Design Considerations for Information Appliances Information Appliances and Beyond By Eric Bergman Ketan Babaria Human Computer Interaction Lab University of Maryland

Where we will go today ??  Information Appliances : The definition  Design Considerations  Challenges ahead

What are information appliances ?

An information appliance is a computer enhanced consumer device dedicated to a restricted cluster of task. Or simply.. It’s an electronic device that performs only a few tasks but does them efficiently and with little effort from the user.

So…  PDAs are information appliances while Computers are not  Other examples –Microwave –TV Set-Top Box –Screen phones

Characteristics of information appliances  Limited purpose and functionality  Not necessarily extensible or upgradeable  Replacement expectation  Perceived as less expensive than PCs  Perceived as less complicated to run and maintain versus PCs  Very easy to learn and use  No expectation of expert user

Why new interface..  Audience reach –Very wide base of consumers –Minimal computer experience  High level of specialization

Design Considerations for information appliances

Define your domain  Entertainment –Interaction with content is the most important factor. User experience is paramount. –Task completion time is not a critical factor  Information access and Communication –Ease of learning is important –Efficiency is critical  Assistant devices –Same as information access and communication

Design dedicated user interfaces  Integrate user interface with I/O, applications and other system characteristics  Predictability more important than consistency or efficiency !!

Allocate functions properly  Distribute functions between hardware and software –Frequency of use Assign very visible and easily accessible location in hardware/software –Importance of use Ensure simplicity

Simplify  Follow 80/20 rule  Optimize user interface around those 20% of functions  Limit the choices available at the same time provide reasonable defaults

Design for responsiveness  All operations should be immediately interruptible (no dialogue boxes)  Provide continuous feedback

Design Consideration sum up  Define your domain  Design dedicated user interfaces  Allocate functions properly  Simplify  Design for responsiveness

Challenges  Infinite types of user interfaces ?  Is the product too general/too specific ?