Lectures 1-7 interaction design

Hamed Alavi's Background

Computer and Telecommunication Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), PhD - Ambient Intelligence, UvA-IVI Digital Interactions Lab since 2022

Article on Bad vs Good Design

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/bad-design-vs-good-design-5-examples-we-can-learn-frombad-design-vs-good-design-5-examples-we-can-learn-from-130706

Article showcasing Apple Failing Hardware Design

https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9872746/apple-bad-hardware-design-iphone-case-pencil-magic-mouse

Article showcasing Elevator buttons that make no sense

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellymartinez/elevator-buttons-that-make-no-sense

Martin LeBlanc Quote

A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it's not that good.

Link to UI User Interface Example

https://userinyerface.com/

Consequences of Bad Interaction Design

Frustration, Lost time, lack of motivation, lost income, unwanted behavior & actions, exclusion

Therac-25 link

https://hackaday.com/2015/10/26/killed-by-a-machine-the-therac-25/

Human factors to consider in design

Needs, Emotion, Aspirations, Passion, and Diversity

What should we design for?

Human Values, Priorities, Flourishing, Societal Challenges

Things to learn to be a good designer

Understand Humans, Learn how to Design, Learn how to Assess the design

IxD

Interaction design as a part of HCI research

History of Human-computer interaction (HCI)

An observation -> a new scientific field

Douglas Engelbart’s “Mother of All Demos” (1968)

windows, mouse, hypertext & dynamic file linking, graphics, video conferencing, word processing, real-time document editing

Human-Computer Interaction Evolution

Pervasiveness of computing —> Evolution of HCI

John M. Caroll quote

“HCI manages innovation to ensure that human values and human priorities are advanced, and not diminished through new technology.

Paul Dourish Quote

… the central charge to HCI is to nurture and sustain human dignity and flourishing.”

HCI Influences

Psychology, Computer science, Sociology, Engineering, Design

HCI Subfields

Visualisation, E-learning, Games research, Ubiquitous computing, Computer-supported cooperative work

CHI22 New Orleans, LA

https://2022.chi.acm.org/

HCI topics covered

Diversity and Inclusion, Architecture and Urban Design , Virtual Reality

Course Overview

People involved, content, structure, grading, housekeeping

Interaction Design

6 EC, Semester 2, period 4 Bachelor Informatiekunde

Dr. Hamed Alavi role

Course coordination & lectures

Sanne de Berg role

Theory and practical seminars & grading

Mijke Taal role

Theory & practical seminars & grading

Lectures by week

introduction to interaction design, conceptualizing interaction, cognitive aspects, social interaction, prototyping, evaluation, emotional interaction, guest interview, project poster presentation

grading

coursework (7 weekly assignments in theory seminar) 20%, exam based on lectures and readings 50%, Final Project Report (including prototype) 30%

What constitutes a pass?

pass = average of 5.5+

Required seminar attendance

70% attendance across seminars.

Absence Notification

Notify your tutor of absence BEFORE the seminar.

Exam Content

Selected textbook chapters (covered in lecture) AND additional readings

Interaction design: Beyond human-computer interaction Authors

Helen Sharp, Yvonne Rogers, & Jenny Preece

Interaction design definition

designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives.

What results in bad design?

bad design often results from failing to consider who the users are, what they need and want, what activities are being carried out, where and when the interaction taking place

Data reported

users' self-reported data is typically 3 steps removed from the truth

Usability Goals

Usability goals are effective to use, efficient to use, safe to use, has good utility, easy to remember how to use, easy to learn.

1943 incident

pilot error resulted in “belly” landings in B-17s

User Experience Goals

satisfying, enjoyable, engaging, exciting, rewarding, entertaining, fulfilling, memorable, challenging, relaxing, comforting, fun

Norman’s design principles: discoverability

discovering what it does, how it works, and what operations are possible

Five fundamental psychological concepts for Discoverability

affordances, signifiers, constraints, mappings, and feedback

Affordances

a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determine just how the object could possibly be used depends upon the properties of both the object and the agent.

Signifiers

any perceivable indicator that communicates appropriate behavior to a person.

Constraints

restricts the kinds of user interactions that can take place (either permanently or at a given point in time)

Mapping

The relationship between controls and their actions follows the principles of good mapping, enhanced as much as possible through spatial layout and temporal contiguity.

Feedback

There is full and continuous information about the results of actions and the current state of the product or service.

Visibility

The more visible functions are, the more likely it is that users will be able to know what to do next.

Consistency

designing interfaces to have similar operations and use similar elements for achieving similar tasks.

Interaction

A transaction between two entities, typically an exchange of information, but it can also be an exchange of goods or services; takes place between people, machines, and systems, in a variety of combinations.

User-centered design

The process of understanding users, establishing requirements, designing/prototyping/building, and evaluating.

Design Frameworks Focus

Addresses the question of whether the design will actually be used and what problem it solves.

UvA Design Briefs

Pleasure/Stimulation, Relatedness/Belongingness, Security/Control, Competence/Effectiveness, Autonomy/Independence, Influence/Popularity, Self-Actualizing/Meaning.

Assumption

Taking something for granted when it needs further investigation.

Claim

Stating something to be true when it is still open to question.

Benefits of conceptualising

Aids in orientation, open-mindedness, and establishing common ground, and guides the design team in asking specific questions.

Conceptual Model

A high-level description of how a system is organized and operates.

Metaphors and Analogies role in design

Convey to people how to understand what a product is used for and how to use it for an activity (for example browsing and bookmarking).

Interface Design

Interface designed to be similar to a physical entity but which also has own properties, can be based on an activity, object, or a combination of both.

Instructing (Interaction type)

Issuing commands and selecting options.

Conversing (Interaction type)

Interacting with the system as if having a conversation.

Manipulating (Interaction type)

Interacting with objects in a virtual or physical space by manipulating them.

Exploring (Interaction type)

Navigating through a virtual environment or a physical space.

Why Do User Research?

Understand user values, priorities, and behaviors; listen to what people want and need; get users involved early; seek regular feedback.

Five Key Issues in User Research

Setting goals, identifying participants, relationship with participants, triangulation, pilot studies.

Methods for Asking People (User Research)

Interviews, focus groups, questionnaires/surveys.

Methods for Observing People (User Research)

“In the field”, controlled observation, indirect observation (user diaries/design probes, logs & analytics, biometrics).

Characteristics of a good research question

Avoid leading questions, split compound questions, avoid technical terms/jargon, avoid assumptions.

Examples of Questionnaires

System Usability Scale (SUS), NASA Task Load Index

Structuring Frameworks for Observation

Person, Place, Thing

User Diaries & Design Probes

Asking users to record their thoughts, ideas, and experiences using a paper/digital/audio/video/photo diary.

Web Analytics

A system of tools & techniques for optimising web usage by measuring, collecting, analysing, and reporting web data.

Ethical Considerations in User Research

Minimum: informed consent.

Ethical Concerns in HCI

Participant anonymity, informed consent, user expectations, safety, persuasion / manipulation.

What is the focus of User-Centred Design?

To understand users, establish requirements, design/prototype/build, and evaluate.

What is the definition of 'Cognitive' in the context of the lecture?

Of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering).

Why is cognition important when interacting with technology?

It's important to take into account cognitive processes involved and cognitive limitations of users, to identify problems and design better interactive products.

What are the components of the GOMS model?

Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules.

What processes are particularly relevant to HCI?

(visual) perception, attention, memory, learning reading, speaking, listening, and problem-solving, planning, reasoning & decision-making

What is the most reasonable explanation of “the dress”?

Implicit assumptions about illumination

What does the color blindness of red and green mean for determining how to apply color to warning signals?

Color coding can be useful (e.g., red for warning/danger) but be aware that some people cannot distinguish between red and green

What are some rules of thumb for color use?

Colors should be a redundant cue, and text and background should be distinguishable based on contrast (difference in lightness) and hue.

How to design for Visual Perception?

Interface representations should be readily perceivable/recognizable, color shouldn’t be the only cue for important information, text should be legible, and icons should be easy to interpret.

What is Gestalt Theory?

A theory describing how the eye perceives visual elements as a group.

How do accessible designs benefit everyone?

They include redundant visual cues in poor lighting conditions, subtitles in noisy environments, and motion detectors or voice control for hands-free or non-visual usage.

What does Attention entail?

Selecting things on which to concentrate, to focus on information that is relevant to what we are doing. The extent to which this process depends on (1) whether someone has clear goals and (2) whether the information they need is salient in the environment.

How can you effectively catch attention in busy interfaces?

Make important information prominent / noticeable, keep things simple, crisp, and clean.

What is implied with memory?

First encoding and then retrieving knowledge. Affected by context and better at remembering images than words

Recognition vs. Recall

Recognition is easier than recall--GUIs are easier than command-based interfaces.

What is the Classic Memory Theory?

7 +/- 2: human immediate memory capacity is quite limited, people can retain and recall chunks of information.

How to design for learning?

Design interfaces that encourage exploration, design it to constrain and guide learners, dynamically link concepts and representations to facilitate learning, and create different options of documentation.

What does designing for problem-solving, planning, reasoning, and decision-making involve?

Providing information/functions for users who wish to understand more about how to carry out an activity more efficiently, and simple computational aids can support rapid decision-making and planning.

What is 'Third Paradigm' of HCI?

Humans are more than Information Processing Units

What is Phenomenology?

Philosophy of experience & consciousness

What is the central focus of the Third Paradigm?

Meaning and meaning creation, based on human experience and multiple perspectives.

What are requirements?

Statements that specify what an intended product should do, or how it should perform.

How to establish requirements?

So that you understand as much as possible about the users, their activities and the context of those activities so that the system developed can support them

Function vs Non-Functional Requirements

Functional: what the system should do (verbs). Non-Functional: how the system should perform (adverbs & adjectives).

What requirements should be gathered?

Functional, non-functional, data requirements, user requirements, usability requirements, and user experience requirements.

What characteristics should be considered with User Requirements?

General: background, attitude to tech, capabilities. System Use: novice/expert, infrequent/frequent

What data should you gather for requirements?

Researching & evaluating similar products, user research methods, and studying documentation.