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
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
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.)
The difference between accomplishment and success
Success in form and function
Form (usability and appeal)
Function (performance and efficacy)
Paradoxical nature of usability guidelines
User-centered research and design
Designer to User
Products will face usability research
Better earlier than later
Affective Domain &
Instructional Design
Miller (2005) suggested that both student
motivation and attitudes are affected when
educators consider the affective domain while
they are designing their courses
Attitudes are composed of four interlinked
qualities
Affective responses
Cognitions
Behavioral intentions
Behaviors
Affective Cognitive
Consistency
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)
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
Guidelines (Simonson & Maushak, 2001) for
Effective Design of Attitude Instruction Include:
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
Norman (2004) suggested that individuals
process information about a given product in
three different ways
Visceral, Behavioral and Reflective
The emotional response to a product will
affect how the individual interacts / uses the
product
How will preconceptions affect emotional
response?
What is Beauty?
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder…
Is there a mathematical model for beauty?
Beautycheck
Research project at the University of Regensburg and
Rostock in Germany
Common facial features in attractive people
Computerized template developed
Things that are attractive / beautiful more
likely to produce positive affects in people??
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additions) will be made
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