Lecture 1 - The process of

Interaction Design
 Introduction

We can probably all recall examples

of bad design where our attempts
to get something to work were
frustrated
Many examples of bad design can be
found at:
www.baddesigns.com
Note these examples
highlight that this module is
not just about the design of
computer interfaces
At the same time we probably can
recall examples of where things
just seemed to work as expected
 What guarantees a good design?

There is no magic formula but many

approaches have been attempted:

Style books or guidelines

Copy a great design
Trial and error brain storming
Hire a genius
What does seem to at least minimise
the chances of failure is a careful
consideration of:
1. The users of the product
2. The activities they will perform
3. The environment of the product
Followed by an extensive use of
prototypes and evaluation
 1. The user
Knowing something about the intended users of
our design would seem obvious for a number
of reasons:
Humans are good at some things and very
poor at others
There are definite limitations to what people
can perceive and discriminate
People will have certain expectations about
how things should work - affordances
 1. The user

Unfortunately many of the

characteristics of interest for
interaction design can depend on:
Age
Gender
Culture
Education etc.
 2. The activity or task
Knowledge of what the users will be trying to do
with our design is again of obvious interest:
Which activities are common
Is there a time limit or specific sequence
Have the users been trained
Do the users share a special jargon
Are any activities potentially unsafe or risky
Will any of the interactions on our product be
novel to the users e.g. shake to shuffle
 3. The environment
The setting and location of the interaction
is also important and can influence the
design
Is it an emergency or hazardous
environment
Will the users be wearing special
clothing e.g. gloves
Will the users be seated or using the
product with one hand etc.
Activity 1
 Activity 2

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 Interaction Design as a profession

Interaction Design ID can appear

under a number of different
guises:
Interface design
User centred design
Human Computer Interaction
Usability
ID is a multi-disciplinary activity
which relates to many academic
subjects
People working in ID are found in a
very diverse range of industries:
Consumer & industrial electronics
Military, automotive and aviation
Healthcare
Media and entertainment
Marketing etc.
 The goals of Interaction Design
Safe not prone to error and allow easy recovery from error

Utilitarian the systems are functional and the user can access
these functions

Effective the system meets the users requirements and

expectations

Efficient the system meets the requirements in the simplest

way (save time and money)

Usable the system is easy to learn and remember

Why was the iPod so successful (and
saved the company)?
 The one slide to remember

Identify needs and establish

requirements
Develop alternative designs
Build interactive prototypes
Evaluate the prototypes
Refine the prototypes
 Key Design Principles

1. Visibility
is it clear
what the
next action
should be
and what will
happen?
2. Feedback make it clear to the
user that their action is accepted
and is being worked on
3. Constraints
restrict the
possible
actions that
can be
performed
using
hardware if
possible
4. Consistency use similar
operations and elements for
similar tasks or actions
5. Affordance ensure that the
required actions are in harmony
with the users expectations
 Usability Principles (Nielson)
These are similar to the design principles but can
form the basis of a checklist for evaluating a design
Visibility of system status
Match between system and the real world
User control and freedom
Consistency and standards
Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors
Error prevention
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Help and documentation