Human-computer

interaction: users, tasks

& designs
User modelling in user-
centred system design
(UCSD)
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

By the end of this lecture you should...
Types of User Model
Understand what guidelines are, and why
they are important
Be able to distinguish between principles,
design rules and standards
Where they come from
Where and when to use them
Be familiar with several important design
principles
Describe various ways of creating user models
Be aware of Nielsens heuristics and how they
can be used to evaluate interactive systems


Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

User Model
In this chapter, User model
is defined as a
psychologically valid way
of depicting the people
who will use the systems,
and whose needs and
preferences will be
considered when
designing those systems
User Model
In designing, we should be able to represent, in
part, their:
Psychological processes
Individual differences
Social context
Internalized cultural factor
Lifestyle
Task objectives
Types of user model
Psychological theories as user models
Task analysis for user models
Cut-down psychological theories as user
models
Simplistic psychological theories as user
models
Simplex One as a simplistic theory
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Types of User Model (continue)
Psychological theories as user models
Taking well established psychological theory

Task analysis for user models
Task-based analysis
Evaluation of the core tasks can lead to
consideration of how users will undertake
these tasks
Seems to reinvent the wheel
Leans toward an overly behaviouristic
approach to understanding


Types of User Model (continue)
Cut-down psychological theories as
user models
No irrelevant complexities of a fully
fledged theory
Model Human Processor (MHP)
theory takes this approach
MHP is simple and was developed to
solve IT design problems



Types of User Model (continue)
Simplistic psychological theories as user models
Combines the benefits of the three methods

Defining features:
Defined formally, intended to provide a powerful
conceptual framework within which complex
theories and research finding can be located
Ability to repackaged to provide an overall
depiction that can be sued by designers and
practical computer scientists as guide without
requiring them to become psychologists

Types of User Model (continue)
Simplex One as a simplistic theory
Developed by Adams and Langdon
Responded to recent research and theorizing by
being constructed as 5 zones or modules of cognition

User models and evaluation
Using design principles or heuristics
for evaluation
Evaluating user requirements with
Simplex One
Evaluating design options with
Simplex One
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Guidelines...

Principles









Design rules




Standards


Guidelines











Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Principles vs design rules
A principle is a high level and widely
applicable guideline

Design rules are principles that have been
interpreted for a particular design. They
are narrow, focused, practical and specific
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Examples...
Principles
Know the user
population
Reduce cognitive
load
Engineer for errors
Maintain consistency
and clarity
Design rules
always position the
waste bin in the
bottom right hand
corner
always issue a
warning before the
user deletes a file

Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Design rule or principle?
How many ways can a guideline be interpreted?
always position the waste bin in the bottom
right hand corner
can only be interpreted one way, therefore
design rule
be consistent
can be interpreted lots of ways, therefore
principle


Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Principles become design rules
Principles and design rules are not entirely
separable things
There should be a path from a principle to a
design rule
In other words:
Principles are intended to be general
When they are interpreted for a specific
design they become design rules
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

A continuum...
Principles Design rules
General
Widely applicable
Theoretical
Specific
Narrow application
Practical
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Standards
A standard is a guideline with a high
level of authority
Typically standards must be applied to
a design
Standards may be in house
Standards may legally enforced
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Standards
It has to be definite when (or not) a standard
has been applied
Therefore a standard tends to be a design
guideline
It is difficult to enforce something if it has
multiple interpretations
(Unless you want to make lots of money
for lawyers)
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Where do guidelines come from
Practical experience
Nielsens guidelines are based on
his practical experience in designing
interactive systems
Psychological theory
Theories of how people behave
inform ideas about how to design
usable systems
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Dixs principles
A structured presentation of general
principles to apply during design of an
interactive system.
Learnability
Flexibility
Robustness



Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Principles to support usability

A structured presentation of general principles to apply during
design of an interactive system.

Learnability

the ease with which new users can begin effective interaction and
achieve maximal performance

Flexibility

the multiplicity of ways the user and system exchange
information

Robustness

the level of support provided the user in determining successful
achievement and assessment of goal-directed behaviour


Principles of learnability

Predictability

determining effect of future actions based on past
interaction history
operation visibility

Synthesizability

assessing the effect of past actions
immediate vs. eventual honesty


Familiarity
how prior knowledge applies to new system
guessability; affordance

Generalizability
extending specific interaction knowledge to new situations

Consistency

likeness in input/output behaviour arising from similar
situations or task objectives
Principles of learnability (contd)
Principles of flexibility

Dialogue initiative

freedom from system imposed constraints on input dialogue
system vs. user pre-emptiveness

Multithreading

ability of system to support user interaction for more than one
task at a time
concurrent vs. interleaving; multimodality

Task migratability

passing responsibility for task execution between user and
system

Substitutivity

allowing equivalent values of input and output to be substituted
for each other
representation multiplicity; equal opportunity

Customizability

modifiability of the user interface by user (adaptability) or
system (adaptivity)


Principles of flexibility (contd)
Principles of robustness

Observability

ability of user to evaluate the internal state of the system from
its perceivable representation

browsability; defaults; reachability; persistence; operation
visibility

Recoverability

ability of user to take corrective action once an error has been
recognized

reachability; forward/backward recovery; commensurate effort


Responsiveness

how the user perceives the rate of communication with the
system
Stability

Task conformance

degree to which system services support all of the user's tasks
task completeness; task adequacy
Principles of robustness (contd)
Design Principles (Smith-Atakan)
Learnability
Predictability
Consistency
Flexibility
Recoverability
Responsiveness
Nielsens heuristics
Visibility of system status
Match between system and the real world
User control and freedom
Consistency and standards
Error prevention
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Help users recognise, diagnose, and recover from
errors
Help and documentation
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Nielsens heuristics
Visibility of system status
Provide users timely and
appropriate feedback about
the systems status.
Example: If it takes a long
time to load a screen, display
a progress bar and/or an
estimate of the time it may
take to load, so users know
what to expect.
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press

Nielsens heuristics
Match Between System
and the Real World
Speak the users language
using terms and concepts
that are familiar to the
intended audience.

Information should be
organized naturally and
logically based on what
users are accustomed to
seeing in the real world.

Nielsens heuristics
Nielsens heuristics
User Control and Freedom
Users should experience perceived control as they
interact with the system.

Example: Provide the functionality to Undo and Redo
actions and to easily exit the system.

Nielsens heuristics
Consistency and Standards
User controls, icons, terminology, and error
messaging should be consistent throughout the
interface. Where appropriate, industry and platform
standards should be applied.

Example: Use icons with which people are familiar,
rather than creating new designs that mean the same
thing.

Nielsens heuristics
Error Prevention
Prevent user errors by user-testing the interface to
identify problem areas for typical users and re-
designing it to more clearly communicate the
consequences of users actions.
When deleting information that may be difficult to
recreate, offer users a confirmation to delete the data.
Additionally, provide the ability to Undo actions that
users could accidentally commit and, consequently,
lose important information.

Example: If a user cancels her account, offer her a
way to re-establish the account within a certain time
period.

Nielsens heuristics
Recognition Rather Than Recall
Reduce the memory load of users by presenting
familiar icons, actions, and options whenever
possible.
Do not require the user to recall information from one
screen to another.
Use mouse-over tooltips to describe the functionality
of icons which may be unfamiliar.

Example: On a web form, allow easy access to
previously entered information, such as serial
numbers, so the user does not need to recall the
information or write it down.

Nielsens heuristics
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Novice and expert users use systems differently.
The system should be easy and efficient to use by
novices and experts alike.
Provide accelerators for expert users to more
efficiently navigate your application to complete the
most frequent tasks.

Example: An accelerator can be a keystroke
shortcut, such as Macintoshs Command+Q to quit
an application.

Nielsens heuristics
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
Avoid displaying excessive information and design
elements, as they will visually compete with more
relevant information on the screen.
Example: Background graphics can make viewing
text difficult.

Nielsens heuristics
Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from
Errors
Present error messages that give users instructions
about how to recover from an error, rather than cryptic
codes that users do not understand.

Example: If the user enters an invalid email address on
a web form that requests the address, the error
message could read, That email address is not in our
records. Please enter an email address in this
format: email@address.com.

Nielsens heuristics
Help and Documentation
It is usually best to design an interface to be so simple
to use that Help and Documentation is unnecessary;
however, there may be times when it is necessary to
access Help.
In those cases, Help documentation and user support
should be easy to search, and instructions should be
easy to follow.
It may be useful to provide video tutorials and examples
for complex procedures or controls that are hard to
locate.

Summary
Guidelines characterise aspects of good
design
Can be used to aid design process
Come in different forms
Guidelines, Principles, Rules, Standards
Vary in generality and authority
require different degrees of interpretation
Use with Human Computer Interaction
by Serengul Smith-Atakan ISBN 1-84480-454-4
2006 Middlesex University Press