1. People in systems design
IMD07101: Introduction to Human Computer Interaction
Brian Davison 2011/12
With material from Tom McEwan, Kathy Buckner, Ian Smith and David Benyon

2. Agenda Legal Social Ethical and Professional Issues (LSEPI)
PACT framework
Data collection techniques
Short break
Contexts
Activities
Mental models
PACT analysis
Scenarios
Personas

3. LSEPI Legal Social Ethical Professional
Laws about data protection, processes, illegal digital material in different jurisdictions (in a global Internet)
Social
It’s counterproductive to be anti-social
IT makes new social possibilities
Ethical
In many ways a reflection of Legal and Social
Moral issues
Professional
All of the above – avoid doing the wrong things
Ensure you do (all) the right things

4. Ethics & codes of conduct
“Moral principles governing or influencing conduct”
Oxford English Dictionary definition of ethics
Practitioners are governed by professional codes of conduct. eg
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
British Psychological Society
ACM: Association for Computing Machinery
Usability Professionals Association

5. Research involving more than minimal risk requiring explicit ethical clearance
Vulnerable groups
eg children, those with a learning disability, etc.
Sensitive topics
eg sexual behaviour, their illegal or political behaviour, etc.
Groups where permission of a gatekeeper is normally required for initial access to members
eg ethnic or cultural groups, native peoples, etc.
Covert research
Carried out without participants’ consent
Access to records of personal or confidential information
eg genetic or other biological information, etc
Psychological stress, anxiety or humiliation or pain
Intrusive interventions
eg administration of drugs, vigorous physical exercise, etc.

6. Informed consent The nature of the study
What the participants be required to do
How long it will take
Risks and benefits
Voluntary participation and risk free withdrawal
Use of data
Confidentiality of data
Compensation/reward for participation
Results of study & contact details
Contact details of researcher
Use an Information Sheet and/or Consent Form

7. Legal frameworks
UK: Store personal data in accordance with Data Protection Act (1998)
Completely anonymised data used for research purposes ‘may’ be exempt
Store data securely; use it only for the purpose for which it was gathered; destroy it when no longer needed
Includes paper as well as computer records; includes data that can be processed by computer eg CCTV recordings
Can’t be transferred outside of European Economic Area (EEA) countries without consent of individuals
Purpose of use must be identified when data is collected
Some data also comes under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws – can conflict with DPA – eg civil servants’ salary data

8. What does this mean for HCI practitioners and researchers
Show respect for people
individual, cultural and role differences, including: age, disability, education, ethnicity, gender, language, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital or family status and socio-economic status.
Obtain informed consent
Ensure there is no undue pressure to participate and that there are no penalties for withdrawing from study
Anonymise results
Keep the data secure (in accordance with DPA)
Assume that someone may demand, through FOI, to see your data

9. Usability Professionals Association: Code of Conduct
“Act in the best interest of everyone
Be honest with everyone
Do no harm and if possible provide benefits
Act with integrity
Avoid conflicts of interest
Respect privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity
Provide all resultant data”
Compare with BCS, Chartered Institute for IT
Code of conduct – 3p.
Code of Good Practice – 36p.

10. Requirements analysis
People & HCI (PACT)
Design
Requirements analysis
Evaluation
From Benyon (2009), p ??

11. People vary Physical Ergonomics - Size, shape, reach…
Cognitive characteristics
What motivates, pleases and engages – “affect”
Experience & expectations
Language, culture, morality …
State of health
But not usually age, race or gender in themselves

12. The machine-centred view
People are
Machines are
Vague
Precise
Disorganised
Orderly
Distractible
Undistractible
Emotional
Unemotional
Illogical
Logical

13. The person-centred view
People are
Machines are
Creative
Dumb
Compliant
Rigid
Attentive to change
Insensitive to change
Resourceful
Unimaginative
Able to make flexible decisions based on context
Constrained to make consistent decisions

14. System design example
You work as a support engineer for an organisation which uses a range of office software.
You’ve been asked to design an application for users to report computer problems via a new online logging system.
There is an old logging system but no-one uses it and so the support desk is deluged with phone calls.
What questions do you need to answer?
This is a very typical sort of job which you might face in the real world. One of my placement students has had to do something very similar. Although apparently a fairly mundane application, it still poses design challenges.

15. Typical questions
What do users see as the difficulties with the existing reporting system?
What basic skills do users have?
How often would the system typically be used?
What different user groups are there?

16. Techniques (dictionary.com)
The manner and ability with which an artist, writer, dancer, athlete, or the like employs the technical skills of a particular art or field of endeavour
The body of specialized procedures and methods used in any specific field, especially in an area of applied science
Method of performance; way of accomplishing
Technical skill; ability to apply procedures or methods so as to effect a desired result

17. Data collection techniques
How to find out about users and their activities
Observation (both visual and electronic eg “audit trail”)
Questionnaire surveys
Interviews
Very early prototyping
Many techniques recur in evaluation

18. Observation
Gets at what people really do, not what they think or tell you that they do
Each person shadowed for a day
Focus: information use
Electronic, e.g. mobile phones and PDAs
Traditional, e.g. newspapers and sticky notes
Recorded through notes and video
Unmet needs, inefficiencies and use of artefacts (things!)
Users continued with a text and/or audio log
Group interpretation session
Observing people may change their behaviour
“Hawthorne Effect” (1955)

21. Gathering information from users: questionnaires
Need very careful design and piloting
“Closed” questions
rating scale
easy to analyse but need to balance extremes
“Open-ended” questions
harder to analyse
richer information
Can use statistical analysis if the sample are large enough and representative enough.
We will be doing a practical questionnaire exercise in one of the tutorials.
always
usually
sometimes
rarely
never
excellent
good
Don’t know / neutral
poor
Very poor

22. Closed questions Is Expression Web easy to learn? yes no Rating Scale
How easy is it to use Expression Web?
very
easy
very
difficult

23. Open questions
What was the easiest part of learning Expression Web? Write your answer in the box below.

24. Interviews
Opportunistic information gathering vs. demands on interviewer
Varying degrees of structure
Structured
interviewer can explain the questions (unlike written questionnaire)
but interviewee is limited to pre-set replies
Semi-structured
Tell me about your typical day
Tell me three good things about…
…and three bad things
What if you had three wishes to make the system better?
What has gone wrong with the system recently? How did you cope?
What else should we have asked about?
Planning is essential

25. Extensions of interviews
Using prototypes as part of the interview
Getting users to talk as they work
avoids people having to remember how they do things
some things are easier to demonstrate than explain
Focus groups
can help to get people talking
but also can inhibit comments

26. Artefact investigation & collection
Artefacts - in HCI jargon, things used, processed or created in an activity
Artefacts illustrate aspects such as
what data must be processed
how it is currently organised
what’s important
what instructions are needed
many more subtle aspects of activities

27. Artefacts and the clues they provide
Medical notes - instant clues as to the length of the patient’s history, how many different doctors have been involved, whether last consultant in a hurry…
Post-it notes with instructions stuck to machines and PCs - what’s difficult to understand or remember

28. More examples Design engineers working together across different sites
engineer’s ‘day book’
blueprints of the design
Benefit claims processing system
copies of blank and completed claim forms
standard letters sent to claimants
inter-office memos
public information leaflet about the benefit

29. Getting the data collected for you...
Records of
help requests
bug reports
change requests
Automatic usage logging
User diaries of system use

30. Techniques summary ENVISIONMENT AND EARLY PROTOTYPING interviews
questionnaires
observation
artefact collection
End product: Documented system requirements
ENVISIONMENT AND EARLY PROTOTYPING
usage logs
helpdesk logs
bug reports
change requests
Techniques on right hand side of course only apply where there is an existing computer based system.
Techniques for envisionment and early prototyping covered in later lectures.

31. Short break

32. Different contexts of use
Activities always take place in some context
‘Context’ can means
things that surround an activity, or,
what glues an activity together
Physical environment is one type of context
ATM or ticket machine versus computer at home
Social context is important
Help from others, acceptability of certain designs
Organisational context
Power structure, changes in lifestyle, de-skilling, etc.

33. Public places: cafes

34. Public places: libraries

35. Public spaces: shopping malls

36. Public spaces: pubs

37. Semi public spaces: offices

38. Semi public spaces: schools

39. Private places: home

40. Activities Characteristics of different activities
Temporal aspects – when/how often
To do with timing, frequency etc.
Co-operation and Complexity
Working with others or not
Safety critical
What problems happen if something goes wrong?
Content
What information and media are we dealing with?
How regular or infrequent are the activities?
E.g. making a call on a phone vs. changing the battery
Searching the Web versus working on an Excel spreadsheet
Busy times versus quiet times
Continuous set of actions, or can be interrupted?
Designing so that people can ‘find their place’ again after an interruption
Response time from the system
100 ms for hand-eye coordination activity
1 second for cause-effect activity
Over 5 seconds and people quickly get frustrated
Co-operative or not? Is awareness of others and what they are doing important?
Are they well-defined or vague? Browsing versus doing something clear.
Safety-critical issues
Data requirements
Large amounts of alphabetic data - e.g. writing
small amounts of static, unchanging data - e.g. swipe cards
Media requirements
Need for video, text, colour, sound, etc.

41. Activity: Designing a ticket machine
A train station is introducing a new system of automatic barriers. Now everyone will have to buy a ticket before they travel.
Write down the characteristics of this activity (5 mins in pairs)
Regular/infrequent?
Peaks and troughs
Interruptible?
Response time
Co-operation?
Vague/well-defined?
Safety critical?
Errors?
Data requirements
Media

42. Different technologies
Hardware and software to consider
Input
How to enter data and commands into the system. Suitability of medium for different contexts/activities
Output
Characteristics of displays - ‘streamed’ media versus ‘chunked’ media. Characteristics of the content. Also feedback is important
Communication
Between person and technology. Bandwidth, speed. communication between devices
Content
Functional systems versus systems more focused on content

43. Ticket Machine
So, taking into consideration the contexts of use, the activities and the people:
What technology will you design for the new ticket machines?
(5 mins in pairs)
Consider
Input
Output
Communication
Content

44. Ticket Machine ideas
Input - need to specify destination, need to provide payment, need to specify ticket type
Press button (depending how many stations). Have touch screen (gets greasy). Pay by mobile phone? Contactless card (eg Oystercard)
Output - need to specify options, need to provide a ticket, need to say when complete.
Ticket could be electronic or paper. Printing facility needed. Options as buttons, or menu items? Need to provide change?
Communication - must be simple.
Could be Bluetooth. Probably button presses are easiest?
Content - need to specify stations, but it could have lots of local information. Help with travel planning?

45. Mental models Also known as conceptual models…
…mental models describe the ways in which we think about things - about how we conceptualize things.
a key aspect of the design of technologies is to provide people with a clear model,
… so that they will develop a clear mental model
… but of course that depends on what they know already, their background, experiences, etc. etc.
No such thing as “common sense”?

46. Ticket machine mental model
Restrictions?
Range of prices/times?
Where?
When?
Price?
Pay

47. Creating a mental model
Designer
The system image
Technology
Person using it has to work out how it works from interacting with the system image to develop the user’s mental model
… has some idea about how it works… the ‘designer’s model’

48. Mental models Fill in the details that people don’t tell you
“I had a haircut the other day…” – follows a “standard script”
Are incomplete, in that they don’t include all the details
You could never know exactly what the designer knew
Can be ‘run’ in that you use them in reasoning or remembering
e.g. how many windows are there in your house/flat?

49. PACT Analysis
Understanding the People, their Activities, Context and Technologies
Undertaking a PACT analysis is a useful starting point for design…
Useful for both analysis and design
Understanding the current situation
Seeing where possible improvements can be made
Envisioning future situations
To do a PACT analysis, scope the variety of the P’s, A’s, C’s and T’s in the particular domain

50. Doing a PACT analysis
Identifying the range of PACT elements in a domain
Brainstorming (mindshower)
Envisioning ideas
Draw pictures, sketches, cartoons, cut out pictures from magazines and stick them on a board, etc.
Work with relevant people
Workshops, interviews, observations
Write up as scenarios (stories)

51. Scenarios
Scenarios are stories, about people undertaking activities using technologies in contexts
Develop conceptual scenarios that cover the main activities that the technology has to support
Develop concrete versions of these for specific designs of the technology (implementation)
For example - a conceptual scenario might say
‘Pete logs onto the computer
And a concrete version might be
‘Pete clicks on the ‘log on’ icon’

52. Personas
A Persona is a profile of an archetypical person in the domain
Personas are synthesized from knowledge of real people in the domain
Personas need to have goals - describe what they are trying to achieve
Like scenarios, conceptual personas are abstract types
students, lecturers, etc.
For design it is best to develop a few concrete personas
who have hard characteristics such as age, interests, a name, etc.
Try to bring the character alive - perhaps include a picture or two

53. Example Persona
William is 70 yrs old retired bank manager. He is quite conversant with computers and latest technology and often uses them for and other uses. He has lived alone with his pet dog 'Tommie' for 4 years after his wife died of cancer. He had a good salary and owns many electronic gadgets and appliances. He is a good cook and normally cooks himself, although he orders take-aways occasionally. He is a Manchester United fan and likes to keep himself updated about the news in sports and politics. He is good natured and likes to watch comedy serials and chat with people. Recently he was diagnosed with diabetes and so has to visit his doctor regularly for checkups. Also he has to take precautions in his diet and take medicines on time. He loves his dog and look after it himself. He also keeps his garden green and tidy (which is also a hobby). He wants to enjoy his life and pursue his interests in his old age, but due to mental and physical degradation, he faces problems tackling everything himself and at times feels lonely and rather helpless.

54. Persona + Context setting
Jan and Pat are a couple in their mid thirties. Pat is a university lecturer in Cultural Studies and Jan is an accounts manager at Standard Life insurance.
They live in the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh, Scotland in a two-bedroom flat overlooking the river. It is noon on August 15th. Jan and Pat are sitting in their large, airy kitchen/dining room. The remains of pizza and mixed salad mingles with a pile of newspapers on the kitchen table.
Jan and Pat have recently returned from a holiday on the island of Zante and, apart from checking their , have not gone back to work. They decide that they would like to go to see one of the events that is happening as part of the Edinburgh Arts festival.

55. PACT analysis example - A system for controlling access to laboratories at a university
People
students, lecturers, technicians, people in wheel chairs, visitors, other ‘stakeholders’ e,g, cleaning staff, security
Activities
get security clearance; one step; well-defined; no co-operation; not safety-critical
Contexts
indoors, people carrying books, etc. Socially - alone or in crowd. Political issues?
Technologies
suitable for a small amount of data entered quickly. Very simple to use. Clear output that clearance is successful

56. PACT summary
People demonstrate a wide range of knowledge, abilities and other characteristics. Their mental models of things are critical
Activities have different characteristics which affect how we design to support them
Contexts of use affect the suitability of different designs
Technologies provide many opportunities for doing things differently
Activities and the contexts in which they happen set requirements for the technologies which in turn provide new opportunities
Doing a PACT analysis is a good way of understanding a situation; scope the Ps, As, Cs and Ts looking at the variety of each.

57. What’s next? Tutorial: Using PACT in the design process
Practical: Web authoring with Expression Web
Next week:
Applying design techniques
Bring one laptop per group if possible
Look in WebCT for details of the activities this week
Check ahead to see what’s coming up