Day 3

Information Design: First, know your users

Get your mobile phones out!

Forum Nokia

http://research.nokia.com/research/index.html

Rob Mansperger, Senior Information Architect at PixelMEDIA How we work

http://www.vimeo.com/17376562 Users

http://www.vimeo.com/3698453

Objectives

Learn how to gather ideas to help formulate goals for the system

Learn how to create personas to represent different user types

Learn how contextual enquiry is used to gain insight into an employee’s work

Critical tasks of Information Design

Define the goals of the product

Understand your users

Assess the users’ needs and desires

Create a content list

Organise the content

Produce a content flowchart

Setting goals Nothing gets the design process off the ground

like having goals defined on a piece of paper

Goals should be the tool you use to evaluate every design decision Continually ask yourself “Does this solution move the

design closer to or further away from the goal?”

Some companies will have very well thought-out goals, while others may have only vague goals

You will need to make sure you understand the client’s goals, perhaps even help the client recognise their own goals more clearly

Goal statements

The goal statements should define the results you are after and give you specific design objectives to work towards Some examples

To provide incentives for customers to purchase products online

To create an interactive catalogue that can be updated weekly

To create a DVD about meteorology that will engage users so that they learn and have fun

To create a DVD on calculus that will motivate students to learn

Notice that these goals define the result you are after

Understand your client

Understand (or help to define) your client’s goals

Understand the client’s budget

Understand the client’s time constraints

Understand your users

Interviews

Contextual enquiries

Create personas

Interview potential users

You could ask questions their background

You could ask them about their computing environment

You could tell them the goals of your product and find out what they would like to see in such a product

You could ask them if they could think of ways you could achieve your goals

The interview process

Choose a few people who represent your target audience

Begin each interview by clearly describing the project’s goals

Read each question and record each answer

Ask follow up questions if necessary

Contextual Enquiry

Observe people performing tasks in the real world that they will be performing with your product (remember the nurses)

Perhaps you are implementing software for workers in a company, try observing them at work, perhaps asking questions as they work

Perhaps you are developing a DVD for grade 3 maths, try visiting a grade 3 maths class

Perhaps you are developing a website for selling pet accessories, try visiting a pet store

Create personas

A persona is an imaginary person whose characteristics match a particular type of user

You can create personas to represent different types of users

Create the personas after you have already used other techniques to get to know your users

The personas are representative of the type of users you have encountered

Using the personas Mount the personas on a poster board and display

them where the design team can easily see them

Surround them with objects that represent the persona’s needs and wants

The design team can discuss these personas as though they were real potential users throughout the design process

Thinking about these personas might help you think of more answers people might give to a survey or more issues for your product

Thinking about these personas might help in brainstorming sessions

Analyse possible tasks

What tasks need to be performed?

How often are these tasks performed?

Which tasks are possibly the hardest to perform?

Which might be the hardest to learn?

In what environment will the tasks be performed?

How will the user learn to perform the task?

Think about system tasks … e.g. keeping passwords secure, keeping data secure

Yahoo: keeping personas alive

http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/05/18/yahoos-approach-to-keeping-personas-alive/

Unleash the users

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KsFrkxjtj8

More companies

Aivea http://www.aivea.com/user-interface-design.htm

Viewfarm http://www.viewfarm.com/the_work/ui_design.html

About today’s lab

Applying the techniques

2 marks for today’s lab

Make sure to read the suggestions on the website regarding things you could do by the next class