Week 8 Conceptual Model Flashcards
System-Related Models (CIRM)
Conceptual model
Implementation model
Representational model
Mental model
Overall: Tools for…
* designing
* creating,
* understanding and
* interacting with
a system easily
What is a Conceptual Model?
Teaching Tool (in general)
* A visual representation used to teach and/or
understand a physical, chemical, biological,
electronic, or psychological system.
* E.g., Model Human Processor
UI Design Tool
Software Implementation Tool
Both above * “A high-level description of how a
system is organized and operates.”
* (Johnson and Henderson, 2002, p. 26)
* E.g.?
Conceptual Model: What It Is in HCI? IOM
Idealized view
* of how a system works
Ontological structure
* of a system…
* contains task-domain objects,
* their relationships, and control structures
Mechanism
* by which users accomplish the tasks
the system is intended to support
Conceptual Model – Specifies and Describes…
Design metaphors & analogies
Concepts system exposes to user (task-domain objects, attributes, and actions)
Relationships between concepts
Mappings between concepts and task domain
What a Conceptual Model of an Interactive System is Not?
Not the UI as a whole
* i.e., how the system looks or feels
Not the interactive or data elements in the UI
* screen graphics and layout, navigation schemes,
* commands, controls, dialog boxes,
* data presentation, or error messages.
Not the actions performed by the user using the UI
* keystrokes
* mouse-actions
Not an implementation architecture
* technological concepts, objects, attributes,
actions, relationships, and control structures
needed to implement system, e.g., UML
Not the user’s mental model
Breadcrumbs for Web site navigation. Do they show…
a) the history of pages you have gone through to arrive here, or
b) the place of this page in the hierarchy of pages?
Advantages of Conceptual Models in HCI?
Design tool:
* a way for designers to think through and straighten out
their thinking before they start laying out UI widgets.
* gives the designer a clear target for what the UI has to look like or deliver to the user.
Reference tool:
* provides the design and development teams with
a reference or central point to rally around.
Documentation tool:
* provides the documentation team with the material
(e.g., help) to help user learn the system.
Usability testing tool
* designing a UI from conceptual model yields simpler, more coherent, and easier to learn system.
* allows the development team to write task-based scenarios at a
level of description that matches the target task-domain, e.g.:
* As a new user, use the system to make $50 deposit into your
checking account.
* As an old user, use the system to check the balance in your
checking account.
* As a frequent user, use the system to transfer funds ($100)
from your checking account into your savings account.
Conceptual Model: Conceptual Model of mid-1970’s Office
Metaphors and analogies
* Office Desktop
Concepts
* Document
* Folder
* In-Tray
* Copier
Relationship
* Discards
* Contains
* Copies
Mapping
* Copier on the computer desktop mapped
to a physical printer in an office
Conceptual Model: in UI Design (Read)
“…describes abstractly — in terms of tasks, not keystrokes, mouseactions, or screen graphics — what users can do with the
system and what concepts they need to be aware of. The idea is that by carefully crafting a conceptual model, then designing a user interface from that, the resulting application will be cleaner, simpler, and easier to understand.”
Conceptual Models: Designer’s Obligation (Read)
“The designer has an obligation to provide an appropriate
conceptual model for the way that the device works. It
doesn’t have to completely accurate but it has to be
sufficiently accurate that it will help in both the learning of
the operation and also dealing with novel situations.”
How Do We Build a Conceptual Model in UI Design(6 Things)
Interaction modes
* What will the users be doing when interacting with the
system (i.e., carry out their tasks)?
* E.g., MICE
Interaction styles
* What kind of interface will be used to support the mode
* E.g., speech, menu-based, gesture?
Interface metaphors
* What kind of interface metaphor, if any, will be appropriate?* E.g., website: shopping cart or basket or bag?
Information architecture
* How is content organized and structured?
Terminology
* How familiar are task-domain objects?
Content strategy
* What are the guiding rules for types
of content in the UI?
What is an Interface Metaphor?
UI designed to be similar to a
physical entity, e.g..
* Desktop
* Web portal
* Shopping cart
Can be based on an activity, object.
* or a combination of both
Utilize user’s familiar knowledge
* helping them to understand ‘the unfamiliar’
How Do We Choose an Interface Metaphor?
Identify items among data and functionsthat
should be targets
Identify sources of metaphorical reference
Generate many possible metaphors
Identify and evaluate matches and
mismatches
Revise metaphors to strengthen effective
matches and reduce harmful mismatches
What are Some Challenges with Interface Metaphors?
They can constrain designers in the way
they conceptualize a problem space
* limits their imagination in coming up
with new conceptual models
They break conventional and cultural rules:
* E.g., recycle bin on desktop
Users only understand the system in terms
of the metaphor
When existing bad design used, it can
transfer to the new design
Interaction Types – MICE-R
Manipulating
* Manipulate objects in a virtual or physical space
Instructing
* Tell a system what to do
* Issue commands and select options
Conversing
* Interact with a system as though having a conversation
Exploring
* Navigate a virtual or physical environment
Respond
* System initiates interaction and user chooses to respond
