Administrivia  Feedback on first Deliverable –Audience: Management –Requirements  Description of the system (what it is, how it works)  Define user group  Context (environment)  Demonstrate CI (provide goal? direct or guide?) –User-centered analysis:  Meaning from observations  Did you learn about users and context? –Observations: factual data –Specific Solutions/Recommendations

Project Sharing  Team discussions –Share results of user and task analysis –Discuss results –Answer student question list  Class-level discussion –Each spokesperson: share one challenge, one surprise, and one lesson learned  Review answers to Student Questions

Discussion of Readings  Facilitate class discussion of topics / ideas / themes garnered from the online discussion, related to assigned readings. –Discussion Leaders 1. Randy Dowell 2. Nancy Samuels 3. Carleigh Romeis  Insights from supplemental readings.

Where are we in the UCD process?

Motivation  Users decide when and how to use things  People often have many options of tasks to choose from –Depends on  Time  Cost  Skills  Capabilities  Confidence  Ease of learning  Values  You learn about a user’s tolerance and self-imposed constraints by observing.  If you observe variations, try to understand how important that flexibility is to the users.

Analyzing Tasks  Goal of analyzing tasks –Develop an understanding of what people do –Understand how they do things –Learn about constraints –Example: tying your shoe  Risk –A device-driven design rather than a user- centered design –Developing a product/system that will not be used because it is incompatible with the user’s work –Example: Visio

Task Diagrams  Types of Diagrams  Decomposition  Hierarchical Task Analysis  Task List / Inventory  Checking HTA task diagram for validity and completeness –Why do I _______? (look to the box above) –How do I _______? (look to the box below)

Actions  Consider –Purpose (why does this action move the task toward its goal?) –Cues (what tells the user it’s time for the action?) –Objects (what does the action operate on?) –Method (what IS the action?) –Options –Errors  Projections  Recovery  What if the action is not done?

Synthesizing Task Information  Challenges –Figure out the best way to help people easily and quickly do their tasks (and meet their goals!) –Arbitrarily change task sequences without good reason. –Tendency to become solutions-oriented.

Synthesizing User Information  Turning data into information –User Lists –User Profiles –Personas –etc.  Helps designers to –Understand the implications of design decisions in more human terms –Engage empathy toward the human being that will use the design

User Lists  Attributes –Skills –Professions –Job types –Learning styles –Stages of use –…  Character Matrix

User Profiles  Descriptions of the users –Narrative –Visual description –List –Prime examples / Archetypes –Enhance with specifics from observations and interviews –Fill in with unique characteristics of other actual users in the user group

Personas  Descriptive model of the user based on behavioral data gathered from actual users –User attributes –Details  Environment  Typical workday  Current solutions and frustrations  Relevant relationships –What the user wants to accomplish –Why the user wants to accomplish the end goal  Look for patterns separated along ranges of behavior –Service-oriented Price-oriented –Necessity Novelty

Synthesizing User Information  Challenges –“User”: each person left to his own conceptions of the user and what the user needs –Projecting your own goals, motivations, capabilities –Giving edge cases priority –Making assumptions about the user –Avoiding stereotyping

Analyzing Users - Comments  Techniques/Representations –Are tools –That have an audience –Should be complementary –Are varied

Context –Develop an awareness –Users influenced by context  Activity around them  Physical environment (workplace) –Example: Clock radio  Equipment –Example: Postal Kiosk  Relationships with others –Pressure on users  To go fast  To not make mistakes  Timed, tracked or evaluated on performance –Is there help to answer questions and solve problems?  Local computing focal  Help Desk/Help Center Coworker  System Administrators or Technicians –Social  Example: Failure of the computer-based training for call center staff –Cultural

Project Exercise Synthesized Summary: User and Task  Using the contextual inquiry data generated collectively by the team, generate a synthesis of what you know about the users and the tasks.  Description should also include information on the context/circumstances in which the tasks are completed.  Prepare a one-page description of these results and potential implications for redesign.  Bring copies of the exercise to class (one copy for each member of the team, one copy for the instructor) and also post it to your design portfolio.  Due next Thursday

Looking back / Looking ahead Where we’ve been  Topics – Readings and discussion –What is UCD? –What to know about users? –Doing contextual inquiry… –Analysis of user, context and tasks…  Project –Insights about users, tasks, and contextual issues –Actual data from observing real users –Sharing among team members –Resulting in… user, task and context information to analyze and synthesize Where we’re going  Project exercise: –Synthesis of user and task information  Summaries: One page  Discussion Leaders reminder 1. Kelly Lillis 2. Angie Moulden 3. Mark Hoffman