Numbers and Design? Say What?

“Usability is often quantitative. But design is qualitative. Is this why usability experts so often make poor design recommendations?” I saw one of my connections on LinkedIn had commented on this post and I came to the following conclusions:

1. This is a huge generalization

2. Designers should form their own informed decisions based off of the analysis and synthesized data

3. This problem is two-fold - designers should have a better understanding of the quantitative side

In my grad program, I decided to take a stats class, “Measuring the User Experience”. Many who asked what I was taking were surprised and a common question was why do you need stats”?  To me, this question can be compared to a chef at a local upscale Boston hot spot.  Would you not expect this chef to have a basic understanding of where the ingredients to his food come from?  He may not be the expert at growing the food, but he knows enough to appreciate his dishes even more.  So why should we not be that intimate with our data?
Although it is ultimately the designer’s job to design and the researcher’s job to research, we should all have one foot on each other’s turf.  Just as researchers help us with design puzzles, we should also try to understand where our data comes from.  This means both the qualitative and quantitative.
Not everyone should be a stats expert, but it makes us much more valuable when we have a general understanding of what metrics to capture and the various ways to analyze the data.  For example, when you see the term confidence interval in a report, do you know what that means and roughly how that came to be?   Or what about when a mean or median should be used? T-test – is that what a pregnancy woman takes?  We don’t need to know every stats term, but it would not hurt to have a basic point of reference by adding another book to the bookshelf.  Not sure about you, but I want to know what food I use in my kitchen.

The New Go-to Movie Production Tool

DJ Caruso, director of “I am Number Four”, in an interview, talks openly about how the iPad is now his go-to production tool, using it to edit storyboards, reference the script, and research locations to act out certain scenes.  Caruso says he does not even carry a paper script around with him anymore.
In a recent project for grad school, I worked on a remake of a popular desktop script writing software, Final Draft for the iPad.  In speaking with script supervisors and writers, it was clear how much the entire production staff relied on the hard copy script in both preproduction, when numerous copywriters sit together cranking out scripts, as well as when they are in production running through the scenes.    Updated scripts and script inserts are printed out daily and handed out to the entire staff, which is far from being environmentally friendly.
One issue my team confronted was how to translate the current process, which was incredibly manual and relied heavily on hardcopies, to a more digital and streamlined process.  Currently, staff takes notes directly on the hard copy and a staff member transfers the edits to the digital version, and prints out the changes for the team.   The biggest problem we needed to solve was how to ensure all of the notes are captured similarly to the way they add notes on the hardcopy.  For example, some staff write notes up the side of the page reflecting on the scene, where as other notes may be contextual and word changes. To handle this problem, we investigated the integration of a stylus to capture notes and adding the notes to the master copy in the cloud where all staff can access the master version.
iPads can help movie and sitcom production with improving efficiency and saving the environment.  If staff can make changes using their iPads directly, this eliminates time wasted at the end of the day updating the script with changes.  Just as Caruso mentioned, it also can serve as a creative tool for sketching and marking up storyboards.   And best of all, think about all the trees it can save!

Design Less, But Better: Dieter Rams Design Principles

“My goal is to omit everything superfluous so that the essential is shown to the best possible advantage”. Dieter Rams, 1980.

Dieter Rams is a German industrial designer, who is associated with the company Braun as well as Functionalist school of industrial design. Rams is educated in architecture and once explained his design approach as "less, but better".  Many of his product designs can be found at the MoMA in New York, including coffee makers, calculators, radios, audio/visual equipment, consumer appliances and office products.

In the 1970s, Rams introduced the idea of sustainable development in design.  He often felt that designers needed to take more responsibility for the state of the world around us and think more about sustainability.

His 10 principles of design were relevant them and it still relevant today:

1. Good design is innovative: The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.
2. Good design makes a product useful: A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.
3. Good design is aesthetic: The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products we use every day affect our person and our well-being. But only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
4. Good design makes a product understandable: It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory.
5. Good design is unobtrusive: Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.
6. Good design is honest: It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
7. Good design is long-lasting: It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today’s throwaway society.
8. Good design is thorough, down to the last detail: Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly: Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the life cycle of the product.
10. Good design is as little design as possible: Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials.  Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Reference: http://www.vitsoe.com/en/gb/about/dieterrams/gooddesign

Forrester Predicts Huge Tablet Growth – What That Means For Designers

In a recent report, Forrester predicts tablet sales will reach 195 million between 2010 and 2015 and most of these sold will be Apple products. Forrester also believes laptop sales will continue to grow from 26.4 million in 2010 to 38.9 million in 2015. Desktop PC sales will decline from 20.5 million in 2010 to 18.2 million in 2015.

When Users Consume
This increase use of tablets is already changing the way tablet users consume content. Reading content on mobile devices is causing a shift in when users consume material – prior to mobile consumption there was a bigger jump in users consuming material at their desks. Now, much to employer’s satisfaction, users are reading more articles and content on their own time, before and after the typical 9-5 office hours. In a recent study on the application Read it Later which allows users to save articles for later use, there are major spikes in iPhone usage: 6am - Early morning, breakfast, 9am - The morning commute, start of the work day, 5pm – 6pm - End of the work day and the commute home, 8pm – 10pm – Couch time, prime time, bed time. Similarly, for the iPad, usage spikes between 7 and 10 pm. Although additional research needs to be done to repeat these conclusions and support this hypothesis, the shift in user control over consumption and how they consume it (i.e. laying in bed reading articles or on the subway ride home), is an important factor to consider as we think of this changing landscape
 What Do We Do Next?
As designers, these numbers and predictions are pretty significant. If Forrester is correct, tablets usage will expand and cause a huge shift in behavior with touch screen devices. More research needs to be done on these devices and more standards need to be put in place.
One recent article I read from Smashing Magazine offers one solution to how to design for the myriad screen sizes of mobile devices – the solution is Responsive Web Design. “Responsive Web design is the approach that suggests that design and development should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation. The practice consists of a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and an intelligent use of CSS media queries”. When users switch back and forth between the devices, the design changes automatically to provide the best display of information. Aside from different screen sizes, both landscape and portrait views should be considered. Also, as we design, we should have flexible everything: fluid grids, fluid images and smart mark-up where needed.
Aside from Responsive Web Design, we also need to consider how these devices change they way users interact with the devices from a physical perspective. We are going to move away from the cursor and rely solely on direct manipulation of the devices. More consideration will need to be paid on ensuring touch targets accommodate the “fat finger” and more interactions will need to made standardized.
Older work from Dan Saffer, should also be considered and expanded upon. Some principles to keep in mind as we go forward trying to design for the here and now, as well as the future, is to keep his principles in mind. Good gestural interfaces should be:

• Discoverable and have natural affordances
• Trustworthy
• Responsive
• Appropriate
• Meaningful
• Smart & Clever
• Playful & Pleasurable
• Good

This change in consumption and behavior is exciting to me and should excite you too. It is not an understatement to say this IS BIG and will impact our interaction design landscape going forward. There is not a lot of research in this area since it is so new – which is one thing I have found as I delver deeper into Graduate level thesis work on this subject.
Now is the time to start thinking about these issues and continue to research and design to meet users mobile needs. My prediction is the next coming years are going to really distinguish the “men from the boys”, or to be PC, the “women from the girls”, and “designers from the dinosaurs”. In order to meet the needs of our clients going forward, we need to be aware of this change and understand the overall impact. Real change is here – be ready or stay home.

MBTA Ticket Kiosk Taking You for a Ride?

Not every interface we engage with is intuitive. Non-intuitive systems not only try our patience, but they could pick at our wallets as well. If you have ever ridden the MBTA and purchased a ticket from the fare vending machines, you may have experienced this firsthand. Many MBTA riders I spoke with for my grad school project were unaware that they could purchase a single or round trip tickets from the fare vending machine. As a result, many ended up with unused money on their stored-value tickets. The reason for this confusion could be the ambiguous call-to-action to purchase single and round trip tickets and the absence of the fare cost is missing from the interface.

Getting automation correct is crucial to the success of the MBTA ridership experience since Boston’s MBTA is the nation’s 5th largest mass transit system, serving s population of 4,667,555 according to the 2000 census, in 175 cities in towns. On an average weekday, the typical ridership for the entire system is 1.1 million passenger trips.

The Problem

The main issue with the kiosk is that many users do not realize they can add only $2.00 or $4.00 on their stored value ticket. Four out of five MBTA travelers I spoke with admitted they did not initially knowing they could purchase a one way or roundtrip ticket from the ticket on their first interaction with the system. The riders did not realize thing could be done until I told them to try the “Other Amount” option. Four out of five regular MBTA subway riders did not understand how to buy a one way or round trip ticket valued at $2.00 and $4.00, respectively. All five users own cell phones, use other touch screen kiosks including ATMs regularly, and all have at least a high school education. So why did so many purchase the $5, $10, or $20 increments when all they really needed was either $2.00 or $4.00?

Reasons for the Confusion

The reason for this confusion and over-purchasing could be because there is no fare price information located in the interface. There is price information located in the top right hand corner of the fare vending machine, but users would have interrupt their experience to glance upward, which is not in the user’s direct vision as they are engaged with the touch screen. The term “Other Amount” does not immediately register to users as the call to action to purchase a one way or round trip ticket. Keep in mind, the user has competing cognitive noise in the environment as he/she is interacting with the system: the bustle of a noisy subway station, the stress of trying to get the ticket in time to make the oncoming train, and a line of impatient riders waiting their turn to purchase a ticket.

In addition to the confusing label on the Other Amount button, the lack of feedback could also contribute to the problem. The fare vending machine is a one-way interaction, whereas the system only reacts when the user touches a button to initiate the next screen and has no awareness to what could be delaying the user’s input.

Learning from Other Kiosks

An interesting experimental study was performed using the Multimodal Multimedia Service Kiosk, or MASK, uncovered some valuable insights which could help the issues found in the MBTA fare vending machine. The MASK kiosk uses an integrated Multimedia Service kiosk platform with a modified version of LIMSI spoken language system (SLS). This prototype provided train schedules and fare information, as well as simulated ticket purchases.

The study concluded that an average transaction success rate of 93% was obtained on 400 transactions with 100 subjects, while reducing the average time by 30% when using the MASK kiosk. One reason for the positive response was when users delayed and the system recognized the user was pausing; the system would prompt the user with questions via the speaker. The user could answer the question by speaking back to the system. Initially, system developers were afraid users would not want to speak to the system in public, but when asked, 87% of the subjects said they would be likely to use speech input if the MASK kiosk were located in a train station. Based on the findings from this study, integrating a multimodal help experience could aid users who “get stuck” when looking for the one way or round trip option when purchasing an MBTA ticket from the fare vending kiosk. Ensuring the system is intelligent enough to recognize delays in the interactions and prompting the user with helpful hints could help the user as they interact with the system.

Another aspect of the MASK kiosk that could be replicated by the MBTA fare vending machine is the ability to promote system learnability through a system-guided demonstration animation that rotates when the users has not yet engaged the system. According to the Design Kiosk Guidelines, an effective way to introduce users to the system is to present a simulated demonstration to inform users of how to use the system and what to expect. The demonstration should be short enough to keep the user’s attention, but provide the necessary key points. There should be a clear call to action, like a Start button, that indicates the user can interrupt the demonstration at any point.

Sources
Boston Globe. (Document ID: 1814329341, Document ID: 1424553691).
Herald. (Document ID: 1874386781).

User Evaluation of the MASK Kiosk. Speech Communication (2003)
A Review of User-Interface Design Guidelines for Public Information Kiosk Systems (1999)

iPads in the Classroom

You have either seen it with your own kids or watched the videos posted on Youtube: kids love iPads. Their little hands move quickly touching and swiping, learning as they go. Children as young as two years old can navigate between apps, play games, and use drawing capabilities. The iPad UI is ideal for children because it involves very simple gestures to initiate an immediate reaction from the device. Many developers have already started to market towards the needs of children since there are already many interesting apps targeted for kids.

Since kids are drawn to the iPads because of the fun factor, why not integrate the devices in learning environments? iPads offer a functionality ranging from entertainment to education and they are portable. Many classrooms today have computers, but often the students have to leave the classroom and go to a specific computer room. Using iPads in the classroom would keep kids engaged in the lesson and in a comfortable environment. iPads will come down in price and in most cases is already less expensive than the average classroom PC and maintenance.

iPads in education have positive environmental influence as well as positive impacts on school budgets. Assuming text book publishers would digitalize text books and make them iBook friendly, less paper based books would be needed, thus saving some trees and some green on an already tight education budget. Additionally, this could open up new opportunities and new competition among publishers. Having your kid tote around a light weight iPad could help alleviate all the back problems from carrying a back pack full of heavy books.

iPads could be integrated with the electronic white boards and create a total interactive and technology-rich environment. The iPad could be taken to offsite field trips and serve as an educational tool to enhance the physical experience. There are many ways iPads could help teachers get kids more excited about learning and more engaged in the process. Coupling an entertainment and education tool could result in positive learning effects. Because kids want to pick it up and interact with the device, learning and school could be more of a fun activity than a chore.

Many cutting edge schools are already integrating iPads into the classroom:

• The School of Medicine at Stanford University has adopted Apple’s iPad, providing the device to all incoming first year medical students and Master of Medicine students. The school cited four reasons behind the new program, including student readiness, noting that iPad “creates opportunities for efficient, mobile, and innovative learning.”
• Setton Hill University (Pennsylvania) has committed to giving each of its 2100 full time students an iPad.
• George Fox University right here in Oregon recently announced that it would be giving its new students the choice between a Macbook or an iPad.
• Oklahoma State University will be piloting an iPad initiative with 125 students in five different courses during the fall term.
• The University of Maryland is providing iPads to 75 incoming Honors students in the fall.
• Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop High School was the very first high school to provide an iPad to each of their 320 students
• Northwest Kansas Technical College is going to provide an iPad to every student who registers for the Fall 2010 term – and they will be providing their content via iTunes.
• Sacramento Country Day School has announced they are giving iPads to every sixth grader at no cost to the parents.
• Monte Vista Christian School already gave 60 of its AP students iPads with eBooks preloaded.Source: http://www.ipadinschools.com/66/more-schools-take-up-the-ipad/
  

iPads can distract students if certain features are used for personal use, but with the teacher’s monitoring and involvement, students would still stay focused on the classroom discussion. The benefits of this technology outweigh the cons.

iPads in the Classroom

You have either seen it with your own kids or watched the videos posted on Youtube: kids love iPads. Their little hands move quickly touching and swiping, learning as they go. Children as young as two years old can navigate between apps, play games, and use drawing capabilities. The iPad UI is ideal for children because it involves very simple gestures to initiate an immediate reaction from the device. Many developers have already started to market towards the needs of children since there are already many interesting apps targeted for kids.

Since kids are drawn to the iPads because of the fun factor, why not integrate the devices in learning environments? iPads offer a functionality ranging from entertainment to education and they are portable. Many classrooms today have computers, but often the students have to leave the classroom and go to a specific computer room. Using iPads in the classroom would keep kids engaged in the lesson and in a comfortable environment. iPads will come down in price and in most cases is already less expensive than the average classroom PC and maintenance.

iPads in education have positive environmental influence as well as positive impacts on school budgets. Assuming text book publishers would digitalize text books and make them iBook friendly, less paper based books would be needed, thus saving some trees and some green on an already tight education budget. Additionally, this could open up new opportunities and new competition among publishers. Having your kid tote around a light weight iPad could help alleviate all the back problems from carrying a back pack full of heavy books.

iPads could be integrated with the electronic white boards and create a total interactive and technology-rich environment. The iPad could be taken to offsite field trips and serve as an educational tool to enhance the physical experience. There are many ways iPads could help teachers get kids more excited about learning and more engaged in the process. Coupling an entertainment and education tool could result in positive learning effects. Because kids want to pick it up and interact with the device, learning and school could be more of a fun activity than a chore.

Many cutting edge schools are already integrating iPads into the classroom:

• The School of Medicine at Stanford University has adopted Apple’s iPad, providing the device to all incoming first year medical students and Master of Medicine students. The school cited four reasons behind the new program, including student readiness, noting that iPad “creates opportunities for efficient, mobile, and innovative learning.”
• Setton Hill University (Pennsylvania) has committed to giving each of its 2100 full time students an iPad.
• George Fox University right here in Oregon recently announced that it would be giving its new students the choice between a Macbook or an iPad.
• Oklahoma State University will be piloting an iPad initiative with 125 students in five different courses during the fall term.
• The University of Maryland is providing iPads to 75 incoming Honors students in the fall.
• Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop High School was the very first high school to provide an iPad to each of their 320 students
• Northwest Kansas Technical College is going to provide an iPad to every student who registers for the Fall 2010 term – and they will be providing their content via iTunes.
• Sacramento Country Day School has announced they are giving iPads to every sixth grader at no cost to the parents.
• Monte Vista Christian School already gave 60 of its AP students iPads with eBooks preloaded.Source: http://www.ipadinschools.com/66/more-schools-take-up-the-ipad/
  

iPads can distract students if certain features are used for personal use, but with the teacher’s monitoring and involvement, students would still stay focused on the classroom discussion. The benefits of this technology outweigh the cons.