Key Concepts Flashcards
Ready-to-hand
Users can perform tasks without thinking about the mechanics or tools being used to facilitate them
Present-at-hand
Users are no longer thinking about the task, but rather the tools that are facilitating the task
FLOW
Theory: people are most happy when they are in a state of complete concentration or absorption in a task.
VISIBILITY
How easy it is to see the state of a device and its possible interactions
Discoverability
the degree of ease with which the user can find all the elements and features of a new system when they first encounter it
Affordance
a characteristic of an object, esp. relating to its potential utility, which can be inferred from visual or other perceptual signals
Classified into three categories:
* Perceived / perceptible affordance
* False affordance
* Hidden affordance
Perceived affordance
whether or not a user perceives some
action as being possible
Actual affordance
the actual actionable properties of an object
False affordance
if apparent affordances suggest actions that are not actually possible
Hidden affordance
when there are possibilities for action, but these are not perceived by the user
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable;
MAPPING
The relationship to controls and their effect
Which switch works which light? Where are the instruction labels?
CONSTRAINTS
Restricting / limiting the actions that can take place
* Reduce the chance of error
* Can also focus the user’s attention to the task at hand
We can break constraints down into four subcategories:
* Physical
* Cultural
* Logical
CONSTRAINTS: PHYSICAL
Limit the possible interactions
* Allows us to dictate users’
movements
* In most cases completely
removing the possibility for
error
CONSTRAINTS: CULTURAL
Based on existing cultural
conventions
