DISCOVERYTextbook:

S. Heim, The Resonant Interface:

HCI Foundations for Interaction Design [Chapter 4]Addison-Wesley, 2007

March 2, 2011

CS 320 Interaction Design

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1 What is Interaction Design?2 Interaction Design Processes – review3 Discovery Phase

Outline

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Goals of Interaction DesignInterdisciplinary AspectsMajor Trends

1 What is Interaction Design?

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Interaction Design

Interaction Design (IxD) is about helping users make the best out of their experience with computer systems

“Designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives”

[Price, Rogers, and Sharp, 2007]

“Interaction design defines the structure and behavior of interactive systems. Interaction designers strive to create meaningful relationships between people and the products and services that they use, from computers to mobile devices to appliances and beyond”

[Wikipedia 2011]

The practice typically centers on “embedding information technology into the ambient social complexities of the physical world”

[M. McCullough, 2004]

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Interaction Design and Related Disciplines

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Interaction Design: Major Trends6

Mobile applications, smart phones (small screens)

Tablet PCs, multi-touch devices (touch screens)

Virtual reality (immersive environments)

Very large displays(big screens)

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Iterative DesignUser-Centered DesignInteraction Design Models:

Basic Software Engineering Model (Waterfall SE)Basic Human-Computer Interaction Model (HCI)Discount Usability Engineering (DUE)

Framework: Discovery, Design and Evaluation (DDE)

2 Interaction Design Process

- brief review -

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Interaction Design Process: Iterative Design

Interaction design is an iterative processThe knowledge path is constantly moving

forward

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Interaction Design Process: User Centered Design

User Centered Design (UCD) was pioneered by Donald Norman’s research laboratory at the University of California at San Diego

The objective of UCD is to develop a design framework that enables interaction designers to build more usable systems

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Interaction Design Process: User Centered Design

The main principles of user-centered design: Early focus on users and tasks: directly study cognitive,

behavioral, anthropomorphic, and attitudinal characteristics

Continuous evaluations to determine ease of learning and ease of use: observe, record and analyze the users’ reactions and performance to scenarios, manuals, simulations, and prototypes

Iterative design: when problems are found in user testing, fix them and carry out more tests

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Interaction Design Process: Waterfall Model

Traditional SE model (waterfall)

Emphasis is on systematic, step-wise development

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Interaction Design Process: Basic HCI Model

Typical HCI model [Rogers et al, 2007]. Note that emphasis is on iteration, evaluation, and alternative versions.

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Interaction Design Process: DUE Model

Nielsen suggested that the number of problems P that could be identified from a usability test with n users can be calculated according to the following equation:

P = N [1-(1-L)n]

where:

N = total number of usability problems in a designL = proportion of usability problems discovered with a single participant (31%)n = number of users

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Interaction Design Process: DDE Framework

General DDE Framework [Heim 2007]

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Discovery Phase = Collection + Interpretation Goals of Collection & Interpretation Collection

Exploring the work domain Collection methods (direct/indirect)

Observation: etnographic studies, recording devices Elicitation: interviews, focus groups, logs and notes, corporate documentation, questionnaires

3 Discovery Phase

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Interaction Design Process: Discovery

General DDE Framework [Heim 2007] - Discovery

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Discovery Phase: Goals of Collection

During the collection portion we need to formally identify: The people who are involved with the work The things they use to do the work The processes that are involved in the work The information required to do the work The constraints imposed on the work The inputs required by the work The outputs created by the work

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Discovery Phase: Goals of Interpretation

We will then interpret the information by: Creating descriptions of the people who do the work Describing the different goals involved in the work Documenting the work step by step Creating different stories about how the various

aspects of the work are done Creating charts and diagrams of the work flow Tracing the different stories identified with the

various people through the charts and diagrams

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Discovery: Exploring the Work Domain

Design projects typically fall in three categories: Incorporating new designs into existing workflows Improving designs already in place Designing new, innovative devices

Work domains are extremely diverse: Inventories, data-intensive systems Websites, online applications Medical applications Military applications Educational tools Entertainment products, etc.

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Discovery: Exploring the Work Domain

Who are the users? (not as obvious as we might think): Those who interact directly with the product Those who manage direct users Those who provide input or receive output from the

product Those who make the purchasing decision Those who use competitors’ products

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Discovery: Exploring the Work Domain

Four types of stakeholders: Primary: use the design directly Secondary: either supply input or receive

output from the design Facilitators: develop or maintain the design Indirect: affected by the use of design, but

have no direct contact with it

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Discovery: Exploring the Work Domain

The primary stakeholders should have the most impact on the eventual design

A new system that is not designed to be integrated with the work that other people in the company do may cause needless disruptions

All stakeholders should be considered during the design

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Exploring the Work Domain

Understand the competition Learn from other design solutions Assess both the positive and negative aspects Respect copyrighted material and intellectual

property

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Collection: Methods of Collection

Methods of Collection Observation: Valuable information can be

obtained by watching people perform their activities in the context of the work environment. Observations can be made directly during the work day

or indirectly using video and auditory recordings

Elicitation: Elicitation methods also involve direct and indirect methods of investigation, such as interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires

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Collection: Methods of Collection

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Mobile computing[Mozilla Seabird] (Nathan)

Direct manipulation[Future user interface][Library carousel]

Virtual reality / 3D Environments[CAVE 1993] [Museum 1] [Therapy][Museum 2]

Natural language interaction [Siri] [Articulate]

Other cool videos [Sketch furniture by Front] [High-speed robot hand][Autodesk design] [MIT’s Nexi robot] [Microsoft sphere][Interactive window] [Honda Asimo] [Corning - glass]

Video Selection

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