©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Today Tuesday Contextual Inquiry & Intro to Ethnography Introduction to HCI & Contextual Design CS 321 Human-Computer Interaction Reading: CD – Ch. 1 ABF – Ch.’s 1 & 2 Assign Reading Questions Reading: CD – Ch.s 2, 3, 4 ABF – Ch.s 3 & 4

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Top Myths of Technology Design 1. People can tell you exactly what they want. 2. Anyone can design good technology “It’s just common sense” “Users are idiots” (ID10 T Error) 3. No one can be expected to use technology without a lot of training, manuals, and support. “Read the Manual, Stupid” (RTFM) Copyright © 2001 by Grant Consulting

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Why is it so difficult to create a schedule on Student Information System (SIS)? SMITH, JOHN E

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. The System’s Work Model does not fit the User’s Work Model Every user has an understanding of how a goal should be accomplished Every system forces a specific way for a goal to be done

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. The System’s Work Model does not fit the User’s Work Model For applications like SIS the system is difficult to use because it makes no sense in terms of the work being done. Causes errors, non-use Usability (and innovation) are driven by customer data. Systems should embody work practices A system must support and extend the user’s work Make the user more efficient/effective Make the world a better place

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Example: How do people research a topic?

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. What is Design? Design is a creative activity of making artifacts that are usable for a specific purpose. Software Engineer Software is reliable, robust, and maintainable Software Designer Software fits the user’s overall activities, enhances productivity, and produces a satisfying experience (Enjoyable!) Satisfying may mean “invisible”

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. BMW’s iDrive The iDrive plus display, says the sales brochure, is a "user-friendly interface (that) offers quick access to over 700 settings, plus navigations system maps, phone book listings, and more" As USA Today put it: "it manages to complicate simple functions beyond belief."

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. System’s Work Model vs. Implementation Model System’s Work Model A Major Goal: Make the Implementation model invisible to the user. Implementation Model Underlying implementation Linkages

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. From the Interface Hall of Shame The program, Woodworkers Estimate Helper provides a classical example of geekspeak. The program is “designed for woodworkers and cabinet makers”, to assist in the process of calculating price quotes for their projects. Unfortunately the program uses such programming terminology as “Databases”, “Records”, and, if the user attempts to enter a duplicate part name, presents the message “Key Validation Error”. While we do not mean to disparage any woodworkers, we can quite confidently state that the typical woodworker has essentially no practical understanding of such terms, nor should they be required to. Is it any wonder that many new users are intimidated by computers?

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. System Centered vs. Customer Centered Design System Centered Design Focuses on organizing the functionality of the system Customer Centered Design Focuses on the user’s mental model

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. User Centered Design: Participatory Design Customer data matters because you can’t fit the work practice with out it. Interject the designer in the user’s world and the user in the designer’s world to develop a shared mental model

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Model Recap User’s Mental Model User’s Work Model System Work Model Implementation Model Mental model – How the user thinks Reality – Actual work practice Work model imposed by the artifact's) Underlying system structure HumanInterface/InteractionTechnology Cooper, p. 23

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Top Two Rules of Technology Design Actions Speak Louder Than Words Trial and Error Copyright © 2001 by Grant Consulting

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Actions Speak Louder Than Words What people say they do is not what they really do What people say they want is not what they really need What they complain about is only at the surface Copyright © 2001 by Grant Consulting

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Trial and Error You only really know how good it is after they use it Why not have them use it as soon as possible? Copyright © 2001 by Grant Consulting

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Contextual Design (CD) Gather data from multiple users Design depends on seeing the implications of the data Design begins with a creative leap from customer data to implications for design and from implications to ideas for specific features Abstract data into a common model

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Steps in Contextual Design Contextual Inquiry Work Modeling Consolidation User Environment Design Interface Design and Prototyping Work Redesign

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Step 1 - Contextual Inquiry Gather Data Observation Interview Participation “Shadowing” Learn User’s Vocabulary Gather Artifacts Gain an understanding of the user

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Step 2 – Work Modeling Concrete Representations User’s activities Context of the work Team Interpretation Sessions Shared understanding

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Step 3 - Consolidation Look across multiple users Common practices Divergent practices Inductive Process Going from a few to a large population

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Step 4 – Work Redesign Don’t just automate Look for places to improve Focus on changing people’s lives not on delivering tools Visioning Brainstorming sessions Creative process

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Step 5 – User Environment Design Explicit representation of the system work model “Blue Print” for the User Interface Design

©2001 Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville All rights reserved. Step 6 – Interface Design & Prototyping Iterative Design & Improvement Paper Prototyping Lo-fidelity (lo-fi) prototype Communicate design with the user Hi-fidelity (hi-fi) Prototyping Rapid prototyping tools