Introduction to UX

CMPT 363

“Want your users to fall in love with your designs? Fall in love with your users.” — Dana Chisnell

What is user experience design?

Topics to Explore

1. HCI, UI, IA, IxD and UX
2. Design Thinking
3. Usability and UCD

What is user experience design?

HCI, UI, IA, IxD, and UX

What is Human-Computer Interaction?

What is Human-Computer Interaction?

A field of study which strives to make interactions between people and computers more effective

Contemporary HCI Issues (Yvonne Rogers)

• Turn to design (user experience, enjoyment, play and pleasure)
• Turn to culture (human conditions and nature)
• Turn to the wild (augmenting people, places and settings)
• Turn to embodiment (practical engagement with social and physical environment)

What is a User Interface?

What is a User Interface?

All elements which provide communication between the interactive system and the user

What is User Interface Design?

What is User Interface Design?

User interface design is the process of supporting the goals of the user, ideally in a friendly and articulate manner

What is Information Architecture (IA)?

Next Up, What is Interaction Design (IxD)?

Next Up, What is Interaction Design (IxD)?

The structure and behaviours of an interactive product, service, or system

Interaction Design Association: 2019 Interaction Design Awards

Founded by the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) in 2010 and first presented in 2012, the annual Interaction Awards celebrate design thought leadership and innovation around the globe. Each year, award recipients comprise a showcase demonstrating how interaction design impacts and improves human lives.

How Can We Define User Experience?

How Can We Define User Experience?

“A person’s perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, interactive system, or service.”
– ISO 9241-210

Activity: User Experience

THINK-PAIR-SHARE
What are some examples of good or bad user experiences?

Time for Questions & Discussion

• What we’ve covered so far
  • What is human-computer interaction?
  • What is a user interface?
  • What is user interface design?
  • What is information architecture?
  • What is interaction design?
  • What is user experience design?
• Coming up
  • What is design thinking?

What is user experience design?

Design Thinking

What is Design Thinking?

• Not a type of thinking, but more of a mindset
• Process plays a role, similar user-centered design
• Anthropology and Sociology also play a role

Design Thinking

“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” – Tim Brown (President and CEO of IDEO)

The Three Goals of Design Thinking

• To be desirable by people
• To be technologically feasible
• To be economically viable

Elements of Design Thinking

• Empathize
• Synthesize (i.e. Frame)
• Ideate / Brainstorm
• Prototype / Evaluate

Activity: Design Thinking vs. UX Design

THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Compare design thinking to user experience design

A Selection of Design Thinking Methods

• 5 Whys
• Interviews (discussed week 5)
• Empathy map (discussed week 5)
• Journey map (discussed week 3)
• Personas (discussed week 5)
• Powers of 10 (Zoom in/out)
• Sketching (discussed in week 2, and more to come…)
• Prototyping (discussed in week 2, and more to come…)
• Testing with users (discussed week 2, and more to come…)

Five Whys

A technique to help reveal cause and effect, through asking “Why?” often in five iterations (part of the “Toyota Way”)

Zoom In/Out

Time for Questions & Discussion

• What we’ve covered so far
  • What is design thinking?
  • Five whys
  • Zoom in/out
• Coming up
  • What is usability?

What is user experience design?

Usability and UCD

What is Usability?

Usability Means…

Usability Means…

Usability means that a person using a system finds it easy to understand and use

Usability Means…

A usable system allows a person to focus on their tasks, and not on the system itself

Usability Means…

A usable system most often does what a person expects

What is Usability?

More specifically, usability can be defined as:

• A measurement
• A design approach

Usability as a Measurement (as defined by Jakob Nielsen)

• Learnability
• Efficiency
• Memorability
• Error Rate
• Satisfaction

Learnability

Learnability – how easy is it for novice users to work with the system?

Efficiency

Efficiency – how efficient is it for experienced users to work with the system?

Memorability

Memorability – how easy is it for less frequent users to remember how to use the system?

Error Rate

Error Rate – how many errors (on average) do users make when working with the system?

Satisfaction

Satisfaction – how pleasant do users find the system to work with?

Activity: Usability Elements

How would we consider trade-offs, such as Learnability vs Efficiency?

Time for More Questions & Discussion

• What we’ve covered in this section
  • Overview of usability​
  • Usability as a measurement
  • Usability iceberg
• Coming up
  • Usability as a design approach

Usability as a Design Approach

• User-centered design (UCD)
• Both a methodology and philosophy

Designing a Useful Product (by Scott McGregor)

1. Internal combustion engine
2. Four wheels with rubber tires
3. A transmission connecting the engine to the drive wheels
4. Engine and transmission mounted on a metal chassis
5. A steering wheel
   
   

Designing a Useful Product (by Scott McGregor)

1. Internal combustion engine
2. Four wheels with rubber tires
3. A transmission connecting the engine to the drive wheels
4. Engine and transmission mounted on a metal chassis
5. A steering wheel
6. To cut grass quickly and easily
7. To be comfortable to sit on

Aspects of an Enjoyable Product

• Aesthetics
• Appeal
• Delight
• Fun
• Engagement
• Emotions

Summary

• HCI, UI, IA, IxD and UX
• Design Thinking
• Usability and UCD

Please remember:

Bonus points one-minute summary is due before midnight
Practice Weekly Review Quiz is due Friday, Sep 6th

References and Suggested Books

• A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler
• Change by Design by Tim Brown
• Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition by Steve Krug
• d.school bootcamp bootleg by The d.school (PDF)
• From Tool to Partner: The Evolution of Human-Computer Interaction, Jonathan Grudin (Author) and John M. Carroll (Editor)
• The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
• Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler
• Usability Engineering by Jacob Nielsen
• Useful Usability: Simple Steps For Making Stuff Better by Eric Reiss

Image Credits (for images without source URL or note)

http://www.posterous.com/  
https://www.tumblr.com/