Interaction Design Spring 2004 Bill Hart-Davidson Session 9: teams present artifact or physical model + a class diagram; guidelines for phase 2 memos;

Interaction DesignInteraction Design

Spring 2004

Bill Hart-Davidson

Session 9: teams present artifact or physical model + a class diagram; guidelines for phase 2 memos; prototyping

Today in ClassToday in Class

Teams present–Physical or artifact model

–Class diagram Guidelines for ph. 2 memos Prototyping

What is a Conceptual Design?What is a Conceptual Design?

In the conceptual design the goal is to clarify the following about your design:

• a list of the functionality it must provide to users, based on the structure of work/activity

• how the new design will do what the old system used to do…and

• how the new design will transform the target activity

Why do a Conceptual Design Why do a Conceptual Design report?, 1report?, 1

For quality assurance, to lay out the model for the solution independent of its implementation so that we can have a baseline to evaluate implementation options

e.g. Saying “our system must provide for asynchronous sharing of CAD drawings among design team members, management, and clients at distributed locations” allows you to have a standard by which to judge various means of satisfying this requirement

Why do a Conceptual Design Why do a Conceptual Design report?, 2report?, 2

As a formalized statement of goals for the design team; understanding what the system must do at a conceptual level allows the team members to understand how their expertise can contribute to the design…and lets individuals work on their strength areas without having to guess about design targets

Why do a Conceptual Design Why do a Conceptual Design report?, 3report?, 3

For the sake of users! …to allow the client, the team, and end users to look at and comment on the design’s basic functions and features while it is still easy and cheap to make changes

This is probably the most important function of the report. If you construct your document with a “review meeting” in mind where the stakeholders can read, react, and either agree to the design or suggest changes, you’ll do well.

Conceptual Design Reports are Conceptual Design Reports are Technical DocumentsTechnical Documents

By “technical,” we mean that your readers are insiders – often experts in both the technical area as well as the organizational context in which the design will be implemented.

They will expect to hear details about the design features you have devised as well as the methods/sources you have consulted to arrive at these.

Concept Report Lines of Concept Report Lines of Argument, 1Argument, 1

Like many technical documents, there are few explicit “appeals” which make this document seem to be persuasive.

In other words, there will be no overt “arguments” like you may have made in the proposal. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have a persuasive aim however!

Concept Report Lines of Concept Report Lines of Argument, 2Argument, 2

The concept report should “argue” that

• Your design’s basic features match the needs of the client and the end-users.

• That your team is technically competent, thorough, and careful to keep the clients’ interests (practical, financial, ethical, etc.) at the forefront.

• That your design is innovative, truly capable of transforming the social practice you target.

Concept Report Format, Concept Report Format, in the real worldin the real world

• Usually a formal technical report

• Letter of Transmittal, Summary & Team Contact Info Page, Body of Report, Appendices for Drawings, Charts, Research Data, References, etc.

• Letter introduces report and invites response, perhaps by anticipating the design review meeting

• Concept reports are occasionally followed up with a “Design Walkthrough.”

Concept Report Format, Concept Report Format, in our classin our class

• A technical memo

• Usually 5-8 pages in the body

• Includes appendices for Drawings, Charts, Research Data, References, etc.

One option for the report bodyOne option for the report bodyI. Introduction: Overview of Current/Transformed Scenario

II. Functional Requirements

A. statement of the requirement

B. problems in the current scenario

C. goals, actions & resources important to users

D. functionality in the new design that will transform the scenario

Back theseup with Data!

One option for the report body, 2One option for the report body, 2

III. Key issues in the design

A. Themes from the Affinity

B. Design challenges posed by the situation, and how the team has resolved them

C. Open issues the team needs to resolve and how they plan to do so

This section could be section II, if it will help give readers more of the big picture up front

use your models

One option for the report body, 3One option for the report body, 3

IV. Looking Ahead: Prototyping and Implementation Options

A. Descriptions, sketches, mockups , etc. along with discussion of implementation choices the team must make

I am not giving you an outline!I am not giving you an outline!

This memo can and probably should be organized differently for each team.

Please, consider the previous example as just one option. Consider your teams’ own situation and how the structure should change to fit it… For

example…

A macro-structure modificationA macro-structure modification

A. Functional Requirements

1. statement of the requirement

2. problems in the current scenario

3. goals, actions & resources important to users in this role

4. functionality in the new design that will transform the scenario

I. User role: menu planners

Things To Do Now, logisticsThings To Do Now, logistics

• Set up the document “shell;” as a group, agree on an outline, section headings, etc. Establish a process for drafting that includes version control.

• Come to an agreement on how much information you currently have that you need to write the report, how much you still need, and when/where that info is coming from.

Things To Do Now, designThings To Do Now, design

• Take stock of what you know…and what you still need to find out. Do the exercise Holtzblatt calls “Walking the Affinity”

•Make a list of basic functionality & features for the current system in place – where are the obvious gaps between your user/client needs and this list?

• Go over the list carefully to add detail from your CD work, then go over it again to separate out “implementation specific” details

What is a prototype?What is a prototype?

A prototype is a physical representation of a design idea that the team wants user feedback on.

Users should be able to do work with the prototype so that the design idea it represents can be tested.

A prototype is not…A prototype is not…

A work model, class diagram, or other conceptual artifact.

These are not very useful for getting real user feedback because they are “written” in the language of designers.

A prototype is also not…A prototype is also not…

A demo.

With a demo, the designer does all the “work,” either by automating a sequence that gets played back…or by guiding users through a work sequence.

So…why prototype? So…why prototype?

Because, as B&H say, “the customer is the final arbiter of the design”

Consider this one for a second…

Design..design..design..design use

Involve users in designInvolve users in design

An alternative approach…

Design..design..design..designuse useuse use

Prototyping allows you to…Prototyping allows you to… test your design ideas…as “claims”

about what will work for your users see how work practice will be

supported (or not!) in the design discover emergent work practices glimpse the overall experience the

new work environment will offer find out if work processes (e.g. a

known sequence) are coherent in the new system

Prototyping also allows you to…Prototyping also allows you to…

Involve users in the design process…

In such a way as to limit user involvement to preserve focus on both the users’ and designers’ most pressing concerns

Prototyping guidelines, 1Prototyping guidelines, 1

Use a “language” to develop prototypes that users have easy access to (like pencil & paper)

The main reason for doing paper (or other low-fidelity) prototypes is to allow users “write access” to the design…co-designer status depends on ability and willingness to change the design

Prototyping guidelines, 2Prototyping guidelines, 2

Keep it real: use real user data, let users do real work with the low-fi system

To keep the focus on the structure of work, you want to have the users doing real tasks. This may mean having the design team fill in for the interactive components of the system…changing paper screens, etc.

Prototyping guidelines, 3Prototyping guidelines, 3

Build prototypes in response to specific questions the team needs user feedback to answer

If every prototype is a kind of “claim” about what’s best for users, then you are usually asking questions that test the validity of those claims.

Example…

Start with your Start with your requirements/functions…requirements/functions…

Requirement: Users need access to trustworthy editions of song lyrics in order to create an interpretation

Function(s): Search for lyrics

View lyrics

Verify source of lyrics

Then, identify a question…Then, identify a question…

Question: When do users need to see lyrics in the process of creating a song interpretation?

Review existing data:Users read lyrics carefully before writing; scan & re-read during writing; Access to lyrics seem important throughout the process

Make a claim…Make a claim…

Claim: When users are writing about an entire album, they may need to check the lyrics of various tracks frequently.

Then “build” it…

Make a “claim”: Composing screenMake a “claim”: Composing screen

Blue Oyster CultTyranny and MutationColumbia Records, 1973Track Title

1 The Red & the Black 2 O.D.'d on Life itself 3 Hot Rails to Hell 4 Screaming Diz-Busters

BOC’s Tyranny & MutationAnother high school favorite for the seventies set here folks. From the opening notes to the last dying echoes the duo of Murray Krugman and Sandy Pearlman manage to get the best out of the lads. These sessions produced some of the all time classic BOC themes, which have gone on to be covered by the likes of The Minutemen of all people(s). The whole collective lot of the production work, instrumentation (featuring the guitar strums of Mr. Buck Dharma, The World's Most Relaxed Guitarist), vocals and subject matter just flat out sounds good to this day.

Hot Rails to Hell

Riding the underground, swimming in sweatA rumble above and below, hey cop don't you know?The heat's on alrightThe hot summer day didn't quit for the night

Then test the claim with a Then test the claim with a scenario…scenario…

“Use the following screen as if you were composing a review of Blue Oyster Cult’s 1973 album “Tyranny & Mutation…”

• Why BOC? Because it matters to the user (if not, use something else!)

• Note that you may need several mock-ups to simulate interaction

I need more cowbell!I need more cowbell!

Try it for next week!Try it for next week! Pick a requirement & set of

functions (use your class diagram) Identify a question Recall your data about the issue Write a “claim” (or two!) Sketch it and test it on somebody

nearby…

Some things to watch for Some things to watch for during a prototyping sessionduring a prototyping session

Where users struggle and why Where users work practices

seem fluent “new work” that didn’t exist

before the system Attempts by users to “work

around” the system

Outcomes of prototyping Outcomes of prototyping sessions: evidence for your sessions: evidence for your

claims!claims!

Make a “claim”: Composing screenMake a “claim”: Composing screen

Blue Oyster CultTyranny and MutationColumbia Records, 1973Track Title

1 The Red & the Black2 O.D.'d on Life itself3 Hot Rails to Hell4 Screaming Diz-Busters

BOC’s Tyranny & MutationAnother high school favorite for the seventies set here folks. From the opening notes to the last dying echoes the duo of Murray Krugmanand Sandy Pearlman manage to get the best out of the lads. These sessions produced some of the all time classic BOC themes, which have gone on to be covered by the likes of The Minutemen of all people(s). The whole collective lot of the production work, instrumentation (featuring the guitar strums of Mr. Buck Dharma, The World's Most Relaxed Guitarist), vocals and subject matter just flat out sounds good to this day.

Hot Rails to HellRiding the underground, swimming in sweatA rumble above and below, hey cop don't you know?The heat's on alrightThe hot summer day didn't quit for the night

“when composing a review, users preferred the quick-access of a rollover for viewing lyrics to a separate window”

Using the evidenceUsing the evidence

There are three main ways you’ll use the information from prototyping:

1. To continually improve the design

2. To justify design decisions

3. To clarify issues for the implementation team

in the final spec doc

For next time…For next time… Bring a (very) low-fi prototype Be prepared to explain its

features and functions in terms of your CD analysis

Discuss the design question it will help you address

Discuss how you will evaluate the prototype or, if applicable, test it in class!