Cognitive Design MS LOC 452 – Summer 2008 Discussion Slides Full Day Session One – PART B June 28, 2008 Mark K. Clare New Value Streams Consulting LLC

Cognitive DesignMS LOC 452 – Summer 2008

Discussion Slides

Full Day Session One – PART BJune 28, 2008

Mark K. ClareNew Value Streams Consulting LLC

[email protected]@gmail.com

260 – 426 – 8454

DRAFT

Cognitive design is an emerging discipline that seeks to improve the fit between how we think and feel and the things we make.

X

X’

Designing for how minds work……

Fundamental Principles of Cognitive Design

Cognitive design is an area within applied cognitive science that can be derived from three basic ideas or principles

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Copyright © 2008 Mark K. Clare

Fundamental Principles

1. Mental Energy: At the cognitive level, the interaction between people and artifacts can be modeled as a conversion of mental energy.

2. Moments of Truth: Some types of interactions are far more important for cognition than others, these make up moments of truth where we are likely to deeply bond with or reject the artifact.

3. Multiple Minds: Designing for how minds work means scoping the practice to include four types of cognition including individual, extended, group and machine.

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Mental Energy

Sits at the heart of cognitive designWe put mental energy into artifacts to learn, use and maintain them and we get mental energy out in terms of how they make us think and feel. The ILSI defines mental energy in terms of three components or as “the ability to perform mental tasks, the intensity of feelings about energy/fatigue, and the motivation to accomplish mental and physical tasks.”

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Interaction as the Conversion of Mental Energy

Mental energy that goes into an interaction is converted into an altered form mental energy that comes out of the interactionMental energy can be generated or released during the interactionCan have the experience of getting more out then we put it (net mental energy that “picks us up”) or using more then we get (loss of mental energy that “brings us down”)The experience of mental energy strong determines the relationship we have with artifacts

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Your Universe of Artifacts

Listening to a good song on the radio can make me feel optimistic and even stimulate new thoughts on the hard problems I am working on. That artifact cluster (radio, song, chair, etc.) lifts me up both emotionally and intellectually. On the other hand, everyday on my way out to my car I have to open an old door in the garage that sticks and is in clear need of repair. That brings me down. It reminds me of unfinished tasks around the house. It looks bad (dirty and scratched up) making me feel like I am not a good home owner. Other interactions I hardly notice, they are neutral, like using my toothbrush, putting on my shoes, booting my PC and so on.

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Load Factors:Estimating Mental Workload or Energy-In

Mental Effort– Intensity of perception and interpretation– Number of decisions to be made– Length of (number of steps) in procedures to follow– Amount of learning

Conscious Memory– Number of items in working memory– Level of abstraction– Number of things I must remember to remember (prospective memory)

Vigilance– Need to self regulate, monitor or control– Role of situational awareness and variability– Use of executive functions or metacognition

Time Pressure– Penalty for acting to slowly or fast– Consciously monitor time during use

The more things I need to figure out, remember, monitor and control the more energy I must put into the interaction.

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Conversion of Mental Energy

The energy-in is focused on processing the activating events and is converted into the energy out which is roughly associated with the emotional and behavioral consequences.

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Production Factors:Estimating Mental Benefit or Energy-Out

Meaning– Personal association– Remembrance– Link to identity

Visceral Response– Emotions– Drive states (hunger, pain, fear, thirst, sexual desire)– Cravings or addictions

Incidental Processing– Associations, metaphors, archetypes– Heuristics, cognitive bias, automatic naturalistic reasoning– Activation of a mental model, script or other cognitive structure

Duration– Extending with positive valence can lead to savoring or other optimal state– Strong negative valence (e.g. revenge) can linger indefinitely

Triggering positive, deep and naturalistically aligned associations can release tremendous mental energy.

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Cognitive Ergonomics

Energy-In > Energy-Out = AgitatesEnergy-In = Energy-Out = ToleratesEnergy-Out > Energy-In = ResonatesEnergy-Out >> Energy-In = Accelerates

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Design Observations

Agitate is not always bad designTolerate seems mundane but can be a great achievement in complex situationsResonance often requires a tight fit to a psychographic profileIntegrate can be established with ordinary objects

Mental Energy Framework

Gaining insight into the conversion of mental energy in your application should reveal unmet cognitive needs, re-design ideas and strong traces of the user’s psychographic profile.

Load Factors (L)

Mental Effort

Conscious Memory

Vigilance

Time Pressure

Mental Workload or Energy-In

Production Factors (P)

Meaning

Visceral Response

Incidental Processing

Duration

Mental Benefit or

Energy-OutEmotions

Drive States

Cravings

+

-

+

-

+

-

Level of Cognitive Fit or Frame of

Mind

L << P (accelerate)L < P (resonate)L = P (tolerate)L > P (agitate)

+

-

Decrease negative valences (-) and increase positive (+) valence effects.

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Using the Mental Energy Framework

Can assess current artifacts and proposed design in terms of mental energyProvides directions for improving designs and can be used to refine specifications and goalsFactors indicate which areas of cognitive science are especially relevant to designersProvides direction for what should be modeled or studied

Doing Cognitive Design

Cognitive design can be infused into other design, product development or organizational improvement methods or stand on its own. In this section we introduce a simple three-step methodology for forward-engineering solutions to cognitive design challenges.

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Methodology

1. Defining the Design Challenge

a. Selecting an applicationb. Scoping the cognition at workc. Setting design goals

2. Modeling the Cognition at Work

a. Reverse engineering existing artifactsb. Understanding needs and cognitionc. Modeling the link to value

3. Prototype Solutionsa. Modeling for idea generationb. Generating and evaluating scenariosc. Rapid market testing

Full Day Session One

Full Day Session Two

Full Day Session Three

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Defining the Design Challenge

a. Selecting an application which includes defining the personal, business or social problem/opportunity that will be tackled.

b. Scoping the cognition at work which includes identifying the general type of cognition at work and how it is linked to value creation within the context of the application

c. Setting design goals which includes specifying the target frame of mind, desired level of cognitive fit, scope of change and other improvement objectives especially those that relate to value creation.

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Defining the Design Challenge Checklist

Is there a significant problem or opportunity involved?Is it clear who the design is for?Does the user’s cognition play a key role in creating value within the domain?Are there artifacts (existing or possible) that mediate the link between the user’s cognition and the dynamics of value creation in the application?

It does not matter how you get there. Methodologies should not be a straight jacket. Instead they should guide our thinking in a way that stimulates insight and progress toward the desired goal.

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1 a. Selecting an Application

Eating Behaviors: health science teacher decides to create a program to encourage middle school children eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Service Experience: A dentist is determined to reduce the anxiety in her younger patients by redesigning the clinical space and training her staff to help create a calm frame of mind in patients.Marketing: A marketing professional wants to evaluate how a viral or word-of-mouth campaign can be developed for one of his company’s newest offerings.Error Reduction: A process improvement specialist is tasked with redesigning systems and workflows to eliminate a dangerous and costly error that are made in their firm’s order fulfillment process.

General statement of the problem or opportunity including target user group.

These are significant problems, it is clear who the design would be for and it seems like cognition is playing a key role.

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Cognition at Work

To be a good application cognition must play a key role in creating (or destroying) value.

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Cognition at Work

Eating Behaviors: The focus is on self-regulation or the executive cognitive process that drives the ability to influence and therefore change one’s behaviorService Experience: The focus is on the so-called emotional intelligence of customers. More specifically, affective triggers as they relate to anxiety and supporting the patient ability to emotionally self-regulate during their visit to the dentist’s office. Marketing: The goal is support the customer’s need for socializing by sharing product experiences with others (prospects). Error Reduction: The focus is on the decision-making process used by workers that are producing the errors

Need to label and describe the “cognition” box in the CAW diagram

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Cognition to Value MapHealth Eating Example

Cognition is a key value driver if small changes or improvements in it produce big changes in valueThe details will be worked out later in the method but you need to make statements that the stakeholders find intuitive and form the basis for a solid value proposition for the projectStatement made in cognition box is the target “frame of mind” you are designing for which can be further defined via an ABC diagram

Need to discover or make assumptions about the links between cognition, behavior, performance and value

Cognition

Improve ability to self regulate

Behavior

Eat four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit daily

Performance

•Improved nutrition•Weight loss•Avoid disease•Self efficacy

Value

•Lower cost of care•Improved QOL

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Artifacts Mediate Link to Value:Service Experience: Lower Anxiety at the Dentist’s

Target artifact: Ceiling or area that patient sees when they recline in the dental chair for exam, cleaning or repair.Artifact cluster: Includes all the artifacts the patient experiences while in the chair receiving service including: Dental chair, dental instruments, clinicians face mask and protective gear, background noise and room odors.Artifact Space: Treatment room which can be open, semi-private or private, include space for visitors or not and so on.

We need to define the artifacts to be redesigned or created and suggest how their features and functions are responsible for linking the user’s cognition to value creation.

Schematic or Blueprint for Cognitive Design

Behaviors /Actions

IntegrateAccelerateResonateTolerateAgitate

Performance

produces

Artifact

Perception ValueA

Cb

Ce

B1

BnF

F

F

FF

F

FF

Human-Artifact Interaction

Cognitive Processes

Cognitive Structures

Forms, features and functions of artifact mediates or brokers connection between cognition and value.

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1 c. Establish the Design Goals

Target frame of mind or think-and-feelConsider developing a survey or subjective assessment instrument to determine current level of cognitive fit for the target artifactValue creation goals needed to satisfy stakeholders and create a compelling value proposition for the project

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Design Goals for Service Experience at The Dentist

Increase level of fit from agitate to:– Tolerate for majority of patients to stop defections – Resonate for 10% of patients to create an experience

they talk about– Accelerate for those that don’t floss or follow other

preventative measures

Acquire 50 new teenage patients within a year after implementation

The value proposition is to grow the business by engineering anxiety out and excitement in.

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Deliverable for Stage One

General statement of the problem to solve or the opportunity to seize and the intended user groupDescription of the cognition to be supported, enhanced or created in the user groupA cognition at work diagram that defines the context of the application and how cognition links to value at least in general termsABC diagram or brief description defining the target frame of mind (or look-and-feel) to be established by the new designA cognition-value map or box-and-arrow diagram illustrating the role of the target cognition as a key value driver within the application Artifact context diagram or description that defines the target artifact(s), cluster(s) and space(s)List of design goals including target frame of mind (from above), desired level of cognitive fit, change scope (improvement, redesign, clean slate) and other improvement objectives especially those that involve value creation. Value proposition using the scope and goal define a clear and compelling statement on how doing additional cognitive design will create substantial value

These deliverables are summarized in a 5-7 page design intent document.

Key Deliverable = Design Intent Document

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Assignments for Next Time

ReadingsTeam design projectIndividual design project

We have a phone conference on the 1st and our first night class on the 8th (in room G22)

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Assignment: Team Design Project

Activity Start End Deliverable

Defining the Design ChallengeSelect application 23-Jun 8-Jul Scope StatementForm team 28-Jun 8-Jul Team RosterScope the cognition at work 8-Jul 12-Jul CAW and ABC DiagramsSet the design goal 8-Jul 12-Jul Cognition-Value MapFinalize documentation 8-Jul 12-Jul Design Intent Document

Modeling Cognition at WorkRefine definition of target group 12-Jul 22-Jul User Cognitive ProfileDevelop plan for doing modeling 12-Jul 22-Jul Modeling PlanLiterature search 12-Jul 22-Aug Cognitive ModelsReverse engineer artifact(s) 12-Jul 22-Jul FFF and Six Factors DocumentsUnderstand need and cognition 22-Jul 2-Aug Psychographic Profiles, ModelsAdditional cognitive model 22-Jul 2-Aug Cognitive ModelsFinalize documentation 29-Jul 2-Aug Needs and Insights Document

Prototyping SolutionsModel for design ideas 22-Jul 2-Aug Needs and Insights DocumentDefine prioritized needs and features 2-Aug 12-Aug QFD MatrixGenerate & evaluate design scenarios 5-Aug 17-Aug Design ScenariosPrototype and test Optional Optional Prototype, Test Instrument Finalize documentation 16-Aug 18-Aug Design Scenario Document

Be prepared to discuss application ideas during July 1 phone conference and make proposal in July 8th class. Get a jump on a design intent document before the 8th if possible.

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Assignment: Individual Design Project

Continue to work on your artifact database. If you have not started already be sure to complete at least one artifact space by the July 1 phone conference and come prepared to ask questions.

Activity Start End Deliverable

Defining Design ChallengeInventory your artifacts 23-Jun 12-Jul Artifact DatabaseAnalyze your artifacts 12-Jul 22-Jul Key Findings DocumentSelect favorite artifact 12-Jul 22-Jul CAW and ABC DiagramsFinalize documentation 12-Jul 22-Jul Design Intent Document

Modeling Cognition at WorkModel your favorite artifact 12-Jul 22-Jul FFF DocumentReverse engineer favorite artifact 22-Jul 2-Aug Six Factors Documents Understand needs and cognition 22-Jul 2-Aug Psychographic ProfileSelect artifact(s) to remake 22-Jul 2-Aug ABC and FFF DiagramsFinalize documentation 22-Jul 2-Aug Needs and Insights Document

Prototyping SolutionsDefine prioritized needs and features 2-Aug 15-Aug QFD MatrixGenerate & evaluate scenarios 2-Aug 15-Aug ScenariosPrototype and test Optional Optional Prototype, Test InstrumentFinalize documentation 15-Aug 19-Aug Design Scenario Document

Course Overview

Any questions?