Design Tools 2

Carla B. Zoltowski

July 15, 2009

User-centered Design: Basic Principles

Early focus on usersDesigning for and with usersEmpirical measurement and

evaluationIteration

7-level Design Approach, Keates and Clarkson

UCD: Process and Products

1. Plan UCD: Decisions about which methods to use

2. Specify context of use: Description of users,

tasks, context, problems

3. Specify user/org rqmts:

Statements about what

the design should fulfill

4. Produce Design Solutions:

System specifications

5. Evaluate against rqmts:

Data on how well system

meets expectations

Slide by Dennis Wixon; adapted from Maguire 2001, p. 589 & ISO 13407

Methods for user-centered design1. Planning 2. Context of Use 3. Requirements 4. Design 5. Evaluation

Usability planning and scoping

Usability cost-benefit analysis

Identify stakeholders

Context of use analysis

Survey of existing users

Field study / user observation

Diary keepingTask analysis

Stakeholder analysis

User cost-benefit analysis

User requirements interview

Focus groupsScenarios of usePersonasExisting system /

competitor analysis

Task/function mapping

Allocation of function

User, usability and organizational requirements

BrainstormingParallel designDesign

guidelines and standards

StoryboardingAffinity diagramsCard sortingPaper

prototypingSoftware

prototypingWizard-of-Oz

prototypingOrganizational

prototyping

Participatory evaluation

Assisted evaluationHeuristic or expert

evaluationControlled user

testingSatisfaction

questionnairesAssessing cognitive

workloadCritical incidentsPost-experience

interviews

Maguire 2001, p. 590

User knowledge in design

Needs vs. wantsIntended use vs. actual use

o “Slanty” designActivity-centered

What is already out there?Literature ReviewBenchmarks

oWhat is availableoWhy did they use their approachoPatent searches

• avoid infringement• Protect IP

Reverse engineering or dissection

Gathering information from users

User surveys and questionnairesInterviews (formal and informal)Focus groups– interviews with multiple

peopleSemantic differentials

Simple Complicated

Gathering information about users

Observation: Observe the users, preferable engaging in the target activity of the design

Ethnography: Deeper immersion; understanding the culture in which the product exists

Role-playing: put yourself in the user’s shoes, chair, and/or spaceoEmpathic modeling: Simulating the

sensory/motor/cognitive constraints

Gathering information about users, cont.

Brainstorming: brainstorms potential features, constraints

Synectic activities to develop analogies: what similar activities can be used to understand the context of the current designoWhat is wrong with it? What is similar?oWhy is it necessary? What can be

eliminated?oAre there any other applications? What is it

not? Can it be misused?

Creating tools to understand Persona

o Prototypical user, described in detail (age, gender, background, family association, hobbies, professional life; may include picture)

Scenarioso “before and after” stories of your persona using

your product• Focus on the user’s need and how their life might be

improved

oVideos?

Activity

Get into groups of 2oOne person is “designer” and the other is

the “user”oActivity: Designer will interview user to get

specifications for ATM

Activity

Now, develop a scenario of a person withdrawing money from the ATM

Share

Example scenario using ATM (Nielson 1993)

1. “The user approaches the machine and inserts a bank card. No matter what side is up, the machine reads the card correctly.”

2. “The machine asks the user to input a four-digit personal identification number, and the user does so using the numeric keypad.”

3. “The machine presents the user with a menu of four options, “withdraw $100,” “withdraw other amounts,” “make a deposit,” and “other transactions.” There is a button next to each of the menu options.”

Example scenario, cont.

4. “The user presses the button for “withdraw $100,” and the machine pays out that amount, deducting it from the user’s account. If the user had more than one account tied to the back card, the amount is deducted from the account with the largest balance.”

5. “The machine returns the bank card to the user.”

Prototyping!!!

“It’s a lesson that too few companies have learned even today. ‘If a picture paints a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand pictures,’ says Eisermann,” director of strategic design agency Prospect.

Five basic rules about prototyping from design director Richard Eisermann

Begin early. The sooner you materialise ideas and get them in front of people, the richer your final design will be.

Beat it up. Make a modifiable prototype so you can easily adapt it, even on the spot. 

Don’t bother with perfection. The prototype exists to get information, not to show how brilliant the design is.

Do just enough. A little data goes a long way. Figure what you need to test and focus on getting those answers.

Record the test. If you don’t have a record, it didn’t happen.

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/Design-Council/3/Design-Council-Magazine/Design-Council-Magazine-issue-2/Prototype-til-youre-silly/

Activity

Finally, create a prototype of the ATM to present to your user for feedback

Share

Discussion: What types of information did each of the activities elicit?

Inclusive Design

Motivated by many factors, including business reasons

Design should not be more exclusive than basic task requires

Moving beyond accessibility for people with disabilities to designing products that are usable by people of all ages and abilities

Source: Keates and Clarkson, 2003

Inclusive Design: Scales

MotionDexterityReach and stretchVisionHearingCommunicationIntellectual functioning

Source: Keates and Clarkson, 2003

Locomotion capability scale

Source: Keates and Clarkson, 2003

Consists of walking, stair climbing, bending and balance capabilities.

Dexterity capability scale

Source: Keates and Clarkson, 2003

Considers picking up, carrying, holding and twisting capabilities.

ADA Accessibility Guidelines

Anthropometric Data: Variations in Size and Proportion (Voland 2004)

Universal Design: 7 Principles(Mace, in Inclusive Design)

1. Equitable use – the design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.

2. Flexibility in use – the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities

3. Simple and intuitive to use – use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of user’s experience, knowledge, language, skill or current concentration level.

Universal Design: 7 Principles, cont.

4. Perceptible information – the design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.

5. Tolerance for error – the design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

Universal Design: 7 Principles, cont.

6. Low physical effort – the design can be used efficiently and effectively with a minimum of fatigue.

7. Size and space for approach and use – appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user’s body size, posture or mobility.

OXO

Distinguishing FeatureUniversal Design - A philosophy of making products that are easy to use for the widest possible spectrum of users.

Open discussion