may 22, 2007mohamad eid design chapter 6. may 22, 2007mohamad eid outline technology myopia...

May 22, 2007 Mohamad Eid

Design

Chapter 6


Outline

Technology Myopia Conceptual Design Physical Design Evaluation Physical Design Cont. Interface Design Standards Case Study: Olympic Messaging

System (OMS)


Technology Myopia

Interaction designs must be sensitive to: Human-human communication Implicit Knowledge Non-technical aspects of work

Integrate technology and human activities carefully


Conceptual Design

Conceptual design involves Structuring the information space Creating of alternative solutions Determining which design concept to pursue


Conceptual Design

The tools involved in conceptual design: Brainstorming Card sort Semantic networks Personas Scenarios Flowcharts Cognitive walkthroughs Use cases


Conceptual Design - Brainstorming

Team activity Stream-of-consciousness Semantic networks Storyboarding

Brainstorming sessions generate a lot of material that must be filtered and organized


Conceptual Design – Card Sort

Card Sorting can be used to discover user-centered groupings

Card sorting can be used to organize the information collected in the discovery phase

Used to define groupings for menus, controls and Web page content

Used to generate labels for menus, buttons and navigation links



Result of a card sort



Advantages of card sorting sessions: They are quick and easy to perform. They can be done before any preliminary designs

have been made. They will let you know how people organize

information. They will expose underlying structures.



Disadvantages of card sorting sessions: They only involve the elements that you have

written on the cards. They suggest solutions that imply structures. They become difficult to navigate with more

categories.


Conceptual Design – Semantic Network

A semantic network is a web of concepts that are linked through association.



Advantages of semantic networks: They allow an easy way to explore the problem

space. They provide a way to create clusters of related

elements. They provide a graphical view of the problem space. They resonate with the ways in which people process

information.



Disadvantages of semantic networks: They require knowledge of the problem space. They can lead beyond the problem space. There is no formal semantics for defining symbol

meaning.


Conceptual Design – Personas

Personas are archetypes of actual users, defined by the user’s goals and attributes.

“Personas are derived from patterns observed during interviews with and observations of users and potential user (and sometimes customers) of a product” (Cooper&Reimann, 2003, 67)



A persona is created by identifying the primary stakeholder and creating an identity based on the stakeholder profiles and other collection activities such as interviews and surveys.

A persona is a detailed description complete with as many personally identifying attributes as necessary to make it come to life.



Personas should be a strict reflection of the information derived from the collection activities.

If you cannot point to a direct one-to-one relation with an observed user behavior, then that particular persona characteristic is either unnecessary or, more important, erroneous and will lead to incorrect design decisions.



Advantages of personas: They are quick and easy to create. They provide a consistent model for all team members. They are easy to use with other design methods. They make the user real in the mind of the designer.

Disadvantages of personas: They can be difficult to create if the target audience is

international. Having too many personas will make the work difficult. There is a risk of incorporating unsupported designer

assumptions.


Conceptual Design – Scenarios, Flowcharts, and Cognitive Walkthroughs

Scenarios A description of a typical task It describes

The basic goal The conditions that exist at the beginning of the task The activities in which the persona will engage The outcomes of those activities

Scenarios afford a rich picture of the user’s tasks



Flowcharts can be: Simple network diagrams that identify the pages of a Web

site and the navigational links between them Sophisticated diagrams that capture conditional junctures

and computational processes



Cognitive walkthrough - the evaluator follows the various scenarios using the flowcharts or the low-fidelity prototypes

The evaluator takes the part of the primary stakeholder and tries to accomplish that stakeholder’s various tasks


Physical Design

The physical design involves: What it will look like What components it will require How the screens will be laid out

We use the following tools during this phase: Low-fidelity prototypes Evaluations Wireframes Functional prototypes


Physical Design - Low-fidelity prototypes

Nielsen distinguishes between two types of prototypes Horizontal Vertical



The three main criteria for low-fidelity prototypes: Easy and inexpensive to make. Flexible enough to be constantly changed and rearranged. Complete enough to yield useful feedback about specific

design questions.



People are more comfortable criticizing paper prototypes

You will have to make some decisions before you begin: What feedback do you need at this point in the design process? How much of the design should you prototype? Should you cover all of the areas but without great detail

(breadth vs. depth)? Should you cover one area in great detail?

These questions will help you to define the scope of the prototype and focus on what you want to accomplish



Advantages of paper prototypes: They can be used early and often. They are inexpensive and easy to create. They make design ideas visual. No special knowledge is required; all team members can

create them.

Disadvantage of paper prototypes: They are not interactive. They cannot be used to calculate response timings. They do not deal with interface issues such as color or font

size.


Physical Design Cont. - Wireframes

Wireframes define: Basic page layout Screen components

Wireframes are developed from flowcharts and paper prototypes

They are basically more evolved paper prototypes

that include detailed information about the interface elements


Physical Design Cont. - Wireframes

Wireframes help to create template layouts that can be used to impose a consistent structure throughout the interface


Physical Design Cont. – Wireframes

Web Formats Web sites from different domains use layouts

particular to that domain

Use page layouts that are common to the domain

Use flexible design for Web pages


Evaluation – Functional Prototypes

Functional prototypes are interactive prototypes that represent various degrees of functionality They can either be horizontal or vertical

Functioning prototypes can be created using RAD environments, such as: Microsoft Visual Studio Adobe

Flash Dreamweaver Director


Interface Design Standards

These tools promote standards-based designs that have a consistent look and feel Graphical libraries User interface toolkits Visual interface builders Web development tools

Working in a standardized environment increases efficiency and promotes learning (Cooper & Reimann, 2003)



Shneiderman and Plaisant (2005, 185) identified the following benefits from the use of high-level software tools

User Interface Independence They separate interface design from internals. They enable multiple user interface strategies. They enable multiple-platform support. The establish the role of the user interface architect. They enforce standards.

Methodology and Notation They facilitate the development of design procedures. They help in finding ways to talk about design. They create project management.



Rapid Prototyping The make it possible to try out ideas very early. They make it possible to test, revise, test, revise, . . . . They engage end users—managers and customers.

Software Support They increase productivity. They offer constraint and consistency checks. They facilitate team approaches. They ease maintenance.


Case Study: Olympic Messaging System (OMS)

Developed by Gould for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Led to the recognition of the term ‘user-centered design’Objective:

Develop a system to allow communication among thousands of people during the Olympics

Assumptions:Telephones will not work as people are constantly moving

and participating in eventsNon-computer usersTo be used by over 20 000 people from kiosks



Some of the techniques used:1. Initial analysis, interviewing, site visits etc.2. Usage scenarios prepared

Commented on by many people Result: Changes made and some functions dropped

3. User guide prepared Modified 200 times before final version decided

4. Simulations constructed and evaluated Primary purpose: Designing help messages Result: Discovered need for consistent ‘undo’ and ‘go back’ functionality

5. Prototype constructed Result: Many more iterations

6. ‘Hallway’ method Soliciting opinions of passers-by

7. ‘Try-to-destroy-it’ method Hire hackers to try and break it



Conclusions:1. Focus on users and their tasks early, and keep them

central

2. Measure reactions using prototype manuals and systems

3. Design iteratively because even highly-skilled designers get it wrong

4. Usability factors must evolve together and be under the control of one group

5. The extra work of user-centered design greatly reduces work later on


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may 22, 2007mohamad eid design chapter 6. may 22, 2007mohamad eid outline technology myopia...

Documents

problem space

collection activities

observations of users

potential user

users goals

observed user behavior

easy way

archetypes of actual