Mobile HCI 2012 Paper Review Presentation

Data Gathering

Data Collection is an important aspect of any type of research study. Inaccurate data collection can impact the results of a study and ultimately lead to invalid results.

Data collection methods for impact evaluation vary along a continuum. At the one end of this continuum are quantitative methods and at the other end of the continuum are Qualitative methods for data collection

Quantitative and Qualitative Data collection methods

The Quantitative data collection methods, rely on random sampling and structured data collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into predetermined response categories. They produce results that are easy to summarize, compare, and generalize.

Envisioning Users (User Profiles)

What is a User Profile?

A user profile is a realistic (but likely fictional) example of a target audience member. The profile commonly takes the form of a one page piece that lists the user’s name, occupation, education, demographic characteristics, computer/web experience, and site goals or likely tasks. A stock photography picture is usually used to give a face to the profile.

For a example:

Envisioning Users (Persona)

What is a persona?

Personas are a common technique used to communicate findings from user research in a simple and accessible manner. They're very useful as they can communicate this information quickly and (if done well) in a fun way that will stick with the design/development team through the rest of the process, ensuring the user research is taken into account throughout the course of the project.

There should be at least one persona to represent each major segment of your users. The word major is used as ideally you should be using 3-5 personas, and with most sites there are a lot more user groups. Each of the personas should have their own personality and be memorable - put too many in front of people and they start to all blur into one. Any more than 5 personas and people often start to feel overwhelmed.

Example :

Establishing Requirements (User Requirements)

Four basic activities in Interaction Design:

1. Identifying users, their needs and requirements
2. Developing alternative designs
3. Building versions of the designs
4. Evaluating designs

Requirement Analysis

The specification activity defines the behavior of a system in development and determines the method for requirements documentation (Natural language documents, Process models, Business definitions, Use cases, User stories or Process specifications).

Establishing what the customer requires from a software system.

ID, HCI, UCD, UX, Usability, Availability and Other Disciplines Which Sharp This Field

All of the above theories and ways of working need to be followed to produce something that is interactive for the user, easy to use, innovative and cater to as wider audience as possible. Some devices may need to be made for a specific audience, therefore you will focus a lot on USD, HCI and perhaps accessibilty. All of the concepts above are cruicial when creating interactive designs for multimedia.

Other Disciplines Which Sharp This Field

• Human factors
• Cognitive science
• Software engineering

All other disciplines listed above have helped further the field of Interactive Desgin. Such things as coginitive science allows for more users to access techonology they may never have been able to use before this. Also, it allows other users to experience techonology in different ways. This opens up a whole new area and innovation in this field and gives designers more options and more to think about when considering the UX, UCD, usability and accessibility of their product/device. The advances in software engineering help make such things as cognitive science possible.

User Experience (UX) and Usability

“User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products. The first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother.”

"Usability is how easy something is to use and function. Accessibility is how varied the amount of user the device/program can cater to be it age, gender, ability, disability."

For an example scenario,

The customer, looking for a new digital camera, goes to the large electronic retailer’s website. She quickly finds the camera she wants, puts it in the cart, and without incident, pays for it using the option to pick it up at the store that same day. Quick, easy — she is pleased and excited to receive her camera.

When she arrives at the store, she initially doesn't know where to go, as no visual clues present themselves. After a ten-minute wait at the customer service desk, she’s told she’s in the wrong place and needs to find another desk, this one labeled “Online Receiving”. Once she finds that desk, the clerk, who obviously can’t wait for his shift to end, sighs and says the camera she’s purchased is out of stock. She can buy a different camera at this point, but to receive a credit for her original online purchase, she needs to call an 800 number. She ends up leaving the store without a camera and a charge on her credit card she needs to resolve.