CHAPTER 6

Human Computer Interaction

Three Phases of the UCSD Process

What the proposed system needs to do Involves gathering information by probing users & the environment in which the system will be used Involves a combination of interviews with management, workplace observation, user surveys and analysis of existing manual systems The purpose of this is to describe what the proposed system should do, but not how it should do it or what it should look like.

Requirement Gathering

Metric is simply a way of measuring the requirements. Metrics can be direct/indirect, quantitative or qualitative. Example: Requirement: the system should be readily learnable Justification: the system will be used by people with little, if any previous experience of IT systems Metric: a novice user should be able to complete the task in 20 seconds

Hierarchical task Analysis (HTA) HTA should tell all the tasks that the system needs to support. Usability principles and heuristics are a source for usability requirements. Other sources include technical and legal constraints.

Sources of requirements

Functional- specify the functions that your system will need Data- data requirements focus on the types of input and output required Environmental- set out the environment in which the system will be used User- the user requirement defines a user group Usability- identify usability issues

Types of Requirement

Useful- system can do the task. Functional requirements are what make the system useful. Usable- using the system makes the task easy to do. Usability requirements are what make the system usable, and more subjective.

Distinction between useful and usable

Prototyping

In other design fields a prototypes is a small-scale model:

A miniature car A miniature building or town

Exists for some purpose

Show the concept to some stakeholders Get feedback about some aspect Test somehow
E.g. a wing in a wind-tunnel

What is a prototype?

In HCI / interaction design it can be (among other things): a series of screen sketches a storyboard, i.e. a cartoon-like series of scenes a PowerPoint slide show a video simulating the use of a system a lump of wood (e.g. Palm Pilot) a cardboard mock-up a piece of software with limited functionality written in the target language or in another language

What is a prototype for us?

Horizontal
provide a wide range of functions, but with little detail

Vertical
provide a lot of detail for only a few functions

Wizard of Oz
The user thinks they are interacting with a computer, but a developer is responding to output rather than the system.

 To turn an abstract design idea into a physical form To communicate your ideas To iterate and improve

Alterative design and prototyping

Throwaway or Revolutionary
Develop code to explore factors critical to the systems success and then throw it away!

Evolutionary
the prototype eventually becomes the product

Incremental
evolves well-built prototypes into a component that is delivered in either an increment or a complete computer system.

Types of Prototype