1. CSCD 487/587 Human Computer Interface Winter 2013 Lecture 3 HCI and Interactive Design

2. Introduction Last time … – Defined “Interaction Design” Designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives Looked at some Good and Bad designs Learned about history of user interfaces including people who created some early interface products Good Bad Ugly

3. Today's Overview What is Interaction Design? — Four basic activities — Three key characteristics Some practical issues — Who are the users? — What are ‘needs’? — Where do alternatives come from? — How do you choose among alternatives ? — Some general guidelines

4. What is Interaction Design? It is a process — Goal-directed problem solving activity informed by Intended use, Target domain, Materials, Cost, and feasibility And, FORMOST - USERS — Creative activity

5. Four basic activities There are four basic activities in Interaction Design 1. Identifying needs and establishing requirements 2. Developing alternative designs 3. Building interactive versions of the designs 4. Evaluating those designs

6. Three key characteristics Three key characteristics permeate these four activities 1. Focus on users early in design 2. Identify, document and agree to specific usability and user experience goals 3. Iteration is inevitable. Designers never get it right first time !!!

7. Some practical issues Who are the users? What are their ‘needs’? Where do alternatives come from? How do you choose among alternatives?

8. Who are the users? Not as obvious as you think — Those who interact directly with the product — Those who manage direct users — Those who receive output from the product — Those who make the purchasing decision

9. User Categories Three Categories of User Primary Frequent hands-on Secondary Occasional Tertiary Affected by its introduction, or will influence its purchase Wider term: Stakeholders

10. Who are the stakeholders? Check-out operators Customers Managers and owners Suppliers Local shop owners Grocery check-out System

11. Who are the users? What are their capabilities? Humans vary in many dimensions! Some Examples — Size of hands may affect the size and positioning of input buttons — Motor abilities may affect the suitability of certain input and output devices — Height if designing a physical kiosk — Strength - a child’s toy requires little strength to operate, but greater strength to change batteries

12. What are ‘needs’? Do you agree with these statements? Users rarely know what is possible Users can’t tell you what they ‘need’ to help them achieve their goals Instead, look at existing tasks — Their context — What information do they require? — Who collaborates to achieve the task? — Why is the task achieved the way it is?

13. Where do alternatives come from? Humans stick to what they know works But considering alternatives is important to ‘break out of the box’ Designers are trained to consider alternatives Software people generally are not How do you generate alternatives? — ‘Flair and creativity’: Research & synthesis — Seek inspiration: Look at similar products or look at very different products Or

14. How do you choose among alternatives? Evaluation with users or with peers e.g. prototypes Technical feasibility: Some not possible Quality thresholds: Usability goals lead to usability Criteria Can use these to help decide on correct design Look at what exactly are Usability Goals...

15. Usability Goals Look at usability goals to help determine best choice among possible designs What is usability in general? Usability refers to ensuring that interactive products are easy to learn, effective to use, and enjoyable from the user's perspective.

16. Usability Goals Usability can be broken down into the following goals Effectiveness Efficiency Safety Utility Learnability Memorability

17. Usability Effectiveness Goodness of the product in meeting its intended use Efficiency Way product supports users in carrying out their tasks Safety Protecting users from dangerous conditions or undesirable conditions

18. Usability Utility Refers to extent to which product provides right kind of functionality so that users can do what they need to do Example: Tax program that lets accountants do tax returns Learnability How easy is a program to learn to use

19. Usability Memorability How easy a program is to remember how to use once learned These goals can transformed into usability criteria Not all of these will be relevant to each product!!

20. User Experience Goals User experiences are somewhat objective and concerned with how a system feels to users Two sides to describing user experiences Desirable aspects and undesirable aspects

21. User Experience Goals Desirable Program Aspects Satisfying, enjoyable, engaging, pleasurable, exciting, entertaining, helpful, motivating, challenging, fun, provocative, surprising, rewarding Undesirable Program Aspects Boring, frustrating, annoying, childish, unpleasant, patronizing, cutesy, making you feel stupid

22. Principles of Design Design Principles Used by designers to aid them in designing the user experience Concerned with what users should see and do when carrying out tasks Most common are: Visibility, Feedback, Constraints, Consistency and Affordance

23. Principles of Design Visibility The more visible functions are, the more likely users will know what to do next And, when functions are out of sight, more difficult to find them and know how to control them Example: Sensor based lights

24. Principles of Design Feedback Involves sending back information about what action has been done And what has been accomplished Examples: Audio, visual, verbal, and combinations

25. Principles of Design Constraints Restricting kinds of user interaction that can take place at a given moment Example: Greying out certain menu choices Consistency Design so interface has similar interactions for similar tasks Example: Using mouse clicks for similar tasks

26. Principles of Design Affordance Attribute of an object that allows people to know how to use it Afford means to “give a clue” Example: Door handles, scissors, hammer

27. Summary Process of Interaction design is a four step process Identifying needs and establishing requirements Developing alternative designs Building interactive versions of the designs Evaluating those designs Usability Goals contribute to the process User experience goals also contribute to the design process Common design principles should also be included in and Interactive design process

28. The End Reading – Chapter 1.. moving on to Chapter 2