User Modeling 1 Lecture # 7 Gabriel Spitz

Objective of Lecture Why model the user How do we build a user profile How to utilize the user profile 2 Gabriel Spitz

Why People Use Software Intent/Goal OutcomeAction/Tasks Tool Features 3 Gabriel Spitz

Functional Scope of the Product The question is which features and feature characteristics needed to support users ’ goals Before designing the software we need to understand: o Types of users that will use product/software o What goals will these users pursue o What tasks will these users want to perform o Which tasks should be supported by the product/software we design 4 Gabriel Spitz

Who Are the Users? 5 Gabriel Spitz

The Challenge To maximize the fit between our software and the users we need to design for a very clearly defined group of users How do we narrow down the potential set of users 6 Gabriel Spitz

Who Are The Users Users are the individuals that are expected to interact with or be affected by the application we design We distinguish between users group based on their reasons for using the software o Roles of the users o Responsibilities within roles We also distinguish between user o Direct users Those that interact with an application or a product o Indirect users Those that are affected by an application 7 Gabriel Spitz

Users of Power Point 8 Direct users Professor Indirect users Student Gabriel Spitz

Describing Users in relevant Ways Among the direct users individuals assume different roles and have different responsibilities Role of user e.g., for a Presentation Application such as Power Point, describes types of users o Professor o Student o Parent (gift buyer) Responsibilities of a role e.g. for Professor, describes the relationship between user and a process or tool o Create presentations o Present slides o Add comments 9 Gabriel Spitz

What Users ’ Info is Relevant For each user role we are interested in: o What do people know about computers E.g. Would the term “ Enter ” be meaningful to them o Domain knowledge E.g. Credit vs. Debit o How often they do this E.g. Once a month o Where will they be when using the software E.g. Outside the bank o What expectations they might have E.g. Can take out unlimited amount of money o All of the above help us anticipate the characteristics of the characteristics of the software we are designing 10 Gabriel Spitz

Distilling the User Groups 11 All potential usersFocal users Gabriel Spitz

Select Critical User Types Select 2-3 types of users or user roles to support based on: o Business goals and objectives o Software product we build o Business Case 12 Gabriel Spitz

Create Assumption Based User - Profile For each focal group create a user profile User profile is a description of the unique characteristics of the selected user type/role that could impact the software design For example o Language skills could impact the design of a kiosk at a border crossing o Knowledge of the medical domain will impact the design of a medical appointment application 13 Gabriel Spitz

Elements of User Profile Psychological characteristics o Attitude, Motivation (e.g. travelers vs. game players) Knowledge and experience o Domain knowledge, task experience (e.g. physicians vs. patients) Job and task characteristics o Frequency of use (e.g. operator vs. casual user) Physical characteristics o Motor dexterity (e.g. elders) 14 Gabriel Spitz

Identify Relevant User Information Relevancy of characteristics is with respect to the responsibilities of the user types we are focusing on o Goals o Knowledge of the domain area o Familiarity with computers o What are their current pain points o What other software products are they using o Who are the potential secondary users 15 Gabriel Spitz

Example of Relevant User Information Check In Kiosk o Users ’ goals – e.g. Get my boarding pass and go to my gate o Users ’ Characteristics – e.g. Limited language skills, forgetful (I don ’ t know my flight number), uptight, etc. o Usage environment – e.g. Standing vs. sitting, heavy bag on shoulder, infrequent use 16 Gabriel Spitz

Using User Profile Allow us to find out what we do not know about our users Limits the set of tasks and jobs that we need to analyze Help specify the types of usability goals we should establish for the applications Will impact UI design via the usability goals Constrain and direct the selection of users types for usability evaluation 17 Gabriel Spitz

Design that Ignores Secondary Users 18 Should a nurse sign this document too? Gabriel Spitz

Before and After Considering Secondary Users 19 Gabriel Spitz

Examples – Websites for different user groups 20 Gabriel Spitz

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Methods for Identifying User Characteristics o Direct interview of potential users o Focus on what users know and capable of achieving o Indirect information gathering from marketing, sales, and technical support individuals Often they have a very good understanding of who are the users and what capabilities they poses Make sure their information is current o Summarize/represent the results in a User Persona form 24 Gabriel Spitz

User Persona User Profile A critical outcome of user profile is a set of user personas User Persona is an instantiation of a hypothetical user It includes: o Name o Role and job title o Quotes in the person language o Relevant demographic o Description of relevant goals, motivations, pain points o Description of primary activities 25 Gabriel Spitz

Example of User Persona 26 Alexa will be one of our key users Gabriel Spitz

User Profile Summarized Roles and responsibilities Prioritize based on relevance to product/business case Profile to identify details that are relevant to design Personify to better communicate Identify feature opportunities Identify design imperatives Communicate your user model, relevant features, design opportunities 27 Gabriel Spitz

In Summery - We Build User Profile Help us understand why our users are not us. It is not for-us-by-us Identify and prioritize features and functionality Identify users for testing Understanding users is critical to getting value out of SW 28 Gabriel Spitz