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User Centered Design

Lecture # 5

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Problem with User Interfaces

Nearly 25% of all applications projects fail Overrun budgets due to frequent changes to functionality

and task flow Products are hard to learn and difficult to use

Users are often slowed down, they make mistakes and they are unhappy with the product – The product is not centered around their: Needs – User wants to do A but system does not allow it Capabilities – User can not see the handle (paint) Experiences – User does not know what “expunge” means

It is not User Centered

UI Design PrinciplesMeeting User Needs

Visibility - Expose the interaction to the user

Controllability - Let the user control the interaction

Learnability - Capitalize on what the user already knows

Consistency -Maintain consistency at the interface

Feedback – Keep the user in the loop

Memorability - Minimize reliance on user memory

Tolerance - Minimize the impact of user error

Aesthetic – Ensure good visual design; it matters

Affordance – Let controls guide the user

Know your user

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Example of a Poor Interface Design

There is a nice hierarchy,but no headers.

Users need to examineall the tabs

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To design a usable interface we need to adopt a User Centered Design approach

(UCD)

Example of a User Interface Design

Concept: Active Time Out

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Surgical Time Out

A mandatory pre-surgery verification checklist

Designed to: Eliminate human errorsEnsure that valuable pre-surgery procedures were

performed e.g., give antibiotic to reduce infectionEnsuring that everybody on the clinical team is

aware of basic case information e.g., allergiesProvide an opportunity for a team introduction and

a team huddle

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Surgical Time Out - Poster

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Observations on Poster Time-Out Usage

Time-out is always performed, but it is performed fast and often with minimal attention

The focus of many surgical teams is on the “Challenge” not on the data

Team members often move around during time-out and can easily miss an item (not hear it)

Team members seemed reluctant to challenge the time-out leader

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What is Needed

Help the teams focus to the challenges as well as the data

Ensure a common baseline understanding of the case details among team member

Increase the likelihood of detecting errors

Help team members challenge assumptions about the case

Organization of an Interface

Challenge

Cross Checked

Information

Challenge Category

Checklist Focus Aras

Option Selector

Checklist Panel

Initiating the process

MechanismUser Intent

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The Design of Active Time Out

Goal Encourage users to perform the check Ensure awareness of the detail Provide a paper trail

Some UI design principles that were followed Minimize interaction Provide predictability as to how long the process will

take Compatibility with how people read Provide a focal point for discussion

Overall design philosophy – focus on user

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What is User Centered Design

A design approach that place the user at the core of the design process

It is not centered on:Technology or what a technology can doDeveloper or what a developer knows how to doAesthetics or what looks beautiful Although all of the above and more are important

factors in the design

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Some Variations on UCD

Goal centered – Design toward what the user is trying to achieve

Usage centered – Design around how users will use an application or a product

Work centered – Design to optimize the work users perform

These approaches are user centered, but they conceptualize the user within a context of what users do

These approaches include usefulness in addition to usability as their goal

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Developer Centered Interface?

What makes this design more developer centric then user centric design?- Organization

of the information

- Use of technical jargon

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Objectives of User Centered Design

Support the design of products that:Help users achieve their goalsAre compatible with users’ characteristicsMeet users’ needs

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Principles of User Centered Design (1)

Early focus on usersEstablish direct contact with users to understand

their characteristics, needs, and motivationSpecify measurable usability goals that the new

system should meet

Integrated designAll aspects of usability evolve in parallel – displays,

controls, documentation, etc.All aspects of usability under one focus-Design,

documentation, evaluation

John Gould (1988)

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Principles of User Centered Design (2)

Early and continual evaluationMeasure the performance and reaction of the

intended users when they do real work with simulation and prototypes of the user interface

Iterative designThe user interface as well as the functionality of

the system is modified based upon results of users’ input and test results

Involve users in the design

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Why Involve Users in the Design

User Interface design is still a craftOur ability to predict human behavior during

interaction with a given UI is limitedUsers’ needs extend over several domains

including personal, professional, organizationalUsers’ needs change from situation to situation

and time to timeOur understanding of the processes underlying HCI

are limited

We need users’ input and feedback

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Benefits of Involving the User

User inform designers about their jobsWhat is involved in their jobsWhat tools they useHow these tools are used

Users help developers identify what could be usefulWhat is missing in current application or tool

Users try prototype and comment on itDevelopers make incremental changes and iterate

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Factors to Consider in User Centered Design

Organizational Factors Environmental Factors

Health & Safety Factors

Comfort FactorsThe User

User Interface technologies

Task Factors

Cognitive process / capabilities

Input devices, output displays, use of color,

Easy, complex, novel

Equipment layoutStress

Training, job design, politics Noise, lighting

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User-Centered Design at its best?

Developers working with target usersHelp define what the system will do and howLots of iterative exploration and feedback

Think of the world from users’ perspectiveUsers and customers are not the same person

Understand work processPoints where human and computers interact

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Summary

User-centered design is different than traditional technology approaches

Leads to solving use problems up frontCheaper

It involves users and know - how about users