Transcript Jan 17

User Centered
Approaches to Design
Ed Leong & Jody Shpur
A good scientist is a person with original
ideas. A good engineer is a person who
makes a design that works with as few
original ideas as possible. There are no
prima donnas in engineering.
Dyson Freeman
Physicist, 1979
How can designers
enhance the probability of a
product being successfully
adopted by users?
What is Good Design
What is not Good Design
Does
Does
what it is supposed to do
Easy to use
Solves a problem / need
What is Product Success
Pretty,
profitable, preferred, proud of
product (designer & consumer)
not meet the need of the
audience
High cost; not feasible to produce
Difficult to use; not intuitive to use
What is not Product Success
Lack
of financial success
Usability problems (e.g.,
discontinued product)
Sales due to good advertising, not
design
An Example Near and Dear…
Product Categories
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Learning Environments
Automotives
Restaurants
Computer Operating Systems
Learning Environments
Successful
“Flawed”
Collaborative Learning
Uni-directional
Positive
environment
Safe and accepting
Have a voice
Ownership
Non-threatening
Interactive
Connectivity b/w users
Other Examples
Lack
of interaction
No connection to the work
Lack of voice
Learner Centered / Inquiry Based / independent
Automotives
Successful
Flawed
Volvo
Pinto
Lasts
forever
High safety rating
Simple
Reliable
Cost was “upper-middle”
Value for the money spent
Connotation / Image of user
Other Examples
Lethal
design (that says it all)
Not very attractive
Ferrari, Beetle, Japanese Models, Mini-Cooper, Caravan
Restaurants
Successful
Flawed
Starbucks
Second Cup
Employee
treatment / Benefits
leads to “better service”
Successful financially
Perceived product superiority
Customization (half fat, decaf,
soy vanilla mocha frap……)
Image of customers
Other Examples
Product
is similar, but not the
same level of success as
Starbucks
Not selling image as well… of
themselves or their users
Subjective by the user of the restaurant
Computer Operating Systems
Successful
Flawed
iMac
Microsoft
GUI
interface
Hidden operating systems
Simplicity
Other Examples
Depends upon the audience
Congruency with Generalizations
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Intuitive, easy to use
Does what it is supposed to do; Meets the
needs of user
Product is attractive / appealing
Product satisfaction by user
Sense of accomplishment of the user; too
easy may not satisfy user
Brand name loyalty / recognition
Connection to Literature
Usability Engineering (Nielsen, J.)
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The difference between accomplishment and success
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Success in form and function
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Form (usability and appeal)
Function (performance and efficacy)
Paradoxical nature of usability guidelines
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User-centered research and design
Designer to User
Products will face usability research
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Better earlier than later
Affective Domain &
Instructional Design
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Miller (2005) suggested that both student
motivation and attitudes are affected when
educators consider the affective domain while
they are designing their courses
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Attitudes are composed of four interlinked
qualities
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Affective responses
Cognitions
Behavioral intentions
Behaviors
Affective Cognitive
Consistency
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Some theorists (Simonson & Maushak, 2001)
believe that a relationship exists between attitudes
and beliefs and that when a person’s attitudes
towards a topic is inconsistent with their knowledge
about the topic, the person is in an unstable
condition (similar to cognitive dissonance)
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New Information can alter the attitudes a person has
towards a topic and can help reduce this unstable condition
and result in the person’s knowledge and attitude towards
topic into harmony
Instructional Design for
Attitude Change
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Guidelines (Simonson & Maushak, 2001) for
Effective Design of Attitude Instruction Include:
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Make the instruction realistic, relevant and technically
stimulating
Present new information
Present persuasive messages in a credible manner
Elicit purposeful emotional involvement
Involve the learner in planning, production or delivery of the
message
Provide post-instruction discussion or critique opportunities
Emotion & Design
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Norman (2004) suggested that individuals
process information about a given product in
three different ways
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Visceral, Behavioral and Reflective
The emotional response to a product will
affect how the individual interacts / uses the
product
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How will preconceptions affect emotional
response?
What is Beauty?
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Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder…
Is there a mathematical model for beauty?
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Beautycheck
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Research project at the University of Regensburg and
Rostock in Germany
Common facial features in attractive people
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Computerized template developed
Things that are attractive / beautiful more
likely to produce positive affects in people??
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