Upload
lawrencenajjar
View
112
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Defines user interface interaction design in industry, describes the interaction design process, and provides some insights into the pros and cons of a career as an interaction designer.
Citation preview
1 TandemSeven Inc. 2009tandemseven.com | 508.746.6116tandemseven.com | 508.746.6116
Interaction Design in Industry
Lawrence J. Najjar, [email protected]
5th Annual Regional HFES Student Chapter Conference
California State University, Long Beach
February 27, 2010
2 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 2
Agenda
Who am I?
Why is this talk relevant?
What is interaction design?
Interaction design process
The good, the bad, and the ugly
What I’ve learned
Summary
3 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 3
Who am I?
Ph.D. engineering psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
27 years experience including:
Campbell Soup Company employee intranet HomeDepot.com US air traffic controller user interface Wearable computer for poultry plant quality assurance inspectors
Over 50 professional publications and presentations (see http://www.lawrence-najjar.com)
4 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 4
Why is this talk relevant?
Most human factors jobs are in industry1,2
Industry is different from academia
Want to give a sense of what interaction design in industry is like
5 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 5
What is interaction design?
Field that designs the interface between people and machines, such as computers
Focuses on the way user interfaces work, not the way they look
6 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 6
Interaction design process
Goals
Stakeholder & user interviews
Personas
Functional requirements
Wireframes
Usability feedback
Specifications
7 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 7
Goals
Business
User
Application
8 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 8
Stakeholder & user interviews
One interviewer, one note-taker
Talk to stakeholders for 1 hour
Talk to representative users in their work environments for 1 hour
Ask specific and open-ended questions
Summarize findings
9 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 9
Personas
Use interview notes to create 5 or fewer textual descriptions of major representative users
Include background, goals, needs, tasks, priorities, challenges
Used for requirements and to guide design decisions
10 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 10
Functional requirements
Based on prior tasks, identify high-level user interface requirements for functions & content (if applicable)
Focus on what users do, not how they do it
List and prioritize each requirement
Possibly scope the requirements
Move some requirements to later phases
Iteratively review with client
11 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 11
Wireframes
Minimal graphics, minimal color drawings of the user interface for a page
Focus on how the user interface works not how it looks
Show page layout, placement of data elements & controls, navigation
Helpful for refining requirements & task flows
Iterate with client
12 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 12
Usability feedback
Get small sample of representative users
Work with one user at a time for 1 hour
Ask how the user would perform important tasks
Show wireframes for each page
Look for ways to improve the design
13 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 13
Specifications
Include image of each wireframe
Describe how the user interface controls work
Allow developers to bring the user interface to life
Provide information for quality assurance testing
14 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 14
Interaction design process
Goals
Stakeholder & user interviews
Personas
Functional requirements
Wireframes
Usability feedback
Specifications
15 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 15
Interaction design in industry: The good, the bad, & the ugly
The good
More job opportunitiesSlightly higher payGreater design creativityProbably more impact (short-term)Shorter delay of gratification
The bad
Less work outside of software user interface designFewer opportunities for trainingFew opportunities for researchFew opportunities for publishingFaster paceMore time pressure
The ugly
More layoffs
16 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 16
What I’ve Learned
Easy is hard
User interaction design is an art and a science
No one gets it right the first time
Users are bad designers but good reviewers
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should
Several iterative designs of a static, low-fidelity user interface are more effective than one version of a dynamic, high-fidelity user interface prototype
No one takes the training. No one reads the Help.
Air traffic controllers don’t want a “Help” button on their keyboards
17 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 1717
Summary
A career in interaction design in industry has pros and cons
Focus is on doing good work fast
Major cost and time pressure
Gratifying work
Fun
18 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 1818
1. Peres, S. C. & McCloskey, L. (2009, July) HFES 2009 salary and compensation survey. Human Factors Bulletin, 52(7). Retrieved from: http://www.hfes.org/web/HFESBulletin/July2009SalarySurvey.html
2. Usability Professionals’ Association (2009, August 18). UPA 2009 salary survey. Retrieved from: http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/usability_resources/surveys/2009salarysurvey_PUBLIC.pdf
References
19 TandemSeven Inc. 2009 1919
Lawrence Najjar
http://www.lawrence-najjar.com/
Contact me