i213: User Interface Design

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i213 User Interface Design Development

• Marti Hearst
• Thurs, Feb 22, 2007

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Spotted by Mike Wooldridge
http//www.flickr.com/photos/cardhouse/397124663/i
n/photostream/
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Spotted by Mike Wooldridge
http//www.flickr.com/photos/cardhouse/397123933/i
n/photostream/
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Outline

• Finish up HE
• Low-fidelity prototyping
• Informal user interfaces

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Results of Using HE

• Single evaluator achieves poor results
• only finds 35 of usability problems
• 5 evaluators find 75 of usability problems
• why not more evaluators? 10? 20?
• adding evaluators costs more
• adding more evaluators doesnt increase the
  number of unique problems found

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Decreasing Returns

• (from Nielsen)
• Caveat these graphs are for a specific example
• This is a controversial point.

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Why Multiple Evaluators?

• Every evaluator doesnt find every problem
• Good evaluators find both easy hard ones

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Comments from CHI-Web

• From Gilbert Cockton (2/19/02)
• Inspection methods are discount methods for
  practitioners. They are not rigorous scientific
  methods.
• All inspection methods are subjective.
• No inspection method can compensate for
  inexperience or poor judgement.
• Using multiple analysts results in an
  inter-subjective synthesis.
• However, this also
• a) raises the false alarm rate, unless a voting
  system is applied
• b) reduces the hit rate if a voting system is
  applied!
• Group synthesis of a prioritized problem list
  seems to be the most effective current practical
  approach.

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In-Class Heuristic Evaluation

• Windows Character Map Program

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Why Do We Prototype?

• Get feedback on our design faster
• saves money
• Experiment with alternative designs
• Fix problems before code is written
• Keep the design centered on the user

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Fidelity in Prototyping

• Fidelity refers to the level of detail
• High fidelity?
• prototypes look like the final product
• Low fidelity?
• artists renditions with many details missing

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Low-fidelity Sketches
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Why Use Low-fi Prototypes?

• Traditional methods take too long
• sketches -gt prototype -gt evaluate -gt iterate
• Can simulate the prototype
• sketches -gt evaluate -gt iterate
• sketches act as prototypes
• designer plays computer
• other design team members observe record
• Kindergarten implementation skills
• allows non-programmers to participate

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Low-fi Storyboards

• Where do storyboards come from?
• Film animation
• Give you a script of important events
• leave out the details
• concentrate on the important interactions

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Sketches for the Ink Chat System
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Paper prototyping

• Main idea
• Sketch out prototypes of the interface on paper
• Potential users walk through task scenarios
  using the paper interface
• A designer plays computer
• Change the design on-the-fly if helpful
• Widely practiced in industry
• Sounds silly at first, but is surpringly
  effective
• Helps people work together on the design
• Readings by Rettig, Cooper, Klee, Spools group
• This discussion primarily follows Rettigs article

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The Materials

• Large, heavy, white paper (11 x 17)
• 5x8 in. index cards
• Post-it notes
• Tape, stick glue, correction tape
• Pens markers (many colors sizes)
• Transparencies (including colored)
• Colorforms (toy stores)
• Scissors, X-acto knives, etc.

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Constructing the Model

• Set a deadline
• dont think too long - build it!
• Draw a window frame on large paper
• Put different screen regions on cards
• anything that moves, changes, appears/disappears
• Ready response for any user action
• e.g., have those pull-down menus already made
• Use photocopier to make many versions

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Preparing for a Test

• Select your participants
• understand background of intended users
• use a questionnaire to get the people you need
• dont use friends or family
• Prepare scenarios that are
• typical of the product during actual use
• make prototype support these (small, yet broad)
• Practice running the computer to avoid bugs

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Conducting a Test

• Three or Four testers (preferable)
• greeter - puts users at ease gets data
• facilitator - only team member who speaks
• gives instructions encourages thoughts,
  opinions
• computer - knows application logic controls it
• always simulates the response, w/o explanation
• observer(s) - take notes recommendations
• Typical session is approximately 1 hour
• preparation, the test, debriefing

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Conducting a Test (cont.)

• Greet
• get forms filled, assure confidentiality, etc.
• Test
• facilitator hands written tasks to the user
• must be clear detailed
• facilitator keeps getting output from
  participant
• What are you thinking right now?, Think aloud
• observe -gt no a-ha, laugh, etc.

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Conducting a Test (cont.)

• Debrief
• fill out post-evaluation questionnaire
• ask questions about parts you saw problems on
• gather impressions
• give thanks

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Evaluating Results

• Sort prioritize observations
• what was important?
• lots of problems in the same area?
• Create a written report on findings
• gives agenda for meeting on design changes
• Make changes iterate

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Potential difficulties

• Content-centric Interfaces
• Dynamic or static both are ill-suited
• Use printed output for large sets of text
• For search/database applications
• Have pre-planned searches
• Even though not very realistic
• Write up search results on the fly
• Maybe have a printer nearby that can produced
  typed results
• Bottom line can only prototype the main
  interaction this way search needs to be hooked
  up to really test the search mechanism

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Potential difficulties

• Interfaces that use animation / dynamic graphics
• IUEs answer maybe it isnt all that usable to
  have flash
• Broader answer
• Only testing the main functionality, not the
  finer points
• The interface should also work without the flash
• Use transparencies, etc, for important rollovers.

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Advantages of Low-fi Prototyping

• Takes only a few hours
• Can test multiple alternatives
• Can change the design as you test
• If users are trying to use the interface in a way
  you didnt design it go with what they think!
  Adapt!
• Allows designers to work together

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Examples from Prior Classes
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Telebears example interaction flow
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Telebears example
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Telebears example Welcome, Registration time
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Telebears example Welcome, Not Registration time
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Telebears example Task 3 Plan Schedule
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Telebears example Task 2 Switching discussion
sections
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Telebears example Task 4 Adding a course
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Sho, Shamma, von Krogh, Johnstad
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Sho, Shamma, von Krogh, Johnstad
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Costa, Chopra, Orr, Stetson
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Brandt, Falk, McMahon
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Hernandez, Liang
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Designing a content pageUsing low-fi techniques

• Combine low-fi paper prototyping and card sorting
• Idea from Peter Merholtz
• Start with a page with all the features you might
  want
• Cut it up into pieces
• Have people arrange the components
• One set of users sorts into groups, as in card
  sorting for categories
• Another set of users lays out the information in
  a way that would work well for them given certain
  tasks.

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Drawbacks of Current Tools

• Require specification of lots of detail
• must give specific instance of a general idea
• e.g., exact widgets, fonts, alignments, colors
• designers led to focus on unimportant details
• evaluators focus on wrong issues
• Take too much time to use
• poor support for iterative design
• sketched interface took 5 times longer with
  traditional tool (no icons)

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DENIM Designing Web Sites by Sketching

• Early-phase information navigation design
• Integrates multiple views
• site map storyboard page sketch
• Supports informal interaction
• sketching, pen-based interaction

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Designing Interfaces with Denim

• 1) Designer sketches ideas rapidly with
  electronic pad and pen
• recognizes widgets
• easy editing with gestures
• 2) Designer or end-user tests interface
• widgets behave
• specify additional behavior visually
• 3) Automatically transforms to a finished UI

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Specifying Behaviors
Sequencing behavior between widgets

• Storyboards
• series of rough sketches depicting changes in
  response to end-user interaction
• Expresses many common behaviors

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Denim Storyboards

• Copy sketches to storyboard window
• Draw arrows from objects to screens

Switch to run mode to test Denim changes screens
on mouse clicks
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Next Time

• In-class project work
• Come prepared to work in class on your low-fi
  prototypes.