CEN3722 Human Computer Interaction Understanding Users Part 1 Dr. Ron Eaglin

Objectives Describe importance of understanding users Describe major user types and guidelines Novices Intermediates Experts Describe examples of user characteristics that may influence design Personal Physical Cultural

Objectives Describe and provide examples of user profiles Describe the difference between interviews and questionnaires and how they are used Create meaningful and appropriate open ended and close-ended questions Define scale anchor and create an appropriate set of anchors for close-ended questions

Design Example

Understanding Users For design we must know Who is the user? What is the task? What is the environment?

Why Study Users? Users decide whether to use a product – not designers. The more we know about users – the better the design. Designs that do not meet the users needs – fail. We study users to answer What individual characteristics affect behavior? What knowledge and experience do they have? What values do they bring to the job? What do they know about the subject matter? What kind of tools do they use?

Personal Characteristics Knowledge and Experience Level of education Reading level/native language Typing skill Level of computer literacy Level of experience with similar systems Level of experience/expertise with the task Aspects of the task that will be familiar

Personal Characteristics Learning Styles Like to be shown how to do something Like to work through problems on their own Types of Assistance Instructor led training Comprehensive documentation/online help Reference cards Performance support (wizards/coaches/ ) Tool Preferences Mouse/keyboard/touch pad

Physical Differences Physical Challenges Color blindness (color only symbols) Poor eyesight (small icons/font sizes)

Cultural Differences Important when product us sold globally Example “Help” in French translates literally to “au secours” which means to cry out for help. Solution: understand language and use Assistance instead.

User Classifications Novice Knowledgeable/intermittent Expert/Frequent Classifications allow us to generalize our user population Not possible to design for individual The “Average person” is a myth

User Classification Knowledgeable/ Intermittent Novice Expert/ Frequent Computer Expertise

User Types - Novice Most difficult Mental Processing is slow/laborious Least experience Least familiarity Least likely to have usable mental model Mental Processing is slow/laborious Knowledge is declarative (vs. procedural) Needs for help/scaffolding

Novice vs. Expert Expert: No instructions Novice: -Click in the Username box -Type your user name -Click into password box -Type your password -Click on login button -Receive message indicating success or failure of login

Novice User Guidelines Need feedback and closure (message that a task has been completed) All initiatives come from the computer Novice user will not know what can be done Computer should offer suggestions of what to do Computer should anticipate questions Each step should be brief Minimize chance of errors Increase chance of step being remembered.

Novice User - Guidelines Input procedures should be consistent with user expectations Users will form expectations about system behavior Help the user form a mental model of operation Everything should be on screen No special training should be needed System messages must be clear and unequivocal (clear to expert is not equal to clear to novice) Specify That a problem (or other condition) exists The problem (if there is one) How to fix the problem (what to do)

Novice User Guidelines Users should be given a small set of options for decisions Avoid feeling of being overwhelmed Short menu vs. full menu option Hide some functionality for Novice users Allow experts to turn on (or automatically turn on) complex menus Users should control pace of interaction Users should be allowed to become familiar with screens

Novice User Guidelines User decisions should be presented in response to a request for action. Help (human/machine/documentation) should always be available. Novices almost always prefer a human for help. There should always be sufficient feedback Novices will not know if they are “doing it right” Always present opportunity for closure

Knowledgeable/Intermittent Users These users can maintain knowledge about their task and genera computer use. They need; Consistent Structures Good help facility Good documentation – context sensitive Good documentation – suggestive/prompted help

Expert Frequent Users Organize knowledge differently than novices Chunk lower level procedures into higher level conceptual structures Experts have similar mental models of systems (novices have diverse mental models). Example – use copy/paste

Expert/Frequent Users Experts look for abbreviated command structures (keyboard shortcuts) Experts do not need as much visibility Example – what are keyboard shortcuts for cut, paste, print, save, copy – expert will know.

User Profiles User profiles indicate the type of people that will be using the system. User profiles must be explicit and clear, contain several details statements concerning basic skills and knowledge a potential user should possess in order to use or learn the system

User Profiles User related characteristics Education Physical capabilities Previous experience Previous training Specific skills based on task/system

Example User Profile Knowledgeable Users Average age of 37 years Average system experience of 2.3 years All users at least 1 year of system experience All users trained in computerized book keeping All users moderate to excellent typing skills

User Profile Questions How many years have you been using a computer? How often do you use a computer? (several times daily, daily, several times per month, monthly, several times per year) How do you rate you computer skill and knowledge? (little, some, average, high) How do you feel about using computers? (they make me very nervous, they make me a little anxious, somewhat confident, very confident)

Methods for Gathering User Information Interviews Talk with users (best) Labor Intensive Subjective Questionnaires Preset questions Might not get unique responses Less labor intensive Objective

Interviews Structured Interviews Unstructured or flexible Predetermined questions No exploration of individual attitudes Unstructured or flexible Have a set of topics (no set sequence) Useful in design requirements phase Exploratory

Questionnaires and Surveys Close ended questions Users asked to select an answer from a possible set of choices Open ended questions Users free to provide their own information

Types of Questions (Closed) In your own estimation what did you find to be the biggest problem in the system? 1. The slowness 2. Lack of functions 3. Lack of flexibility 4. Color (Open) What is the one thing you liked least about the system?

Open vs. Closed Open ended advantages Open ended disadvantages Can get more specific information Can clarify responses Open ended disadvantages Time consuming for respondents Respondents have difficulty expressing themselves Have to be coded and interpreted

Open vs. Closed Close ended advantages Close ended disadvantages Standardized data No need to interpret individual responses Close ended disadvantages Limits unique responses Must anticipate all possible responses in advance

Question Guidelines Must be purposeful Must be concrete What (if any) elements of the system did you have difficulty learning? Must be concrete Were you able to determine how to change the font of a text selection?

Question Guidelines Use short, complete, and understandable sentences. Make it easy for the user to complete the survey Make questions clear Limit open ended questions No more than two pages Include instructions

Questions and Scales How important is the lack of control? 5 users, responses 4,3,4,5,5 – mean of 4.2 Indicates users think that control is not important 1. Very important 2. Important 3. Neither important nor unimportant 4. Unimportant 5. Very Unimportant

Lesson Summary You should be able to: Describe the importance of understanding users Describe the major “user types,” and associated design guidelines for user types: Novices Intermediates Experts

Lesson Summary You should be able to: Describe the term user profile Describe how user profiles are created Describe the interviews and questionnaires, and how they are employed in the pre-design phase to gather information for user profiles. Demonstrate the ability the create a meaningful and appropriate close-ended question