1 HCI Lifecycle Overview and Initial Analyses Human-Computer Interaction

2 Lecture Overview Overview of interactive system designOverview of interactive system design Development team rolesDevelopment team roles Problem statementProblem statement Systems analysis + HCI perspectiveSystems analysis + HCI perspective User analysisUser analysis

3 Fundamental Activities of Interactive System Design Information gathering and model buildingInformation gathering and model building Synthesis (or enhancement) of a solutionSynthesis (or enhancement) of a solution Analysis (or evaluation) of a solutionAnalysis (or evaluation) of a solution These activities are iterated

4 Microsoft: Activity Based Planning - Ref MS Office 97 Listening to and understanding usersListening to and understanding users Observing how they work with software and what tasks they performObserving how they work with software and what tasks they perform Coming up with features to address these work styles and tasksComing up with features to address these work styles and tasks Testing the features with the people that actually use themTesting the features with the people that actually use them

5 Problem Statement Implementation U s e r P a r t i ci p a t i o n Definition Analysis Design User Object Modelling Requirements Spec. (inc. Usability Specs.) Interaction Design / Presentation Design Systems Analysis (incl. User and Task Analysis) Evaluation (Analytical, Empirical) User’s Conceptual Model Design / Interaction Style Prototype (inc. Context Sensitive Help) System Design Spec. (inc. Interface Design Dpec.)

6 Balance Among Conceptual, Interaction & Presentation Design Effort Conceptual Design 10% 30% 60% Detailed Design Interaction (‘Feel’) –Interaction Techniques –Standard Menus Design Proceeds ‘Mainly’ From The Bottom Level Up Metaphors, Object Attributes, Relationships, Behaviours Presentation (‘Look’) – Visual representations – Aesthetics

7 Definition of Design “... the use of scientific principles, technical information scientific principles, technical information and imagination.” Feilden Committee Report, 1963 Engineering Design, HMSO

8 Roles in a Team for Interactive System Development Team User (domain expert) User interaction developer User interface software developer

9 Problem Statement Supported activitySupported activity UsersUsers Level of support to be providedLevel of support to be provided Form of solutionForm of solution Statement of overall goal of whole system in a single phrase or sentenceStatement of overall goal of whole system in a single phrase or sentence Aim: show clear understanding of what is neededAim: show clear understanding of what is needed Main assumptions should be separately statedMain assumptions should be separately stated

10 Problem Statement: Example for Diary Management System Supported activitySupported activity Maintain appointmentsMaintain appointments UsersUsers White collar customersWhite collar customers Level of support to be providedLevel of support to be provided Appointment (an object)Appointment (an object) Maintain (an operation)Maintain (an operation) Add, modify, delete, view appointmentsAdd, modify, delete, view appointments Adjust alarmAdjust alarm Form of solutionForm of solution Portable hardware, low selling pricePortable hardware, low selling price

11 Systems Analysis + HCI Perspective Systems analysisSystems analysis Identify entities of significance to the ‘system’Identify entities of significance to the ‘system’ Functionally oriented and data drivenFunctionally oriented and data driven Design notationDesign notation e.g. Data flow diagrams, Entity-Relationship diagramse.g. Data flow diagrams, Entity-Relationship diagrams Often met with resistance by usersOften met with resistance by users HCI perspectiveHCI perspective Identifies issues of practical effectivenessIdentifies issues of practical effectiveness Usability orientation -Usability orientation - e.g. speed, error ratese.g. speed, error rates Design notationDesign notation Designed to be understood by users e.g. task hierarchy diagram, screen sketchDesigned to be understood by users e.g. task hierarchy diagram, screen sketch

12 Perspectives in Tension Systems analysis and software implementationSystems analysis and software implementation Logical flow of dataLogical flow of data Computational efficiencyComputational efficiency Ease of developmentEase of development HCIHCI Quality of user interfaceQuality of user interface

13 Conventional + HCI Data Gathering Read background materialRead background material Guided tour of work environmentGuided tour of work environment InterviewsInterviews ObservationObservation QuestionnairesQuestionnaires Forms analysisForms analysis Verbal protocolVerbal protocol Tape / Video recording / TranscriptTape / Video recording / Transcript

14 User Analysis Expertise level (novice, intermittent, frequent)Expertise level (novice, intermittent, frequent) Familiarity with specific hardware and softwareFamiliarity with specific hardware and software Software with which users are familiarSoftware with which users are familiar Job-related information access needsJob-related information access needs E.g. summary vs detailedE.g. summary vs detailed Skill base e.g. typingSkill base e.g. typing General educational levelGeneral educational level Organization-specific knowledge and/or experienceOrganization-specific knowledge and/or experience

15 User Analysis: Example for Diary Management System User characteristicsUser characteristics Professional, white collarProfessional, white collar Keeps schedule for self and/or othersKeeps schedule for self and/or others Sometimes just for personal useSometimes just for personal use Keeping diary is a very small part of user’s jobKeeping diary is a very small part of user’s job SkillsSkills High general skill levelHigh general skill level Not necessarily computer skilledNot necessarily computer skilled Not all will have keyboard skillsNot all will have keyboard skills ConclusionsConclusions Keep it simpleKeep it simple Functionality and usability greater than for paper diaryFunctionality and usability greater than for paper diary Minimize typing, and be quick and easy to learnMinimize typing, and be quick and easy to learn

16 Lecture Review Overview of interactive system designOverview of interactive system design Development team rolesDevelopment team roles Problem statementProblem statement Systems analysis + HCI perspectiveSystems analysis + HCI perspective User analysisUser analysis