HCI Flashcards
HCI
What are the 5 stages of Design Thinking
Empathise
Define
ideate
prototype
Test
What is PACT analysis
People,
Activities,
Context,
Technologies.
is a framework used for used for making systems with people in-mind, Makes sure the system is user-centric.
- People
Who are the users?
Employees working on distributed global projects.
Team members with varying technical expertise (both tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy users).
Managers tracking team productivity and project progress.
User needs:
Intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
Flexibility for both work and personal time management.
Minimal effort required for data input and tracking. - Activities
What will users do?
Record and manage work hours for tasks, activities, and projects.
Track team deadlines, commitments, and individual progress.
Set reminders and alerts for deadlines.
Use the tool for personal time management outside work tasks.
Key considerations:
Must be able to log time quickly without interrupting workflow.
Facilitate collaboration by sharing task updates and progress.
Provide clear visualizations like charts or timelines. - Contexts
Where and when will the application be used?
In a distributed workplace across different time zones.
On various devices (desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets).
During meetings, while working individually, or on the go.
Considerations:
Must work seamlessly across platforms (e.g., web and mobile).
Offline mode might be needed for users in areas with poor connectivity. - Technologies
What technologies will support the application?
Cloud-based systems for centralized data storage and syncing.
Integration with existing tools like calendars, email, and project management software.
Mobile-friendly and responsive design for accessibility on smartphones and tablets.
Considerations:
Ensure data security and compliance with privacy regulations.
Real-time updates for shared team information.
What is an Evaluation Plan
5 Ws
1What
2When
3Where
4 why/how
Who
Outline Design thinking
Its a tool to help you solve problems creativly,
Empathise,
Define,
Ideate,
Prototype,
Test
focused on understanding the users problems so they can be solved correctly.
Convert from conceptual to physical
conceptual inputs:
1. User research
2. Surveys
3. competator analysis
Outputs:
1.use cases
2. Wireframes
3. Sketches
Physical inputs:
1.Wireframes
2. Technical specification
3. Design standards
Outputs:
1. high fidelity prototypes
2. Detailed navigation
3. Ready to develop designs for the programmers
Why is color important in the design of digital interface design?
- Aesthetic Appeal
- usability
- Accessability
- emotion and perception
Influencing factors
1. Audiency demographic
2. Brand Guidelines
3. Context
What user Research Skills Required by a UX Designer?
Interviewing Skills:
Ability to ask open-ended and targeted questions to gather qualitative insights.
Example: Conducting interviews with potential users during a group project to understand their expectations for an educational app.
Survey Design and Analysis:
Designing effective questionnaires to collect large-scale quantitative data.
Example: Creating an online survey for a project to assess user satisfaction with an existing system.
Usability Testing:
Observing how users interact with prototypes to identify usability issues.
Example: Conducting usability testing sessions with classmates to refine the navigation flow of a website prototype.
Empathy Building:
Understanding users’ perspectives and challenges by observing their behavior.
Example: Shadowing users to see how they perform tasks on a legacy system, helping identify bottlenecks.
Data Synthesis:
Compiling research findings into actionable insights.
Example: Creating affinity diagrams to organize feedback collected during group interviews.
Persona Development:
Creating realistic representations of target users based on research findings.
Example: Developing personas to guide design decisions in a collaborative project.
What is the difference between empathy Mapping and user personas?
empathy Mapping:
Definition: Empathy maps visualize what a user thinks, feels, says, and does. They help design teams understand users’ emotions and motivations.
Merits:
Quick to create and easy to adapt.
Encourages empathy by focusing on users’ emotional states.
Useful in brainstorming sessions to align teams on user pain points and goals.
Example: During a project, creating an empathy map for a student who struggles with online learning revealed frustration due to poor navigation, leading to a simpler design.
User Personas:
Definition: Personas are fictional characters representing user segments, based on research data.
Merits:
Helps in making design decisions by providing clear user archetypes.
Offers detailed insights, including demographics, goals, and behaviors.
Ensures consistency in understanding the target audience throughout the design process.
Example: Developing a persona, “Busy Barry,” for a scheduling app highlighted the need for quick task management features.
Comparison:
Empathy Mapping:
Focuses on emotions and behaviors in a specific context.
Better suited for early ideation stages.
User Personas:
Provides detailed, data-driven insights.
Useful for creating long-term strategies and aligning stakeholders.
By combining empathy maps and personas, UX designers can gain a holistic understanding of users and create impactful solutions.
What is convergent vs divergent thinking?
Wat model uses this approach.
- Convergent
linear way of thinking
systematic approach
Narrows down multiple ideas into a single solution
focused
2.
web-like ideation. focused on the connection between ideas generates multiple ideas
flexable and interative approach
The Design funnel (laseau) model uses this
Effective interactive design tries to balance the correct assignment
of responsibilities to the human (analogue) and the computer (digital). use examples
assign things that the human or the computer are naturally food at like for human creative thinking and for the computer computation.
Examples:
From Study/Module:
User-Centered Design Principles: Assign repetitive or computational tasks to the system while leaving creative and decision-making tasks to humans. For example, in a book club application, the computer can handle automated reminders, tracking reading progress, or suggesting books based on user preferences. Users remain responsible for setting preferences or deciding meeting times.
Personal Experience:
In using voice assistants (e.g., Alexa, Siri), the system efficiently handles data retrieval (e.g., “What’s the weather?”) while the user interprets and decides actions based on that data (e.g., “Should I take an umbrella?”). A poor design here would require users to interpret raw, unprocessed weather data.
Key Implication:
Effective interaction design reduces cognitive load for the user and minimizes frustration, allowing each “agent” (human and computer) to perform tasks they excel at.
What is sustainable Development?
Sustainable development in relation to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) refers to designing and implementing technology and systems that support long-term environmental, economic, and social sustainability. This involves creating interactions, interfaces, and digital solutions that minimize environmental impact, promote equitable resource distribution, and enhance the quality of life for individuals and communities.
Here’s a breakdown of its key aspects:
- Environmental Sustainability
Reducing Energy Consumption:
Designing systems that are energy-efficient, such as optimizing software to run on low-power devices or reducing computational overhead.
Example: Energy-efficient algorithms in cloud computing or green data centers.
Encouraging Eco-Friendly Behaviors:
Systems can be designed to nudge users toward sustainable behaviors, such as reducing energy usage, recycling, or using public transport.
Example: Apps like Google Maps suggesting walking or cycling routes instead of driving.
Minimizing E-Waste:
Interaction designs that extend the usability of devices by supporting modularity, repairability, or upgrades instead of replacements.
Example: Interfaces for upcycling older devices into functional tools (e.g., turning old phones into smart home controllers).
2. Economic Sustainability
Supporting Circular Economy:
HCI can promote designs that encourage reuse and sharing of resources, such as peer-to-peer sharing platforms (e.g., sharing apps for books, tools, or ride-sharing).
Example: Designing apps with intuitive interfaces that promote buying second-hand or renting items instead of purchasing new.
Efficiency in Systems and Processes:
Streamlined interactions can save time and reduce costs for users and organizations.
Example: Interfaces for remote work platforms (like Zoom or Slack) reduce commuting and operational costs.
3. Social Sustainability
Inclusivity and Accessibility:
Designing interfaces that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, different languages, or varying levels of technical expertise.
Example: Apps with voice commands, screen readers, or multilingual support that cater to diverse user groups.
Encouraging Collaboration and Equity:
Systems that promote social inclusion and equitable resource sharing.
Example: Online learning platforms enabling access to quality education for underserved communities.
Empowering Users:
Interfaces that help users make informed decisions, such as energy usage dashboards or health tracking apps.
Comment on the balance of balancing the workload of digital and analogue (humans and computors) and its implications for sustainable developement.
Examples:
Energy Efficiency:
Smart systems (e.g., smart thermostats) use sensors and algorithms to monitor energy use and suggest adjustments. Humans set preferences (comfort level), while the computer handles optimization, reducing energy waste.
Circular Economy Applications:
Digital systems can track products’ life cycles, alerting users when recycling or maintenance is needed. For example, in waste management, AI can sort recyclable materials while humans supervise and address complex sorting challenges.
Reduced Resource Use in Interaction Design:
By minimizing redundant user actions and automating processes, interaction design contributes to sustainability by lowering computational energy costs. For instance, well-designed systems reduce time spent on tasks, saving energy.
Key Implication:
Properly assigning roles between humans and computers not only enhances interaction but also contributes to sustainable practices by leveraging technology for optimization and minimal resource use.
Elaborate on the role of the prototyping phase in Design Thinking in supporting
the above statement. Your answer should consider the importance of this
phase, as well as its interaction with the preceding Ideation phase and the
subsequent test phase in improving the design of interactions for users of
technology devices.
Importance of Prototyping
Bridges Ideation and Testing:
Prototypes bring ideas to life, allowing designers to visualize and interact with concepts.
It helps in identifying which ideas are practical and worth pursuing.
Encourages Iteration:
Multiple prototypes allow for experimentation, refinement, and learning from failures.
Testing these prototypes provides insights into what works and what doesn’t.
Interaction with the Ideation Phase
From Ideas to Actions:
The ideation phase generates diverse concepts; prototyping selects and builds on the most promising ones.
Example: If brainstorming for a phone app leads to 10 features, prototypes can test the feasibility of these features.
Interaction with the Test Phase
Feedback Loop:
Prototypes allow users to interact with early versions, providing feedback on usability and design.
This feedback is used to refine and improve the prototype or return to ideation if necessary.
What factors should be considered when choosing an interactive style for a system?
- User Characteristics
Skill Level:
Novice users might prefer simpler styles like menus or guided wizards.
Expert users may benefit from command-line interfaces or shortcuts.
Cognitive Load:
The interaction style should minimize the mental effort required to perform tasks.
Accessibility:
Consider users with disabilities (e.g., screen readers for visually impaired users or voice interactions for motor-impaired users).
Preferences:
Some users may prefer voice interaction over typing, or visual over text-based options.
2. Task Nature
Complexity:
For complex tasks, a direct manipulation style (e.g., drag-and-drop) might be more effective.
Frequency:
Frequent tasks might benefit from faster methods like keyboard shortcuts or gesture-based controls.
Real-time Needs:
For tasks requiring immediate feedback (e.g., gaming or monitoring systems), a graphical interface or direct manipulation might be best.
3. Context of Use
Environment:
A noisy environment might favor text or graphical interfaces over voice interaction.
Hands-free situations may require voice commands or gesture-based interactions.
Device Type:
A mobile device might require touch-based interactions, while a desktop might favor mouse and keyboard inputs.
4. System Constraints
Technology Limitations:
Voice recognition systems might not work well in low-resource environments.
Systems with limited processing power might favor simpler graphical interfaces.
Cost and Development Time:
Some interaction styles may be more costly or time-consuming to develop (e.g., virtual reality).
5. Usability and User Experience
Learnability:
How quickly can users learn and adapt to the interaction style?
Efficiency:
How fast can users complete tasks once they are familiar with the system?
Error Tolerance:
Command-Line Interfaces: Suitable for technical users performing complex tasks.
Menus: Best for novice users with structured choices.
Direct Manipulation: Intuitive for tasks requiring real-time feedback.
Form Filling: Ideal for data entry tasks.
Voice Interfaces: Great for hands-free use but limited by environmental factors.
Gesture-Based: Effective for mobile and immersive systems like VR.
What are the guidelines for adding Voice-first user experiences?
Use conversational language to make interactions feel natural.
Avoid jargon and use simple, clear commands that align with users’ mental models.
Provide clear and immediate feedback (e.g., verbal or auditory cues) to let users know their command was understood.
Confirm actions for critical tasks to avoid errors (e.g., “Did you mean to schedule the meeting for 10 a.m.?”).
Error Recovery:
Design for error tolerance by allowing users to correct mistakes (e.g., “Cancel that last action”).
Provide alternative phrasing suggestions when commands are not understood.
Personalization:
Allow users to customize commands or interactions based on their preferences.
Example: Adjusting the assistant’s tone, language, or voice speed.
Consistency:
Maintain consistent behavior across similar tasks to help users predict system responses.
Use the same terms or phrases for repeated actions.
Context Awareness:
Design systems that adapt to context, such as reducing verbosity for frequent users or adjusting responses based on the environment (e.g., quieter environments).
Specific Guidelines for Older Adults
Slow and Clear Speech:
Ensure the assistant speaks slowly and clearly, avoiding rapid or complex sentences.
Provide an option to repeat or rephrase responses for better comprehension.
Simple Command Structures:
Avoid presenting too many options at once; instead, guide users step by step.
Break complex tasks into smaller, manageable parts.
Accessible Interfaces:
Provide multimodal feedback (e.g., visual cues on a screen) for users who may have hearing impairments.
Use larger fonts or brighter screens if the assistant is paired with a display.
Patience and Redundancy:
Design assistants to respond patiently, avoiding time-outs or cutoffs if users take longer to reply.
Allow redundant phrasing, as older adults might repeat commands.
Training and Onboarding:
Include simple onboarding tutorials to help older users get comfortable with using voice commands.
Provide examples of common commands during initial setup.