INF3720 Human Computer Interaction II
Summary 2014
Table of Contents
Ref Chap Title Page
1. 1 What is Interaction Design ? 2
2. 2 Understanding and Conceptualizing Interaction 9
3. 4 Social Interaction (Not examinable) 15
4. 5 Emotional Interaction 17
5. 7 Data Gathering 24
6. 9 The Process of Interaction Design 34
7. 10 Establishing Requirements 41
8. 12 Introducing Evaluation 49
9. 14 Evaluation Studies: From Controlled to Natural Settings 55
10. 15 Evaluation: Inspections, Analytics, and Models 59
Interaction Design: Beyond HumanComputer Interaction
3rd
Edition Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H.
v1.00 April 2014
Ron Barnard
,Chap 1 What is Interaction Design ?
Chapter 1 What is Interaction Design ?
Objectives
• Explain the difference between good and poor interaction design;
• Describe what interaction design is, and how it relates to humancomputer interaction;
• Explain the relationship between the user experience and usability;
• Describe what and who is involved in the process of interaction design;
• Outline the different forms of guidance used in interaction design;
• Enable you to evaluate an interactive product and explain what is good and bad about it in terms of the
goals and principles of interaction design.
Content
1.1 Introduction
Some interactive products are a joy to use, others can be very frustrating. Why is there a difference ?
Many products that require users to interact with them, such as smartphones and social networking sites, have
been designed primarily with the user in mind. They are generally easy and enjoyable to use. Others, such as
switching from viewing a DVD to viewing TV, or setting the alarm on a digital clock, have not necessarily been
designed with the users in mind, but have been engineered primarily as systems to perform set functions.
One of the main aims of interaction design is to reduce the negative aspects (eg: frustration, annoyance) of the
user experience while enhancing the positive ones (eg: enjoyment, engagement). It is about developing interactive
products that are easy, effective, and pleasurable to use from a users perspective.
1.2 Good and Poor Design
Central concern of interaction design develop interactive products that are
USABLE
○ Easy to learn;
○ Effective to use;
○ Provide an enjoyable user experience.
Examples of good and bad design
i) Voice Mail System
• Bad design
◦ Infuriating;
,◦ confusing;
◦ inefficient (carry out a number of steps for basic tasks);
Page 2 of 66
, Chap 1 What is Interaction Design ?
◦ difficult to use, no proper feedback (if any messages have been left, or how many);
◦ not obvious what to do (instructions partially from the system and partially written).
• Good design
◦ Familiar physical objects that indicate visually how many messages have been left;
◦ Aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable to use;
◦ Only requires one step actions to perform core tasks;
◦ Simple but elegant design;
ii) Remote Control Device
• Bad design
◦ Dizzying array of small, multicoloured, and doublelabeled buttons that seem arbitrarily positioned;
◦ Difficult to locate correct buttons, even for the simplest of tasks;
◦ Can be frustrating for those who have to put on glasses to read the buttons.
• Good design
◦ Buttons are large, clearly labelled, logically positioned;
◦ Designed to fit into the palm of ther hand;
◦ Colourful buttons that are distinctive, easy to identify.
1.2.1 What to Design
• Who will use it ?
• How will it be used ?
• Where are they going to be used ?
• What kinds of activities will it support ?
Key question How do you optimize the users' interactions with a system, environment or product, so that they
support and extend the users' activities in effective, useful, and usable ways ?
Decide what choices to make by basing them on an understanding of the users
• Take into account what people are good and bad at;
• Consider what might help people with the way they currently do things;
• Thinking through what might provide quality user experiences;
• Listening to what people might want and getting them involved in the design;
Summary 2014
Table of Contents
Ref Chap Title Page
1. 1 What is Interaction Design ? 2
2. 2 Understanding and Conceptualizing Interaction 9
3. 4 Social Interaction (Not examinable) 15
4. 5 Emotional Interaction 17
5. 7 Data Gathering 24
6. 9 The Process of Interaction Design 34
7. 10 Establishing Requirements 41
8. 12 Introducing Evaluation 49
9. 14 Evaluation Studies: From Controlled to Natural Settings 55
10. 15 Evaluation: Inspections, Analytics, and Models 59
Interaction Design: Beyond HumanComputer Interaction
3rd
Edition Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H.
v1.00 April 2014
Ron Barnard
,Chap 1 What is Interaction Design ?
Chapter 1 What is Interaction Design ?
Objectives
• Explain the difference between good and poor interaction design;
• Describe what interaction design is, and how it relates to humancomputer interaction;
• Explain the relationship between the user experience and usability;
• Describe what and who is involved in the process of interaction design;
• Outline the different forms of guidance used in interaction design;
• Enable you to evaluate an interactive product and explain what is good and bad about it in terms of the
goals and principles of interaction design.
Content
1.1 Introduction
Some interactive products are a joy to use, others can be very frustrating. Why is there a difference ?
Many products that require users to interact with them, such as smartphones and social networking sites, have
been designed primarily with the user in mind. They are generally easy and enjoyable to use. Others, such as
switching from viewing a DVD to viewing TV, or setting the alarm on a digital clock, have not necessarily been
designed with the users in mind, but have been engineered primarily as systems to perform set functions.
One of the main aims of interaction design is to reduce the negative aspects (eg: frustration, annoyance) of the
user experience while enhancing the positive ones (eg: enjoyment, engagement). It is about developing interactive
products that are easy, effective, and pleasurable to use from a users perspective.
1.2 Good and Poor Design
Central concern of interaction design develop interactive products that are
USABLE
○ Easy to learn;
○ Effective to use;
○ Provide an enjoyable user experience.
Examples of good and bad design
i) Voice Mail System
• Bad design
◦ Infuriating;
,◦ confusing;
◦ inefficient (carry out a number of steps for basic tasks);
Page 2 of 66
, Chap 1 What is Interaction Design ?
◦ difficult to use, no proper feedback (if any messages have been left, or how many);
◦ not obvious what to do (instructions partially from the system and partially written).
• Good design
◦ Familiar physical objects that indicate visually how many messages have been left;
◦ Aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable to use;
◦ Only requires one step actions to perform core tasks;
◦ Simple but elegant design;
ii) Remote Control Device
• Bad design
◦ Dizzying array of small, multicoloured, and doublelabeled buttons that seem arbitrarily positioned;
◦ Difficult to locate correct buttons, even for the simplest of tasks;
◦ Can be frustrating for those who have to put on glasses to read the buttons.
• Good design
◦ Buttons are large, clearly labelled, logically positioned;
◦ Designed to fit into the palm of ther hand;
◦ Colourful buttons that are distinctive, easy to identify.
1.2.1 What to Design
• Who will use it ?
• How will it be used ?
• Where are they going to be used ?
• What kinds of activities will it support ?
Key question How do you optimize the users' interactions with a system, environment or product, so that they
support and extend the users' activities in effective, useful, and usable ways ?
Decide what choices to make by basing them on an understanding of the users
• Take into account what people are good and bad at;
• Consider what might help people with the way they currently do things;
• Thinking through what might provide quality user experiences;
• Listening to what people might want and getting them involved in the design;
