1. DISCOVERY Textbook: S. Heim, The Resonant Interface: HCI Foundations for Interaction Design [Chapter 4, continued] Addison-Wesley, 2007 March 7, 2011 CS 320 Interaction Design 1

2. 1 What is Interaction Design? 2 Discovery Phase: Collection Outline 2 CS 320 March 7, 2011

3.  Goals of Interaction Design  Interdisciplinary Aspects  Major Trends 1 What is Interaction Design? 3 CS 320 March 7, 2011

4. Interaction Design Interaction Design (IxD) is about helping users make the best out of their experience with computer systems “Designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives” [ Price, Rogers, and Sharp, 2007] “Interaction design defines the structure and behavior of interactive systems. Interaction designers strive to create meaningful relationships between people and the products and services that they use, from computers to mobile devices to appliances and beyond” [Wikipedia 2011] The practice typically centers on “embedding information technology into the ambient social complexities of the physical world” [M. McCullough, 2004] 4 CS 320 March 7, 2011

5. Interaction Design and Related Disciplines 5 CS 320 March 7, 2011

6. Interaction Design: Major Trends 6 Mobile applications, smart phones (small screens) Tablet PCs, multi-touch devices (touch screens) Virtual reality (immersive environments) Very large displays (big screens) CS 320 March 7, 2011

7.  Discovery Phase = Collection + Interpretation  Collection methods (direct/indirect)  Observation: ethnographic studies, recording devices  Elicitation: interviews, focus groups, logs and notes, corporate documentation, questionnaires 2 Discovery Phase 7 CS 320 March 7, 2011

8. Interaction Design Process: DDE Framework General DDE Framework [Heim 2007] 8 CS 320 March 7, 2011

9. Interaction Design Process: Discovery General DDE Framework [Heim 2007] - Discovery 9 CS 320 March 7, 2011

10. Collection: Methods of Collection Methods of Collection  Observation: Valuable information can be obtained by watching people perform their activities in the context of the work environment.  Observations can be made directly during the work day or indirectly using video and auditory recordings  Elicitation: Elicitation methods also involve direct and indirect methods of investigation, such as interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires CS 320 March 7, 2011 10

11. Collection: Methods of Collection CS 320 March 7, 2011 11

12. Collection - Observation Direct—Ethnographic methods involve going to the work site and observing the people and the infrastructure that supports the work flow Indirect—Indirect methods of observation can be used by setting up recording devices in the work place CS 320 March 7, 2011 12

13. Collection – Concerns about Ethnographic Observations Ethnographic methods raise several concerns:  Your presence (as an observer) might affect normal everyday activities in the work place  The observed persons might become self-conscious and nervous  Or, the observed persons might perform their activities in a way they believe could garner your approval  You need to be careful to not become a nuisance or obstruction  You must also allow the observed worker his or her personal time to interact with coworkers socially (without you hanging around) CS 320 March 7, 2011 13

14. Collection – Guidelines for Direct Methods of Elicitation Direct methods of elicitation require communicating face to face with other persons It is your job to make them comfortable and open You need to take into consideration:  Aspects of personal communication: physical and cultural  Neutral presentation: do not use slang or sarcasm and be cautious about using humor  Individual communication styles: adjust to your subjects’ individual styles  Tangents: some people are prone to going off on tangents, which can provide unexpected insights, but devise a strategy to gently get back to the topic at hand CS 320 March 7, 2011 14

15. Collection - Elicitation Tools for eliciting information from the various stakeholders:  Direct  Interviews  Focus groups  Indirect  Corporate documentation  Logs and notes  Questionnaires CS 320 March 7, 2011 15

16. Collection - Elicitation – Direct - Interviews Interviews  On-site interviews: may help people remember aspects of the job  Away from job site interviews: not interrupted by normal work related events Be polite and courteous during interviews CS 320 March 7, 2011 16

17. Collection - Elicitation – Direct - Interviews Interviews  Open-ended questions: can be used to explore issues and elicit rich information about complex topics  Closed-ended questions: can generally be answered with a polar yes/no response or a simple description CS 320 March 7, 2011 17

18. Collection - Elicitation – Direct - Interviews Interviews  Unstructured interviews/open-ended questions: Early in the design process interviews are generally loosely structured  Structured interviews/closed-ended questions: As the design process proceeds, interviews can become more structured and focused on specific details and areas of the design CS 320 March 7, 2011 18

19. Collection - Elicitation – Direct - Interviews Interviews  Predefined Scenarios: The interviewer can use predefined scenarios to stimulate conversation and gain insight  Focus of Interview: It is important that the purpose of the interview is clearly defined  Wrap-Up: It is important to share your thoughts about the results of the interview  Advanced Organizers: Advanced organizers can be helpful in setting the frame of the design process CS 320 March 7, 2011 19

20. Collection - Elicitation – Direct - Interviews Guidelines for interviews  Define the purpose of the interview, the context of the project, and how the information will be used  Make a formal introduction  Explain what will happen and how long the process will take  Begin with comfortable questions  Keep the questions to a minimum  Keep the questions simple (not multifaceted)  Use the terminology with which the subject is familiar  Do not ask leading questions  Make clear when the interview has ended CS 320 March 7, 2011 20

21. Collection - Elicitation – Direct – Focus Groups Focus Groups  Require a moderator/facilitator to keep discussion on track  Need to maintain spontaneity  Need to have clearly defined outcomes  Provide participants with a context for the project CS 320 March 7, 2011 21

22. Collection - Elicitation – Direct – Focus Groups The advantages of focus groups:  They are relatively inexpensive and easy to set up  They can be used early in the design process to help to identify and prioritize features  They help you to gain insight into people’s attitudes and motivations The disadvantages of focus groups:  They only represent the views of one particular group  They are not statistically significant  They do not provide information about usability CS 320 March 7, 2011 22

23. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect Corporate Documentation—Information can be collected indirectly through corporate documents that reference policies and procedures Logs and Notes—Indirect methods can also include user participation  Ask people to keep a log of specific activities  Collect the notes people make to remind them of procedures and policies  sticky notes tacked onto a computer  reminders stuck on a corkboard CS 320 March 7, 2011 23

24. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect - Questionnaires Questionnaires are familiar elicitation devices Can contain open and closed questions Questionnaires can include the following:  Mutually exclusive choices (radio buttons)  Non–mutually exclusive choices (checkboxes)  Ranges (non-overlapping, open-ended)  Scales (e.g., Likert scales)  Short-answer fill-ins  Comments CS 320 March 7, 2011 24

25. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect - Questionnaires Guidelines for defining scales:  Identify the scale and the significance of the units  Use the most intuitive order  You can use positive or negative scales or a combination of the two  Use odd numbers when you want to allow neutral responses  Use even numbers when you want to force a choice of positive or negative  Provide a not applicable (NA) response when appropriate  Do not use too many degrees within the scale; seven is considered a general limit Likert scale CS 320 March 7, 2011 25

26. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect - Questionnaires Advantages of questionnaires:  Do not involve face-to-face contact and can be administered remotely  Can be used to supply information for primary stakeholder profiles  Can be used to ascertain whether proposed solutions will meet with acceptance as well as to elicit new ideas  Can also be used to double-check the feedback obtained from one-on-one interviews  Can reach a large audience with relatively little expense CS 320 March 7, 2011 26

27. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect - Questionnaires Disadvantages of questionnaires:  Vague questions will return ambiguous responses that will serve no useful purpose or the design  People do not like to fill out long questionnaires  Closed-ended questions can restrict responses  Open-ended questions can be hard to quantify CS 320 March 7, 2011 27

28. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect - Questionnaires Guidelines for questionnaires:  Be consistent  Phrase instructions clearly  Speak the user’s language  Avoid jargon or technical terms  Order the questions beginning with the easy or less controversial ones  Use logical grouping CS 320 March 7, 2011 28

29. Collection - Elicitation – Indirect - Questionnaires Guidelines for questionnaires [continued]  Use appropriate form elements, for example, radio buttons, checkboxes, and so on  Use appropriate scales for questions with discrete responses  Avoid overlapping ranges  Include a “None of the above” when appropriate  Be sensitive to the balance of positive and negative questions CS 320 March 7, 2011 29

30.  Mobile computing [Mozilla Seabird] (Nathan)Mozilla Seabird  Direct manipulation [Future user interface][Library carousel]Future user interfaceLibrary carousel  Virtual reality / 3D Environments [CAVE 1993] [Museum 1] [Therapy] [Museum 2]CAVE 1993MuseumTherapyMuseum 2  Natural language interaction [Siri] [Articulate]SiriArticulate  Other cool videos [Sketch furniture by Front] [High-speed robot hand]Sketch furniture by FrontHigh-speed robot hand [Autodesk design] [MIT’s Nexi robot] [Microsoft sphere]Autodesk designMIT’s Nexi robotMicrosoft sphere [Interactive window] [Honda Asimo] [Corning - glass]Interactive windowHonda AsimoCorning - glass Video Selection CS 320 March 7, 2011 30