COMM-6810:Studio Design in HCI

Conceptual Design Presentation

Jennifer Kolassa & Ember AndersonTeam JCIMarch 29, 2004

Generic Needs• Everyone has a need for clothing• Most people buy their clothes instead of

making them• Sizes are inconsistent (esp. women’s) across

designers/manufacturers• Time is a commodity; the less time everyday

tasks take (e.g., shopping), the better (i.e., more time to do leisure activities)

• Instant tactile gratification and access of in-store shopping still beats online hassles (color viewing inconsistencies on monitors, sending back items, etc.) in many people’s minds.

Goals

• Initial Goal:o The goal of our HCI Design Project was to

transform the tedious, frustrating, time- consuming task of trying on clothes in-store into a more efficient, pleasant task that the “user” (i.e., shopper) would not dread.

o (Generically): “Make it easier/faster for the user to do what they need to do.”

• Research:o Focus:

To determine clothing shoppers’ (users’) needs (and wants) for selecting and trying on apparel in order to enhance the pleasure and efficiency of the entire activity for them

o Interviews/Observations: Various shoppers of differing demographics Online shoppers

o Approach:Interview – Observation – Interview

Goals (continued)

Goals (continued)

• Research (cont’d):o Challenges:

gaining access to the somewhat personal task of clothes shopping – most of our analysis was that of friends, family, and acquaintances. For obvious reasons, we didn’t feel it would be prudent to ask complete strangers if we could observe them as they shopped and tried on clothes

evaluating the feasibility of addressing apparent conflicts or including possible design expansions beyond the current project scope by weighing the costs versus the risks involved

• Research (cont’d):o Summary:

We have performed a series of activity analyses (browsing for/trying on clothes) to support our proposed HCI design.

We chose the lower-end retail store Target as the location for the majority of analyses for two reasons:

1. to keep as many variables as possible constant,

2. to observe an environment in which our system would likely make an easier/more accepted transformation (transitioning into retail stores where a ‘help-yourself’ culture already existed, as opposed to a luxury, high-end store).

Goals (continued)

• Research (cont’d):o Summary (cont’d):

Target’s dressing room attendants do not assist consumers with finding new sizes, colors, etc. They merely serve as overseers/theft prevention monitors of the dressing rooms, and provide little customer support.

We have observed a diverse subset of people (mostly women) shopping for clothes (and trying them on) at Target. The variables contributing to the observations include age, marital status, goals, times/days, shopping companions and socioeconomic status.

Goals (continued)

• Revised Goal:After analyzing the research, we decided to tweak our design goal slightly in order to more effectively satisfy the needs of the shopper.

The revised goal of our HCI Design Project is to:

transform the task of clothes shopping in a real physical environment by reducing the amount of time spent finding, selecting, and trying on clothes by affording the consumer the ability to access previously unavailable or difficult to obtain information that affects the evaluation and purchase process, in turn creating a more efficient and pleasant shopping experience.

Goals (continued)

Analysis and Transformation

• Current Task/Work Description

Analysis and Transformation (continued)

• Artifact Model (next slide)

USD $12.50

SIZE: LARGE

SKU: 320 15689 03

(barcode)

SKU:Currently useful to:Inventory/Pricing SystemCashier – backup for scanner

Currently holds:SKU (sometimes style, size, manufacturer embedded, depends on retailer)

BARCODE:Currently useful to:Inventory/Pricing SystemCashier/Consumer for speed of checkout

Currently holds:PriceSizeStyle#ColorManufacturer/DesignerSKU

Could be useful to:Consumer to convey information to make shopping experience more efficientRetailer to tailor shopping experience to shopper

Additionally could hold/links to:Graphics & imageryCare InstructionsCompetitive ItemsCoordinating ItemsSize AvailabilityColor AvailabilityLocation within StoreAvailability within StoreItem Class hierarchy (ex: womens - > pants-> jeans->)

SIZE:Currently useful to:Consumer to convey information to make shopping experience more efficient – redundant, conveys information already stored in cryptic barcode or SKU

Currently holds:Item size

PRICE:Currently useful to:Consumer to convey information to make shopping experience more efficient – redundant, conveys information already stored in cryptic barcode or SKUCashier backup in case barcode and SKU fail

• Current Physical Model (next slide)

Analysis and Transformation (continued)

• Apply Scenarioso Trying on a bathing suito Finding a similar bathing suit at a

competitive priceo Finding a beach cover-up to match the

selected bathing suit

Analysis and Transformation (continued)

• Transformed Task/Work Description

Analysis and Transformation (continued)

Analysis and Transformation (continued)

• Class Diagram (next slide)

Shopper

Virtual ‘Clerk’

Clothing Item

Cart Rack

Thumbnail view

Basic view

Detailed view Personal view

Thumbnail view

Analysis and Transformation (continued)

• Apply Scenarioso Trying on a bathing suito Finding a similar bathing suit at a

competitive priceo Finding a beach cover-up to match the

selected bathing suit

Current Issues

• Guaranteed privacy while using the system

• Storage/access of personal data associated with body scans (own, family’s, friend’s, etc.)

• Determination of the proper amount/location of kiosks per display area (based on shopper demographics?

• Insuring updates/changes to the physical display area are reflected in the system

Prototypes – in process

Feedback and Questions?