Nov 19

Human-Computer Interaction:

Human-Centered Design

Nov 19

History of HCI -- Bad Attitudes

Stage 1:– Only programmers are users

• Catering to programmer needs is weak• Wastes resources• People who make mistakes should be smarter

– However: Mistakes are inevitable!• Allowing easy error recovery is cost efficient

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Evolution of Bad Attitudes

Stage 2– Write the application first– Add the UI later

Stage 3– Users are other than programmers– The End User

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Not-so-Bad Attitudes

Stage 4– Design UI and application together– The central concern is:

• “What can the user understand”

Avoid Technocentrism– Eg. Audience chooses ending to a story

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User-Centered Design

User-centered design process– Analysis of user needs– Prototype– Informal feedback– Iterate on design– Final application– Formal feedback

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Analysis of User Needs

Techniques:– Surveys– Card-sorting tasks– Interviews– Focus groups

• Look at competing products

– Ethnography• Participant observation

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Prototyping

Storyboards Paper simulations of application Wizard of Oz experiment Prototyping tools Cheap!

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Informal Feedback

Present prototype to users Do a quick questionnaire Observe the user struggle with your

lousy design

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Iterate on Design

Redesign system – in light of initial user impressions– pay attention to common complaints

Be prepared to...

Abandon bad ideas!! It’s just an idea, not a measure of your

worth!

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Final Stages Implement the product Get formal feedback

– You now have something concrete to show– Performance analysis

Testing – Look for bugs

Attention to detail– Good UI work is really picky

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Final Stages

Playtesting– 100s of testers working for months

• Full-time job

– Looking to tune the game’s playability– Single-player scenarios– Somewhat subjective – Culturally laden

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Design fixation

Keep an open mind Don’t get wedded to an idea Don’t let design review become about

whose idea wins

Honor the truth. People come first.

Nov 19

Quotable Quotes: Practice

“The secret to having good ideas is to have many ideas” -- Bill Buxton

“You’ve got 100,000 bad drawings inside you. You’re here at art school to get them out.” -- Chuck Jones

Design takes practice!!