©2011 1www.id-book.com The process of interaction design Chapter 9

©2011 Interaction Design 4 basic Interaction Design activities –Establish requirements –Design alternatives –Prototype the design –Evaluate the design 2www.id-book.com

©2011 3www.id-book.com What’s Involved in Interaction Design? 4 approaches to interaction design –User-centered design The users are the best source of design requirements Focus is on user needs and goals –Satisfying these needs and goals drives the design process –Activity-centered design Focus is on user behavior to the complete planned tasks Users are still involved –Behaviors, not needs, drives the design process –Systems design Structured, rigorous and holistic process –Commonly used for designing complex systems Focus is on the context of the system –Users, devices, objects involved in the system –Genius design Relies on the experience and “flair” of the designer(s)

©2011 Identifying Design Alternatives Key step in the Interaction Design Process –Exploring alternatives produces a better product “The best way to get a good idea, is to get lots of ideas” –Seven secrets of better brainstorming Start with a well-honed problem statement Maintain simple etiquette rules Create numbered list of ideas Don’t let the session reach a plateau too early Take notes on the wall (a whiteboard might be better) Have a “playtime” before the session Encourage “show and tell” during the session 4www.id-book.com

©2011 5www.id-book.com Importance of Involving Users Best way to develop a successful product –Keep users involved throughout the development process Gain a better understanding of user goals and needs More likely to produce a more appropriate and usable product Expectation management –Process of maintain realistic user expectations Reduces surprises and disappointments amongst users Provide adequate training for users Document, but do not hype or exaggerate, product features –It is better to exceed expectations than fall below them Ownership –Users feel they are stakeholders in the product More likely to forgive or accept problems Promotes the acceptance and success of a product

©2011 6www.id-book.com Degrees of User Involvement Users as members of the design team –Full time Constant input, but may lose touch with users –Part time Intermittent input, can be stressful for development team –Short term Inconsistent input across project’s lifecycle –Long term Consistent input, but may lose touch with users Keep users informed of the design process –Use newsletters and other dissemination tools Reach a much wider selection of users Allow communication to occur in both directions Keep users involvement after the product is released Use a Combination of these 2 approaches

©2011 7www.id-book.com What is a User-centered Approach? User-centered approach is based on: –Early focus on users and tasks: directly studying cognitive, behavioral, anthropomorphic & attitudinal characteristics –Empirical measurement: users’ reactions and performance to scenarios, manuals, simulations & prototypes are observed, recorded and analysed –Iterative design: when problems are found in user testing, fix them and carry out more tests

©2011 What is a User-centered Approach? Users needs and goals –Drive product development –Well-designed systems will Make the most of human skill and judgment Be relevant to the activity being performed Support rather than constrain the user 3 principles for product development –Focus on users and tasks early –Empirical measurement –Iterative design 8www.id-book.com

©2011 9www.id-book.com A Simple Interaction Design Lifecycle Model

©2011 Who Are the Users/Stakeholders? Product stakeholders –Interact directly with the product –Manage or direct users –Receive output from the product –Make the purchasing decision –Use competitor’s products 3 user categories –Primary Frequent, hands-on interaction with the product –Secondary Occasional interaction with the product –Sometimes through a proxy –Tertiary No direct product interaction, but affected by it nonetheless 10www.id-book.com

©2011 What Are User “Needs”? Users rarely know what is possible –In the 1980’s, users didn’t need a Members Only jacket with a built-in MP3 player If users were told that it would be possible in the future –Would they be willing to purchase such a product Examine which tasks are being performed –What information is required? –What user collaboration is required to achieve the task? –Why is the task achieved the way it is? Envision future tasks –Based on existing scenarios, tasks and user behaviors –Predict future scenarios, tasks and behaviors Refer to science fiction 11www.id-book.com

©2011 How to Generate Alternatives Users tend to stick with what works –Even when something better comes along Users are reluctant to change Generating alternatives –“Cross-fertilization of ideas” Different perspectives, users and applications –Evolution of an existing product Based on the use and observation of the product and its users –Straightforward copying of similar products Easiest, quickest and most cost-effective 12www.id-book.com

©2011 How to Choose Among Design Alternatives It’s all about making decisions based on –Information gathered about users Needs Goals Tasks –Technical feasibility of the idea Does the required technology exist Is it economically possible –Measurable characteristics 6 Usability Goals from chapter 1 13www.id-book.com