Cheatsheet Flashcards
Power distance (usually abbreviated to PD)
Power distance is essentially concerned with a culture’s reaction to inequality. Power distance can be defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Source: Hofstede (1994), p. 28
In a country with a high power distance index, people expect and accept that power is invested in a few individuals or an elite. This elite expects respect and obedience from others and, in return, will take responsibility for, care for and protect these others.
Hofstede claims that in such a culture, there is a pattern of dependence on seniors, which pervades all human contacts Source: Hofstede (1994), p. 32 and that this pattern establishes a need for such dependence: inequalities among people are both expected and desired. Source: Hofstede (1994), p. 32 [his emphasis] In a country with low power distance, on the other hand, individuals aspire to equality and to the sharing of responsibility and power.
Individualism (IND)
This dimension is concerned with the relationship between the individual and the group. Hofstede defines individualism (and its opposite, collectivism) thus: Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. Source: Hofstede (1994), p. 51
Collectivist cultures, scoring low on the individualism index, have the following characteristics: . the collective is valued more than the individual interest ..fitting in with the in-group is very important . qualities such as harmony and the avoidance of conflict are valued . in-group members are concerned with ‘losing face’ (not fitting in with in-group norms and expectations) and collective shame (applied to the whole in-group).
In individualistic cultures, with high individualism, on the other hand: . individual interests might take precedence over collective . expressing one’s opinions is valued as a sign of sincerity and honesty, as opposed to the situation in a collectivist culture with low individualism, where one might be expected to suppress one’s opinion when it is not in the collective interest to reveal it . the ability to handle conflict is valued over the ability to avoid it . individual qualities such as self-respect and guilt are more important than their collective equivalents (group pride and shame).
Masculinity–femininity (MAS)
This dimension is concerned with gender roles, the expectations that
a culture has of its men and women. In some cultures, these roles are
polarised, with men expected to show traits of aggression, competition,
etc., and women expected to be caring and nurturing. In other cultures,
roles are far less polarised, with Hofstede claiming that both genders
exhibit nurturing rather than competitive values.
In the IBM survey, Hofstede found that one cluster of people valued jobs
which provide opportunities for:
. high earnings
. recognition
. personal challenge
. personal advancement.
Another cluster placed more value on:
. good working relationships with a boss and with colleagues
. employment security
. the location of the job.
These clusters statistically differentiated between nations, and within
a nation, between men and women.
Uncertainty avoidance (UA).
This dimension is concerned with how a society copes with unpredictable events: whether such events are avoided as much as possible or are welcomed as providing new opportunities and challenges. Hofstede notes that technology might go some way towards alleviating unpredictable environmental events; laws and social norms might make human behaviour more predictable, and some forms of religion might be regarded as providing answers as to why unpredictable events happen.
With respect to this dimension, Hofstede considered answers to questions
in the IBM survey about:
. how stressful the respondent found the job
. how long the respondent was intending to remain in IBM
. how strongly the respondent felt that company rules should not be
broken under any circumstances.
He found a high correlation between answers. For example, people
who answered that they found their job very stressful also tended to
answer that they were intending to stay at IBM for some time and that
company rules should never be broken. On the hand, people who did not
find their job stressful tended to indicate that they didn’t intend to stay
at IBM for long and that company rules should sometimes be broken.
These clusters of answers served to distinguish between countries.
Hofstede used them to compute what he refers to as an uncertainty
avoidance (UA) index, with a high index being linked to the following
answers:
. that the job was very stressful
. the respondent intended to remain at IBM for some time
. company rules should never be broken.
Conceptional model
Comprises of 4 components:
metaphors and analogies; concepts the users are exposed to through the product; relationships between those concepts; and mappings between concepts and the user experience.
Interface metaphors
One of the earliest metaphors employed in software design
was the spreadsheet. The electronic version is based on its paper
predecessor, thus drawing on the users’ familiarity with an existing
paper-based entity to help them learn the new system. The electronic
version, however, has considerably more functionality as the
designers exploited the electronic medium.
Interaction types
Four fundamental interaction types:
instructing, conversing, manipulating and exploring
The problem space
for a particular product is defined as the range of possible conceptual models for the product, together with their rationales, i.e. their advantages, disadvantages, implications and justifications. You do not need to develop a range of conceptual models to any level of detail in order to do this, and the Set Book suggests a set of questions to ask that will help uncover the relevant assumptions.
Usability
Usability is defined in Part 11 of the ISO 9241 standard as ‘the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use’ (British Standards Institution, 1998)
The six usability goals are
Effectiveness, efficiency, safety, utility, learnability and memorability
Remember as Mel & Sue
effectiveness
effective to use’ Is the product capable of allowing people to learn well, carry out their work efficiently, access the information they need, or buy the goods they want?
Efficiency
efficiency – ‘efficient to use’ Once users have learned how to use a system to carry out their tasks, can they sustain a high level of productivity?
Efficiency refers to the way in which a product supports users in carrying
out their tasks.
Safety
safety – ‘safe to use’ What is the range of errors that are possible using the product and what measures are there to permit users to recover easily from them?
Safety involves protecting the user from dangerous conditions and
undesirable situations.
utility
utility – ‘having good utility’ Does the product provide an appropriate set of functions that will enable users to carry out all their tasks in the way they want to do them?
Utility refers to the extent to which the product provides the right kind of
functionality, so that users can do what they need or want to do.
utility – ‘having good utility’ Does the product provide an appropriate set of functions that will enable users to carry out all their tasks in the way they want to do them?
Utility refers to the extent to which the product provides the right kind of
functionality, so that users can do what they need or want to do.
Learnability – ‘easy to learn’. Is it possible for the user to work out how to use the product by exploring the interface and trying out certain actions? How hard will it be to learn the whole set of functions this way?
Learnability refers to how easy a system is to learn to use.
Memorability
memorability – ‘easy to remember how to use’ What kinds of interface support have been provided to help users remember how to carry out tasks, especially for products and operations they use infrequently?
Memorability refers to how easy a system is to remember how to use,
once learned.
User experience
User experience is defined in Section 1.4 on page 15 of the Set Book as ‘how people feel about a product and their pleasure and satisfaction when using it, looking at it, holding it, and opening or closing it’. A briefer, but similar, definition is given on page 26 of the Set Book – ‘how a system feels to a user’. User experience relates to a wider set of concerns than those of usability, including issues such as whether an interactive product is fun to use, aesthetically pleasing and so on.
The ten user experience goals are
Satisfying, enjoyable, fun, entertaining, helpful, motivating, aesthetically pleasing, supportive of creativity, rewarding and emotionally fulfilling
Satisfying
Satisfying. When you use the interactive product it allows you to do what you want to do easily and quickly – it lines up with your expectations.
Enjoyable.
Using the interactive product is something you look forward to (for example, choosing a holiday on the Web).
Fun
There are light-hearted elements involved in using the interactive product. For example, most games are designed to be fun – presenting enjoyable challenges, giving rewards and so on.
