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Chapter 4 : Interaction and Interfaces - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 4 : Interaction and Interfaces
A Framework for analysing the Problem Space
Are there problems with an existing product or user experience?
Why do you think there are problems?
How do you think your proposed design ideas might overcome these?
If you're designing for a new user experience how do you think your proposed design ideas support, change, or extend current ways of doing thing?
Benefits of Conceptualising
Orientation
Enables design teams to ask specific questions about how the conceptual model will be understood
Open-minded
Prevents design teams from becoming narrowly focused early on
Common ground
Allows design teams to establish a set of commonly agreed terms
Conceptual Models
A conceptual model is a high-level description of how a system is organised and operates
Enables designers to straighten out their thinking before they start laying out their widgets.
Components:
Metaphors and analogies - Understand what a product is for and how to use it for an activity
Concepts that people are exposed to through the product - task-domain objects, their attributes and operations
Relationship and mappings between these concepts
Benefits of Interface metaphors
Makes learning new systems easier
Helps users understand the underlying conceptual model
Can be very innovative and enable the realm of computers and their applications to be made more accessible to a greater diversity of users.
Problems of Interface metaphors
Break conventional and cultural rules, eg. recycle bin placed on desktop
Conflict with design principles
Forces users to only understand the system in terms of the metaphor
Limits designer's imagination in coming up with new conceptual models
Can constrain designers in the way they conceptualise a problem space
Interaction Types
Instructing: Issuing commands and selecting options, speaking aloud commands, gesturing, pressing buttons
main benefit is that instructing supports quick and efficient interaction
Conversing: Interacting with a system as if having a conversation
Underlying model of having a conversation with another human
Manipulating: Interacting with objects in a virtual or physical space by manipulating them
Involves dragging, selecting, opening, closing and zooming actions on virtual objects
Can involve actions using physical controllers or air gestures to control the movements of an on screen avatar
Exploring: Moving through a virtual environment or a physical space
Why are Direct Manipulation (DM) so enjoyable?
Novices can learn the basic functionality quickly
Experienced users can work extremely rapidly to carry out a wide range of tasks, even defining new functions
Intermittent users can retain operational concepts over time
Error messages rarely needed
Users can immediately see if their actions are furthering their goals and if not do something else
Users experience less anxiety
Users gain confidence and mastery and feel in control
Disadvantages of Direct Manipulation (DM)
Some people take the metaphor of direct manipulation too literally
Not all tasks can be described by objects and not all actions can be done directly
Some tasks are better achieved through delegating
Can become screen space gobblers
Moving a mouse around the screen can be slower than pressing function keys to do same actions
Which conceptual Model is best?
DM is good for "doing" types of tasks eg: designing, drawing, flying windows
Issuing instructions is good for repetitive tasks eg: spell-checking, file management
Have a conversation is good for children, disabled users and specialised applications
Hybrid conceptual models are often employed, where different ways of carrying out the same actions is supported at the interface
Interaction and Interface
Interaction type: what the user is doing when interacting with a system, eg. instructing, talking, browsing, or other
Interface type: the kind of interface used to support the mode eg. speech, menu-based, gesture