What is Design?Why does it matter?

David VronayResearch ManagerWindows UI StrategyMicrosoft, Inc.

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Dave Vronay

• Current Role– Research Manager, Windows UI Strategy (MSX)

• Previous Roles– Research Manager, Microsoft Research Asia Center fo

r Interaction Design– Researcher, Social Computing Group, Microsoft Rese

arch– VP Technology, ImaginEngine (children’s software)– Researcher, Human Interface Group, Apple Computer,

Inc.

• Educational Background– Philosophy– Cinema Production– Game Programming (self-taught)

Class Process and Agenda

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Class Structure

• Five day seminar• No Previous Design Experience

Necessary• No programming required– But the lectures will assume a

knowledge of programming concepts

• Participation both inside and outside of class– You will only learn this stuff by trying it

yourself

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Assignments

• Every Seminar ends with an assignment

• Each day’s lecture builds on the assignments of the previous day

• Assignments can be done individually or in groups– I recommend diverse groups

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Getting the most out of the seminar

• Do the assignments• Use the TAs• Take advantage of your instructor– Ask questions!!– I am around outside of class– davevr@microsoft.com

• Embrace the concepts– Don’t just focus on the work– Make it relevant to what you do every da

y

What is Design?

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

MSX and Design at Microsoft

• MSX = Microsoft User Experience Team

• In reality, MSX focuses on Windows, not all Microsoft products– Shell, IE, Media Player– Not MSN, Office, Money, Halo, etc.

• Set & enforce style guidelines• Define the computing experience

for the rest of the world

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What does MSX do?

• Interaction Design of Windows!

• What is interaction design?

• Making something look good

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What is Interaction Design?

Device Capabilities

& DeviceLimitations

User Needsand

User Abilities

USER INTERFACE

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What designers do

• Understand the user– Needs, capabilities, desires

• Understand the problems– Frustrations, confusions, inabilities

• Propose solutions– enable technology to meet the user’s needs without

exceeding the user’s capabilities

• Test Everything– Design decisions are not opinions, but are

strenuously tested in formal usability studies

• Iterate as necessary– Design is a process of moving ever closer to (but

never reaching) the mythical ideal solution

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Common Design Myths

• MYTH: Designers are artists– Truth: most designers are not particularly good artists, and most

artists are not good designers• MYTH: Designers are really creative

– Truth : Design is much more about being methodical than creative. Designers want to test and measure every possible approach and variable

• MYTH: Designers come in at the end to polish the final work– Truth : Design should start as early as possible. The longer you

wait, the less benefit you can get from design. Ideally, design should start before any other work.

• MYTH: Designers are aloof and in their own world– Truth: Designers do not do any technology! Therefore, it is essential

that we collaborate with other groups (like yours).• MYTH: Design is a luxury

– Truth: Actually, design can be especially valuable in cost-conscious projects because it can stop you from going down dead-ends

• In general, design is just a method for solving problems!

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Roles in Design

• Interaction Designers– Design the user model and overall flow

• Visual Designers– Design the look and feel

• Industrial Designers– Design the hardware

• Usability Experts– Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists

• Prototypers– Fast programmers who help realize designs

• Production Team– Artists, Animators, Musicians– Production Managers– Internal Tools

Why does design matter?

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

A History of the World

• Stone Age

• Bronze Age

• …

• Agricultural Age

• Industrial Age

• Information Age

• And now, the Conceptual Age

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Welcome to the Conceptual Age

• Programming has become a commodity– Today China & India– Tomorrow, Vietnam– Soon, gone all-together

• Technology is not enough– How the technology fits into the human l

ifestyle is what determines success

• Example: iPod, cell phone, etc.

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What skills are needed?

• Everything that was needed before, plus…

• Deep Understanding of Technology

• Sense of Aesthetics

• Concern for the human condition

• Love of perfection

Design in the Software Development Process

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The Old Way

Code Ship!

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The Old Microsoft Way

Write Spec

Coding Testing Ship!

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The Current Model

Design and Write Spec

Coding Testing Ship!Usability

Serious problem discovered!

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A Design-Centric Model

Coding Testing Ship!

Write Spec

DefineProblems& Goals

Design Solutions

RapidPrototype

UserTest

Less than perfect

Close to perfect

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

In summary…

• Design produces a better product– Iterate and test many versions instead of

just one

• Design saves money– Rewrites and changes are discovered

during prototyping, while they are still cheap to fix

Now it is your turn!

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Current calculator is unchanged from Windows 1.0

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Time for a redesign

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Let’s design Calculator XP!

?

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Assignment 1: Calculator XP

• Redesign the calculator to make it better than the one currently shipping in XP

• Produce a simple walkthrough that explains your design– PowerPoint, Acrobat, HTML, etc.– No more than three pages

• Do not write code

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

Understanding the space

• Problems with current design

• Limitations with current product

• Capabilities of the computer

• Features we could have

• Uses and users

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.

© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.