Lecture 2: User-Centred Design

Question 1

Why is the Waterfall Model bad for User Interface design?

Answer 1

1. User interface design is risky, we are likely to get it wrong.
2. Users are not involved in validation until acceptance testing, we will not find out until the end.
3. User interface flaws often cause changes in requirement and design, we have thrown away carefully written and tested code.

Question 2

Why is the iterative / spiral model good for user interface design?

Answer 2

1. Offers a way to manage the inherit risk in user interface design.
2. Early iterations use cheap prototypes, opens up opportunities for parallel design for alternatives.
3. Later iterations use richer implementations, after user interface risk has been mitigated.
4. More iterations generally means better user interface.
5. Only mature iterations are seen by the world.

Question 3

What is user-centred design?

Answer 3

User-centred design is based on the iterative / spiral model with an early focus on the user and their tasks, this can be found out through user analysis (who the users are), task analysis (what they need to do) and involve users as evaluators, consultants and sometimes designers.

User-centred design involves constant evaluation - users are involved in every iteration and every prototype is evaluated somehow.

Users’ tasks and goals are the driving force behind development, users are consulted throughout development and all design decisions are taken from within the context of the users, their work, and their environment.

Paying close attention to human abilities, goals and desires.

Question 4

What is the LUCID Framework?

Answer 4

LUCID stands for Logical User-Centred Interaction Design.
LUCID is a framework to guide and manage the process of user interaction design, to encourage if not ensure usability and it can be integrated with existing software engineering practices and methods.

Question 5

What are the 6 stages of the LUCID Framework?

Answer 5

1. Envision
2. Analyse / Discover
3. Design
4. Refine
5. Build
6. Release / Support

Question 6

What is the first stage of the LUCID framework?

Answer 6

Envision - produce user interface roadmap that defines concept, constraints, user classes and usability goals.

Question 7

What is the second stage of the LUCID framework?

Answer 7

Discovery - assess user needs and produce task requirements and refine user classes, develop scenarios, produce a user task analysis and workflow.

Question 8

What is the third stage of the LUCID framework?

Answer 8

Design Foundation - produce low fidelity prototype for early evaluation.

Question 9

What is the fourth stage of the LUCID framework?

Answer 9

Design / Detail Refine - evaluate interaction design based on prototype and create benchmark tasks, perform usability evaluation, iteratively redesign based on results.

Question 10

What is the fifth stage of the LUCID framework?

Answer 10

Build - support implementation of the system.

Question 11

What is the sixth stage of the LUCID framework?

Answer 11

Release - provide rollout support as product is deployed.

Question 12

In an overview sense what are the three fundamental underpinning of the LUCID framework?

Answer 12

1. Logical
2. User Centred
3. Interaction Design