LECTURE 5 WHAT IS DESIGN Flashcards
Everyone at some time or other gets frustrated when using a computer. The effect ranges from feeling mildly amused to extremely angry.
y. There
are myriads of reasons why such emotional responses occur:
* when an application doesn’t work properly or crashes;
* when a system doesn’t do what the user wants it to do;
* when a user’s expectations are not met;
* when a system does not provide sufficient information to let the user
know what to do;
* when error messages pop-up that are vague, obtuse, or
condemning;
* when the appearance of an interface is too noisy, garish, gimmicky,
or patronizing; and
* when a system requires users to carry out many steps to perform a
task, only to discover a mistake was made somewhere along the
line and they need to start all over again
User Frustration
A well-known approach to designing affective interfaces is to use expressive icons and other graphical elements to convey emotional
states. These are typically used to indicate the current state of a
computer.
Some ways of conveying the status of a system are through the use of:
* dynamic icons, e.g., a recycle bin expanding when a file is placed
into it;
* animations, e.g., a bee flying across the screen indicating that the
computer is doing something, like checking files;
* spoken messages, using various kinds of voices, telling the user
what needs to be done; and
Expressive interfaces:
* various sounds indicating actions and events (e.g. window closing,
files being dragged, new email arriving).
Expressive interfaces
Good human-computer interaction (HCI) design is generally difficult,
mainly because it is a multi-objective task that involves simultaneous
consideration of many things
, such as:
* the types of users;
* characteristics of the tasks;
* capabilities and cost of the devices;
* lack of objective or exact quantitative evaluation measures;
* changing technologies;
* etc
HCI Design
This principle
simply states that the interaction and
interface should cater to the needs
and capabilities of the target user of
the system in design.
“Know Thy User”.
It is closely
related to the interaction modeling
and user analysis. It really boils down
to identifying the sequence and
structure of subtasks at an
abstraction level appropriate for the
typical user within the larger
application context.
Understand the Task
Designing interaction with as little memory load as possible is a principle that also has a theoretical basis.
Reduce Memory Load
In the longer
term, one way to unburden the
memory load is to keep consistency
Strive for Consistency
Any significant task will involve the use of memory, so another good strategy is to employ interfaces that give continuous reminders of important information
and thereby refresh the user’s memory
Remind Users and Refresh their
Memory
While supporting a quick completion
of the task is important, error free
operation is equally important. As
such, the interaction and interface
should be designed to avoid
confusion and mental overload.
Prevent Errors / Reversal of Action
The final major HCI
principle is to favor “natural”
interaction and interfaces.
Naturalness
refers to a trait that is
reflective of various operations in our
everyday life.
Naturalness
