CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Lecture 6 – User-oriented Design
Mark WoehrerCS 3053 - Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Science Department Oklahoma University
Spring 2007
[Taken from Stanford CS147 with permission]
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Using Prototypes
• Allows multiple parties to envision together– Designers– Users– Engineering, marketing, planning,…..
• Reflective conversation with the materials
• Focus for identifying alternatives and tradeoffs
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Tools
• Paper, Cardboard, Transparencies• Tape, Glue, Rubber Cement• Pens, Pencils, Markers• Scissors• Plastic Tubes, Paper Cups, CD
“Coasters”• Anything that you can buy in an arts
and crafts store (and that a kindergartener would have fun using).
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Examples: Low-Fidelity Prototype
http://www.mindspring.com/~bryce_g/projects/lo_fi.html
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Examples: Low-Fidelity Prototype
http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/courseware/cs160/fall99/projects/t4/body/low-fi/
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Tools
• 3-4 group members• Greeter/Facilitator• Computer (not necessary for low-fi
testing)• 2 Observers/Note takers• Prototype• Users!!!!
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
User Testing
http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/usability/facilities.html
http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/gallery.html
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Tools
• HTML & Javascript• Java JFC/Swing• Visual C++, Visual Basic• Flash MX, Director• Mac Interface Builder• others…or a mix of the above!!!
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Examples of Projects
• Visual Voicemail• Interactive Academic Planner• Suzie Q• ToneDeaf Revolution
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Stages of User Involvement
• Need finding• Design [Participatory design]• Implementation [End-user
programming]• Evaluation• Use in the target setting
Users can be involved in any of the stages of the Design Process!
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
An Overview of Data Gathering Techniques
• Questionnaires• Interviews• Focus groups• Observation
– Naturalistic (ethnography)– Controlled (laboratory)
• Studying documentation (artifacts)
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Questionnaires
• Qualitative vs. quantitative data• Motivation to complete – Response
rate• Uses of on-line questionnaires• Good for demographics, evaluation
of specific features or properties• Design of Scales
– Precision– Effort needed to decide on a response
See the detailed questionnaire guidelines in the text
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Likert Scales and Semantic Differentials
How easy was the system to use?Easy Difficult 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The system was easy to use
How easy was the system to use?Easy___________________________________Difficult
StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Disagree
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Interviews
• Degrees of structuring for different purposes– Structured - Like a guided questionnaire– Semi-structured - Basic script guides the
conversation– Open-ended - Still has a goal and focus
• Phone or face-to-face• Develop trust
– Be sensitive to the setting– Explain your goals to the interviewee
See the detailed interviewing guidelines in the text
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Focus groups
• Group Interviews– Can be 2 or more
• Try to work with representatives of intended users
• Try to bring out differences• Require expert facilitation
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Naturalistic observation
• “Quick-and-dirty”• Participant observation (ethnography)
– Insider-outsider spectrum• User camera studies• Diaries and pager studies• Audio/video recording• Walkthroughs
Many ethical issues are involved and it is important to have full user understanding and agreement to what you are doing
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Insights from ethnography
• Seeing what is invisible to inhabitants– What they say vs. what they do
• The Heisenberg principle– Observation changes what is being observed
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Observational Data Gathering
• Notes• Camera• Audio• Video
– Good for presentations, hard to analyze
– It’s the AUDIO, stupid.• Diaries
– User diaries• Logs
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Controlled observation
• Laboratory settings and tasks• Techniques for understanding what
the user is doing– Walkthroughs– Think-aloud– Paired-think-aloud
More to come when we talk about testing
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Studying documentation (artifacts)
• Official documentation/description• Physical and digital artifacts in the
environment
CS 3053 - Mark Woehrer -
Data Gathering Guidelines
• Set clear goals for the data collection– Focus on identifying the stakeholders’ needs
• Involve all the stakeholder groups• Evaluate cost/benefit for your effort
– Understand the tradeoffs– Use a combination of techniques– Balance specific goals and openness
• Support data-gathering with appropriate props
• Run a pilot trial