MS 2306

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• MS 2306 NEW MEDIA RESEARCH CONCEPTS and
  METHODOLOGIES
• 2013/14

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MS2306Lecture one

• MS 2306 NEW MEDIA RESEARCH CONCEPTS
  METHODOLOGIES
• MODULE LEADER TONY SAMPSON
• Tuesday Lecture 3.00 4.30 in EB 1.03
• Seminar with Tony (MMDT, IMD, MCI) 5.00 6.30
  in EB.2.45
• Seminar with Stacey (CGD and CGT) 5.00 6.30 in
  EB.3.11

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• Full Module Guide http//homepages.uel.ac.uk/T.D.
  Sampson/DocLand/MS2306/MS2306.htm
• Lecture Notes http//ms2306.blogspot.com/
• Finding the blog and guide via Google

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Introduction to module

• Aims and objectives
• To enable you to approach new media concepts,
  methods and practice in a research context
• To identify a user experience to research
• To think through how user experience can be
  researched as part of the design process
• To prepare you for level 3 projects

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Terminology

• Thesis
• A set of ideas (concepts) posed as a research
  question(s)
• Dissertation
• Vehicle for ideas

• Methodologies
• Testing the idea
• Series of research tools
• Concepts
• Framework of ideas

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Researching User Experience
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Specific aims

• To develop awareness of
• Concepts experience/affect/emotion/
  cognition/pervasive/ubicomp /flow/gamification
• Methods questionnaires/focus groups/user
  testing/biometric testing

• To help you expand knowledge of digital media
  field (interactive, multimedia, games etc)
• To critically assess research methods, concepts
  in relation to new media forms and experiences
• To produce credible new media research proposals

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Assessment

• CW1 Illustrated Essay setting out a conceptual
  approach to user experience. Printed essay of
  2000 words with a minimum of 3 good quality
  printed colour images used to support analysis
• 60
• DEADLINE SED April 29th
• Formative assessment There will be a compulsory
  but informal pitch of chosen experience on
  Tuesday March 18th

• CW2 development of research proposal (Printed and
  bound 1,600 words) - including reference to the
  following title, aims, context, method,
  theoretical framework
• 40
• DEADLINE SED May 13th

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CW1 Essay

• Illustrated Essay Apply a conceptual approach
  to a defined new media user experience.
• As design students you will be expected to submit
  a hardcopy written essay that uses images to
  illustrate and support your analysis. These
  images can be original and/or sources images
  (fully referenced).
• 2,000 words with a minimum of 3 good quality
  printed colour images (60)
• SED DEADLINE April 29th

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CW1 4 Steps

• Step one
• Choose and define an experience.
• This might be an analogue game, entertainment
  pursuit or everyday task which you intend to make
  into a video game or interactive software.
• It must be described as an experience, not as a
  completed design or product.
• For example, the experience of waking up in the
  morning including your interaction with various
  hardware, like an alarm clock or toaster. The
  idea is to learn from the experience so that you
  can go on to design a software version of it.
  Illustrations might include a storyboard or
  images that represent the user experience.

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CW1 4 Steps

• Step two
• Referring to the lecture notes, select a
  conceptual approach (affect, emotional design,
  user experience design, funology, flow,
  ubiquitous computing, gamification for example).
• Clearly identify and describe how it can support
  the development of

• (a) a theoretical understanding of the experience
• (b) an experience that relates to a practical
  outcome (something you can design and make)
• Include illustrations - examples of the
  experience or evidence of ethnographic research.

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CW1 4 Steps

• Step three
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your
  chosen conceptual approach in terms of how it can
  be used as a research tool to better understand
  the chosen user experience.

• For example, how useful is the concept of affect
  or ubiquitous computing to the development of a
  better understanding of user experience
• Again, illustrations might include practical
  examples of ubi comp, for example.

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CW1 4 Steps

• Step four Reflect on how your conceptual
  approach responds to the notion of a third
  paradigm of human computer interaction research
• See Harrison, Tatar and Sengers, (2007) The
  Three Paradigms of HCI, Proceedings of CHI, San
  Jose, CA,. Archived at http//people.cs.vt.edu/s
  rh/Downloads/TheThreeParadigmsofHCI.pdf
• See McCarthy and Wright (2004) Technology as
  Experience, MIT Press
• Read chapter one online
• http//mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles
  /content/9780262633550_sch_0001.pdf

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CW1 Illustrated Essay

• For more detail see full module guide and discuss
  with seminar tutor
• See MS2306 Blog
• Full Module Guide http//homepages.uel.ac.uk/T.D.
  Sampson/DocLand/MS2306/MS2306.htm

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CW2 The Proposal (7 parts)

• Assignment MS2306B1 Research Proposal 1,600
  words (40)
• SED DEADLINE May 13th
• Researching a New Media User Experience Theory
  and Practice.
• It is very important that the proposal relates
  the research question to BOTH the proposed
  written thesis and practical project (discuss
  with seminar tutor)
• A full research proposal agreed with your seminar
  tutor(s). This will include the seven elements
  introduced in the module.

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CW2 The Proposal (7 parts)

1. Research question
2. Clear aims and objectives
3. Specific research questions
4. A project summary
5. Research concepts
6. Methodology
7. List of references

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CW2 The Proposal (7 parts)

1. One research question covering both conceptual
   approach and practical outcome. The question must
   have a clearly identifiable independent and
   dependent variables.
2. Clear aims and objectives - what you want to
   achieve and how you intend to achieve it!
3. Specific research questions - a list of no more
   than six subsidiary questions you think your
   project will also address

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CW2 The Proposal (7 parts)

• 4. A project summary - a short introduction to
  your research topic which provides both a
  description of the user experience you are
  researching and context for the research say
  why it matters
• 5. Research concepts - developing on the work you
  carried out in coursework one, what
  concepts/ideas does your project draw on? Is
  there a certain game design theory or design
  theory you intend to apply, or are you drawing on
  ideas from other disciplines, like psychology
  (affect or emotion e.g.).

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CW2 The Proposal (7 parts)

• 6. Methodology - Set out a clear and logical set
  of research tools (focus groups, user testing,
  prototyping, ethnography e.g.) which tests the
  variables described in your research question.
• 7. List of references for published work you
  think you will use in the project - this list
  must evidence an extensive literature search in
  both the library and online. Books and articles
  must be credible academic texts and relate to the
  above sections.

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MS2306 Week-by-Week

• Four Blocks
• User Experience
• Concepts
• Methods
• Assessment (focus on proposal)

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1. USER EXPERIENCES
USER EXPERIENCES USER EXPERIENCES USER EXPERIENCES USER EXPERIENCES
Week One 4th Feb Introduction to MS2306 Assessments New Media From HCI to User Experience TS Seminar What is Experience? Brainstorming and discussion on potential project ideas Cw1 and 2 require students to identify a user experience
Week Two 11th Feb The Three Paradigms of HCI locating your research in a shift from ergonomics to user experience TS Seminar What is Experience Two? Research Context. Locating concepts and methods in the field Prepare to pitch idea on 12th March Cw1 and 2 require students to identify a user experience and consider how to make it part of a research project
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2. CONCEPTS
CONCEPTS CONCEPTS CONCEPTS CONCEPTS
Week Three 18th Feb New Media Concepts Affect Part One TS Seminar Testing Affect Part One Cw1 and 2 require the identification of an appropriate conceptual approach to the user experience
Week Four 25th Feb New Media Concepts - Affect Part Two TS Seminar Testing Affect Part Two Cw1 and 2 require the identification of an appropriate conceptual approach to the user experience
Week Five March 4th New Media Concepts Ubicomp part one Social Context TS Seminar Connecting concepts to project work examples from current projects Cw1 and 2 require the identification of an appropriate conceptual approach to the user experience
Week Six March 11th New Media Concepts Ubicomp part two Software Space. TS Seminar The future of interactive design video followed by discussion. Looking at project examples from past and current cohort current Level 3 Cw1 and 2 require the identification of an appropriate conceptual approach to the user experience
Week Seven March 18th The Concept of Flow SP Seminar Students pitch their user experience idea Informal/mandatory pitch of user experience Cw1 and 2 require the identification of an appropriate conceptual approach to the user experience
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3. METHODS
METHODS METHODS METHODS METHODS
Week Eight March 25th New Media Methods Part One How method relates to the research question (variables etc) Provide examples of tools GK Level 3 presentations Focus on application of method Cw2 requires students to formulate a doable research question
Week Nine April 1st New Media Methods Part Two The Right Tools for the Right Job - focus on quantitative and qualitative methods GK Level 3 presentations Focus on application of method Cw2 requires the logical design and application of a methodology to research the user experience
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Two Week Vacation
Week starting April 7th Vacation
week starting April 14th Vacation
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3. METHODS Continued
Week Ten April 22nd New Media Methods Part Three Focus on Data Collection GK Level 3 presentations Focus on application of method Cw2 requires the identification of an appropriate methodological tools to research the user experience
Week Eleven April 29th New Media Methods Part Four Focus on Presentation and Analysis SP Level 3 presentations Focus on application of method Confirm Pre booked tutorials with seminar tutors (compulsory) May 7th Coursework one Deadline Essay Cw2 requires the identification of an appropriate methodological tools to research the user experience
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4. ASSESSMENT
FOCUS ON PROPOSAL FOCUS ON PROPOSAL FOCUS ON PROPOSAL FOCUS ON PROPOSAL
Week Twelve May 6th Module evaluation Pre booked tutorials with seminar tutors (compulsory) to discuss proposals Tony and Stacey Pre booked tutorials with seminar tutors (compulsory) to discuss proposals Tony and Stacey Cw2 tutorials
Final Week May 13th Research Proposal Deadline Students must attend New Media Talk on Thursday 15th May (MMDT/IMD) and Show on Friday 16th May (all) Coursework two Deadline Research Proposal Deadline
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User Experience Design

• What is an experience?
• The apprehension of an object, thought, or
  emotion through the senses or mind a child's
  first experience of snow.

• An event or a series of events participated in
  or lived through.

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Felt Experience

• Experience as something that is felt
• felt experience points to the emotional and
  sensual quality of experience.
• McCarthy and Wright (2004) Technology as
  Experience, MIT Press http//mitpress.mit.edu/site
  s/default/files/titles/content/9780262633550_sch_0
  001.pdf

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Technology as Experience?
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(No Transcript)
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Technology as Experience

• Why, for so long, have the designers of
  interactive computer systems failed to grasp the
  importance of experience?

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Begins with Ergonomics

• Definition
• The applied science of equipment design, as for
  the workplace, intended to maximize productivity
  by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.

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Ergonomics

• General ergonomic principles which apply to the
  design of dialogues between humans and
  information systems (ISO 9241-1102006)
• See ISO website http//www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalo
  gue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber380
  09

1. Suitability for the task
2. Suitability for learning
3. Suitability for individualisation
4. Conformity with user expectations
5. Self descriptiveness
6. Controllability
7. Error tolerance

http//www.system-concepts.com/
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Human Computer Interaction (HCI)

• Grew out of engineering, industrial design and
  computer science in 1970s

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• HCI collaborates with psychology focusing on the
  cognitive processes of perception, attention,
  memory, learning and goals (action)

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The history of the user in HCI

• 1970s-1980s
• User as a cog in a rational machine and a
  source of error.
• 1980s-1990s
• User as a social actor.
• 1990s-to date
• User as a consumer.
• (See Kuutti (2001) cited in McCarthy and Wright
  (2004) Technology as Experience, MIT Press
  http//mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles
  /content/9780262633550_sch_0001.pdf

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User as a Cog in a Rational Machine
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User as a Social Actor
Lucy Suchman, 1987 (influence of sociology on
HCI) Ethnographic studies of humans and technology
Don Norman 1988
See slides on Normans seven stages
http//courses.cs.vt.edu/cs3724/summer2-03somerve
ll/lectures/cs3724-stagesofaction.pdf
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Why focus on the user?

• usability is a necessary condition for
  survival. If a website is difficult to use,
  people leave.
• Clear Purpose
• Easy to Navigate
• Legibility
• There are plenty of other websites available
  leaving is the first line of defense when users
  encounter a difficulty.
• (Nielsen, cited on the useit.com website
  http//www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html)

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Usability (User Centred Design)

• Research User Requirements
• Testable user actions of usability that can be
  measured (See Bennett (1984)
  and Shackel (1990) in Stone et al).

(See chapter 6 of Stone et al (2005) User
Interface Design and Evaluation (Morgan Kaufmann)
http//www.elsevierdirect.com/companion.jsp?ISBN
9780120884360
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Four Heuristic ConceptsBennett (1984) and
Shackel (1990)
Learnability The time and effort required to reach a specified level of use performance (also described as ease of learning).
Throughput The tasks accomplished by experienced users, the speed of task execution and the errors made (also described as ease of use).
Flexibility The extent to which the system can accommodate changes to the tasks and environments beyond those first specified.
Attitude The positive attitude engendered in users by the application.
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Concepts updated by Nielson

Learnability How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
Efficiency Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
Memorability When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they re-establish proficiency?
Errors How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
Satisfaction How pleasant is it to use the design?
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Measurement Criteria (Tyldesley, 1988)

• 1. Time to complete task.
• 2. Percentage of task completed.
• 3. Percentage of task completed per unit time
  (speed metric).
• 4. Ratio of successes to failures.
• 5. Time spent on errors.
• 6. Percentage or number of errors.
• 7. Percentage or number of competitors that do
  this better than current product.
• 8. Number of commands used.
• 9. Frequency of help or documentation use.
• 10. Time spent using help or documentation.
• 11. Percentage of favourable to unfavourable user
  commands.
• (See chapter 6 of Stone et al (2005) User
  Interface Design and Evaluation (Morgan Kaufmann)
  http//www.elsevierdirect.com/companions/978012088
  4360/casestudies/Chapter_06.pdf

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Measurement Criteria (Tyldesley, 1988)

• 12. Number of repetitions of failed commands.
• 13. Number of runs of successes and of failures.
• 14. Number of times the interface misleads the
  user.
• 15. Number of good and bad features recalled by
  users.
• 16. Number of available commands not invoked.
• 17. Number of regressive behaviors.
• 18. Number of users preferring your system.
• 19. Number of times users need to work around a
  problem.
• 20. Number of times the user is disrupted from a
  work task.
• 21. Number of times the user loses control of the
  system.
• 22. Number of times the user expresses
  frustration or satisfaction.
• (See chapter 6 of Stone et al (2005) User
  Interface Design and Evaluation (Morgan Kaufmann)
  http//www.elsevierdirect.com/companions/978012088
  4360/casestudies/Chapter_06.pdf

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Morae
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A New Paradigm?
McCarthy and Wright (2004) Technology as
Experience, MIT Press Read chapter one online
http//mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/title
s/content/9780262633550_sch_0001.pdf
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User as a Consumerfocus on consumer experience

• Strong penetration of computers into the home
• Dotcom Boom
• Games industry
• Wireless
• Mobile
• Ubiquitous computing

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IBM UX concept cited in McCarthy and Wright See
also http//www-01.ibm.com/software/ucd/designconc
epts/whatisUXD.html
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The Experience of Living with Technology

• A man who works in a library is having a normal
  working day checking books in and out, helping
  people find the author they were looking for,
  organizing inter-library loans, and so on. Then
  he receives a mobile phone text message from a
  friend who is visiting New Zealand. It is a short
  message, no more than 160 characters, yet it
  feels like a very personal, intimate contacta
  hug or an affectionate touch. He is moved to send
  a reply. It is even shorter than the message he
  had received, and it is in a personal, intimate
  style not typical of him. For a moment, the two
  friends, though a world apart, feel intensely
  present to each other.
• (See chapter one of McCarthy and Wright (2004)
  Technology as Experience, MIT Press)
  http//mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles
  /content/9780262633550_sch_0001.pdf

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• A father comes home from work. As he rushes into
  the hall, he keys in the password to disable his
  house alarm. His daughter comes in behind him. He
  needs to get the dinner prepared, so he switches
  on the computer in the study for his daughter and
  sets up her favorite game for her. Once she is
  settled in, he goes to the kitchen, prepares the
  food, and places it in the oven. He listens to
  his phone messages while doing this. Eventually
  he sets the temperature and timer and leaves the
  food to cook. As he passes down the hallway to
  the sitting room, he pops his head into the
  study. His daughter asks him to play with her.
  Back in two minutes love. In the sitting room,
  he programs the VCR to record a drama that he and
  his wife want to watch later. Now he is heading
  for the study to play his daughters computer
  game with her.

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Proposition

• We should try to interpret the relationship
  between people and technology in terms of the
  felt life and the felt or emotional quality of
  action and interaction.

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Reading for Next Week Harrison, S., D. Tatar,
and P. Sengers, The Three Paradigms of HCI,
Proceedings of CHI 2007 McCarthy and Wright
(2004) Technology as Experience, MIT PressRead
chapter one online http//mitpress.mit.edu/sites
/default/files/titles/content/9780262633550_sch_00
01.pdf
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Seminar 1

• What is Felt Experience?
• Look at the examples offered by McCarthy and
  Wright and in groups discuss your experiences of
  living with technology
• Can these experiences be measured by usability
  heuristics alone? Discuss.
• How might you research these experiences?
• Brainstorming and group discussion on potential
  experiences you can use for cw1 and cw2 focus
  on the felt or emotional quality of action and
  interaction

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The Experience of Living with Technology

• (See chapter one of McCarthy and Wright (2004)
  Technology as Experience, MIT Press
  http//mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262134470c
  hap1.pdf
• A man who works in a library is having a normal
  working day checking books in and out, helping
  people find the author they were looking for,
  organizing inter-library loans, and so on. Then
  he receives a mobile phone text message from a
  friend who is visiting New Zealand. It is a short
  message, no more than 160 characters, yet it
  feels like a very personal, intimate contacta
  hug or an affectionate touch. He is moved to send
  a reply. It is even shorter than the message he
  had received, and it is in a personal, intimate
  style not typical of him. For a moment, the two
  friends, though a world apart, feel intensely
  present to each other.

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• A nurse has just spent an hour caring for an
  extremely ill patient. Having ministered to the
  patients medical needs, she sat with him for a
  time, encouraged him to eat some yogurt, talked
  to him about his family, and helped him to get
  more comfortable in the bed. As she walks back to
  her station she feels sad for the patient, who
  has by now become something of a friend. Still
  involved with that patient, she starts to write
  up her notes from her morning rounds, recording
  carefully any changes in condition and any
  medication that she has administered. She is
  comfortable doing that. It feels like a few
  moments quiet time reflecting on her patients,
  how they are, what she is doing, and what more
  she can do for them. But now she must enter the
  relevant patient movement and bed management data
  on the hospitals information system. Which
  patients are moving to another ward in the
  hospital? Are any patients due to move into this
  ward?
• Who is due to be discharged? Who is due for a
  procedure in the next 24 hours? Bed vacancies?
  What drugs have been administered, and to whom?
  It takes only 10 minutes twice a day, but this
  really frustrates her. She feels she is being
  taken away from her patients. This is time she
  could be spending with them. She feels this
  information system has nothing to do with her
  work.

56

• A father comes home from work. As he rushes into
  the hall, he keys in the password to disable his
  house alarm. His daughter comes in behind him. He
  needs to get the dinner prepared, so he switches
  on the computer in the study for his daughter and
  sets up her favorite game for her. Once she is
  settled in, he goes to the kitchen, prepares the
  food, and places it in the oven. He listens to
  his phone messages while doing this. Eventually
  he sets the temperature and timer and leaves the
  food to cook. As he passes down the hallway to
  the sitting room, he pops his head into the
  study. His daughter asks him to play with her.
  Back in two minutes love. In the sitting room,
  he programs the VCR to record a drama that he and
  his wife want to watch later. Now he is heading
  for the study to play his daughters computer
  game with her.

57
McCarthy and Wrights answer

• It is no longer considered sufficient to produce
  a computer system that is effective, flexible,
  learnable, and satisfying to usethe
  characteristics of usability according to Shackel
  (1990)it must now also be useful in the lives of
  those using it.
• The hospital information system mentioned above
  may have been technically state-of-the-art and
  may have been highly usable, but it was not
  experienced as useful by a nurse who wanted to
  get on with caring for her patients. In contrast,
  the tools for text messaging in many mobile
  phones would win no prizes for usability, yet
  text messaging is experienced by many adults and
  teenagers as instrumentally and expressively
  useful (Katz and Aakhus 2002). It augments
  peoples ability to organize complex and busy
  work, family, and social lives. For many it also
  provides an opportunity to express themselves,
  their feelings and emotions, in ways not
  previously available to them.

58
Proposition

• We should try to interpret the relationship
  between people and technology in terms of the
  felt life and the felt or emotional quality of
  action and interaction.

59

• Reading for Next Week Harrison, S., D. Tatar,
  and P. Sengers, The Three Paradigms of HCI,
  Proceedings of CHI 2007