IST Conference
Paper Prototyping a Dynamic Software Interface:
A Case Study Using APT
Andrew BarrettJamison Judd
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APT Overview
• APT: Analysis of Patterns in Time• A new methodology for researching
temporal relationships in a system, developed by Dr. Ted Frick of Indiana University 1990
• APT is a means to capture and analyze the temporal relationship between actions and outcomes
• Does not help to determine causality• Helps decision making involving prediction
and description
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Need for Temporal Analysis
• APT directly measures temporal relations through counting the occurrences of the values of a variable
• Comparable to approaches taken in other disciplines– people who smoke are more likely to get lung cancer
than those who do not– how often does a player scores when specific
conditions exist
• Important because knowledge of likelihoods of temporal patterns can be used to find relationships that could not be found with linear approaches
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Software for Temporal Analysis
• There are a wide variety of tools available for conducting linear analysis (e.g. SPSS, SAS, MINITAB, etc.)
• Few options for performing analysis based on an APT approach
• The need for tools that are based on an APT approach has provided the stimulus for the development of associated software
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Goal
• Create a usable software interface for APT based on the following principles– Easy to use– Intuitive interface following convention– Flexible for different types of studies– Avoid modes when possible
• An iterative design approach was taken that included usability testing and rapid prototype development
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Prototype Development
• Listed out all the required functionality
• An SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and Windows based paradigm was chosen for viewing and entering data
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Paper or Electronic Prototype?
PaperElectronic
Requirements for usability test
HumansComputer
Development time Low High
Ease of iteration / alteration
Medium High
Fidelity of simulation Low High
Flexibility of simulation Medium Low
Cost of reproduction High Low
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Paper Prototype Challenges
• Scrolling• Pop-ups• Dropdowns• Text entry (making reusable)• All possible user actions
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Methodology – Usability Testing
• Developed authentic tasks to test out the prototype– Project Tasks
• Creating, Opening, and Closing Project Files• Creating, Opening and Closing Scores• Switching between scores• Duplicating score format• Interpreting scores
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Methodology – Usability Testing
– APT Score Tasks• Adding, editing, and deleting classifications• Ordering classifications• Recording data in an APT score• Modifying data in an APT score
– APT Query Tasks• Creating a new query• Duplicating and editing an existing query• Interpreting query results
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First Run Issues
• Took too long to simulate• Prototype was too modular• Hard to quick change interface
pieces
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Paper Prototype Challenges
• Pop-ups• Dropdowns• Text entry (making reusable)• All possible user actions• Dynamic interface elements• Highlighting selections
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Methodology – Usability Testing
Subjects:– 2 Faculty/Staff Members– 4 Graduate Students
• 1 Data recorder• 1 Computer simulator• Followed standard usability
procedure
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Duration by Task Box PlotOutliers: Some subjects took considerably longer to complete tasks
Small Spread: Duration didn’t vary much among subjects
Large Spread: Duration varied widely among subjects
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Result by Task Bar Graph
All subjects succeeded in tasks 1.3 – 1.7, 1.9, 2.3, 2.4
Most subjects had problems with task 1.8 “Answer questions about APT score”
All subjects had problems with task 3.3 “View the results of an APT query”
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Problem Tasks
A subjective priority level was given to each task where problems were experienced…
1.1: Create a new blank project (1)1.2: Close a project and exit program (1)1.8: Answer questions about APT score (4)2.1: Add a classification (3)2.2: Change the order of classifications (2)2.5: Record changes in an APT score (3)2.6: Edit a previously recorded change in an APT score (1)3.1: Create a new APT query (1)3.2: Create an APT query based on an existing APT query
(1)3.3: View the results of an APT query (3)
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Conclusion
• Generally we didn’t find significant issues with the prototype design
• The main problems were:– Affordance Issues: need to move
functionality to a more visible location– Difficulty with APT concepts: temporal
nature of data– Terminology: Score, results, data,
classifications