[User Centered Analysis & Conceptual Design]

Know thy users- for they are not you

Irony of Current Situation

Results of this is high level of usability in designs where following parameters are met :1) Effectiveness2) Ease of Learning3) Efficiency of use4) Memorability5) Error Prevention6) Satisfaction

Interface Design Occurs late in Engineering

• Freedom to Design is high in the beginning, when we know the least

UCA at a glance

Design Strategy Profiles & Personas

Task Flows

Field Studies

Information Architecture

UCA - Design Strategy

• Business Goals• Target Users• General Tasks• Technology (or other) Constraints• Marketing & Branding Goals• Critical Success Factors

Design Strategy – Information Sources

Component Sources

Business Goals Business Documents, software documents (existing or related), Feedback from users (for existing or related systems)

Target Users User/ Organization Charts, Job descriptions, from management

General Tasks Project requirements, Business process or task flow diagrams, from management or operations

Technological Constraints Legal regulations, Software requirements, from operations, development, IT team etc

Marketing/ Branding Goals From marketing team

Critical Success factors Defined by Business

Design Strategy - Brand Gap Analysis

Define Brand attributes & its important

• Fun• Friendly• Boring• Informative• Approachable• Cluttered• Out-of-date• Easy-to-use• Hi-tech• Comfortable

Focus on important & its perception Importance

Perception GAP

Stabilize Mission Critical

Least Important

Lower Priority

Perceived Importance

More Important

Less Important

Small Gaps Large Gaps

Profiles & Personas

Describe the design strategy with who is doing what, and where

User Groups User Profiles Task Profiles Environmental Profiles Personas

Profiles & Personas - User profiles

Characteristic Variable Design Implications

Age/ Gender Visual AcuityMotor Skills

Font sizeColor/ Contrats

Education Reading LevelGeneral Knowledge

Documentation/ training/ helpScreen density

Language English not first Alternate versionsLabelling & layout

Computer Experience How muchWhat kind

ModalityWizards/ tooltips

Task Knowledge How much Complexity/ tutorials/WizardsInformation Atrchitecutre

Profiles & Personas - Task Profile

Profiles & Personas - Environmental Profiles

Profiles into Personas

A persona is a concrete “characterization” of a single user segment.

Synthesis of information from the three profiles – User– Task– Environmental

Persona does not describe the actual user. It describes “fictitious” person that represent the information from user profiles.

Most important - Focus on probabilities, not possibilities

Sample Personas

Its advisable to keep usually 3personas for simplicity

Field StudiesValidate WHO, WHAT, WHERE and uncovering HOW & WHY.

Direct and In-direct data gathering methods– Direct – Obtaining data from actual user– Indirect – Obtaining data from users without direct contact

Individual & Group– Individual – One person at a time– Group – More than one person at a time

Performance & Discussion– Performance – Tasks are performed in the session.– Discussion – The tasks are discussed, recalled, projected, opinions

given etc

Best method among these is Direct & Individual

Field Studies - Data gathering methods

Indirect Direct

Individual Surveys Interviews Helpdesk Data Observations Representative Interviews

Group Web Analytics Focused Groups Social Media Data Facilitated Groups Forum & Blogs User groups

Task Analysis & Wire framing

Content Organization By Topic By User By Product or Service By task By store or

department

Card Sorting

Quick, inexpensive and reliable methodWhich serves as inputInto the information design process

Card sorting provides suggestions into:

navigation, menus and taxonomies

Card Sorting - Examples

Card Sorting - How Many users?

Correlation coefficients for various sample sizes

[Science & Art of Web designing – Part 1]Science Includes levels of objectivity, Art includes level of

subjectivity

VIMM Model

Shows four kinds of work or effort that users performs

• Visual• Intellect• Memory• Motor

VIMM : Visual

Optimize Visual comprehension by :• Matching screen flow to task flow• Good grouping & labelling• Careful use of color

VIMM : Intellect

Simplify Decision making by :• Providing previews and easy escapes• Using controls consistently• Providing good system feedback

VIMM : Memory & Motor

Memory • Making options visible • Designing for recognition vs. recall• Providing defaults

Motor• Using short distances and large targets• Optimizing for input device• Reducing windows & steps

Visual Cognitive Processing

Human processes images 60,000 times faster than text.

Quick – What is a curved line with every point an equal distance from the center?

Visual cognitive factors

Eye movement & tracking

Fixations – Records the X & Y coordinates of where user looks.

Saccades – Quick movements from dot to dot.

We can draw user’s attention

Faces naturally draw our eyes

Gestalt Principals – Control Visual Context

To be continued…

Know thy users- for they are not you