of the interface they miss ~ How they are navigating the length of the page ~ How size and placement of items on your existing site or on proposed designs affects attention
What is the process of interaction design?
• Establishing requirements • Designing alternatives • Prototyping • Evaluating Draw the Pic :)
What do professionals do in the IxD business?
• Interaction designers: people involved in the design of all the interactive aspects of a product • Usability engineers: people who focus on evaluating products, using usability methods and principles • Web designers: people who develop and create the visual design of websites, such as layouts • Information architects: people who come up with ideas of how to plan and structure interactive products • User experience designers: people who do all the above but who may also carry out field studies to inform the design of product
What is good design?
• Peanut shaped to fit in hand • Logical layout and color-coded, distinctive buttons • Easy to locate buttons • Can be used without looking at i • Gives customer feedback • Button mapping with function
Usability vs User Experience
• Selecting terms to convey a person's feelings, emotions, etc., can help designers understand the multifaceted nature of the user experience • How do usability goals differ from user experience goals? • Are there trade-offs between the two kinds of goals? - e.g. can a product be both fun and safe? • How easy is it to measure usability versus user experience goals
What are the Core Characteristics of IxD?
• Users should be involved through the development of the project • Specific usability and user experience goals need to be identified, clearly documented and agreed at the beginning of the project • Iteration is needed through the core activities
What are the Design Principles?
• Visibility • Feedback • Constraints • Consistency • Affordances
How can we figure out how to design a product?
• Who the users are • What activities are being carried out • Where the interaction is taking place
How would you make this action more Visible?
• make the card reader more obvious • provide an auditory message, that says what to do • provide a big label next to the card reader that flashes when someone enters • make relevant parts visible • make what has to be done obvious
ACM key ethics
○ Give contribution to society ○ Avoid harm to others ○ Be honest ○ Don't discriminate ○ Honour property rights (copyright) ○ Give proper credit for intellectual property ○ Respect privacy of others ○ Honour confidentiality.
What are the goals of Interactive Design?
the 5e's Easy to learn Effective to use Efficient Enjoyable xxxxx
What is an independent variable?
the influencing factor you are tweaking in order to see if it has an effect to the dependent variable
GROUPING
the placement of identical materials within a specific limited area, with each material maintaining it individual identity. Some amount of SPACE typically exists between each separate group.
SHELTERING
the process of placing one or more materials over or around the others in a composition, lightly enclosing the materials within; creates an impression of protection and gives greater depth to a design.
TERRACING
the process of positioning like materials in a stairstep fashion, creating spaced HORZONTAL levels; used to achieve depth within a composition and is frequently employed as a basing technique
PINNING
the process of securing one material to another by the use of pins.
ZONING
the process of segregating like materials to specific levels or three-dimensional areas within the composition. In a Vegetative Design, for example, flowers of identical variety are positioned so as to suggest a natural growing habit, each extending to a similar height within the composition.
DETACHING
the process of selectively removing a flowers petals to give it a new and different shape.
PRUNING
the process of selectively removing branches, foliage, florets, or petals to create desired negative space, resulting in Plant materials that appear to be more sculptural; Can reveal a stronger line and more intersting shape.
FACING
the process of turning or directing a flower head in a particular way too increase interest and visual movement within a design.
FRAMING
the process of using LINEAR branches or flowers to showcase the materials within; outlines and defines SPACE and typically calls attention to the FOCAL AREA of a design.
BANDING
the process of using a decorative material, such as RIBBON or wire, to encircle a stem or stems in one or more precise rings; typically used as a decorative ACCENT but can sometimes serve a functional purpose. Can also be applied to a container.
BUTTRESSING
the process of using one or more materials to brace, support, or prop another design component.
THROW AWAY ADVANTAGES
the speed at which the prototype is created focuses on one part of the system so keeps the feedback precise
What is an experimental condition?
the state of an independent variable at a given phase of the experiment
RAD - INCLUDE USER GROUPS
this idea is to actively involve users for developing requirements rather than the analyst trying to collate everything to produce a requirements document This has some advantages: user feels ownership of the project from the beginning greater user satisfaction better quality user requirements fewer late changes
What is quantitative data?
time to complete at ask (efficiency), time to complete task after a specified time away form the product (memorability), number and type of errors per task (safety or effectiveness), number of times online help or manuals were accessed (learnability), number of users making a particular error (safety or effectiveness), number of users completing task successfully (safety/effectiveness)
What is the goal of an experiment?
to establish whether the response can be actually attributed to one of the possible influencing factors
preparing for usability testing
understand the users needs determine the purpose staff the team set up the environment develop a plan prepare the materials Select participants conduct a pilot
Think out loud protocol
understand users' cognition/perception during testing -keep user talking while performing -don't force them
What is appropriation?
understanding how users integrate and adopt tech to their needs, desires, and culture. field studies are good for understanding this
EVOLUTIONARY ADVANTAGES
user is engaged with the system this will more likely meet the UR the speed of creation is enhanced
WATERFALL METHOD
very simple to understand and use. In a waterfall model each phases can must be completed before the next phase can begin the waterfall method is good for well understood and stable user requirements such as upgrading a well used existing system
What is augmented reality?
virtual representation that are superimposed on physical devices and objects
What is an effecter affordance?
way in which a tool can bring about change in an object, for instance by cutting, or sending a message.
Why use questionnaires?
when a larger sample of target pop. is needed generate statistics when it's impossible to access respondents otherwise due to geographical issues and cost
effectiveness measures used in usability studies
work domain saturation task completion accuracy recall quality of outcome expert assessment
Writing the Usability Test Report
~ Background Summary ~ Methodology ~ Test Results ~ Findings and Recommendations
Conducting Focus Groups
~ Decide on the range of topics you would like to cover before the session ~ Pretest questions to ensure they are clear and logical ~ Develop open-ended questions to encourage discussion ~ Arrange questions in a way that flows naturally ~ Hire a skilled moderator to facilitate the discussion ~ Create a script so the moderator knows what to ask and which topics to cover ~ Allow the moderator to change the order of questions and topics to keep the discussion flowing smoothly ~ Plan to spend about two hours with the group ~ Tape the sessions ~ Have one or more note takers to ensure everything is captured
You Do Not Need a Formal Lab
~ Fixed laboratory having two or three connected rooms outfitted with audio-visual equipment ~ Room with portable recording equipment ~ Room with no recording equipment, as long as someone is observing the user and taking notes ~ Remotely, with the user in a different location (either moderated or unmoderated)
How a Focus Group Differs from a Usability Test or Contextual Interview
~ In a typical focus group, participants talk. During the focus group users tell you about their experiences or expectations but you don't get to verify or observe these experiences. ~ In a typical usability test or contextual interview, users act. As a result, you are able to watch (and listen to) them and draw conclusions from that.
ACTIVATING COMPOSITIONAL SPACE
Activating Compositional Space refers to how well our eye follows, finds, or scans the subject of an image.
What is the User Experience?
How a product behaves and is used by people in the real world
Evaluation part of interaction
- Perceiving the system state - Interpreting the system state - Evaluating the system state
What is Evaluation in the Norman Model of Interaction?
- Perceiving the system state - Interpreting the system state - Evaluating the system state
Disadvantages of direct manipulation?
- some take too literally - not all tasks suited by it - moving mouse can be slower than pressing function keys
Design implications of Reading, Listening and Speaking?
- speech based instructions should be short
Direct Manipulation Pros
- Novices learn quick - Experienced users work quick - Intermittent users retain operational concepts - Error messages rarely required - Immediate feedback for users - Users experience less anxiety - Users gain confidence and mastery
What do inspections refer to?
- 'asking experts' - applying domain knowledge and theory
Interview standard structure
- Intro - Warm up - Main body - Cool off - Closure
Give a summary the value topic:
- values are diverse, drive human action and aspiration and may impact multiple values positively or negatively - users are not always aware of how an activity affect their values and designers can help and leverage that
Ted Neslon 10 Minute Rule
A novice should be able to learn to use a system in less than 10 minutes - otherwise too complicated
Anti-personae
A profile of those for whom a product is not designed.
Controls
Controls are what allow the user to change, adjust, or manipulate interface content.
Snowball Sample
Eg: surveys starting with people in your target demographics, ask them to share
Two things task analysis models show?
Hierarchical composition of tasks, sequence of steps in tasks
What are the 3 types of graphics?
Navigation graphics, Ornament graphics, Content graphic
Theory
Explanation of phenomena. Can help with identify factors
What do the 'gulfs' do?
Explicate the gaps that exist between the user and the interface
Explain activity centered design
Focusses on the behaviour surrounding particular tasks. Users still play a significant role but its their behaviour rather than their goals and needs which are important.
Diary Studies
Get participants to record information in a diary Good for when participants are hard to reach
Affordance definer
Gibson
What is perception?
How information is acquired and transformed into experiences
Design implications for perception
Icons should enable users to readily distinguish their meaning. Bordering and spacing are effective visual ways of grouping information. Text should be legible and distinguishable from the background.
What do cultural probes allow provide?
Insights into people's day to day lives and activities and is useful in gathering design inspiration but is not intended to be used as hard data
What is important when deciding which design approach to use?
It is important that the design approach selected is done based on the design problem in mind.
Why take into account interaction design
Let's you understand what people want and need Identify incorrect assumptions Be aware of the strengths and capabilities of your audience so the product is tailored to them
Usability definer
Nielsen
Learning Affordance
Provides the opportunity to learn, by providing information [Affordance type]
Data gathering - pilot studies
Small trial of main study
What is an assumption?
Taking something for granted when it needs further investigation. An example, people will want to watch TV while driving
Evaluation Phase
The final phase of the HCI Process
What is mode?
The most common answer
Define - 'Users'
The most obvious definition is: 'Those who interact directly with a product to achieve a task
Contemporary HCI
This type of HCI focused on a wider range of values beyond efficiency and productivity than other HCI types.
Classical HCI
This type of HCI was influenced by cognitive psychology Typically "interacting with"
3 types of memory and how information can move from one type to another
Through attention, info can move from sensory buffers to working memory. Through rehearsal this can then move to long-term memory. Can get info from long-term into working memory using recall.
LAYERING
the process of covering a surface with flowers, foliage, or other relatively flat materials by means of overlapping individual units, leaving no space between them; Often a technique of BASING; can create the impression of being a single thickness, producing a scale-like appearance.
What are the Usability Goals?
• Effectiveness: how good a system is at doing what it is supposed to • Efficiency: the way a system supports users in carrying out their tasks • Safety: protecting the users from dangerous conditions / undesirable situations • Utility: extent to which the system provides the right kind of functionality so that users can do what they need or want to do • Learn-ability: how easy a system is to learn to use • Memorability: how easy a system is to remember how to use, once learned
What do we mean by Feedback?
• Give feedback to the user about what has been done and about what is going on - sound - highlighting -animation -combinations
Which design practices contributes to IxD?
• Graphic design • Product design • Artist-design • Industrial design • Film industry
What is HCI?
• HCI focuses on the design of computer technology and, in particular, the interaction between humans (the users) and computers. • It was initially concerned with computers but has expanded to cover almost all forms of information technology design.
user-centered design
• Method for assessing usability throughout the system development life cycle • The system development life cycle refers to the plan for implementation of health IT • Needs, desires, and limitations of users are the driving factors for design
Which academic disciplines contributing to IxD?
• Psychology • Social Sciences • Computing Sciences • Engineering • Ergonomics • Informatics
Predictive modelling e.g. GOMS
Estimating how long it takes for the user to carry out particular tasks, make decisions, etc.
Error prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
Help and documentation
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.
High fidelity prototype - cons
Expensive to develop Time consuming to develop Not effective for setting requirement specifications Not effective for proof-of-concept
Active theory
Explain human behaviour based on what we do in the world Helps identify tension between two objects Two main models - - one that outlines meanings of activities - one mediates role of artefacts
What is external cognition?
Explaining how we interact with external representation
What is external cognition concerted with?
Explaining how we interact with external representing (e.g. maps, notes, diagrams)
Usability (Accessibility Goals)
Extent to which a system can be used to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.
Eye Tracking
Eye tracking involves measuring either where the eye is focused or the motion of the eye as an individual views a web page.
Implications of Fitt's law on design
Make size of buttons, etc large enough, position in places readily available
What is law of clarity?
Make things look what they represent
What is standards compliance?
Make websites available to people with disabilities, mobile devices and search engines
Models
Makes it easier for designers to predict and evaluate alternative designs
UCD Cycle
Stages of user-centred design
Actors (root definitions)
Stakeholders who perform activities in the system
What is a claim?
Stating something to be true when it is still open to question.
What is content strategy?
Writing and curating useful content
Open Exploration
You let the user try to figure something out by themselves and do whatever they want
What is Visibility?
You need to insert your room card in the slot by the buttons to get the elevator to work
entry points
You only have a few seconds to entice AND keep them to use a digital interfaces or enter a website - Have you ever visited a website and said to yourself "Whoa, where do I start?" If you have, then you are looking at a page that lacks a little something known as hierarchy.
Problem solving and reasoning
You use reflective cognition to think about what to do and the pros and cons of using certain methods based on the artefacts you have Design implications Provide extra info for user to make best decision Offer quick help so decisions are fast
PAVE'
a BASING technique using PARALLEL or angled insertions of short-stemmed material to create a uniform surface with little or no variation of depth. The technique may also be done with small fruits, berries, or pods: it is a term borrowed from jewelry making, which refers to gem stones set closely together so that no metal is visable underneath.
What are the 4 basic activities of interaction design?
(1) Establishing requirements (2) Designing alternatives (3) Prototyping (4) Evaluating
What perspectives need considering in root definitions in SSM? (CATWOE)
Clients, Actors, Transformations, World, Owner, Environment
Experiments for research
Many participants Replicable Strongly controlled conditions Scientific report for scientific community produced
Give some examples of the various degrees of user involvement
(1) Full time co-opted into a project (2) Part time co-opted into a project (3) Newsletter updates (4) Workshops (5) Focus groups (6) Design workshops (7) Evaluation sessions
Describe some methods of ongoing user involvement after product release
(1) Error reporting systems i.e. online crash analysis. (2)Interaction between users and customer service reps
Saffer (2010) Outlines 4 main approaches to interaction design. What are they?
(1) A User-centered approach (2) Activity centred design (3) Systems design (4) Genius design
Usability laboratory
A lab in which usability testing is carried out, and test users are monitored by another group of observers in a different room.
Iterative
Act of repeating a process with the aim of approaching a desired goal, target or result. Each repetition of the process is also called an iteration, and the results of one iteration are used as the starting point for the next iteration.
mediational
Acting through
What should be shown with each frame in a storyboard?
Action and outcome.
Feedback
Actions needs a reaction •Makes the results of an action visible and understandable •Answers questions in FOUR categories: • Location • Current Status • Future Status • Outcome/Results
Theoretical frameworks for qualitative design
Active theory Distributive cognition
What is a heuristic evaluation?
An expert evaluates a product based on predefined standards.
What is an arbitrary form?
An icon that has no relation the function
What is a similar form?
An icon that is similar to the object it represents
What is a conceptual model?
An outline of a product that mentions functionality, ways to fulfil requirements as well how interactions should be performed.
Conceptual model
An outline of what people can do with a product and what concepts are needed to understand and interact with it. Enables designers to straighten out their thinking before they start laying out their widgets.
After stakeholders have been identified using CUSTOM stakeholder analysis model, what then happens in the socio-technical model of gathering requirements?
Analyse stakeholder characteristics. From this we can develop user-centred requirements for the system.
What is distributed cognition used for ?
Analysing collaborative work
Analogical icons
E.g. a picture of a pair of scissors to represent 'cut'
Arbitrary icons
E.g. the use of an X to represent 'delete'
Tesler's Law Of The Conservation Of Complexity
Each interaction system/process has a certain level of complexity. • Designs can only be simplified up to a certain point; beyond that point the complexity can only be shifted • If the design must be simplified to make the interaction easier for the user, it makes the task of the designer more difficult and vice versa.
Participatory Design Origins
Early 70's scandinavia
What are the 3 steps of a user-centred approach?
Early focus on users and tasks, empirical measurement, iterative design
User-Centered approach
Early focus on users and tasks. Empirical measurement. Iterative design.
What is user interface design?
Easy to access, understand, and use
Advantages and disadvantages of online questionnaires
Easy to distribute Can get a lot of responses easily Low costs Errors can be corrected easily People can change their answers No easy way to prevent users from submitting more that one questionnaire Hard to sample data if population is unknown
Universal design - Perceptible info
Effective regardless of ambient conditions or sensory abilityes
Usability goals
Effectiveness, efficiency, safety, utility, learnability, memorability
Why is context for memory important?
Effects the extent information can then be retrieved
What are the 6 elements of usability?
Efficiency, Effectiveness, Utility, Safety, Memorability and Learnability
Advantage of command-based interface?
Efficient, precise and fast
Command-based interface advantage
Efficient, precise, Fast
How is memory selective?
Emotion, might subconsciously choose to forget. Colours have particular meaning/relate to aspects of memory
What is memory?
Encoding then retrieving knowledge
Enhanced usability
Enhanced usability increases product acceptance, user experience, and productivity while decreasing user error and required training and support.
Visibility
Ensure that users find functions more easily as well as know how to use them. An example, light switches instead of motion sensors
Breadth Sample
Equally sized proportionals of each strata, normally only useful to qualitative research
Fitts' law
Equation for the effect of mouse distance from target and size of target to calculate how long it will take the user to click it.
What should prototypes be?
Evocative, imaginative, malleable but practical
How can you develop a strong conceptual design?
Have a strong metaphor behind it, which then drives design decisions about fonts, colours, etc.
What does a task flow diagram look like?
Have sequential ordering through arrows left to right, different options shown through swervey curve through lines, decompose tasks into subtasks below as much as possible
How can we make info easy to remember?
Have some sort of structure (chunking), creating some sort of meaning/familiarity e.g. metaphors grounded in real world
What is it important that you do in lo-fi prototyping (i..e can't just sketch a screen)?
Have to detail what each element does and how you interact with it
Why do the Core Characteristics?
Help designers: • understand how to design interactive products that fit with what people want, need and may desire • appreciate that one size does not fit all −e.g., teenagers are very different to grown-ups • identify any incorrect assumptions they may have about particular user groups − e.g., not all old people want or need big fonts and buttons • be aware of both people's sensitivities and their capabilities
UH9 (H)
Help user recognise, diagnose and recover from errors error messages should precisely indicate problem, suggest solution, have plain language
DECIDE framework
Helps plan a usability evalution study: Determine overall goals Explore specific questions Choose evaluation approach Identify practical issues Decide how to deal with ethical issues Evaluate, analyse interpret, present data
Advantages of researching similar products
Helps to prompt requirements, can use these to generate alternative designs
Why might we want to understand the problem space?
Helps to understand what we want to design (the 'design' space)
What is the formula for Fitts' Law?
MT = a + b . ID = a + b . log2 ( 2D/W ) where MT: average time a,b: constants, dependent on input device ID: "index of difficulty" D: distance from starting point to centre of target W: width of the target along the axis of motion
What have information visualizations been designed to allow people to do?
Make sense and rapid decisions about masses of data
Exploring
Moving through a virtual environment or a physical space
Should studying documentation be used in isolation and why?
No - can provide idealised reports and is often outdated
What are the 4 types of quantitative data?
Nominal data, ordinal data, interaval data, Rati data
Reasons to Conceptualise
Orientation - All the design team to ask specific questions Open Minded - Prevent a design team becoming too narrowly focussed early on Common Ground - Agree a set of common terms within the team.
Benefits of conceptualising
Orientation, open-minded, and common ground.
Benefits of conceptualising
Orientation: let's team question how the conceptual model will understood by the end user Open mind: prevents the team from becoming too close minded too early Common ground: allows team to find terms which they all agree on and can further debate terms they disagree on
Direct observation in a controlled environment data type
Quantitative and qualitative
What to measure in a usability test?
Quantitative and qualitative data
Two types of data analysis
Quantitative, qualitative
Usability evaluation is:
Quantitative: asses performance - measurable usability metrics Qualitative: subjective, ease of use, user satisfaction Compare (2 designs of a product) Improve (what works well/specific problems) NOT functional testing, beta testing, usage measurement, user-acceptance testing
Advantages of lo-fi prototyping over hi-fi
Quick, cheap, can go through many iterations/versions esp. if paper is used
What do we mean by needs? (Robertson and Robertson 2013)
R and R refer to undreamt needs, which are those that users are unaware they could have. We have to approach it by understanding the characteristics and capabilities of the users, what theyre trying to achieve, how they achieve it currently and whether they could achieve their goals more effectively and have a more enjoyable experience if they were supported differently. if a product is a new invention it can be difficult to identify the users and representative tasks for them. eg before car navigation systems those developing the profuct had to imagine who might want to use it and what they may want to do with it.
Advantages of 'matched' experimental design?
Same as different participants but individual differences reduced
Problems are identified in HE according to usability heuristics. What do the evaluators assign to these?
Severity rating
What is law of default?
Should be useful and practical, as it is not often changed
SIGNALS
Signals are visual or audible indicators that an interaction is taking place to activate or change an object.
Consistency
Similar operations and elements used for similar tasks to make learning easier e.g. Ctrl+ C , Ctrl+V etc used to perform different actions but with similar methods
Consistency
Similar operations and elements used for similar tasks to make learning easier e.g. Ctrl+ C , Ctrl+V etc used to perform different actions but with similar methods Things with the same function appear and behave in the same way - underpins the way in which we make sense of the world, including the products with which we interact. Consistency allows us to identify patterns and give them meaning, which in turn enables us to make sense of our experiences, to predict what might come next and to decide what choices to make in order to pursue our goals.
The Gestalt Principles
Similarity. Continuity. Closure. Proximity. Common region. Focal Point. Figure ground.
Analysing Qualitative data
Simple analysis: look for recurring themes and categorizing data. Theme based analysis. CIT - Critical Incidents Technique
SITE MAP
Site maps are diagrams that show the flow information and structure of how pages on a website are organized.
Examples of lo-fi prototypes
Sketches of screens & task sequences, post-it-notes, etc. video prototype (mor exomplex, tells a story, shows people, context, etc. but can't demo), form model, wireframe
Encoding
Stimuli given more attention to have a higher chance of being remembered
GRID SYSTEM
Structure that supports design based on alignments. Communicates designers' intention Column Grid: Vertical alignment: Block areas Modular Grid: Used for involved content, Horizontal/ Spatial, Break off into small parts/moduls Hierarchal Grid: Varies, Alignment based on content
3 types of interviews
Structured (closed questions), unstructured (open questions), semi-structured (open & closed questions)
Production Phase
The fourth phase of the HCI Process
Gulfs
The gaps that exist between the user and the interface
What is the cognitive system?
The interactions among people, the artefacts they use and the environment they work in
Usability goals and user experience goals (non-functional requirements)
Usability concerns how effective, efficient, safe, learnable, memorable is the interface. Experience concerns how enjoyable, entertaining, motivating, pleasing is the interface
Nielson's View (LEMESU)
Usability criteria: Learn-ability- easy to learn Efficiency - facilitates high level of productivity Memorability - easy to remember (design) Errors - low error rate, easy recovery Satisfaction - pleasant Utility - features provided, do what you need?
Accessibility
Usability of a product, service and environment (Who can use it?)
Accessibility
Usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities
What is Accessibility's longer definition?
Usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities
What are Design principles?
Used by interaction designers to aid their thinking when designing for user experience. Generalizable abstractions intended to orient designers towards thinking about different aspects of their designs. Most common ones are Visibility, feedback, constraints, consistency and affordance.
Breadcrumb Trail
Used for large websites that have multiple levels to navigate Provides as an extra feature or secondary navigation method (shouldn't replace primary navigation menu) Reduces clicks and use of the back button
Distributive cognition
Used to describe interactions between people Cognitive system: the interactions between people, the artificial to they use and the environment they're in Communication pathway : how they interact Propagation of representative states: how information is transformed through media and how it's mediated mentally and through technology
Gulf of execution and evaluation
User -> Intentions -> Action Specification -> Input Devices -> Physical System -> Interface display -> Interpretation -> Evaluation
What do interface metaphors exploit?
User's familiar knowledge, helping them to understand the unfamiliar
Part-time basis involvement of users
User's input is consistent, while staying in touch with other users. User can become unfamiliar with material as a member of the design team.
Full-time basis involvement of users
User's input will be consistent and they will become very familiar with the product. However, they might lose touch with the rest of the user group.
Minor
Users are annoyed, but this does not keep them from completing the scenario. This should be revisited later.
Participatory Design Premise
Users are experts. Designers are only experts in design.
Participatory Design Reasoning
Users can't always articulate their needs and ideas for improvements in words
Mental Models
Users develop and understanding of a system through using it. This is called an internal mental model.
User control and freedom
Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.
Should users be involved in interaction design and why?
Users should be involved in interaction design (although to what extent is debatable) as it gives the developers a better understanding of users goals, leading to a more appropriate more usable product.
Participatory Design Premise
Users should be involved throughout the design process
High-fidelity prototype
Uses material that you would expect to be in the final product. Similar to a final system.
Interface metaphors
Using interface components like send buttons etc to visualise concepts like sending emails Makes learning new system easier Helps user learn underlying model Makes product more accessible Forces users to only think in terms of metaphors Can constrain designers in how they conceptualise a concept space
"Interacting With" technology
Using tools like scroll bars or getting news
User needs
What are people good/ bad at and what might make their life easier
Uses needs
What are people good/ bad at and what might make their life easier
7 stages of Action - 3. Specifying an action:
What do I do to achieve this intention? E.g. Take the bottle. Hold the bottle with my left hand. Use my right hand to twist the cap to open the bottle. Hold the cap. Bring the opened part of the bottle closer to my mouth, bent my head backward, together with the bottle so that the water will flow into my mouth. Gulp the water.
7 stages of Action - 1. Forming the Goal
What do I want? E.g. I want to drink some water.
What questions should you ask when understanding problem space
What do you want to create What are your assumptions: traits you take for granted but need extra research Will your product achieve what you want it to
Are Cultural differences important?
Why is it that certain products are universally accepted by people from all parts of the world whereas others are reacted to differently by people from different culture? --> YES
WIMP and GUI interface
Windows (invented to overcome the physical constraints of a computer display), Icons (used to represent objects in order to make it easier to learn and remember labels), Menus (structured way of choosing from the available set of options. Include flat lists, drop-down, pop-up, contextual and expanding ones) and Pointing device. Graphical User Interface.
Explain the concept of open source software development
With open source programming, software code is freely distributable and can be modified, incorporated into other software, and redistributed under the same open source conditions. No royalty fees are paayable on any use of open source software code.
Analysing Qualitative data
Words etc Simple analysis: look for recurring themes and categorising data. Theme based analysis
How does the cognitive subsystem interact with memory?
Works with working memory and long term memory, responsible for reasoning/problem-solving/error feedback e.g. where to sit
formative evaluation
is generally any evaluation that takes place before or during a project's implementation with the aim of improving the project's design and performance. it complements summative evaluation and is essential for trying to understand why a program works or doesn't, and what other factors (internal and external) are at work during a project's life.
EVOLUTIONARY DISADVANTAGES
knowing when to stop tweaking the system and finish the development is difficult
