§4-design process and prototyping Flashcards
What is user-centered design/participatory design
- keep whole process of system design user centred
- include users in design team
- include in core design rather than treating as subjects of analysis
- motivation – users are experts on their work situation
Issues involved in participatory design
- Work focus
- Collaborative
- Iterative
PD: work focus
design concentrates on improving the workers’ environment
and tasks they perform rather than focussing on the system requirements
PD: collaborative
the designers and users collaborate on the design so that the users can contribute at every stage
PD:iterative
design does not just happen once, the emphasis of participatory design is on several design and evaluation stages which build to a final design
Sequencing of PD
- design
- measure against requirements
- test with users
- redesign + iterate
Techniques for PD
- purpose of techniques is to communicate ideas between users and designers
- brainstorming
- concept development
- prototyping
- storyboards
- workshops
PD activities list
(1. identify functionality and usability needs/requirements)
2. develop alternative designs that meet the requirements/user needs
3. build interactive versions of those designs
(4) evaluate
PD activities: developing alternative designs that meet identified needs and requirements
- consider alternative designs - conceptual and physical
2. alternative designs will differ in physical design but conceptual design will be the same
Design
suggestion of ideas for meeting identified requirements
Conceptual design, purpose
what the product/system will do
how the system will behave
Physical design
details of the design such as screen and menu structures, icons, graphics, IO devices, interaction types/styles
Comparison of conceptual design, physical design
- conceptual design, abstract description of intended behaviour of system
- physical design – concrete/specific layout and design issues
Methods for developing alternative designs (stage 1)
- brainstorming: wide range of ideas, to be fed into other techniques
Key issues involved in concept development (stage 2)
- identify driving concept/metaphor behind design
- influences physical design decisions (e.g. graphic design, colours, fonts, layouts)
- need one strong concept/metaphor to make a coherent design
What is an interface metaphor, why use it
- conceptualise the activity being performed using something the user can relate to (e.g. surf web)
- conceptual model instantiated at the interface (desktop metaphor)
- visualising operation (icon for shopping cart)
Verbal concept development
- words used to describe interface
- express abstract behaviour of system verbally
- more focus on the message the design is going to communicate (conceptual rather than physical)
Visual concept development
- specific images/colour schemes
- more concrete
- more focus on physical design
Purpose of mood boards
- communicate design concepts with other members of design team
- based off an interface metaphor
Why build interactive prototypes (stage 3)
- better feedback since users can interact with design + be observed
- doesn’t require software implementation
What is prototyping
- incomplete early version of product
2. can be simple (e.g. drawing) or complex
Why do prototyping
- more objective feedback from users
- explore design space, allowing time for more iterations
- demonstrate concept to funders/clients
- test the concepts/assumptions in the real world
- prioritise most important features (e.g. focus on major rather than superficial aspects)
- choosing between alternative designs
- better than interviewing, since designer likely to be biased – how do people actually perceive it, does it address needs
- identify opportunities and problems
List of things that we would use prototyping to clarify
- technical aspects
- workflow, task design
- screen layouts, information display
- graphic design, look and feel
- content (hierarchy, grouping of objects)
- controversial stuff - security/privacy
Lo fi prototypes
- rough designs
- users consider how they would use it – move through design step by step
- problems identified before hi fi stage
- problems addressed in next iteration of design
- detail what each element does and how you interact with it
**Why is lo-fi prototyping better than hi-fi prototyping
- easy to change/update
- faster/cheaper
- allows you to identify potential issues before committing to particular design/code
- allow larger number of alternative designs
- less afraid to change stuff
Kinds of prototypes
- paper
- video: demo impossible tech
- form model: test out the workflow
- wireframe: info architecture, content/navigation, remove distracting aspects of design
- working prototypes (wizard of oz)
Wizard of oz prototypes, pros/cons
- mock up interactivity
2. designers may pursue infeasible goals that can’t actually be implemented
What is a storyboard (stage 4)+What is the purpose of storyboarding
- model user activity sequence as individual frames, sequential story line
- consider possible personas, tasks, scenarios – role play / method acting
- help users communicate with designers about what they do and how
List of issues related to personas
- different personas represent different goals that users may bring
- model a set of user characteristics (user profile)
- should not be idealised
- bring to life – name/personal background
- develop small set, one primary
Things to include in a storyboard
- interactive aspects
- give screens to user, user should be able to interact with it
- action chosen by user,outcome/state transition
Purpose of workshops (stage 4)
- forum for discussion
- designers/users ask each other about their perspectives
- establish common understanding of design issues
- used to fill in gaps in understanding about situation:
4a designers ask about users’ work env
4b users ask about technological possibilities
why qualitative research
- controversial tech imitates humans - if done wrong may be rejected
- disruptive insights – relies on human behaviour
