Willem Fabritius will@usercentric.ie IS6133 Fundamentals of Interaction Design Lecture 1: Introduction to IS6131 and interaction design Willem Fabritius will@usercentric.ie Rob Gleasure r.gleasure@ucc.ie

IS6133 Today’s session Course outline Some basic truths of interaction design Continuous assessment An exercise (maybe)

IS6133 Module objective To provide students with an introductory understanding of interaction and interface design principles and development methods for desktop, web and mobile software. Learning outcomes Articulate and apply core Human-Computer Interaction principles Elicit user interaction requirements Analyse, design and prototype user interfaces Effectively utilise interface paradigms and patterns and the methods associated with usability engineering, information architecture and information visualisation Rigorously evaluate existing software interfaces

Design as art or science? Image from http://intelligentink.co.nz/copywriting-an-art-or-science/

Creating the artificial Image from https://sugoru.com/2016/09/25/herbert-simon-design-from-a-sociological-perspective/

Externalisation of idea So how does that work? Idea Internalise Externalisation of idea Internalise Idea Idea Internalise Idea Idea

Learning interaction design Interaction design concepts & experience Design thinking (focus of IS6133) Design Science (focus of IS4446) Re-usable design methods & practices Re-usable design outputs & archetypes

Design thinking The origins of design thinking are generally associated with Rolf Faste in Stanford and David Kelley in Ideo It grew from growing realisation in the 1970s onwards that design problems are not like the ‘solvable’ and quasi-mathematical problems in the natural sciences Design thinking is now one of the leading business concepts in a range of industries Mostly describes a mind-set and an umbrella term for a collection of tools

Design thinking Some argue that design knowledge is almost entirely process-related, as people learn to reproduce patterns of insight Quote from Chuck Close (an American artist/photographer) Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work. And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will — through work — bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great ‘art idea.’ And the belief that process, in a sense, is liberating and that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day.

Basic truth 1: every interaction design problem is unique and unsolvable Interaction design problems are ‘wicked’ Not bounded – limitless number of variables No stopping rule – they are never completed and each problem is in some way(s) unique Solutions are not correct/incorrect – some are better/some are worse Every solution creates a new problem At its core, interaction design is about understanding users’ needs The better defined a problem, the better it can be solved

Basic truth 2: creativity is a function of listening Tendency to think of ourselves as creative or not This assumes inspiration comes from within ourselves Good design is about creating something useful for other people This requires Human-centrism – an interaction is better or worse for a person, everything is about them Immersion among users – people can/will only tell you a certain amount of what they do and feel. You need to see/do/feel it for yourself Open-mindedness – every idea can be shot down. Give it a chance to grow and compete

Basic truth 3: having lots of ideas is the most reliable route to good ideas This has two important implications You have to keep searching for alternatives, even if you don’t want to find something better Design teams are more creative (though less efficient) when they think differently A good designer is ‘T-shaped’ Duplicate expertise is not so much valued

Basic truth 4: every assumption should be subject to cross-examination This is not just about specific design features, it also includes The problem being addressed Requirements for that problem Tools/technologies/systems used (and affected) Which user groups are being targeted (and whether they are group-able) Usability/performance Whether a new system is required at all

Design of this course Tools for each part of the interaction design process Image from http://dschool-old.stanford.edu/redesigningtheater/the-design-thinking-process/

Course structure Or more specifically Week 1: Introduction Week 2: Empathise 1 (personas) Week 3: Empathise 2 (empathy maps) Week 4: Define 1 (journey maps) Week 5: Define 2 (value curves) Week 6: Ideate 1 (mind maps) Week 7: Ideate 2 (6 hats) Week 8: Prototyping 1 (storyboards) Week 9: Prototyping 2 (wireframes) Week 10: Test 1 (Testing cards) Week 11: Test 2 (UX audits) Week 12: Revision

Course assessment Continuous assessment: 40 marks Group report – 25% Peer engagement – 15% End of semester exam: 60%

Group report? Working in groups, you will write a report of 3,000-5,000 words, based on a new product or service for one organisation in which a group-member has worked (either independently or as placement)* This report will Present a new product or service, either for internal employees or external users/customers Apply each of the tools described in class Explain what was learned (or not learned) from using each of those tools * Referred to by a pseudonym to preserve anonymity

Group report (continued) To make this more manageable with your other deliverables, this will be delivered in two parts Part 1 (10%) is due Friday 13th October This will be a write up of the empathising and defining part – an interesting problem you have discovered Roughly 1,500-2,000 words Part 2 (15%) is due Friday 1st December This will be a write up of the whole thing – the ideating, prototyping, and testing part added to the content from Part 1 Roughly 3,000-5,000 words

Peer engagement? We have a dedicated forum for this course, which you may reach in two ways Go to robgleasure.com, scroll down to IS6133, and follow the link Go directly to http://corvus2vm.ucc.ie/phd/rgleasure/rgleasure/SCS/index.php You may register for that forum by entering your student number, picking a suitable screen name (it doesn’t have to be your real name or even recognisable), and a password. Once registered, you may set up groups, at which time you will have access to a separate section that only you and your groupmates may see

Peer engagement (continued) Each week will take the following format During class We will discuss last week’s content We will learn a new tool/technique Each group will apply the new tool/technique to their selected design problem(s) After class Each group will create a digital version of what they produced by applying the new tool/technique to their problem Each group will save that digital version in pdf or jpg format and upload it to their group section, and then the forum Each individual will comment on two other group’s efforts and select one such effort as their favourite

Peer engagement (continued) Marks will be awarded For amount of feedback given to others For quality of feedback given to others For responsiveness to others’ feedback For inclusivity of discussion For contribution to new insights from discussion Basically for helping each other learn (don’t try and game this – be sincere, make an effort, and the marks will come)

An exercise: Blackboard

Blackboard Blackboard was founded in 1997 and launched their first software in 1998, Blackboard Learn Blackboard Learn offers a web-based course delivery and management system Over the coming years the company expanded internationally and eventually went public in 2004 They were bought out in 2011 for over $1.5 billion dollars Let’s apply the principles of design thinking and see if we can design some alternative(s)

1 Interview (2x3 minutes) Form groups of two (these will be your groups throughout the exercise) One of you should take 3 minutes to ask your partner how use online resources for different modules, how they stay up to date, how they are connected to other students, what they like/don’t like about the current situation. Take notes as you interview them After 3 minutes, switch roles so the second person asks the first about their habits, preferences, etc.

2 Dig Deeper (2x3 minutes) Again taking turns, you should take another 3 minutes to explore some of your partner’s answers. Ask ‘why’ and really search for surprises Again, take notes as you interview them, particularly of things that surprised you After 3 minutes, switch roles

3 Capture Findings (2 minutes) On your own, take 2 minutes to jot down Your partner’s needs from their online resources – these should be verbs Any insights you learned about your partner (how they feel about the online resources for courses, their worldview, etc.) In particular, try and make note of areas where his/her needs differ from yours, as well as where they are the same.

4 Define a Problem Statement (2 minutes) Once more on your own, take 2 minutes to create a really rich problem statement for your partner Remember, this should be juicy enough to afford multiple different approaches It should take the rough form My partner _______partner’s name________ needs a way to ___ partner’s need from their online resources____. Unexpectedly, in his/her world, ________________insight________________________________.

5 Capture Findings (5 minutes) Again on your own, take 5 minutes to come up with 2-5 radical ideas that could meet your partner’s needs Don’t get hung up on whether they are practical, nor how they could actually be put together – the goal here is to come up with as many interesting and creative ideas as you can Draw these ideas where possible, use words sparingly

6 Share ideas and Capture Feedback (2x3 minutes) One of you should take 3 minutes to talk your partner through your ideas Ask them what they like/don’t like but remember The best outcome is new ideas! Avoid defending ideas, other than to clarify what it is your partner doesn’t like After 3 minutes, switch roles

7 Reflect and Create a New Solution (2 minutes) This may be a refinement of a previous idea or something completely new It’s completely ok (good, even) if you need to change your problem statement as part of this re-design Try and create some drawing that will really make it clear what you are thinking about creating

8 Discuss New Solution (2x2 minutes) One of you show your partner your new solution Again, remember – the point is not to confirm your design, it’s to foster discussion and create new insights After 2 minutes, switch roles

Getting set up on the online system Decide the groups among yourselves, or email me and ask to be randomly allocated a group. I will get the online system up and running in the next few days (I want to make some tweaks from last year), then email the class to let them know it’s ready (I’ll include the link in that email as well). Each person will register, then one person can set up the group and add the others (you should decide a group name before this)

Readings Herbert, S. A. (1969). The science of the artificial. MIT Press, Massachusetts. Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic Books (AZ). Cooper, A., Reimann, R., & Cronin, D. (2007). About face 3: the essentials of interaction design. John Wiley & Sons. Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked problems in design thinking. Design issues, 8(2), 5-21. Dorst, K. (2011). The core of ‘design thinking’ and its application. Design studies, 32(6), 521-532. Kimbell, L. (2011). Rethinking design thinking: Part I. Design and Culture, 3(3), 285-306.