University of Washington HCDE 518 Course Introduction HCDE 518 Winter 2010 With credit to Jake Wobbrock, Dave Hendry, Andy Ko, Jennifer Turns, & Mark Zachry

University of Washington HCDE 518

Course Introduction

HCDE 518Winter 2010

With credit to Jake Wobbrock, Dave Hendry, Andy Ko, Jennifer Turns, & Mark Zachry


Was that painful?

How do you know? Sometimes, painful isn’t so obvious









Bad design is everywhere!


Bad design can have big consequences

Money $60,000

disappeared

Social issues Voting


Bad design can have big consequences

Human Lives Therac-25 Radiation Therapy machine Air traffic accidents

!!$rhi Iran Air 655 Airbus shot down by USS Vincennes’ missiles (290 dead); Human error plus confusing and incomplete Aegis interface (S 13 4); Commentary on Tom Wicker article on Vincennes and SDI (S 13 4); Aegis user interface changes recommended; altitude, IFF problems (S 14 1); Analysis implicates Aegis displays and crew (Aerospace America, Apr 1989); Discussion of further intrinsic limitations (Matt Jaffe, S 14 5, R 8 74); USS Sides Cmdr David Carlson questions attack on Iranian jet (S 14 6)


But we can try to help

Project Ernestine NYNEX was going to buy new workstation for their

telephone operators Each second saved per call saves $3M/yr. Gray and John used CPM-GOMS to model use of

new workstation Discovered it would be 3% slower than original NYNEX did not buy workstation Prevented mistake, saved $2M/yr.


Summary

Design is everywhere Design is hard Most everything is designed

Much of it poorly Economic ramifications Life and death in certain situations


Agenda Motivation – Bad

Interface Designs Introductions

Instructor, You Break – 5 mins Review of Syllabus

Basic Info, Assessment, Assignments, Project, Policies, etc.

What this course is about Break – 10 mins

IDEO Deep Dive Video & Discussion

What is Design? Break – 5 mins Perspectives on Design

Videos Next Class


Introductions - Instructor

Instructor: Julie Kientz (pronounced like “Keentz”)

Assistant Professor in HCDE and iSchool Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech

Research in Human-Computer Interaction Computing for Healthy Living & Learning (CHiLL)

Personal Interests: Travel, Skiing, Pets (have 1 dog, 2 cats), Volunteering, Reading, Games, Piano


Introductions – You – Design Activity

Invent a control for a smart home of the future by:

1. Describing your users2. Describing your users’ needs3. Describing the functions4. Sketching its appearance


Design Activity: Process

1. Design Time (10 minutes) a. Work in teams of 2-4b. Define users, needs, and functionsc. Create a sketch

2. Presentation Time (1 minute each)a. My Name is …b. My Name is … c. This is our control <show sketch>d. This control is for … <describe users>e. Use this control to … <describe functions>


Design Activity: Reflection

Interaction Design – designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives in a way that creates an overall positive, engaging, and productive experience


BREAK – 5 MINUTES


Syllabus

Basic Info Assessment Assignments Project Labs Course Topics


Basic Course Info

Website: http://courses.washington.edu/hcde518/

Mailing List: [email protected]

Readings: All posted online, but you can buy several of the

books for easier reading:

Moggridge Buxton


Assessment

Grades will be posted via Catalyst’s GradeBook and handed back in class

Component WorthClass Participation 10%Reading Reflections 15%Individual Assignments 15%Sketching Project 10%Group Design Project 40%Final Exam 10%


Participation – 10%• Treat all with respect – be constructive in all discussions• Come to class prepared – read carefully prior to class

meetings• Be an active listener – be attentive, be engaged, use in-class

technology with discretion• Ask challenging questions• Comment, build on, or clarify others' contributions• Help your classmates use technologies• Post useful or interesting information to the class discussion

list• Visit the instructor during office hours to chat, to ask

questions, or to give feedback.


Readings – 15% There is a lot of reading in this course

As graduate students, I assume that you like to read Readings are all available on course web page

None of the readings are pointless Reading Reflections

Rn on the schedule 8 total reflections About 1-2 pages per response Pass/fail


Assignments – 15%

Assignment Worth DueA1: Thinking About Design 5% 1/11/11A2: Look, Learn, Ask, Try 5% 1/25/11A3: Paper Prototype 5% 2/22/11


Project – 40%

Group project enabling you to apply the lessons learned in class to a real problem

Work in teams of 5 Topics will be determined week 2 Class time will be provided for coordinating team

efforts


Project Topics

List of ideas will be posted on course website

Includes: Usability Professionals Association Student Design

Competition Past CHI Student Design Competition Topics Future of Technology – Designing for the year

2025 Whatever you’d like!


ProjectProject Component Worth Due DateP1: User Research & Personas 15% 2/8/11P2: Ideation & Sketching 5% 2/15/11P3: Prototypes 10% 3/1/11P4: Final Report including Evaluation 10% 3/8/11


Team Composition

5 members from a diverse team I get to choose teams…. …but you get some input

Fill out team form Turn in at the end of class


Sketching Project – 10%

• Think about the products and things you use in everyday life• They were all designed by someone!• Designs are rarely perfect the first time

• Sketching is an important skill in design• Quantity + Practice increases ability• Sketching is an activity and thought process and

way of communicating ideas to others


Sketching Project

In weeks 2-9, sketch at least 3 new ideas for how you might improve everyday interactive objects relating to that week’s theme

Must have at least 24 sketches by the end of the quarter


Sketching Project

Each class in weeks 2-9 bring your sketchbook to class

You will meet in small groups to critique each others’ ideas and take notes

At the end of the quarter, you’ll submit your sketchbook and a short report that reflects on your experience


Themes Week 2: In the Kitchen – cooking, appliances, eating, food storage, etc. Week 3: Shopping – finding items, purchasing, money, customer service, etc. Week 4: Sports and Recreation –sports equipment, outdoor activities, sporting

events, etc. Week 5: Entertainment – movies, video games, television, reading, museums,

etc. Week 6: Travel & Transportation – air and car travel, bus travel, bicycling, etc. Week 7: Education – class lectures, assignment turn-ins, elementary school,

etc. Week 8: Mobile Interactions – while out and about, driving, walking, etc. Week 9: Family & Friends – keeping in touch, childcare, eldercare, socializing


A Note about Drawing Skills

Good drawing skills are not required… Stick figures, scribbles, boxes, lines, and

annotations are perfectly acceptable! Quality is not important, only idea and quantity.

However, you can take a drawing class if you want to get better ASUW Experimental College offers classes:

• Drawing for Absolute Beginners


Final Exam – 10%

Finals week – Tuesday, March 15, 6:00-8:00 P.M.

Based on readings Conducted at home, but timed Designed to take approximately 2 hours Should be easy if you keep up with the

readings and lecture material


Policies

Academic integrity Grading Extensions Late assignments Accommodation Quality of written assignments Attendance Food


My Expectations of You

Be here on time Do the readings before class Turn in everything on-time Speak up in class Turn off cell phones, no texting No email, IM, web Respect each other There are no stupid questions/ideas


What You Can Expect of Me

I will be here on time Your assignments will be graded in a timely manner

Typically within 1-2 weeks I will respond to email in a timely manner

Typically within 24 hours If I don’t know the answer to your question, I will

find out I will treat you as professional colleagues You will have several chances to evaluate the course


Course Topics

• User Centered Design Process• User Research Methods• Conveying User Research

• Personas & Scenarios• Sketching• Prototyping

• Lo-Fi, Hi-Fi, Narrative• Evaluation• Current Trends & Issues


What this course isn’t

This course isn’t about technology It isn’t (just) about user interfaces It isn’t about “user friendly” It isn’t about programming


What this course is

This course is about engaging users to design the human-computer system

It is about interaction, not interface It is about user success

“User friendly” isn’t enough

Mantra: “The user is not like me!”


What you will learn

Design design process design methods creating useful and usable things!

Science conduct usability evaluations empirical methods, how to handle data

Art an eye for the good, the bad, and the what to do about them

ugly


BREAK – 10 MINUTES


Design Process Intro

IDEO’s Deep Dive Video Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooN05Q030Qo Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_sZy-kusw Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxO8t9Sonk8


Discussion


LECTURE – WHAT IS DESIGN?


What is Design?

Process of creating or shaping tools or artifacts for direct human use

Processes, methods

Creative endeavor

Outputs are things

people-centered concerns


Characteristics of Design

Design… is conscious keeps human concerns in the center is a conversation with materials is creative is communication has social implications is a social activity


Design vs. Engineering Engineering

Make a mostly-known outcome possible Construct a sturdy bridge based on specifications Concerned with what can be done Reliance on well-established formulae Humans may or may not be directly “in the loop”

Design Envision new possibilities, new outcomes Determine what outcome should result among infinite possibilities Reliance on process over formulae Humans are central actors “in the loop”


Design vs. Art

Design (as we regard it) concerns the creation of something useful and usable

Art does not bother with this restriction The test: how to deem what is “good”?


Other Contrasts

Interface vs. interaction design Artifact versus sequence Graphic < interface < interaction < user experience

Usability vs. user experience (UX) design Evaluation versus holistic design Designing it right vs. the right design


design vs. Design

design: the general activity we’ve been talking about so far

Design: the formal field, including theory, methods, literature, and practice


Who does design? Designers! Designers are often…

Applied anthropologists Design ethnographers Social psychologists Cognitive psychologists Experimental psychologists Computer scientists Engineers Interface designers Interaction designers Industrial designers Graphic designers Information architects Usability professionals Technical writers Dramatists


Can anyone be a designer?

Don Norman says “yes” Mostly in the “design” sense

Bill Buxton says “no” Mostly in the “Design” sense

What do you think?




What is designed?

“Look around you. The only thing not designed is Nature.” David Kelley

Anything consciously intended for human use is designed Often poorly, though :(


Why is design hard?

Interface design is multidisciplinary Judging/predicting which designs will be

successful and which will not is difficult It is simply hard to come up with good

solutions The space of “the possible” is vast compared to

the space of “the good”


Why is design hard?

All design involves making tradeoffs Can’t maximize everything

Good designs are non-obvious Humans are unpredictable Humans make errors

Mistakes Slips

Design relies on process expertise, not knowledge expertise


Core skills of design

To synthesize a solution from all of the relevant constraints, understanding everything that will make a difference to the result

To frame, or reframe, the problem and objective To create and envision alternatives. To select from those alternatives, knowing intuitively

how to choose the best approach. To visualize and prototype the intended solution


One view of the design process


Sketch of Design Thinking (Andy Ko)


Design is not just “lipstick on a pig”

Not just changing how things look Or making things pretty Or designing graphics


Interaction design mantras

“The user is not like me.” –Don Norman “The best way to have good ideas is to have

lots of ideas.” – Linus Pauling “Fail often to succeed sooner.” – IDEO “Enlightened trial-and-error succeeds over the

careful planning of the lone genius.” – IDEO


“The user is not like me”

Why not? (from Norman) Designers are much more familiar with the

interface and with the problems being solved than users.

Designers are confident. Users are often fearful. Designers work in settings that are different than

the context in which the product may be used. Designers may have different skills than users

(e.g., perceptual, cognitive, or domain skills).


Repeat it out loud

“The user is not like me”


BREAK – 5 MINUTES


A1: Thinking about Design

Think about the objects with which you interact and how they’re designed

Derive design principles

Assignment description posted online (A1) Due next Tuesday, 1/11/11


Next Class Topics

Tuesday, January 11th The User-Centered Design Process

Upcoming Work Get started on readings and reflections Complete Assignment 1 Obtain a sketchbook

Sketch 3 sketches relating to “In the Kitchen”


VIDEOS – WHAT IS DESIGN?


Interviews from Moggridge (2007)

Gillian Crampton Smith (Director, Ivrea) 4 minutes

Bill Verplank (Xerox Star) 3 minutes

Cordell Ratzlaff (Mac OS X) 3 minutes


Lessons?

What lessons do these interviews hold?


Next Class Topics

Tuesday, January 11th The User-Centered Design Process

Upcoming Work Get started on readings and reflections Complete Assignment 1 Obtain a sketchbook

Sketch 3 sketches relating to “In the Kitchen”

Documents

University of Washington HCDE 518 Course Introduction HCDE 518 Winter 2010 With credit to Jake Wobbrock, Dave Hendry, Andy Ko, Jennifer Turns, & Mark Zachry