creative methods for designing and evaluating user experiences

David GeertsResearch ManagerCentre for User Experience Research (CUO)K.U.Leuven

Creative methods for designing and evaluating user experiences

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Agenda

The User ExperienceAnalysis methods

Requirements specificationDesign methods

Evaluation methods

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Agenda

The User ExperienceAnalysis methods

Requirements specificationDesign methods

Evaluation methods

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First wave HCI (70’s-80’s)

Cognitive approach» Human as information processor» Interaction between single user and computer» “Human factors”

Disciplines» Cognitive psychology, computer science

Methods» Rigid guidelines, controlled experiments, formal

methods, user modelling, …Theories

» GOMS (Goals Operators Methods Selection rules), KLM (Keystroke Level Model), Fitt’s law, Hick’s law, …

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Second wave HCI (80’s-90’s)

Social context» Groups working with collection of applications» Work settings and communities of practice» “Human actors”

Disciplines» Social sciences, anthropology

Methods» Ethnographic observations, participatory design,

prototyping, contextual inquiry, …

Theories» Activity theory, situated action, distributed

cognition, …

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Third wave HCI (90’s-00’s)

User experience» Private and public environments» The home, everyday lives» Culture, emotion and experience» Non-work, non-purposeful, non-rational

Disciplines» Design research, cultural studies

Methods» Exploratory methods, cultural probes, narratives,

experience prototyping, …Theories

» Emotional design, four pleasures, threads of experience, …

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Designing the user experience?

Avoid negative emotions vs. produce positive emotions

Making products challenging, seductive, playful, surprising, memorable, moody, enjoyable, …

It is not possible to design the user experience, you can only design for the user experience» Exploit design solutions that evoke or intensify

certain feelings

A holistic view on designing products

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User Experience Models

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User Experience Models

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A model of user experience (Hassenzahl)

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User Experience Models

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Emotional design (Norman)

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User Experience Models

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User-product interactions and experience

(Forlizzi and Battarbee)

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Agenda

The User ExperienceAnalysis methods

Requirements specificationDesign methods

Evaluation methods

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Cultural probes

Collections of evocative tasks meant to elicit inspirational responses from people» Package with e.g. postcards, maps, camera, diaries, …

with assignments, often provocative or ambiguous» Materials are returned one by one during a short period» Fragmentary clues about users’ lives and thoughts

Inspiration, not information» Stimulate imaginations rather than defining problems» Openly subjective and playful» Use ambiguity, absurdity and mystery

Recognizes and embraces the notion that knowledge has its limits» Values uncertainty, play, exploration and subjective

interpretation» ‘Unscientific’ approach, a subversion of traditional HCI

methods

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Dante’s Hell

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Advantages of cultural probes

Provide opportunities to discover new pleasures, new forms of sociability and new cultural forms» Not designing solutions to user needs» Offer possibilities for surprising results» Doesn’t focus on an ‘average’ user

Reduce distance between researchers and users» Formal, geographic and cultural distance» Through its design and communication, the designers

make their intentions clear Gives a deep sense of familiarity and engagement with

the people you design products for

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From probes to design

Probes are not meant to be rigorously analysed» Serve as inspiration for reflecting» Don’t directly lead to designs» Making you aware of the detailed richness of an

environment» Embraces subjectivity, uncontrolledness and personality

Prevent from believing you can look into people’s heads» Impossible to arrive at comfortable conclusions» Understand their responses empathetically» Make the strange familiar, and the familiar strange

Probes are only one source for designing product» Some design decisions directly based on probe returns» Create a relationship with users, like designing for a

friend

Example cultural probe results

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Agenda

The User ExperienceAnalysis methods

Requirements specificationDesign methods

Evaluation methods

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Extreme characters (Djajadiningrat)

Fictional users with exaggerated emotional attitudes» Take another perspective» To highlight cultural issues» Complementary method, not replacing personas

Advantages» Character traits can be exposed which normally

remain hidden because they are antisocial or in conflict with a person’s status.

Disadvantages» It is not your user, not based on data» How many extreme characters?» Which extreme characters?

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Example extreme character for agenda planner

The drug dealer» Information is very

sensitive, cannot fall in the wrong hands

» He does not plan far ahead since dealers come and go

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Agenda

The User ExperienceAnalysis methods

Requirements specificationDesign methods

Evaluation methods

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Experience prototyping (Buchenau and Suri)

“A form of prototyping that enables design team members, users and clients to gain first-hand appreciation of existing or future conditions through active engagement with prototypes”» What are the contextual, physical, temporal, sensory, social

and cognitive factors we must consider for our design?» What is the essence of the existing user experience?» What are essential factors that our design should preserve?

Example: experience of a heart patient» Designers were given a pager for a weekend» When the pager went off, this simulated a defibrillating shock» Designers had to record their current experience

Closely related to role playing

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Examples of experience prototyping

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Agenda

The User ExperienceAnalysis methods

Requirements specificationDesign methods

Evaluation methods

UX evaluation methods

Most amount of new methods in this category» A lot of research in this area» New methods or variations are being discussed at

several conferences (e.g. see http://www.allaboutux.org/)

Different classifications possible, based on» Verbal or non-verbal measurement» Quantitative or qualitative results» Phase in the design process» General type of evaluation (lab, field, survey, …)

Analysis, design or evaluation?» Some methods could be used in several stages» Only evaluation when interaction with product is the

focus

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Verbal vs. non-verbal methods

Non-verbal observation methods (‘objective’)» Language independent, unobtrusive, more objective» Limited set of basic emotions, no combination of emotions» Psycho-physiological measurement, facereading, emotion

heuristics Verbal self-report methods (‘subjective’)

» Subjective feelings measured through self-report» Can represent any set of emotions, can measure combinations

of emotions» Difficult to apply between cultures» Questionnaires, rating scales, laddering

Non-verbal self-report methods (‘subjective’)» Subjective feelings, distinct or combinations of emotions» Does not require subjects to verbalize emotions» Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), Product Emotion Measurement

Instrument (PrEmo), Emocards

Means End Theory

A theory to understand how specific features or attributes (means) of a product relate to personal values (ends)» People choose a product because it has attributes

(the means) that provide consequences and fulfilling personal values (the ends)

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Examples

Attributes» colour, taste, design, …

Consequences» Functional: price, quality, user-friendliness, …» Psycho-social: habits, reliability, …

Values» Health, security, fun, social power, …

Glass => transparent, see what is in it => make sure it is healthy => my children deserve the best => I am a good mom

Glass => can be cleaned and reused => environmentally friendly => save the planet

Plastic => light => easily disposible => practical => more time for more important things => you have to be productive and get ahead in life

Example: Yoghurt packaging

One particular method for researching means-end chains» Not the only one but the most popular in consumer

research because it proved to be superior

Entails both a » qualitative technique (which ladders)

∙ How to interview

» quantitative technique (which are dominant)∙ How to analyze data and generalize from it

Laddering

• Graphs the dominant links in a hierarchical value map (HVM)

• association network• meaningful couplings

between attributes, consequences and values.

(reynolds and Gutman, 1988)

Hierarchical Value Map

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How to perform laddering

One-to-one in-depth interviews» Researcher asks question ‘what do you like about

[product x]’» After first answer, question is reformulated to ‘what

do you like about [answer]’Reveals the relation between

» Product attributes (A)» Product consequences (C)» User’s values (V)

Results in means-end chain

Example of laddering interview

Researcher: I forgot again, which one did you like

most?

Child stands up and points at the bird

Oh yes, the bird, can you tell me why?

"Because I like it"

Ah, because you like it, and can you tell me why?

"The tumbling it makes” [A]

Ah, the tumbling it makes, and why is that nice?

"Because that is so funny” [C]

Ah, and why do you like it when it is funny?

"Because it is really cool that it can make a

looping" [A]

Ah, and why do you like that it makes a looping?

"Because sometimes they fall on their bum and

they do funny"[A-C]

Ah, and why do you like that it is funny?

"That they fall on their bum" [A]

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Example means-end chain

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Example means-end chain

AttrakDiff evaluation (Hassenzahl)

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AttrakDiff results

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Emocards (Desmet)

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Example analysis emocards (Wimmer e.a.)

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Sensual Evaluation Instrument (Isbister e.a.)

A tool for self-assessment of affect while interacting with computer systems» Subjective» Real-time feedback» Transcending language and cultural barriers» No distortion through verbalization» More fun for the user

Example analysis SEI (Wimmer e.a.)

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Example analysis SEI (Wimmer e.a.)

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Questions?

david.geerts@soc.kuleuven.be