Interaction Design

A revolution of quality.

Bill AbelSlaughter Group

What is Interaction Design?

• Interaction Design (IxD) is the branch of user experience design that defines the structure and behavior of interactive products and services.

• i.e. IxD defines in detail how websites, web apps, software will look, function, and behave.

• Interaction Design spawns from interface design, industrial design product design, software design and development, cognitive psychology, visual design, anthropology, etc.

History of IxD

• 1980’s - Interaction Design was coined Bill Moggridge (designed the first laptop) and Bill Verplank (designed the Xerox Star GUI)

• 1990’s - The Web popularizes information architecture, user experience design, usability, and other related tools, and techniques

• In 2003, the IxDA was formed. The Interaction Design Association.

• In February 2008 the first IxDA conference was held in Savannah, Georgia. Alan Cooper delivered the keynote address.

Interaction Designers?

• We are not eyeball tracking wonks

• We are not prototypers

• We are not testers

• We are not programmers

• business strategy

• brand development

• marketing communications

• art and design

• anthropology

• programming and technology

My Background

The problem with innovation.

Innovation is a tactic for first-to-market.

First-to-market is a poor strategy.

Your music collection in your pocket.

• Archos Jukebox

• mp3 player

• 5GB

• rechargeable battery

• etc...

Best-to-market always trumps first-to-market.

Your music collection in your pocket.

• Apple iPod

• mp3 player

• 5GB

• rechargeable battery

• etc...

The difference is in the process.

Software development is an information age craft being managed by industrial age methodology.

The industrial age took raw materials and turned them into products. It was simple. It only required cheap, unskilled workers.

The business was in how efficiently the process could be managed. Cost is critical, so reducing costs was good business.

Software development is not simple. It is difficult. It is complex. It is expensive. It takes time.

Cutting costs will only make the product worse.

With software, profit is not measured by efficiency.

It is the quality of the product that determines it’s ultimate success, and long-term profitability.

Software development is a craft.

Craftsmen take pride in their work.

They spend years perfecting their skills.

Their work is expensive.

Programmers are like craftsmen.

Quality brings joy.

We need a new paradigm.

Requirements > Programming (Do it all)

Requirements >

Interaction Design >(What does the solution look like? Research.)

Design Engineering >(How will we create it? Agile methods.)

Production Engineering (Do. Make it really good. Efficiency.)

So how much does this cost?

A hell of a lot less than taking a failure to market.

The extra upfront costs spent on design will be recouped in the production phase.

A better product will take less to maintain, and update because there will be less bugs.

Passionate customers will drive sales and create long-term sustainable growth.

So what’s the deal?

• Interaction Designers will deal with the business people who don’t understand how damn hard it is to make software in the first place. We’ll hold their hand and work with them. Then we will deliver a clear set of requirements, a clear vision of the product, and research to back it up.

• Programmers then can focus on what they do best - writing code.

IxDA Birmingham

http://groups.google.com/group/ixda-birmingham

S L A U G H T E R G R O U P

slaughtergroup.com