Introduction September 2 nd, 2009

Accomplish a Task Make Life Easier or More Efficient Entertainment A Means to and End

A Means to an End Find some fact or object Learn something Perform a transaction Control or Monitor something Create something Converse with other people Entertainment

Designing a Good User Interface Step #1: Understand your users ◦ What are they like/personality characteristics? ◦ Why do they use your software? ◦ How with they interact with your software? “Software in a means to an end for the people who use it. The better you satisfy those end, the happier those users with be.”

Primary Task of a UI Designer Script/Design/Design the terms of an user’s interaction with the software Your considerations: ◦ What are the user’s motives and intentions? ◦ What words, icons, gestures does the user expect to use? ◦ How can the application set appropriate expectations for the user? ◦ Finally, how do the user and machine end up communicating meaning to each other? Again, to answer these questions correctly, you must understand your user

Example: Client Why does a user use an client? ◦ To send/receive . Why does the user ? ◦ To engage in conversation. ◦ Could this be meet by other means? What other requirements exist? ◦ Archiving ◦ Privacy ◦ Culture ◦ Others?

Example: Job Website Why does a user use a job website? ◦ An individual wants to find a job ◦ An employer wants to post a job/monitor job postings Requirements for a job seeker? Requirements for an employer?

Example: Pro Sports Team Site What does a user go to this site? ◦ Team Information (Roster, Bio’s, Stats, etc) ◦ Game Times ◦ Purchase Tickets ◦ Purchase Memorabilia ◦ View Highlights Requirements? How do the user base and site goals conflict/differ?

User Research Empirical Data Target Audiences (Narrow or General) Target Groups (Which demographics to target) Summary ◦ Audience: Who you want to use the software ◦ User Groups: Which types of groups can those users be categorized into

Understanding Your Users Their goals in using the software you design The tasks they undertake in pursuit of those goals The vocabulary and gestures they user to describe what they are doing Their general computer skills Their skill in using similar software Their attitude towards what you are designing Cultural or Language specific aspects Appreciation of Visual Appeal vs. Functionality

How to Gain this Understanding Time and Money User Research Methodologies ◦ Direct Observation ◦ Case Studies ◦ Surveys ◦ Personas

User Research: Direct Observation Interviews (phone/live meeting or on site) Structured or Freeform Strictly gather requirements or demo and received feedback Pros? Cons?

User Research: Case Studies Deep, detailed views into a small number of users or user groups (Typically ~5) Grouped by some demographic (often expertise) Longitudinal Studies Pros? Cons?

User Research: Surveys Typically or software driven, occasionally written Statistical Significance Survey Design (Avoid Bias) Pros? Cons?

User Research: Personas Data utilization, not data gathering Technique Models the target audiences through fictional characters ◦ What they are trying to accomplish ◦ Final Goals ◦ Experience level in the subject domain Helps the design thinking process Pros? Cons?

User Research for a Software Organization User research is a marketing activity Marketing user research goals != designer user research goals ◦ Marketing wants to understand the buyer ◦ Designer/Developer wants to understand the user Its typically up to someone on the technical side of things to understand both audiences and exploit the differences

User Patterns in Software Safe Exploration Instant Gratification Satisficing Changes in Midstream Deferred Choices Incremental Construction Habituation Spatial Memory Prospective Memory Streamlined Repetition Keyboard Only Other Peoples Advice

Safe Exploration “Let me explore without getting lost or getting into trouble” If user feels they can explore and interface without dire consequences they are likely to learn more. The consequences can be as minor as an annoyance (Dismissing popups, re-entering data, loud sounds, etc) Good software allows people to try something unfamiliar, back out, and try something else – with ease. Examples?

Instant Gratification “I want to accomplish something now, not later” Human nature is to expect immediate results from actions Good software may allow a user to get a quick “success experience” within the first few seconds. The will more likely to keep using it and learn more – even if it gets harder. Examples?

Satisficing “This is good enough. I don’t want to spend more time learning to do it better.” Users do not methodical inspect a new user interface, they scan and try – trial and error. Satisficing = Satisfying + Sufficing People are willing to accept good enough instead of the best if the learning cost is lower. Considerations ◦ Short, Concise labels ◦ Use the layout to communicate meaning ◦ Safe Exploration ◦ Visually complicated = Large Cognitive load Examples?

Changes in Midstream “I changed my mind about what I was doing” Don’t look users into a specific path, global navigation is typically a good thing Exceptions? Reentrance Examples?

Deferred Choices “I don’t want to answer that now, just let me finish” Originates from a desire for instant gratification. A user don’t want to be annoyed with a “meaningless” question when they are trying to accomplish a task Considerations: ◦ Avoid many upfront choices/questions ◦ Clearly mark required fields ◦ Basic and Advanced options ◦ Good Defaults ◦ Allow returning to deferred items later Examples?

Incremental Construction “Let me change this. That doesn’t look right; let me change it again” People don’t often create things all at once, especially if it’s complex Make it easy to build small pieces Make the interface responsive to quick changes Constant Feedback loop Good tools allow natural flow, Bad tools distract Examples?

Habituation “That gesture works everywhere else, why doesn’t it work here too?” Frequently used physical actions become reflexive Great for power users, becomes mindless Consistency across applications is paramount! Consider default actions on items that can be dismissed, what though process are you causing? Examples?

Spatial Memory “I swear that button was here a minute ago… Where did it go?” People more often remember (conceptualize) the location of commands by location rather than by name Consider that desktop, My Documents, etc Consistency! Add Features – Don’t rearrange Configurable interfaces Examples?

Prospective Memory “I’m putting this here to remind myself to deal with it later” We arrange our lives/activities/actions to help us plan for things in the future Calendar, Sticky Notes, etc What type of artifacts should you support if any? Don’t over engineer this concept Examples?

Streamlined Repetition “I have to repeat this how many times???” Narrow repetition down to one keystroke per action, or group of actions Find and Replace is a great example of both Can you allow this to be configured? Examples?

Keyboard Only “Please don’t make me user the mouse” Some users like the mouse Some user don’t like switching Some users don’t like the mouse at all Standard Techniques: ◦ Shortcuts, Accelerators ◦ Selection from lists (Arrow, shift keys) ◦ Tab key for navigation ◦ Boolean changes through Return/Space ◦ Default button with focus

Other People’s Advice “What did someone else say about this?” Social cultures = Influenced by our peers Amazon – User comments Ebay – Prices Search Engines Programming Contests Does this make sense for your application? Other Examples?