Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Reviewer PDF

USER EXPERIENCE – focusing on the HUMAN-COMPUTER holistic experience, including emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects of INTERACTION interact...

USER EXPERIENCE – focusing on the HUMAN-COMPUTER holistic experience, including emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects of INTERACTION interaction. A.Y. 2024-2025 1ST SEMESTER DEPTALS REVIEWER USER-CENTERED DESIGN – placing the user at the center of the design process to Introduction to Human- Computer create products that meet their needs and Interaction expectations. HCI – is multidisciplinary field that explores the EVALUATION METHODS – usability design, development and evaluation of testing, heuristic evaluation and user interactive computing systems for human use. research to assess. - combines elements from computer science, HCI RESEARCH METHODS: psychology, design, and other disciplines to create engaging and intuitive user experiences. OBSERVATION – user behavior and interactions in natural or simulated WHAT IS HCI? environments. ▪ USER-CENTERED APPROACH - Understanding the needs, capabilities, INTERVIEWS – gathering qualitative and behaviors of users insights and understanding user needs. ▪ MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION – draws expertise from fields like computer EXPERIMENTS – conducting controlled science, studies to test hypotheses. ▪ psychology, anthropology, and design to create holistic solutions. DATA ANALYSIS – interpreting and drawing insights. ▪ ITERATIVE DESIGN PROCESS – iterative cycle of design, evaluation, and FUTURE OF HCI: continuously improve user experiences. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – advancement in areas like artificial HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS intelligence. ▪ HUMAN CAPABILITIES INCLUSIVE DESIGN – focus on creating - considers physical, cognitive, and accessible and inclusive experiences. perceptual capabilities of users to create appropriate interactions. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS – need to ▪ ERGONOMIC DESIGN address issues of privacy, security and - ensuring the comfort, safety, and responsible design. efficiency of user interaction through the optimal design of workspaces and User-centered Design devices. ▪ ACCESSIBILITY - designing for users with diverse abilities and needs to CRITIQUING OF WEBSITE DESIGN promote inclusive and equitable Usability access to technology. Aesthetics Content INTERACTION DESIGN PRINCIPLES Accessibility Performance ▪ CONSISTENCY User Engagement - uniform design and behavior across Branding and Consistency the user interface. Purpose and Goals ▪ AFFORDANCE - clearly conveys their purpose. “User-centered design (UCD) is an iterative design ▪ FEEDBACK - providing clear and timely process in which designers and other stakeholders responses to user actions. focus on the users and their needs in each phase of ▪ DISCOVERABILITY - functionalities the design process.” and interactions are easily - Interaction Design Foundation discoverable by the user. “UCD can improve the usability (ease-of-use) and usefulness (relevance) of everything from USABILITY AND USER EXPERIENCE “Everyday things” to software to information systems to processes…anything with which USABILITY – ease of use, efficiency, and people interact.” satisfaction. - Don Norman USER-CENTERED DESIGN USER-CENTERED DESIGN SHOULD BE - putting users at the center of product design and EMPATHETIC development. - UCD requires you to step into your - process that involves the users of a product. user’s shoes. - cuts costs and increases user satisfaction and USE AN ITERATIVE DESIGN PROCESS productivity - Good design doesn’t happen overnight. Expect to go through several iterations, and don’t expect Note: The key to being truly user-centric is that you not to move forward every time. You only loop in your users while designing a solution, but might learn something new about that you continuously collect feedback and iterate on your user that requires you to go your designs; accordingly, which helps future-proof back and change a fundamental your product and ensure it stays relevant. element of your design. INVOLVE MULTIPLE FEEDBACK LOOPS HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN - Different types of data are essential - is an approach that focuses on fully when it comes to evaluating your understanding the perspectives of the product and its effectiveness. people the design is for in each step of the process. FOLLOW THE FUNDAMENTALS OF - often used interchangeably with DESIGN human-centered design - the fundamentals of great design still - you’ll need a deep knowledge of your apply. Keep things simple, and think target audience. like your user. THE GOAL OF UCD IS TO CREATE PRODUCTS THAT ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF UCD: USERS FIND USEFUL AND USABLE. - VISIBILITY – Users should be able to see from the beginning what they can do with UCD seeks answers to: the product, what is it about, how they can - What is important to users use it. - The tasks users do, how frequently, and in - ACCESSIBILITY – Users should be able to what order find information easily and quickly. - The users’ work environment - LEGIBILITY – Text should be easy to read. - The users’ problems and constraints As simple as that. - Users’ expectations in terms of functionality - LANGUAGE – Short sentences are - Output required and in what form; and - How can the design of this ‘product’ facilitate preferred here. The easier the phrase users’ cognitive processes? and the words, the better. UCD seeks to answer questions about users USER-CENTERED DESIGN METHODS: and their tasks and goals, then use the findings to drive development and design. With this, we “A user-centered designer should familiarize can: themselves with some of the research methods.” Easy-to-use products Satisfy customers FOCUS GROUPS - involves inviting a group of your intended users to Decrease expenditures on technical collectively share their thoughts and support and training opinions. Advertise ease-to-use successes Ultimately increase market share Some characteristics of a focus group: - A good way to get multiple “People ignore design that ignores people.” perspectives at once. -Frank Chinero - Great for defining product use cases. IMPORTANT UCD PRINCIPLES: - Requires an experienced moderator. INVOLVE USERS FROM THE VERY - Data is largely qualitative. BEGINNING - Generally, a small sample size - Critical design decisions are - Relatively low costs, especially evaluated based on how they work when done remotely. for end-users. QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS - can help obtain a large amount of statistical data regarding specific challenges or needs your users face.  Some characteristics of questionnaires USER-CENTERED DESIGN PROCESS: and surveys: Techniques that can help the product team - Feedback is generally brief and simple. to design a better user experience: - Care needs to be taken to design effective ▪ RESEARCH – envision what their users - questions that are unbiased. should experience; helps to gain this - Data can be both qualitative and understanding. The goal during this quantitative. - Allows for a larger sample size. stage is to understand who we design - Relatively low costs of respondents are for. sourced from your user base. - Clear user personas can be a huge help at the beginning of the design process. INTERVIEWS - especially effective in the early stages of the design process. The Research – Personas: open format allows you to dig for detailed - archetypes of real users. It is a insights that may be overlooked in other representation of a particular group of people research methods. with similar behavior, needs, goals, skills, attitudes, etc. Some characteristics of user interviews: - make it possible to bring your users to life - Good for gathering in-depth and help understand their problems better. information regarding - individual needs and behaviors. - allows designers to make the right decisions - Requires an experienced about product features, navigation, interviewer and detailed interactions, visual design, and much more. - analysis of answers. - Data is mostly qualitative. Research – Interactions: - Small sample size. - “Who uses our product?” the next question - Time consuming and therefore high arises — “How they will use it?” opportunity cost. - establish why these users would be interested in your product and how they want USABILITY TESTING - This used to be to use it. done mainly in a live environment but can - It’s always important to understand that also be done asymmetrically with certain people use products to achieve particular tools. - Users interact with the product directly goals. while a moderator takes notes and - They see your product as a solution to the records feedback. problem they have. Thus, when you work on creating a context of use, always start with a Some characteristics of usability testing: problem that a user faces. - Used to generate feedback on - By clearly formulating a problem, you will designs and user interaction. have more chances to create a better use - Requires at least a developed case for your product. prototype to test. - Data can be qualitative and When it comes to writing the actual scenario quantitative. of interaction, it’s vital to highlight a few - Small to medium sample size. things: - High cost when done live, cheaper when done with tools. o User environment. Where the interaction takes place. Is it a quiet CARD SORTING - UX method used office space or a loud street? primarily to test and design the overall o Medium. What device a user is using. architecture of a website or application. Is it a desktop computer with a large screen or a mobile phone with a tiny Some characteristics of card sorting: screen? - Important for making decisions on o Mood. What is the emotional state of a architecture. person? How the user feels at the - Data is quantitative. different stages of the user journey. - Usually a medium sample size. - Relatively time-consuming. ▪ CONCEPT IDEATION - create an PARTICIPATORY DESIGN actual solution. You can create a user journey mapping during this process. Concept Ideation – Journey Mapping - To create a proper solution for the \ Psychology of Everyday Things problem, it’s essential to look at the user interactions with a product or HOW PEOPLE DO THINGS service holistically. - Most of the time we want our product/feature fit in the existing ecosystem/product that users use. That’s why it’s vital to understand what typical interactions will look like. - After you have this understanding, you can start to visualize the journey. It’s possible to use various techniques for this. - It is recommended to use a user journey map and storyboarding. - A user journey map is an excellent tool for UX designers because it visualizes how a user interacts with a product and allows designers to see a product from a user’s point of view. ▪ VALIDATION - Validation is not just a step of the TWO GULFS: process, it’s a constant activity - GULF OF EXECUTION - where they try that happens along the way to figure out how it operates. while you work on a solution. - GULF OF EVALUATION - where they try - It’s recommended to evaluate to figure out what happened. design decisions through The role of the designer is to help people usability testing with actual bridge the two gulfs. users. - Observation is a very powerful THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO AN ACTION: technique for collecting - Executing the action (Doing) qualitative insights about your - Evaluating the results (Interpreting) users. - Both execution and evaluation require - Two techniques for validation understanding: how the item works and design: what results it produces. - Decisions Usability Testing - will help you understand what THE SEVEN STAGES OF ACTION: problems users face when they 1. Goal (form the goal) interact with your design. 2. Plan (the action) - Contextual Inquiries - is a user 3. Specify (an action sequence) research technique that involves 4. Perform (the action sequence) observing and interviewing 5. Perceive (the state of the world) people while they perform tasks 6. Interpret (the perception) in context. This technique is a 7. Compare (the outcome with the goal) mix of qualitative research and user interviews. - The seven-stage action cycle is simplified, but it provides a useful The person who conducts a contextual framework for understanding human inquiry (a researcher) observes how action and for guiding design. participants perform their tasks and has them - It has proven to be helpful in designing talk about what they are doing while they are interaction. interacting with a product. - Not all the activity in the stages is conscious. Goals tend to be, but even they may be subconscious. - Most behavior does not require going through all stages in sequence;  however, most activities will not be Once skills have been overlearned, satisfied by single actions. performance appears to be effortless, done - There must be numerous sequences, automatically, with little or no awareness. and the whole activity may last hours or even days. There are multiple feedback DECLARATIVE MEMORY - memory for factual information. loops in which the results of one activity are used to direct further PROCEDURAL MEMORY - most easily answered - The seven stages provide a guideline for by recalling the activities performed. developing new products or services. - The gulfs are obvious to start, for either HUMAN COGNITION AND EMOTION: gulf, whether of execution or - The mind and brain are complex entities, still the evaluation, is an opportunity for topic of considerable scientific research. product enhancement. - One valuable explanation of the levels of - The trick is to develop observational processing within the brain, applicable to both skills to detect them. cognitive and emotional processing, each quite - Most innovation is done as an different from the other, but all working together incremental enhancement of existing in concert. products. THE THREE LEVELS OF PROCESSING ARE: Visceral – the most basic level of HUMAN THOUGHT: MOSTLY SUBCONSCIOUS processing. Sometimes referred to as the “lizard brain”. ❖ WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Behavioral – home of learned skills, HUMAN MIND? triggered by situations that match the - Because things are designed to be used by appropriate terms. people, and without deep understanding Reflective – home of conscious cognition. of people, the designs are apt to be faulty, difficult to use, difficult to understand. All three levels of processing work together. - That is why it is useful to consider the They all play essential roles in determining a seven stages of action. person’s like or dislike of a product or service. One nasty experience with a service provider ❖ CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING SIMPLE can spoil all future experiences. One superb EXPERIMENT. DO ALL THREE STEPS: experience can make up for past deficiencies. 1. Wiggle the second finger of your The behavioral level, which is the home of hand. interaction, is also the home of all expectation- 2. Wiggle the third finger of the same based emotions, of hope and joy, frustration and hand. anger. 3. Describe what you did differently Understanding arises at a combination of the those two times. behavioral and reflective levels. Enjoyment requires all three. The human mind is immensely complex, having evolved over a long period with many specialized structures. The study of mind is the subject of multiple disciplines, which include: - Behavioral and Social Sciences - Cognitive Science - Neuroscience - Philosophy - Information and Computer Sciences Most of the brain’s operations are subconscious, hidden beneath our awareness. It is only the highest level, called reflective, that is conscious. Conscious attention is necessary to learn most things, but after the initial learning, continued practice and study, sometimes for thousands of hours over a period of years, produces that psychologists call overlearning.