1. Rob Gleasure R.Gleasure@ucc.ie www.robgleasure.com
IS4445 Principles of Interaction Design Lecture 1: Introduction to IS4445 and interaction design
Rob Gleasure

2. IS4445 Today’s session Course outline
Some basic truths of interaction design
Continuous assessment
An exercise (maybe)

3. IS4445 Contact me at Ext 2503 Room 2.112 R.Gleasure@ucc.ie
Website for this course
robgleasure.com

4. IS4445
Module objective
To provide students with an introductory understanding of interaction and interface design principles and development methods for desktop, web and mobile software.
Learning outcomes
Articulate and apply core Human-Computer Interaction principles
Elicit user interaction requirements
Analyse, design and prototype user interfaces
Effectively utilise interface paradigms and patterns and the methods associated with usability engineering, information architecture and information visualisation
Rigorously evaluate existing software interfaces

5. Design as art or science?
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6. Creating the artificial
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7. Externalisation of idea
So how does that work?
Idea
Internalise
Externalisation of idea
Internalise
Idea
Idea
Internalise
Idea
Idea

8. Learning interaction design
Interaction design concepts & experience
Design thinking (focus of IS4445)
Design Science (focus of IS4446)
Re-usable design methods & practices
Re-usable design outputs & archetypes

9. Design thinking
The origins of design thinking are generally associated with Rolf Faste in Stanford and David Kelley in Ideo
It grew from growing realisation in the 1970s onwards that design problems are not like the ‘solvable’ and quasi-mathematical problems in the natural sciences
Design thinking is now one of the leading business concepts in a range of industries
Mostly describes a mind-set and an umbrella term for a collection of tools

10. Design thinking
Some argue that design knowledge is almost entirely process-related, as people learn to reproduce patterns of insight
Quote from Chuck Close (an American artist/photographer)
Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work. And the belief that things will grow out of the activity itself and that you will — through work — bump into other possibilities and kick open other doors that you would never have dreamt of if you were just sitting around looking for a great ‘art idea.’ And the belief that process, in a sense, is liberating and that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day.

11. Basic truth 1: every interaction design problem is unique and unsolvable
Interaction design problems are ‘wicked’
Not bounded – limitless number of variables
No stopping rule – they are never completed and each problem is in some way(s) unique
Solutions are not correct/incorrect – some are better/some are worse
Every solution creates a new problem
At its core, interaction design is about understanding users’ needs
The better defined a problem, the better it can be solved

12. Basic truth 2: creativity is a function of listening
Tendency to think of ourselves as creative or not
This assumes inspiration comes from within ourselves
Good design is about creating something useful for other people
This requires
Human-centrism – an interaction is better or worse for a person, everything is about them
Immersion among users – people can/will only tell you a certain amount of what they do and feel. You need to see/do/feel it for yourself
Open-mindedness – every idea can be shot down. Give it a chance to grow and compete

13. Basic truth 3: having lots of ideas is the most reliable route to good ideas
This has two important implications
You have to keep searching for alternatives, even if you don’t want to find something better
Design teams are more creative (though less efficient) when they think differently
A good designer is ‘T-shaped’
Duplicate expertise is not so much valued

14. Basic truth 4: every assumption should be subject to cross-examination
This is not just about specific design features, it also includes
The problem being addressed
Requirements for that problem
Tools/technologies/systems used (and affected)
Which user groups are being targeted (and whether they are group-able)
Usability/performance
Whether a new system is required at all

15. Design of this course
Tools for each part of the interaction design process
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16. Course structure
Or more specifically (subject to revision based on feedback)
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Empathise 1 (personas)
Week 3: Empathise 2 (empathy maps)
Week 4: Define 1 (journey mapping)
Week 5: Define 2 (problem statements)
Week 6: Ideate 1 (mind mapping)
Week 7: Ideate 2 (6 hats)
Week 8: Prototyping 1 (Storyboarding and wireframing)
Week 9: Prototyping 2 (UX)
Week 10: Test 1 (mental models and system deconstruction)
Week 11: Test 2 (lean interaction design)
Week 12: Revision

17. Course assessment Continuous assessment: 40 marks Group report – 25%
Peer engagement – 15%
End of semester exam: 60%

18. Group report?
Working in groups, you will write a report of 3,000-5,000 words, based on a new product or service for one organisation in which a group-member has worked (either independently or as placement)*
This report will
Present a new product or service, either for internal employees or external users/customers
Apply each of the tools described in class
Explain what was learned (or not learned) from using each of those tools
* Referred to by a pseudonym to preserve anonymity

19. Group report (continued)
To make this more manageable with your other deliverables, this will be delivered in two parts
Part 1 (10%) is due Friday 13th October
This will be a write up of the empathising and defining part – an interesting problem you have discovered
Roughly 1,500-2,000 words
Part 2 (15%) is due Friday 1st December
This will be a write up of the whole thing – the ideating, prototyping, and testing part added to the content from Part 1
Roughly 3,000-5,000 words

20. Peer engagement?
We have a dedicated forum for this course, which you may reach in two ways
Go to robgleasure.com, scroll down to IS4445, and follow the link
Go directly to
You may register for that forum by entering your student number, picking a suitable screen name (it doesn’t have to be your real name or even recognisable), and a password.
Once registered, you may set up groups, at which time you will have access to a separate section that only you and your groupmates may see

21. Peer engagement (continued)
Each week will take the following format
During class
We will discuss last week’s content
We will learn a new tool/technique
Each group will apply the new tool/technique to their selected design problem(s)
After class
Each group will create a digital version of what they produced by applying the new tool/technique to their problem
Each group will save that digital version in pdf format and upload it to their group section, and then the forum
Each individual will comment on other group’s efforts and select one such effort as their favourite (this is anonymous)

22. Peer engagement (continued)
Marks will be awarded
For amount of feedback given to others
For quality of feedback given to others
For responsiveness to others’ feedback
For inclusivity of discussion
For contribution to new insights from discussion
Basically for helping each other learn (don’t try and game this – be sincere, make an effort, and the marks will come)

23. An exercise: Blackboard

24. Blackboard
Blackboard was founded in 1997 and launched their first software in 1998, Blackboard Learn
Blackboard Learn offers a web-based course delivery and management system
Over the coming years the company expanded internationally and eventually went public in 2004
They were bought out in 2011 for over $1.5 billion dollars
Let’s apply the principles of design thinking and see if we can design some alternative(s)

25. 1 Interview (2x3 minutes)
Form groups of two (these will be your groups throughout the exercise)
One of you should take 3 minutes to ask your partner how use online resources for different modules, how they stay up to date, how they are connected to other students, what they like/don’t like about the current situation.
Take notes as you interview them
After 3 minutes, switch roles so the second person asks the first about their habits, preferences, etc.

26. 2 Dig Deeper (2x3 minutes)
Again taking turns, you should take another 3 minutes to explore some of your partner’s answers. Ask ‘why’ and really search for surprises
Again, take notes as you interview them, particularly of things that surprised you
After 3 minutes, switch roles

27. 3 Capture Findings (2 minutes)
On your own, take 2 minutes to jot down
Your partner’s needs from their online resources – these should be verbs
Any insights you learned about your partner (how they feel about the online resources for courses, their worldview, etc.)
In particular, try and make note of areas where his/her needs differ from yours, as well as where they are the same.

28. 4 Define a Problem Statement (2 minutes)
Once more on your own, take 2 minutes to create a really rich problem statement for your partner
Remember, this should be juicy enough to afford multiple different approaches
It should take the rough form
My partner _______partner’s name________
needs a way to ___ partner’s need from their online resources____.
Unexpectedly, in his/her world,
________________insight________________________________.

29. 5 Capture Findings (5 minutes)
Again on your own, take 5 minutes to come up with 2-5 radical ideas that could meet your partner’s needs
Don’t get hung up on whether they are practical, nor how they could actually be put together – the goal here is to come up with as many interesting and creative ideas as you can
Draw these ideas where possible, use words sparingly

30. 6 Share ideas and Capture Feedback (2x3 minutes)
One of you should take 3 minutes to talk your partner through your ideas
Ask them what they like/don’t like but remember
The best outcome is new ideas!
Avoid defending ideas, other than to clarify what it is your partner doesn’t like
After 3 minutes, switch roles

31. 7 Reflect and Create a New Solution (2 minutes)
This may be a refinement of a previous idea or something completely new
It’s completely ok (good, even) if you need to change your problem statement as part of this re-design
Try and create some drawing that will really make it clear what you are thinking about creating

32. 8 Discuss New Solution (2x2 minutes)
One of you show your partner your new solution
Again, remember – the point is not to confirm your design, it’s to foster discussion and create new insights
After 2 minutes, switch roles

33. For next week I’ll randomly determine the groups and email them to you
Each person will register, then one person can set up the group and add the others (you may want to meet before this and decide a group name)
Upload a photo, drawing, or image (700x400) in pdf format that you think is interesting. Make sure it is your own and family-friendly
There are no marks going for this, or for the discussion around it.
This is just for getting used to the system, finding bugs or issues, and (hopefully) fun.

34. Readings
Herbert, S. A. (1969). The science of the artificial. MIT Press, Massachusetts.
Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic Books (AZ).
Cooper, A., Reimann, R., & Cronin, D. (2007). About face 3: the essentials of interaction design. John Wiley & Sons.
Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked problems in design thinking. Design issues, 8(2), 5-21.
Dorst, K. (2011). The core of ‘design thinking’ and its application. Design studies, 32(6),
Kimbell, L. (2011). Rethinking design thinking: Part I. Design and Culture, 3(3),