Design prototyping and construction By Anupa Mogili Arun

Design, prototyping and construction By Anupa Mogili Arun Muralidharan

Agenda o o o Prototyping and Construction Conceptual Design Physical Design

Prototyping and Construction o o o What is a prototype? Why prototype? Different kinds of prototyping n n o Compromises in prototyping n n o low fidelity high fidelity vertical (“deep”) horizontal (“shallow”) Construction

What is a prototype? For users to effectively evaluate the design of an interactive product, designers must produce an interactive version of their ideas, this activity is called prototyping. o o In other design fields a prototype is a small-scale model: n a miniature car n a model of a building In interaction design it can be n a series of screen sketches n a Power. Point slide show n a video simulating the use of a system n a lump of wood, e. g. hand-held computer n a cardboard mock-up n a piece of software with limited functionality

Why prototype? o o Evaluation and feedback: allows stakeholders to interact with an envisioned product, to gain some experience of using it in realistic settings and to explore imagined uses Communication among team members: clarifies vague requirements Validation of design ideas: test out the technical feasibility of an idea Choosing between alternatives: provides multiple designs for the application

What to prototype? o o Technical issues Work flow, task design Screen layouts and information display Difficult, controversial, critical areas

Low-fidelity Prototyping o o o Does not look very much like the final product Uses materials that are very different from the intended final version, such as paper and cardboard rather than electronic screens and metal, e. g. palm pilot Used during early stages of development Cheap and easy to modify so they support the exploration of alternative designs and ideas It is never intended to be integrated into the final system. They are for exploration only.

Examples of Low-fidelity prototyping o o Storyboards Sketching Index cards ‘Wizard of Oz’

Storyboard § Originally from film, used to get the idea of § § a scene Snapshots of the interface at particular points in the interaction Series of sketches § shows how a user can perform a task using the device § Often used with scenarios § brings more detail to the written scenario § offers stakeholders a chance to role play with the prototype, by stepping through the scenario

Storyboard example 1

Storyboard example 2

Sketching o Drawing skills are not critical n n n symbols to indicate tasks, activities, objects flowcharts for time-related issues block diagrams for functional components

Sketching example

Index cards o o Small cards (3 X 5 inches) Each card represents one screen n o Thread or lines can indicate relationships between screens like n n o multiple screens can be shown easily on a table or the wall sequence hyperlinks Often used in website development

Index card example (screen 1)

Screen 2(next index card)

‘Wizard-of-Oz’ prototyping o Simulated interaction The user thinks they are interacting with a computer, but a developer is providing output rather than the system. User >Blurb blurb >Do this >Why?

High-fidelity prototyping o Choice of materials and methods n o Looks more like the final system n o appearance, not functionality Common development environments n n o similar or identical to the ones in the final product Macromedia Director, Visual Basic, Smalltalk, Web development tools Misled user expectations n users may think they have a full system

Difference Low-fidelity prototype High-fidelity prototype

Advantages/Disadvantages Prototype Advantages Disadvantages Low-fidelity prototype - low developmental cost - limited error checking - evaluate multiple navigational and flow design concepts limitations High-fidelity prototype - fully interactive - look and feel of final product - clearly defines navigational scheme - more expensive to develop - time consuming to build - developers are reluctant to change something they have crafted for hours

Compromises in prototyping o o All prototypes involve compromises Compromises in low-fidelity prototypes: n o Compromises in high-fidelity prototypes: n n n o device doesn't actually work slow response sketchy icons limited functionality available Two common types of compromise n n ‘horizontal’: provide a wide range of functions, but with little detail ‘vertical’: provide a lot of detail for only a few functions

Construction o Creation, manufacturing of the final system n o Development philosophy n n o based on experiences and feedback gathered from the prototypes evolutionary prototyping: involves evolving a prototype into the final product. throw-away prototyping: used as a stepping stone towards final design. Prototype is thrown away and the final system is built from scratch. Quality Although prototypes have undergone extensive user evaluation the final product still has to be subjected to rigorous quality testing for the following: n reliability, robustness, maintainability, integrity, portability, efficiency

Design Objectives o o Identify critical interaction aspects of the product (Conceptual Design) Select the appropriate tools and methods to provide interactivity (Physical Design) Realize that design of products usually involves several intermediate stages Consider the importance of early feedback for interaction design (Prototypes and Scenarios)

Definition: ‘Conceptual Design’ “A description of the proposed system in terms of a set of integrated ideas and concepts about what it should do, behave and look like, that will be understandable by the users in the manner intended. ”

Conceptual Design o o Transformation of user requirements/needs into a conceptual model Stepwise refinement n o iterate, iterate and then iterate some more Consideration of alternatives n prototyping & scenarios

Three perspectives for a conceptual model o Interaction mode Metaphor Interaction paradigm o Running Example: o o n Shared Calendar – Used in a corporate environment for employees to maintain their schedule and organize meetings based on that

Interaction Mode o o o How the user invokes actions n activities by the user and the system’s responses Activity-based n instructing, conversing, manipulating and navigating, exploring and browsing Object-based n structured around real-world objects Process-oriented n support work processes (e. g. financial software) Product-oriented n develop products that users create, modify and maintain (e. g. Microsoft Excel, Word)

Three perspectives for a conceptual model ü o o Interaction mode Metaphor Interaction paradigm

Metaphors o Interface Metaphors n n n o partial mapping of the software to a real object combine familiar knowledge with new knowledge help the user understand the product Three-step process for choosing a good metaphor n n n understand system functionality, identify potential problem or complicated/critical areas, generate metaphors

Evaluation of a metaphor o How much structure does it provide? n o How relevant is it to the problem? n o o reduce confusion and false expectations Is it easy to represent? n o requires a sound and familiar structure visual and audio elements combined with words Will the audience understand it? How extensible is it? n extra aspects that can be useful later on

Three perspectives for a conceptual model ü ü o Interaction mode Metaphor Interaction paradigm

Interaction Paradigm o o o Coherent collection of interaction methods Addresses environmental requirements Desktop paradigm n o o WIMP interface (windows, icons, menus and pointers) Ubiquitous computing Pervasive computing Wearable computing Mobile devices

Three perspectives for a conceptual model ü ü ü Interaction mode Metaphor Interaction paradigm

Expanding the conceptual model o o o Functionality n task allocation o What will the product do and what will the human do? Relationship of subtasks n categorizations o all actions related to one particular aspect n temporal associations (sequential or parallel) o e. g. CASE tools Information n data required to perform the task n transformation of data by the system

Scenarios in Conceptual Design o o Express proposed or imagined situations Used throughout the design process in various ways n n o scripts for user evaluation of prototypes concrete examples of tasks as a means of co-operation across professional boundaries (shared understanding of the system) sell ideas to users and potential customers ‘Plus’ and ‘Minus’ scenarios n exploration of extreme cases

Prototypes in Conceptual Design o Evaluation of emerging ideas n n o Continuous prototyping n n o user feedback, feasibility choice of methods and materials low-fidelity prototypes early on high-fidelity prototypes later Evolutionary prototyping n early prototypes are gradually enhanced and augmented o appearance o functionality

Physical Design o Concrete, detailed issues of designing the interface n o o although inaccurate, the term is also used for software-based systems Pervasive physical/conceptual design Guidelines for physical design n Nielsen’s heuristics Shneiderman’s eight golden rules Style guides: commercial/corporate purposes o collection of design rules and principles o decide ‘look and feel’

Physical design for Computer Interaction o Different kinds of ‘widgets’ n o dialog boxes, toolbars, icons, menus, etc Emphasis n n Menu design Icon design Screen design Information display

Menu Design o Arrangement n n n o Grouping n n o o sub-menus, dialog boxes Terminology Constraints n o categorization visual division (colours, dividing lines) Structure n o number of menus length order of items screen size, input method Context n applicability of entries

Activity Menu Design o o Compare the menu systems used on n a digital camera n a cell phone n a digital music player (e. g. i. Pod) Criteria n Functionality o n Usability o n number of functions, categories frequency of use, importance, consequences Constraints o space, input methods

Physical Design - Emphasis ü o o o Menu Design Icon Design Screen Design Information Display

Icon design o Good icon design is difficult n n n o Meaning of icons n o has to be widely acceptable meaning must be readily perceivable distinguishable from each other cultural and context sensitive Practical tips n n always draw on existing traditions or standards concrete objects or things are easier to represent than actions

Physical Design - Emphasis ü ü o o Menu Design Icon Design Screen Design Information Display

Screen design o Splitting functions across screens n n n o moving around within and between screens how much interaction per screen serial or workbench style Individual screen design n n white space o balance between information/interaction and clarity grouping of items o separation with boxes, lines, colors

Splitting Functions across Screens o Task analysis as a starting point n n each screen should contain a single simple step user frustration o o too many simple screens Context n n all pertinent information must be made available at relevant times multiple screens open at once

Individual Screen Design o o User attention n directed to salient point n e. g. via colour, motion, etc n animation is very powerful but can be distracting Organization n Grouping o n Structure o o physical proximity, colour, shape, connections between related items Trade-off n sparse population vs. overcrowding

Physical Design - Emphasis ü ü ü o Menu Design Icon Design Screen Design Information Display

Information display o Context n o Types of information n n o relevant information is available at all times in the most efficient format for the specific task imply different kinds of display alpha-numerical, chart, graphs Consistency n n n paper display and screen data entry different screens with similar information (customisable) information content vs. presentation

Physical Design - Emphasis ü ü Menu Design Icon Design Screen Design Information Display

Summary o o o Different kinds of prototyping is used for different purposes and at different stages Construction: Make sure the final product is engineered appropriately Conceptual design (the first step of design) Physical design: e. g. menus, icons, screen design, information display Prototypes and scenarios are used throughout design as well

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