User CENTERED DESIGN IB TOPIC 7

What is it? Basically considering and including human beings on EVERY step of the design cycle.

Principles of UCD A design is based upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks and environments. Users are involved throughout design and development. The design is driven and refined by user-centred evaluation. The process is iterative.  The design addresses the whole user experience. The design team includes multidisciplinary skills and perspectives.

Your Task for a few minutes Think about your car or your parent's car. When you sit in the driver's seat what functions do you think are successful in terms of UCD. What do you think needs to be considered more with the user in mind?

PART 1 = RESEARCH Business and user problems & requirements are analyzed. The user, task and environment are considered This can be done with a multi-disciplinary teams of ethnographer, anthropologists and psychologists

PART 2 = CONCEPT Initial ideas are put forward Concept modelling (ex. paper models) Allows for tactile and appearance evaluations Evaluation is fed back into the design cycle It is quick and cheap to carry out. A multi-disciplinary team of designers, various engineers and psychologists.

PART 3 = DESIGN Development of ideas Scaled models such as prototypes, mock ups etc are made Monitoring of performance against usability requirements Allows for more continued evaluation by the user and design team. Evaluation is fed back into the design cycle

PART 4 = IMPLEMENTATION Various testing and evaluations are carried out with a wide range of end users Evaluation is fed back into the design cycle A multi-disciplinary team is used to measure the end users psychological and physiological experience.

PART 5 = LAUNCH The end product is launched Continuous evaluation is carried out Monitoring of performance against usability requirements

Inclusive design is also part of UCD

But what questions do you ask to achieve a ucd? Who are the users of the product? What are the users’ tasks and goals? What are the users’ experiences and expertise with the product and products like it? What functionality do the users require of the product? What other stakeholders will be impacted by the product? Why is the product being developed? What are the overall objectives? How will the product be used? How will it be judged a success? What are the technical and environmental constraints? What functionality is needed by users? What are the typical scenarios of how and why users will use the product? What are the usability goals? How important is ease of use and ease of learning? How long should it take users to complete their tasks? Is it important to minimize user errors? Are there any initial design concepts?

7.2 Usability

What is it? How well a human- made product can be effectively and efficiently be used by a human. Functions in predictable ways Intuitive Enjoyable to use Prevents user error

Usability objectives Using the online textbooks please write IDENTIFICATIONS for the following objectives: #1 – Usefulness #2 – Effectiveness #3 – Learnability #4 – Attitude

YOUR TURN What is one item that you interact with on a daily basis that you consider designed for usability. List five (5) items that you come in contact with on a daily basis (no doors please or car stuff!) that clearly were not designed with usability in mind. SO WHAT?

Population Stereotypes Assumptions and associations are made by the population of a particular culture regarding how equipment and products operate. What direction to flip a switch (it’s different in different places!)? In the UK and AUS down is on and up is off

7.3 Strategies for user research

Read The Thing Codega hands out… It’s Codega sized therefore you can read and interact with it quickly before we move on!

7.4 Strategies for user centered design

Why do Designers Care? The user has a central role in evaluating whether the product meets their wants and needs

Methods for figuring out what a user wants There are a bunch Field Research Method of Extremes Observations Interviews Focus Groups Questionnaires Affinity Diagraming Prototypes Participatory Designs Usability Laboratories Usability Testing Sessions

Observations: Pros and COns Can uncover unrecognized usability problems Products are tested under actual use Cons Hard to analyze the data collected Usually only performed on finished products

INTERVIEWS Pros Interviewee can ask for clarification about questions Cons Interviews can be time consuming Small groups might not represent all issues with usability Responders may be influenced by the interviewer.

Focus Groups Pros Cons Uncover unrecognized usability problems Are very useful in the early design stages Cons Data is qualitative Difficulties in group dynamics can become disruptive Small groups may not represent all issues with usability

Questionnaires Cons Pros Can cover a wide geographic area Interviewer bias is eliminated A large number can be sent out thus potentially increasing sample size Cons Only a fraction sent out are usually completed May be biased – only interested people may respond

your Turn! Define the following: Affinity Diagraming Participatory Designs Usability Laboratories Usability Testing Sessions