HCI Midterm Review

(T or F) A brain in a negative emotional state provides more focus than a brain in a positive state

True

(T or F) Affordances determine what actions are possible. Signifiers communicate where the action should take place.

True

(T or F) An affordance is a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determine how the object could be used

True

(T or F) Cognition provides understanding: emotion provides valid judgements.

True

(T or F) Feedback must be immediate.

True

(T or F) HCD means starting with a good understanding of people and the needs that design is intended to meet.

True

(T or F) Observation research is about the customer and the people who will use the products under consideration

True

(T or F) The reflective level occurs after the events have happened.

True

(T or F) The relationship between a control and its results is easiest to learn wherever there is an understandable mapping between controls, actions, and intended result.

True

(T or F) The visceral processing system is used to make quick judgements: good / bad, safe / danger, etc.

True

(T or F) Too much feedback is more annoying that too little feedback.

True

Example of Affordance: A Chair

a chair affords sitting for all; lifting for some

procedural knowledge

demonstration and practice; difficult to write and teach

conceptual model

design projects all the information needed to create a good concept model of the system; enhances discoverability and evaluation of results

Seven Fundamental Principles of Design:

discoverability, feedback, conceptual model, affordances, signifiers, mappings, constraints

Affordances have to be ____________ in order to be affective

discoverable

What is the Golden Rule?

if the user cannot see it, it doesn't exist

observation

initial research to understand the nature of the problem itself is part of the discipline of design

Precise behavior can emerge from imprecise knowledge for four reasons:

knowledge is both in the head and in the world great precision is not required natural constraints exist in the world knowledge of cultural constraints and conventions exists in the head

The visceral processing level is also know as "_________ ________"

lizard brain

Knowledge in the head is actually knowledge in __________: internal knowledge.

memory

declarative memory

memory for factual information

long term memory

memory for the past when memories are recalled they are subject to distortions

We can use ____________ to remember large amounts of material.

mnemonics

What are the four activities of the HCD process:

observation ideation prototyping testing

Bridge of Evaluation:

perceive, interpret, compare (world to goal)

Seven Stages of Action as Levels of Processing: Visceral

perform and perceive

testing

test the prototype as if it was being used in the real world/environment

(T or F) Good design requires good communication.

true

Th most basic level of processing is called ___________.

visceral (subconscious)

Three levels of processing:

visceral, behavioral, reflective

Applied Ethnography

watching and observing users in their natural habitats in order to understand their needs

Natural Mappings

where the relationship between the controls and the object to be controlled is obvious

Best Mapping

controls are mounted directly on the item to be controlled

People function through two types of knowledge:

declarative (of) and procedural (how)

_______________ thought is rapid and automatic (matches patterns)

subconscious

Questions provided by the Seven Stages of Action:

1. What do I want to accomplish? 2. What are the alternative action sequences? 3. What action can I do now? 4. How do I do it? 5. What happened? 6. What does it mean? 7. Is this okay? Have I accomplished my goal?

Conceptual Model

An explanation, usually highly simplified, of how something works

signifiers

Ensures discoverability and that the feedback is well communicated and intelligible.

(T or F) Affordances are more important than Signifiers.

False - Signifiers > Affordances

(T or F) An HCD principle states that you should specify the problem immediately.

False - the principle is to avoid specifying the problem as long as possible, but instead iterate upon repeated approximations

(T or F) When a person cannot complete a task and repeatedly fails, it is all their fault.

False - usually a result of poor design

(T or F) Feedback does not have to be informative.

False - very important that it is

discoverability

It is possible to determine what actions are possible and the current state of the device

Who coined the term affordances?

JJ Gibson

feedforward

The information that helps answer questions of execution

mappings

The relationship between controls and their actions follows the principles of good mapping, enhanced as much as possible through spatial layout and temporal contiguity

Human Centered Design

an approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first, then designs to accommodate those needs, capabilities, and ways of behaving

A product at the visceral level is all about _____________ and ____________.

attraction and repulsion

The _____________ level is home of the learned skills; triggered by situations that match the patterns.

behavioral (subconscious)

Three levels of mapping:

best second-best third-best

prototyping

building a mockup of each potential solution (Wizard of Oz method)

Signifiers provide valuable __________ as to the nature of the __________.

clues; world

____________ attempts to make sense of the world.

cognition

Feedback

communicating the results of an action

Good _______________ is the key to good conceptual models.

communication

Good __________ _________ are the key to understandable enjoyable products.

conceptual models

Mental Models

conceptual models in people's minds that represent their understanding of how things work

____________ though is slow and labored

conscious

Third-Best Mapping

controls are arranged in the same spatial configuration as the objects to be controlled

Second-Best Mapping

controls are as close as possible to the object to be controlled

___________ assigns value to the world (things of the world).

emotion

The highest level of ___________ come from the reflective level.

emotions

iteration

enable continual refinement and enhancement

affordances

exist to make the desired actions possible

The most critical aspect of the behavioral level is that every action is associated with an _______________.

expectation

Areas of focus in HCD:

experience design industrial design interaction design

declarative knowledge

facts and rules; easy to write and teach

Subconscious Systems of Cognition Description:

fast, automatic, multiple resources, controls skilled behavior

We bridge the gulf of evaluation through the use of ____________, and a _____________ model

feedback; conceptual

Gulf of Execution:

figuring how something operates

Gulf of Evaluation:

figuring out what happened

Goal Plan Specify Perform Perceive Interpret Compare

form the goal the action an action sequence the action sequence the state of the world the perception the outcome with the goal

feedback

full and continuous information about the results of actions and the current state of the product or service

two rules of ideation:

generate numerous ideas be creative without regard for constraints question everything (Norman's rule)

idea generation (ideation)

generating possible solutions to the problem

What is the most difficult part of design?

getting the specifications of the thing to be defined

The Seven Stages of Action:

goal, plan, specify, perform, perceive, interpret, compare

Memory is knowledge in the ________.

head

Seven Stages of Action as Levels of Processing: Reflective

plan and compare

Bridge of Execution:

plan, specify, perform (goal to world)

Feedback has to be __________.

planned

A good conceptual model allows us to __________ the effects of our _________.

predict; actions

constraints

providing physical, logical, semantic, and cultural constraints guides actions and eases interpretations

Good design starts with an understanding and __________ and __________.

psychology; technology

The visceral system allows us to respond __________ and _________________ without conscious awareness.

quickly; subconsciously

procedural memory

recalling the activities performed

Signifiers

refers to any mark or sounds, any perceivable indicator that communicates appropriate behavior to a person

affordance

refers to the relationship between a physical object and a person (or any interacting agent)

learned helplessness

refers to the situation in which people experience repeated failure at a task, as a result they decide the task cannot be done at least by them

To a designer _____________ is perhaps the most important level of processing.

reflection

The _____________ level is home of conscious cognition.

reflective

Mappings

relationship between the elements of two sets of things ex. lights and light switches

System Image

relying upon the combined information given to us (advertisements, previous knowledge, instructions, etc.)

Memory for arbitrary things:

retained with no meaning or particular relationship to one another

short-term or working memory

retains the most recent experiences or material has a limit of 5-7 items

We bridge the gulf of execution through _____________, ______________, ___________, and a ___________ model.

signifiers, constraints, mappings, conceptual

Examples of Signifiers:

signs, labels, drawings placed in the world

Conscious Systems of Cognition Description:

slow, controlled, limited resources, novel situations (learning, danger, things go wrong)

Seven Stages of Action as Levels of Processing: Behavioral

specify and interpret