David Heller

synapticburn.com

A Context for Interaction Design

User Experience broken down and IxDs intersection with IA
IA Summit, Montreal March 6, 2005

March/Mars-2005

David Heller

synapticburn.com

Overview

Defining User Experience (UX)

Breaking down UX

Placing IxD into UX

Defining IxD

Connecting IxD and IA

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

What is UX and Where did it come from?

Well look no further than the World Wide Web.

Did he just say that UX only applies to the Web?

Web brought together disconnected and diverse industries in a new catalyzing way.

Software Engineering

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Cog. Psych + CS Usability Engineering

Graphic Design/Advertising/Media (publishing & broadcast)

Library Science Game Industry

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

We need some limits

Digital Product Design NOT Experience Design

That would be our umbrella

Informs the strategy

Includes important issues beyond the product

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Understanding UX
Experts who helped found UX have been trying to place it in context for a while. Here are some examples

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Nathan Shedroff

All the Skills

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Peter Morville

All the Goals

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David Heller

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Jesse James Garrett

Tasks for a Project

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David Heller

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Challis Hodge

All the Disciplines

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David Heller Dirk Knemeyer

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3 - way layering

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

My turn

Goals of my attempt

Eliminate jargon Clarify big vs. little

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

First there is a solution:

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Predominantly the concept comes from the business side

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Every solution has a form

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

And the form is derived by practice that informs it

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Form is made up of 3 elements:

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Most information is derived from 2 parts

March/Mars-2005

David Heller
(usually what we argue about)

synapticburn.com

And they all have disciplines

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Inform/Impact

Strategy

Foundation that all other processes are reflected against Focus that guides and binds Driven around user need and business requirements Academic Research creates trends, informs strategy and other elements. User Research based on the strategy, and validates it, informs the formation most directly.

Research (2 types)

Validation takes existing models and evaluates their current strengths and weaknesses.

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Form
We create languages and stories: Syntax, semantics, semiotics, narrative (plot, climax, characters) I use a model taken from programming to define the elements of form.

A form therefore is a cascading set of objects, which itself is an object:

Structure definition and relationship

Behavior listeners and responders Presentation appearance, aesthetic, tone, personality, context

March/Mars-2005

David Heller

synapticburn.com

Lets map this to disciplines

Strategy business strategy, design strategy, experience design, branding, marketing. Research

Academic Research HCI User Research behavioral research (field research/ethnography, participatory design)

Validation some research validates, but mostly this is Usability Engineering

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Mapping cont.

Structure = Information Architecture Behavior = Interaction Design Presentation = Graphic Design, Communication Design, Writing, Industrial Design, Information Design, et. al.

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Questions?
Were not quite done yet, but thought before getting deeper people might like to ask some questions.

March/Mars-2005

David Heller

synapticburn.com

A Definition of Interaction Design

interaction design defines

the structure and behaviors of interactive products and services

user interactions with those products and services

More @ http://define.ixdg.org/
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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Digging Deeper

What are the components of behavior?

Listeners Responders

Impact of designing behavior (or not designing it)

Affordances, conventions, intuitiveness Managing complexity

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

IxDs focus in a product

Tasks Flow User Relationship to Task & Flow Use over TIME Interactivity in the presentation layer

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Overlap?
There is a continuum here.

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

IA & IxD: Couple Made in Heaven

IA prepares content/information

Findability,Consumption,Creation Using metadata, taxonomies, facets, relationships

IxD presents interaction models for that information to be reached.

Search/Browse Wayfinding Conent Management Systems - workflow

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Marrying metadata & a rich GUI: Ford Trucks

Ford Trucks @ Ford Trucks Interactive Towing Guide

http://www.fordvehicles.com/towing/popup.asp?type=TRUC K&uid=

Using a Flash GUI, utilizing Sliders, mouseovers, to manipulate metadata

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Make the Semantic Web Behave mSpace

mSpace @ http://mspace.fn/ Takes the existing data of the networked space:

Organize search data

Use predictable facets of organization They call it iTunes + Google

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David Heller

synapticburn.com

Thanx!

Questions UXnet: http://uxnet.org/

David Heller dave (at) syapticburn (dot) com http://synapticburn.com/ Interaction Design Group (IxDG) http://ixdg.org/
March/Mars-2005