Block 3 - Design

Question 1

What is ‘problem space’?

Answer 1

The problem space for a particular product is defined as the range of poosible conceptual models for the product, together with their rationales i.e. advantages, disadvantages, implications and justifications.

Question 2

What are the questions that are asked when exploring assumptions within the problem space?

Answer 2

Are there problems with an existing product or user experience?
Why do you think there are problems?
How do you think your proposed design ideas overcome these?
If you have not identified any problems and instead are designing for a new user experience, how do you think your proposed design ideas support, change or extend current ways of doing things?

Question 3

What is a conceptual model and what is it not?

Answer 3

A conceptual model is defined as an idealised view of how the system works - the model designers hope users will internalise. It is not the user interface, a user’s mental model of the system, a use case or an implementation architecture.

Question 4

What is the advantage of using an interface metaphor?

Answer 4

Interface metaphors allow people to talk about what they are doing in terms they are familiar with.

Question 5

What are the disadvantages of using an interface metaphor?

Answer 5

Designers can take them too literally and try to design an interface that matches the characteristics of the metaphorical item.
They can be too constrained.
Can lead to conflicts with design principles.
Can limit the designers imagination.

Question 6

What are the main disadvantages of emulating strategies from the physical world in the digital world?

Answer 6

When strategies from the physical world are translated into the digital world too literally they may over-constrain the user, or fail to make most of digital possibilities.

Question 7

What are the four interaction types?

Answer 7

Instructing, Conversing, Manipulating and Exploring

Question 8

What is an interface type?

Answer 8

Interfaces that may be used to design for a user experience.

Question 9

Give examples of interface types. From 1980 to 2000

Answer 9

1980 - Command and WIMP/GUI

1990 - Web, Speech, Pen, Gesture, Touch, Appliance, 2000 - mobile, wearable, tangible, shareable, robotic

Question 10

Give examples of indirect pointing devices

Answer 10

Mouse, joystick, trackball

Question 11

Give examples of direct pointing devices

Answer 11

Touchscreen and pen systems

Question 12

What is a continuous input device?

What is a discrete input device?

Answer 12

A continuous input device are pointing devices which are good at tasks that cannot be split easily input a number of steps. I.e. a mouse.
A discrete input device is a keyboard, keypad or buttons which can be used to enter discrete pieve of informations such as letters.

Question 13

What is cognition?

Answer 13

Cognition is defined as ‘what goes on in our head when we carry out everyday activities’.

Question 14

What is the set of cognitive processes relevant to interaction design?

Answer 14

Attention, Perception and Recognition, Memory, Learning, Reading, Speaking, Listening, Problem Solving, Planning, Reasoning, Decision Making

Question 15

Why is cognitive processes important to interaction design?

Answer 15

It has implications on how to design an interactive product so that they meet usability and user experience goals. Being able to explain the implications of these cognitive processes for interaction design will help you to understand the impact of design decisions on the users and their experiences.

Question 16

What design implications does the cognitive process Attention have on an interactive product?

Answer 16

Making information salient when it needs attending to at a given stage.
Using colour, animation, underlining etc to be able to draw attention to the information that needs attending.
Avoiding clutter.

Question 17

What design implications doe the cognitive process Perception have on an interactive product?

Answer 17

Icons and other graphical representations should enable users to readily distinguish their meaning.
Bordering and spacing are effective visual ways of grouping information that makes it easier to perceptive and locate items.
Text should be legible.

Question 18

What design implications doe the cognitive process Memory have on an interactive product?

Answer 18

Do not overload user memories with complicated procedures.
Design interfaces that promote recognition rather than recall by using menus and consistently placed objects.
Provide users with a variety of ways of encoding digital information to help them remember.

Question 19

What design implications doe the cognitive process Learning have on an interactive product?

Answer 19

Design interfaces that encourage exploring.
Design interfaces that constrain and guide the users.
Dynamically link concrete representations and abstract concepts.

Question 20

What design implications doe the cognitive process Reading, Speaking and Listening have on an interactive product?

Answer 20

Keep menu text and instructions to a minimum.

Provide opportunities to make text large on a screen withour affecting formatting.

Question 21

What design implications doe the cognitive process Problem Solving, Planning, Reasoning and Decision Making have on an interactive product?

Answer 21

Provide additional hidden information that is easy to access for users if they wish.
Use simple and memorable functions at the interface for computational aids intendedto support rapid decision making.

Question 22

What does Transparency include when talking about mental models?

Answer 22

Useful feedback in response to user input.
Easy-to-understand and intuitive ways of interacting with the system.
It is also required to provide the right kind and level of information.

Question 23

What are the questions you must consider when choosing a pointing device

Answer 23

How easy to learn does the device need to be?
How accurate does the device need to be?
How much time will the user spend using the product?
How much space is there?
How robust does the device need to be?
How manually dexterous is the user?