SIMS 213: User Interface Design & Development

Marti HearstTues, Jan 18, 2005

Alternative names for this course

User Interface Design, Prototyping, and EvaluationHuman-computer Interaction

Why is HCI Important?

It can determine who becomes president of the USA!

A Related Problem

Evaluate the figures in a research paper

A Related Problem

What’s wrong with this table?

Redesign: add space between the columns.

Palm Beach Phone Book (a joke)

Problems

The instructions are misleading – Use of the phrase “vote for group” is misleading

• Should say “vote for one”– Instructions only on lefthand side

• Implies righthand side is different

The interleaving of holes is misleading– Only the president page has this layout– Other offices are one per page (with appropriate instructions)

The sample ballot looks different– No holes – the source of the problem– Did not lead to complaints

Other Issues

People vote infrequently– Have to re-learn the system each time

Rushed, uncomfortable circumstancesPalm Beach Demographics: Elderly

How to know if it will work?

Test out the design!– Have real people use it!– Try to match the appropriate demographics– Even a few tries can turn up major problems

An Informal Usability StudyBarbara Jacobowitz, CHI-WEB, Nov 10, 2000

“I was able to print 10 different sample ballots from various sources. Last night, I ran them all by my mother (81) and a group of her friends (70-something to 80's). All are bright, literate, and none are legally blind.They did reasonably well on 9 of the ballots. On one, 6 marked it incorrectly and didn't realize it, 2 did it correctly, but very slowly, and 2 had to ask me what to do. Guess which ballot it was?.”Summary of a more formal study of punch-card voting:– http://www.osu.edu/units/research/archive/votedes.htm

Josephine Scott, CHI-Web, Nov 10, 2000

“I spent fifteen years making the voting process accessible and usable for all…

Usability standards must be higher for voting than any other function for the most obvious reasons. Users--in this case, voters, share the need for the clearest of design and instruction to cast a vote properly. Many do not speak English well, or see well, or are able to decipher difficult design cognitively, but they may be able to make as informed a choice for president as our snobbish "experts" who don't see a problem. …

Josephine Scott, CHI-Web, Nov 10, 2000

“Bad design like this exacerbates the problem. The glib notion that "there is no problem because you can see the arrow" or that voters who made this mistake must be stupid shows a lack of compassion. Let me suggest that it is simple compassion for the user that informs usability expertise. …”

More evidence that the ballot is misleading (New York Times, Nov 9, 2000)

Percent of ballots thrown out in Palm Beach County for "overvoting" on Presidential candidates: 4.1% (19,120)Percent of ballots thrown out in Palm Beach County for "overvoting" on Senatorial candidates: 0.8% (3,783)Percent of ballots thrown out in Sacramento County (CA) "overvoting" on Presidential candidates: 0.29% (1,147)Percentage of (unofficial) re-count votes in Gore's favor:

70% (2,520)Percentage of (unofficial) re-count votes in Bush's favor:

30% (1,063)

Blaming the User

A huge step backwards:– Cokie Roberts (appearing on David Letterman)

“stupidity is not an excuse”

Well-designed user interfaces do not present situations in which it is easy to make mistakesAlan Cooper’s mantra: software should not humiliate the userIn this class we assume: if the user does something “wrong,” it is usually the fault of the system designer

Administrivia

Course TAs: – Jonathan Snydal – Andrew Fiore

Readings

Do indicated readings before the class

Required:– Course Reader

University Copy2425 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704510-549-2335

– Jakob Nielsen’s Usability Engineering– Johnson’s GUI Bloopers– Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things– Cooper’s The Inmates are Running the Asylum

Course Schedule (Tentative)

Intro to HCIUI Design Cycle, User-Centered DesignGoals, Personas, Task Analysis, ScenariosPrototypingDesign TechniquesHeuristic EvaluationCognitive Issues and Human AbilitiesModesMidtermUsability TestingResearch Topics

Project Schedule (Tentative)Note: there will also be individual assignments

Dates shown are the week the item is due

Project proposals (3rd week)Project personas and goals (5th week)Scenarios, tasks, and initial sketches (6th week)Individual design practice (8th week)Lo-Fi prototype and test (8th week)Midterm (9th week)First interactive prototype (10th week)Class presentation (10th week)Project heuristic evaluation (11th week)Second interactive prototype (12th week)Usability test (14th week)Class presentations (15th week)Third prototype and project writeup (Finals week)

Administrivia

Grading: – Individual assignment(s): 20%– Midterm: 30%– Project:

• Many milestone assignments – required, must be done on time, but not graded –will receive comments/feedback instead.

• Final project gets a grade at the end – counts 50%

Assignment

Join the course email list! (is213)– Mail to majordomo@sims, subscribe is213

Start thinking about projects and team membersLook at previous years’ projects– http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s04/projects.html– http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s03/projects.html– http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s02/projects.html– http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s01/projects.html