May 24, 2011

SENG 411 / CSC 578A

participatory design

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learning objectives

understand participatory design, its relevance to HCI, and how it differs from user centered design

explain the pros and cons of a participatory design process

describe how to keep brainstorming productive and positive

user centered design

a philosophy that places the user at the center

user needs, characteristics, and preferences are given substantial attention at every stage of the design process

tries to design the product to accommodate the user rather than requiring the user to change their behaviour to accommodate the product

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participatory design

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Slide adapted from Ben Shneiderman

participatory design

A subset of user-centered design User actively participates in design of the

system Pros?

•  potentially more accurate information about the tasks •  more opportunity for users to influence the design

decisions •  potential to generate more or better ideas than

designers alone •  immediate feedback on design ideas •  buy-in from sense of participation

participatory design

Cons (potential)?

Slide adapted from Ben Shneiderman

•  potentially more costly / time consuming •  lengthier design / implementation period •  antagonism from those whose suggestions are not

incorporated •  may force designers to compromise design •  exacerbate personality conflicts between designers

and users •  users may be able to come up with problems but not

solutions

user workshops / PD sessions

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bring together users & designs

activities to generate ideas •  brainstorming •  personas, scenarios, task analysis, walkthroughs…

activities to present ideas •  demos, prototypes, simulations…

iteratively develop new designs together

brainstorming rules

Phase 1: Idea generation •  first, make sure everyone understands the goals and

scope •  everyone participates

– small groups – might consider individual brainstorming first, then share

ideas (can generate greater variety of ideas) •  record all ideas •  include “stupid” ideas, even encourage them! •  no judgment allowed!

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brainstorming rules

Phase 2: Evaluation •  Rank ideas – e.g. everyone chooses top 3 by placing

3 check marks on the board •  Begin discussion with favourite ideas

– Discuss benefits of each idea first – Then discuss drawbacks of each idea

•  Don’t forget unusual ideas!

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brainstorming rules

Moderator •  Makes sure everyone understands the goals & scope •  Enforces the phases and rules

– No evaluation in phase 1 – No negative comments until the very end of phase 2

•  Manages time

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low-fidelity prototyping

easy to do with users helps everyone envision the interface ideas creates automatic record of brainstorming

session must be easy / rapid to create

e.g. “bags of stuff” from Allison Druin video

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Walsh et al. “Layered Elaboration” paper

adult moderator for each group of kids participants can add onto ideas presented by

others •  using transparent overlays over an initial mock-up

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summary

Participatory design is a good way to involve users and generate lots of ideas

PD can easily be done with anyone, including kids

Need a plan and a moderator to keep discussions positive and on track

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