Overview of 203CR Term 2

Comparative Analysis of Hi and Lo fidelity Prototypes for more valid evaluations of mobile devices

Reading Exercise Block 4, Week 3

The following shows that I have skim read through "Comparative Analysis of High and low fidelity Prototypes for more valid usability evaluation of mobile devices". I have skim read this paper i n 45 to 60

Problems authors discussed concerning evaluation of prototypes

- Validation of low -fidelity prototyping test results test is difficult, because they cannot claim whether the results are the effect of prototype itself or the essence of the design concept they try to evaluate.
- Will cost too much to implement a fully functional prototype and there is no stabilized consensus.
- The evaluation process is more complicated and unpredictable, especially if a low fidelity prototyping technique is being used. Reason is that is is harder to claim whether the evaluation findings are originated by the actual concept of the system of by the innate characteristics of the prototype.
- Low fidelity approaches like paper prototyping are insufficient to precisely capture interactivity.
- Found it difficult to claim the scientific validity of the test results.
- The validation of prototype based evaluation results would not be possible, if they used a wrong prototyping technique apropos to the evaluation goal.
- The needed to select a product that is not too complicated but has critical aspects of mobile computing products.
- One the most important issues that they had to go back on was the cost, which they had to check how costly each prototyping technique would be.
- Each different prototyping technique can reveal the same kind of usability problems.
- Using one prototyping techniques would not discover all the possible problems.

The following shows the main recorded actions as usability problems during the testing sessions:

1. Users push a wrong key (button).
2. Users explicitly express problems in their think aloud protocols and gestures.
3. Users repeat the action they already completed in order to check if they did right or not.

Benyon, Benyon and Turner Designing Interactive Systems (Course text) 56 - 75)

The following shows that I have have completed a reading exercise. By reading through Designing Interactive System by Benyon and Turner, which was pages from 56 to 75.
I have made bullet points on main points when I was speed reading through. I was mainly focusting on desging principles and synthesis, which these invovled describing how two of the design principles relate to the usability heuristics.


Broad Reading
I have speed read the material in about 55 minutes, which I did not spend longer on it in order to get more practice and feel on the speed reading exercise.

The following are the main 6 bullets points that I came up with:

• Design principle and websites, in terms of Navigation around a website enable people to discover the structure and content of a specific site and how to find their way to a particular part of the site is a key issue.
• Interactive system design is different in different contexts and on different technological platforms.
• Achieving a balance of usability between four principle factors of human-centred interactive system design, PACT- people, activities, context and technologies.
• The 12 main design principles which are visibility, consistency, familiarity, navigation, affordance, control, feedback, recovery, constraints, flexibility, style and conviviality.
• Key features of acceptability are political, convenience, cultural and social habits, usefulness and economic.
• The 12 design principles allow designers to evaluate design ideas. Therefore design principles 1-4 are concerned with access and learnability, principles 5-7 concerned with ease of use, principles 8-9 concerned with safety, principles 10-12 accommodating differences between people.

Main points of Broad reading

• Designing for windows are the usability techniques windows used so that there product covered all users.
• Pact analysis which helps in usability design. The designer can concentrate on the main points of the pact analysis which are people, context, activities and technologies so that they cover all aspect of designing for usability so there product or software is a success because it covered all the main points.
• The 12 main design principles which are visibility, consistency, familiarity, navigation, affordance, control, feedback, recovery, constraints, flexibility, style and conviviality.

Focussed reading

The following shows that I have found the Design Principles section. Identified the design principles and defined each in my own words.

1.) Visibility: Meaning the key common and key features are visible to the user. For example all the righ buttons and links on site are on the right place for the user, avoiding the activity of looking around for them.

2.) Consistency: Meaning that every page has the same style layout. For example a website not having the home page blue with different buttons and the next yellow with different buttons. To let the user to be not confused.

3.) Familiarity: Using common and known symbols including languge. This will allow the user to recornise the symbol or sign and know what it means straight away. Eg: On a webpage, an icon showing a picture of a house to illutrate that it goes to homw.

4.) Affordance: Meaning that the design has to be designed clearely for the purpose of whats its outcome should be.

5.) Navigation: Meaning that support is provided to the user, in terms of enabling them to go through the website in and out without having any problems. This also means enabling users to go forward and backwards to any specific page that they want.

6.) Control: Specifying and making it clear that who is in control and what is in control. Therefore allowing the user to take control, mostly the navigation.

7.) Feedback: Meaning that in case of an error message, there systems needs to have an alternative or how this can be resolved. Therefore allowing the user to fix any mistakes that has be done.

8.) Recovery: This also relates to the feedback, which means that if there is an error or mistake there should be recovery action that will put back the settings to what it was previousely.

9.) Contraints: Meaning that a prevention is made by including a contraint in the system. This will restrict users to not do things that they are not supposed to do, therefore protecting the users.

10.) Flexibility: Meaning the systems or navigation allowing the user to have different options in doing a task (Alot of choices).

11.) Style: Meaning that the design should gain the users interests, in terms of be attractive and having interesting features.

12.) Conviviality: Meaning that the interactive systems should have a jovial nature. In other words easy going and friendly.

Synthesis:

The following shows that I have described 2 design principles ,which relate to any of the usability Heuristics I have studied in Block 3, lectures 2.

Two design Heuristic chosen:
1. Error prevention - comparing with consistency and feedback
2. Visibility - comparing with consistency and feedback

Error prevention
In terms of error prevention and consistency of a website. A user can know and have a feel that they are on the same website by having the consistency in different pages of the website (Eg: Colours, buttons, navigation menu etc). Error prevention will also provide an effort in allowing the users to avoid an hugh mistakes being done.

Visibility
Visibility is one of the important Heuristic in designing, which provides the user with information on what is taking place through appropriate feedback. Therefore allowing the user to get relevant feedback when something is not done right. This heuristic evaluation goes with the design principle feedback because they both allows users to correct their mistakes therefore it wont leave users confused.

Benyon, Turner and Turners Desigining Interactive Systems: Page 51-77

Block 4, Week 1: Reading Exercise

The following exercise shows that I have:

1. Read the course text in Benyon, Turner and Turners Designing Interactive Systems: Page 51-77.

2. Skimmed read in 60 minutes, which I have also noted down all the design principles I found.

3. In my list of design principles noted. I created two 'clusters' of the principles. (Meaning: a list of two or more principles that seem to be talking about the same thing.

4. Explained each 'cluster', in terms of how the principles are similar and any ways they are different.

Design principles I have found out:

• Conviviality
• Usability
• Consistency
• Flexibility
• Accessibility
• Style
• Navigation
• Acceptability
• Constraints
• PACT
• Affordance
• Feedback

Clusters A compared to Cluster

Cluster A

Usability
Style
Navigation
Consistency
Accessibility
Flexibility

The Design Principles I have mentioned above are similar because the all include and involve the how the users needs are met in a designed system. The also include how the user interacts with the system at hand.
The only thing that makes them different is of each specific category that they have to specify in designing.

Cluster B

Conviviality
Acceptability
Constraints
PACT
Affordance
Feedback

The similarities on the above Design Principles are that they are guidelines the designers following in order to make a successful design for the user. They also a user to a form of restrictions enabling them to not to what they not supposed to do. In one way that they differ is the is the approaches that each contains.

Rapid Prototyping for Ubiquitous Computing

Excercise:

As an excercise the following shows that I have:

1. Printed off "Rapid Prototyping for Ubiquitous Computing" at
http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/mags/pc/2005/04/b4015.pdf

2. Skimed read this in 30 minutes max.

3. Taken down notes while reading, which this notes were based on approaches to prototyping.

4. Made comments on how they differe to prototyping websites.

Prototypes I have found:

The prototypes that I found out by reading the Rapid Prototyping for Ubiquitous Computing articles was each stage in prototyping. For example: low fi, mid fi and hi -fi.
For each of these I have found out useful and relevant information, which for low - fidility I found sketches, for mid fidility prototype I found out the Wizard of Oz techniques in creating the ubicomp.
The difference in prototyping websites to Ubiquitious computing is that

Assignment Bloopers: some of the important ones and how to avoid them

The following shows some of the important bloopers that can be avoided in order to complete a clear usability report that relates from start to finish.

Blooper – definitions / explanations
This means common errors and misconceptions
-noun
1. Informal. An embarrassing mistake, as one spoken over the radio or TV.
2. Radio, a receiving set that generates from its antenna radio-frequency signals that
interfere with other nearby receivers.
3. Also, bloop. Baseball.
a. Also called loopers. A fly ball that carries just beyond the infield.
b. a pitched ball with backspin, describing a high arc in fight.

1. No users. For your user studies and usability evaluations, you ‘used’ yourself.

How to fix:
- Use pictures / photos of your self performing the task and asking questions and referring to
you’re the method chosen.(explain why you could not get anyone apart from yourself.)
- Can pay user to gain interest and complete the task that you want done.
- Another simple alternative, which you might not need to pay any users, is. Asking any
family members or friends to do the usability task.

2. User studies are claimed, with no evidence. Who to say it isn’t all made up?

How to fix:
- Include in the report images or video, of the users performing the usability task.
- Include a questionnaire in the report, showing that users gave you feed back. (Important:
questionnaire in original writing).
- Refer any findings halfway through your report.
- Can also provide the user with the consent form, which they can sign.

3. A conceptual framework is introduced, but never used.

How to fix:
- Can add different stages and key points at the back of the report, in order to relate your
findings to the framework chosen.
- If you have introduced it, use it or don’t introduce it at all if you won’t use it.

4. A design method, and / or a usability method, is introduced but never used.

How to fix:
- If introduced keep in relating your findings to the usability method chosen.
- If you introduced it use it or don’t use it, when not introduced.

5. Material is introduced (conceptual frameworks, methods, etc.)
without explanation of what they are, how they work, and who are
the key academic sources.

How to fix:
- Research the material in question introduces and try to understand before using.
- Make it a short summary. (not too complicated).

6. Discussion of prototypes with no evidence of the prototypes.

How to fix:
- Make sketches of evidence
- Keep reference. (Can google to find out how to reference).

7. Discussion of what users said with no transcripts.

How to fix:
- Can provide a video without people talking and doing the usability task.
- Can include user comments on the transcripts.

8. No references.

How to fix:
- Can google to find out how to reference.

Applying Quantitative Usability Methods

Group consists of 4 member:

-Angelo Memka (ME)
-Fizan Ahmed
-Arun Singh
-Dhami
-Jay Desai

Product chosen to evaluate (Nokia 8800)




The following shows the usability evaluation methods that we will be using:

- Heuristics Evaluation
- Usability Engineering

The Scope will be as follows:

We will be using heuristics evaluation methods to conduct the main evaluation of the chosen product in our case this will be the Nokia 8800, any metrics that we collect as in the facts and figures we will be using usability engineering methods to compare them against. This will give us a much better evaluation on the chosen product. We will not be using all of the given methods in each evaluation methods, we will narrow them done to just one from each. Such as in the heuristics evaluation method we will be using ‘error prevention’ as the main methods of comparison in our evaluation as it fits into what we are going to test the phone on and in the usability engineering methods we will be ‘% or number of errors’ as this will give a way of comparing the figures we collect in reference to this method.
The main task is to find out what errors occur when a user sends a picture message from there phone. The reason for evaluating this is so that we can find out what are the types of problems that users occur while they carrying out a set of tasks to with the task.

The heuristic evaluation method ‘error prevention?’ , say the following:

Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminates error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before commit to the action.”What this I basically saying is that the system that is being tested needs to have clear error and warning messages making sure that the user understands when a problem has occurred, the system should also give the user an option when an error has occurred and that the problem is not only just this but is also to why the errors occur in the first place.


The materials that we are going to use:

The types of materials that we will be using would include the product in question which is the Nokia 8800, pens and paper for note taking while the tasks are being completed by the two users.

The following show the number of users we going to use and what will be their tasks:

We will be using two users so that we can do a comparative study of what is happening between them. Both user will be randomly chosen and will be presented with a specific number of tasks. We will be setting the user a set of 3 tasks to complete while using the mobile phone.

Below shows the tasks that we will be setting for the users to complete:

1. Take a picture using the integrated camera and save it in the ‘images’ folder inside the mobile phone itself. Now try and send this picture to another mobile phone. Send the picture via ‘MMS’ to the following Number: 077377399543.

2. Add some text on the picture and see how easy this is and try and edit the picture and the text to the way that you want it show on the other persons mobile phone.

3.Compare the way that you send the pictures on this phone to your own personnel handset. What is the difference? Or are they all the same?

Evalaution Notes and Results

In completing this usability evaluation, the two users that we choice had 15 minutes to complete the task given. As group we realized that the evaluation tasks that we provided to the user were going to take require more time. So therefore as a group we had to live out 3 task.

The following shows the notes taken while the evaluation was taking place:

User 1:
- User did not know to how to slide down the camera, user also required
Help.
- User could not find the button to take the photo, which one group member
had to help the user.
- Needed help to open the camera slide.
- After taking the photo, the user was not sure how to send it via MMS or
find the menu options.
- User did not have any other problems after that.

User 2:
- Did not take much time in finding the camera slide compared to user 1.
- User could not find the button to take the photo but did not require any help.
- User was not sure how to add the text on the picture.
- Did note have the problem of entering the phone number and sending the picture via MMS.
- The user did not ask a lot of questions compared to user 1.

Smart Homes Reading Exercise (Block 3)

I have read and looked through the Techno Homes article
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/features/2003/interiors/techno_home.shtml

Questions:

Q1. Read the document and decide where/what the interface(/s) is (/are).

Answers:
1.
Gadget 1: Multi -store CD player
This gadget or device interface will most likely consist of a remote control that will allow input from the user to the device. This will also control how the devices works through its navigation and interface. Taking for example: how the music is going to be formatted (by album or artist name in alphabetical order).

Gadget 2: Universal remote controls
This gadget will be very interesting and will probably be for lazy people, considering that it will control every single appliances around the home. Taking for example (DVD, Radio, Television etc), which the remote itself is the interface as it has buttons and different controls.

Gadget 3: Organised home entertainment
This can allow the user to record shows or programs in to a hard copy, using a DVD and
Video player. This will also allow the user to set a time start and end record.

Gadget 4: Domestic robots
This domestic robot will vacuum a room but most probably having some kind of interface to allow the user to control it, in terms of which part of the room it has to vacuum. Keeping in mind that the interface will have to react instantly with domestic robot in order to clean everything that needs to be vacuumed accurately.

Gadgets 5: New generation cooling
The interface for a fridge would be located at the front next to the door handle. Which mostly like have a displaying screen "LCD" with buttons that will allow the user to select and change different settings. Taking for example: Temperature "low or high".

Gadget 6: Clever cleaning
As a clever cleaning gadget, this would probably be a small control panel to allow the user to con trol the functions of the bathing temperature. For example on what water temperature you want in the bath. The functions might also be controlled by another sort of remote device.


2. Decide what usability methods (from this week's lecture), you could apply to evaluating these interfaces. Justify your choices.

If I had to decide on what usability method to apply in evaluation these interfaces mentioned above. I would most definitely choose Heuristic evaluation because it think it would provide me with various kinds of relevant information in terms of identifying the problem and how it can be resolved.

3. For one example, go into detail about exactly what you would do to apply the evaluation technique to the interface

In applying the evaluation technique to the interface of a universal remote control, I would use the Heuristic evaluation or analysis by doing the following:

Visibility of system status
Does the remote control respond instantly or within a reasonable amount of time when its pressed by the user. How effective is it?

Match between system and the real world
Allowing the user to switch to different devices (eg: TV to Radio), without having any form of complications. Meaning that does the remote control provide a good level of simplicity language.

User control and freedom
In terms of providing simple short cuts. Does the remote control allow the user to navigate without providing too much instructions and regulations to the users.

Consistency and standards
Allowing the user to navigate through same style, formats and layouts in each devices that its controlling. For example the VCR and DVD having that stop and pause button at the same location, not one down and other up.

Error prevention
An error message that contributes as a warning, which re-confirms the users actions in different settings that they want to change to.

Recognition rather than recall
Allowing user to user the remote without too much thinking, in terms of what did the previous say or mean.

Flexibility and efficiency
In the repeatedly amount of times that the user has used the remote control. There should be
a facility or feature for shortcuts, allowing the user to go straight to where they want to go to easily.

Aesthetic and minimalist design
This should have relevant information and content for the user to navigate around with no complication, without too much thinking.

Help users recognise, diagnose and recover from errors
If there is an error message, this should provide the user with a simple alternative on how this can be resovled with nodes (simple plain English).


Help and documentation
It is a great advantage for system include a help option, which this could either be with a manual or a help feature in the different menus. This is only when a user does not understanding something or gets lots somewhere.