1. Chapter 01 – What is Interaction Design
Concepts of Interaction Design & HCI
Discuss the definitions, similarities and differences between the concepts of interaction design and human-computer interaction and give an example of
each of these concepts in relation to Eat4Health.
P9 Interaction Design HCI
Definition Designing interactive products to support the way people Human-computer interaction (HCI) studies “the design and
communicate and interact in their everyday and working usability of computing systems”
lives. It is about creating user experiences that enhance and
augment the way people work, communicate and interact
Similarity “Interaction Design (IxD) is the design of interactive products “Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary field
and services in which a designer's focus goes beyond the item of study focusing on the design of computer technology and,
in development to include the way users will interact with it. in the interaction between humans (the users) and computers.
Thus, scrutiny of users' needs, limitations, and contexts, etc. While initially concerned with computers, HCI has since
empowers designers to customize output to suit precise expanded to cover almost all forms of information technology
demands" So, both ID and HCI study the interaction between design”
software programs and its users/the interface of software
applications for human users
Difference Interaction design is an overarching term/concept that HCI’s scope is (traditionally) narrower and does not include the
describes the wider field of interface design and user wider aspects of theory, research, and practice of user
experience “Interaction design has a broader scope and experience. It focuses only on the interdisciplinary overlapping
includes Human computer interaction as well. which one is areas, and it especially leans towards the technical aspects.
more practical”
App example When one starts using MyFitnessPal via Garmin, you first The MyFitnessPal icon of a jumping person is a bit different
must install the app as well from GooglePlay – this is a slightly from the running person used by Garmin Connect for one’s
irritating interface/user experience on a psychological level. health stats. This hampers the intuitive use of the two apps –
One would have liked to see the linking running they do not form an integrated unit in terms of visual
seamlessly/automatically in the background. perception
,Usability Goals
Identify and describe 5 goals of usability briefly. Also give one positive and one negative comment regarding usability of the myUnisa learning
management system that you have experienced for each of the goals. (p19)
Goal Positive comment Negative comment
Effectiveness Most of the information required to study is Sometimes it is confusing where to get supplementary
Concepts that the user is exposed to, what they located within the system information in the site, distributed between main
create or manipulate will make the system either module portal and other.
effective or ineffective.
Efficiency Accessing the exams has moved to the first Reregistering for new modules for a new semester is
The mappings between the systems ensure that page of myUnisa, quickly listing then exams confusing, no clear indication where it is
the system runs efficiently. that are available to take
Safe
Metaphors and analogies make the users feel at
ease when using the system because they have
something familiar to which they can identify on
how to use the system.
Utility shows how far the system gives the correct MCQ designed that can quickly answer online The system only allows the uploading of specific
type of functionality so that a person can do what MCQ questions without having to upload a formats for the assignments and the exam papers.
they must do document first.
Learnability On the landing page of myUnisa, quickly see Hard to learn how to get in contact with the lecturer. It
Metaphors create a similarity between a real the place where to log in, and then to the is in documents and not easily seen on the landing page
world object and how the system operates. This bottom there is a short area where you can of a module.
enable the user to learn the system because he see important notifications
has something familiar to him that he can use to
understand the system.
Memorability Once logged into the myUnisa page, the clear Reregistering for new modules for a new semester is
The relationships between objects and the way showing of the different sections Modules an confusing, no clear indication where it is
they are structured, either makes the system Admin, easy to remember
memorable or if not done effectively places a
huge cognitive load on the user.
,Software Design Principles
Explain the role of software design principles p25
Design principles are a set of guidelines that designers need to keep at the forefront of their minds when designing interactive products. If designers of
software do not keep design principals in the forefront the software the design can be flawed. Design principals’ designers design better products by keeping
these checks in mind when they design. They are Feedback, Affordance, Constraints, Consistency and Safety.
Usability Goals should also be kept in mind. Safety, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Memorable, Learnable, Utility.
Generalizable abstractions - to aid thinking when designing for user experience - about different aspects of design - e.g., feedback, findability
Prescriptive - suggest to designers what to provide and what to avoid at the interface - do's and don’ts of interaction design
Not specifications of how to design, but act as triggers
ensuring that they have provided certain features at an interface.
User Experience & Usability
Discuss the definitions, (main) goal, similarities and differences between the concepts of user experience and usability and give an example of each of
these concepts in relation to Eat4Health.
P13 User Experience Usability
Definition “how a product behaves and is used by people in the real Usability is the degree to which a software application fulfils
world ... how people feel about a product and their pleasure its purpose correctly. Usability can empirically be tested or
and satisfaction when using it” measured in a laboratory.
Main goal “A diversity of user experience goals has been articulated in “Usability refers to ensuring that interactive products are easy
interaction design, which covers a range of emotions and felt to learn, effective to use, and enjoyable from the user’s
experiences. These include desirable and undesirable ones” perspective. It involves optimizing the interactions people
(p22). “The concepts can be further defined in terms of have with interactive products to enable them to carry out
elements that contribute to making a user experience their activities at work, at school, and in their everyday lives.
pleasurable, fun, exciting, and so on” More specifically, usability is broken down into the following
six goals: ... effectiveness ... efficiency ... safety ... utility ...
learnability, memorability”
Similarity Includes pragmatic (and hedonic) aspects. “It is important to Focuses on pragmatic aspects.
note, however, that the distinction between the two types of
goals is not clear-cut since usability is often fundamental to
, the quality of the user experience and, conversely, aspects of
the user experience, such as how it feels and looks, are
inextricably linked with how usable the product is”
Difference “... whereas user experience goals are concerned with “Traditionally, usability goals are concerned with meeting
explaining the nature of the user experience, for instance, to specific usability criteria, such as efficiency ...”
be aesthetically pleasing.”
Example Having two separate apps without proper integration affects Linking the Garmin Connect app with MyFitnessPal provides
the user’s subjective feeling about the Garmin Connect app. extra functionality (e.g. tracking calory intake) to Garmin
It makes it less pleasurable to use and even a bit frustrating Connect ensuring better utility and effectiveness of the
and annoying. Garmin app, but it is not optimally efficient, learnable or
memorable.
Core Threads Holistic Experience
Discuss McCarthy and Wright (2004)'s four core threads that make up holistic experiences (12 marks) p14
Software Design Principles
List five design principles that are concerned with how to determine what users should see and do when carrying out their tasks using an Interactive
product p25
1. Visibility- the more visible functions are, the most likely users will know what to do next. The relationship between the way controls have been
positioned and what they do makes it easy for a user to find the appropriate control for task
2. Feedback-involves sending back information about what action has been done and what has been accomplished. Various kinds of feedback are
available-audio, tactile, verbal, visual and combination of these
3. Constraints-refers to determining ways of restricting the kinds of user interaction that can take place at a given moment. Examples are deactivating
certain menu options, thereby restricting users only to permissible options at that stage of the activity or the physical design of a device which
allows only a particular cable/card/plug to be inserted into specific slots/sockets
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