What I learned in Design School

Design stretches across a wide variety of disciplines. While the design materials, outcomes, and metrics for success vary quite a bit, there are many similarities in the way practitioners conceptualize design and the process through which it occurs. Likewise, approaches to design education across schools and institutes reveal many similarities in how students learn to design and the principles that guide this process. While this discussion of knowledge learned in design school comes from a fine arts perspective, it offers key insight applicable to students in all design programs. While a bit less passionate and encompassing, this post details many of the skills that students develop while in the HCID program here.

the trials of being a design student

Being a design student, it is but natural to be ‘aware’ of your surroundings…there’s so much information relevant to hci and design that sometimes its just too overwhelming! There are just so many interesting things to know, learn and go through, that most times we have to stop somewhere when it comes to exploring the field of design, cuz the constraints of project deadlines are always looming ’round the corner.

I always have this mental conflict as to what to choose between ‘exploring the plethora of resources ‘ and ‘concentrating on the curriculum projects’…

May be the mentors and AIs could guide us as to how to strike a balance among both alluring and both equally important and learning processes. Any suggestions ???

presentation criteria

The following criteria may help you better formulate the presentations you plan to give in I543 and other classes.

Content Delivery

• clearly deliver key points from every slide without reading from the slides
• enunciate words with appropriate volume
• appropriate use of audio/visual materials
• deliver in your assignment time

Presentation Manner

• obvious rehearsal
• appropriate use of eye contact with the audience
• professional manner, appropriate for the setting
• audience engagement for Q&A and comment section

You can find more information and tips here.

Preparing for the Test (from Sakshi)

Camtasia & the Logitec webcam may cause some installation problems with Windows Vista. So, it would be preferable if students used Windows 2000 or XP. Make sure to keep this in mind and not postpone your software installations until the last moment thinking it will be easy & quick.

• Sakshi’s advice is a standard principle for any kind of testing. Make sure you have rehearsed and are familiar with the technology you plan to use–otherwise the results could be DISASTROUS!

a future for HCI

60 minutes recently ran a segment on the problematic lack of usability in the digital products that increasingly surround us in our daily lives. This piece helps partially contextualize the problems that we’re addressing in this course. They interview Don Norman and other notables.

…and while not related to usability, this segment (which aired last year) provides a startling glimpse into the unintended consequences of design. you’ll hear more about these issues in Eli’s class next semester…

camera study process

This diagram might be of help to those still wondering about how to conceptualize the disposable camera study process and arrive at design implications. Considering that your domain of interest is already quite narrow, each phase becomes increasingly specific, eventually arriving at concrete, actionable design implications for your domain and user group.

Usability Test Diagram

One group provided a good example how to present a usability testing diagram that might be useful:

Scenario Overview Pdf.

You can find more information about scenario creation here.

Conducting a Usability Test

Make sure to take the HSC test by next Thursday.

Tips for conducting a usability test (Barnum 2002, Molich, 2001, Nielsen Norman Group)
Before the test

• rehearse the test before the actual tests
• confirm wtih users for scheudles before the test dates is important
• when writing task, avoid hidden clues (or leading them to the actions you’re intending to test)
• do not describe too detailed steps to complete a task

Recruitment

• make sure you screen participating users before they actually participate
• make sure your users are not experts in design or development or usability (thus, it’s not the best idea to get other HCI students to take your tests)
• usually its not a good idea to bring previously participated users again to another test for a new project
• generally, novice users  are best to use to discover critical usability problems

During the Test

• make sure you make users feel at ease, start from a simple task (e.g. beginning with a login task)
• you may give one task at a time
• make sure to give some time for preparations for each test (at least 20 minutes between tests)
• make a checklist for things-to-do before each test session starts (setting up video recording hardware/software, deleting broswer history, etc..)

During the debriefing session

• you can add more debriefing questions in addtion to the ones you already have
• collect all the quesitons from all your team members
• return to key problems the participant user encountered

For your testing, you can download the trial version of Camtasia to use on your laptop.

Project 2 Clarifications

What should a datalogging sheet look like?
The focus of the sheet should be on what exactly you are trying to capture. You don’t specifically have to follow the material examples provided on OnCourse, however it may be helpful when developing and formating your template.

If you have a situation where a person can not finish the task and not advance forward in the overall test, then ask the person to move onto the next task based upon your own experience and judgment.

Scenarios are very important in helping the users contextualize the tests. SO, first show the scenario and then present each task in relation to the scenario.

Debriefing questions are tightly attached to each test and you pose more open-ended questions. Post-test questionnaires are for obtaining quantitative data investigate any overarching patterns about how people feel about the product that was tested.