User Centred Design Laura Massa. UCD (User Centred Design) Introduction Standard ISO 13407 Methods to realise standard ISO 13407 TRUMP Project Generalities

User Centred Design

Laura Massa

UCD (User Centred Design) Introduction Standard ISO 13407 Methods to realise standard ISO

13407 TRUMP Project

Generalities Methods Applications

Summary

What Is User Centred Design?

Is an approach to software development which focuses specifically on making products usable

The usability of a product is defined in a standard: ISO 9241, part 11 as

‘the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use’

Why User Centred Design?

To obtain a software which is easier to understand and use, thus

reducing training costs improves the quality of life of users by

reducing stress and improving satisfaction

significantly improves the productivity and operational efficiency of individual users and consequently the organisation

UCD and Other Methods

In other methods for designing software applications the stress is placed on meeting the technical and functional requirements for the software

In this method it is equally important to consider usability requirements

Summary

UCD (User Centred Design) Introduction Standard ISO 13407 Methods to realise standard ISO 13407 TRUMP Project


UCD Standard

User centred design is based on a standard: ISO 13407 (Human Centred Design Processes for Interactive Systems)

Main Principles

In line with the ISO 13407 standard appropriate allocation of function between user and

system it is needed to determinate which aspects of a job or task

should be handled by people and which can be handled by software

active involvement of users to utilise people who have real insight into the context in

which an application will be used iteration of design solutions

iterative software design entails the feedback of end-users following their use of early design solutions

multi-disciplinary design teams user-centred software development is a collaborative process

which benefits from the active involvement of various parties, each of whom have insights and expertise to share

The Four Essential Activities(1)

According to the ISO 13407 standard there are four essential user-centred design activities which should be undertaken to incorporate usability requirements into the software development process

understand and specify the context of use

specify the user and organisational requirements

produce designs and prototypes

carry out user-based assessment

The Four Essential Activities(2)

The activities are carried out in an iterative fashion, with the cycle being repeated until the particular usability objectives have been attained

Carry out user based assessment

Understand and specify the context of

use

start

Specify the user and organisational requirements

Produce prototypes

Meets requirement

Understand and Specify the Context of Use for the System(1)

The quality of use of a system depends very much upon the context in which a system will be used

In some cases contextual information may already be known; although, where a new product or system is to be introduced, then it will be necessary to collect the relevant contextual information

Understand and Specify the Context of Use for the System(2)

At the end the following aspects are understood the characteristics of the intended users the tasks the users will perform the environment in which the users will use the

system The results of this initial activity are

embodied in a document which describes the context of use for the proposed software

Specify the User and Organisational Requirements

Building on the context of use description obtained before, an explicit statement of the user-centred requirements for the new software should be formulated

There are various methods which can help define these requirements, but some elements (as listed in ISO 13407) should be covered in the specification (next slide)

Important Elements

identification of the range of relevant users and other personnel in the design

provision of a clear statement of design goals an indication of appropriate priorities for the

different requirements evidence of acceptance of the requirements

by the stakeholders or their representatives acknowledgement of any statutory or

legislative requirements, for example for health and safety

Produce Designs and Prototypes

explore design solutions by creating simple mock-ups of the proposed system and then later presenting them to a representative sample of users

the initial design will be refined in light of user feedback

the key goal is to simulate the design solution(s) using

paper or computer-based mock-ups

Avantages of Using Prototypes

The activity fosters greater communication between the development team and end-users

Simple prototypes also allow different design options to be explored prior to coding allowing future problems to be identified early on in the development process

Carry Out User-based Assessment of the System or

Prototype

help providing further information for refining the design

is comprised of the following steps: evaluation plan data collection and analysis reporting the results and

recommendations for change iterate this activity until design (and

usability) objectives are met tracking changes, maintenance and

follow-up

Summary



Methods (1)

There is a range of methods which can be used to achieve the goals of user-centred software development

Planning Usability planning

For each feature in which an investment is to be made in usability work, one or more tasks are identified

Cost-benefit analysis a generic framework for identifying the costs and

benefits associated with user-centred design activity Usability context analysis

a structured method for eliciting detailed information about a product and how it will be used

Methods (2)

Expert-based evaluation and inspection Heuristic evaluation

technique used to identify potential problems that operators can be expected to meet when using a computer or a telematics application

Usability walkthrough users, developers and usability specialists review a set of

designs individually, and then meet to discuss each element of the design in a walkthrough meeting

Early prototyping Paper prototyping

Paper prototyping: Designers create a paper-based simulation of interface elements (menus, dialogues, icons etc.) using paper, card, acetate, and pens

Video prototyping Video prototyping: this is a variant of paper-prototyping that

makes use of video equipment to create short movies of the paper interface

Methods (3)

Usability performance evaluation User-based observation

A small number of participants work with system while an observer makes notes

Co-operative evaluation Users employ a prototype as they work through task scenarios.

They explain what they are doing by talking or 'thinking-aloud' and this is recorded on tape and/or captured by an observer

Subjective assessment Cognitive workload

For example this can be obtained from questionnaires Focus groups

bring together various stakeholders in the context of a facilitated but informal discussion group

Individual interviews are a quick and cheap way to obtain subjective feedback from

users

Summary



Trump Project (1)

has, in its objectives, the integration of user centred methods into the development process

is part funded by the European Commission under ESPRIT project 28015

involved three partners and one subcontractor; Serco Usability Services co-ordinated the project and provided the usability expertise to the user partners, Inland Revenue and Israel Aircraft Industries. Lloyd's Register provided independent assessment of the usability maturity before and after the application at IR

Trump Project (2)

gives some methods which respond to ISO 13407

Stakeholder Meeting, Paper Prototyping, Usability Testing are three basic methods

Stakeholder Meeting (1)

To collect and agree information about Why is the system being developed? What are the

overall objectives? Who are the intended users and what are their

tasks? What are the technical and environmental

constraints? What key functionality is needed to support the user

needs? How will the system be used? What are typical

scenarios of how and why users will interact with the system?

What are the usability goals? How will users obtain assistance? Are there any initial design concepts?


Method Planning

Arrange a one-day meeting Invite stakeholders who have knowledge about the intended

users and usage, including project manager, different types of user and developer(s)

Need a facilitator and a person to record the information provided during the meeting

Produce a list of issues to be discussed and a detailed context of use checklist

Before the meeting Identify the key issues you need to explore Provide all participants with the agenda and a copy of the

context checklist


At the meeting After discussing the major issues, discuss and fill in

each item on the context checklist After the meeting

Obtain any missing information; if the information is not easily available, arrange a field study to observe users in their work environment

Circulate to all participants a summary of the conclusions of the meeting, and the filled in checklist.

Paper Prototyping(1)

To enable draft interaction designs and screen designs to be very rapidly simulated and tested

Method Planning

Arrange a workshop attended by user(s) and developer(s)

You will also need a facilitator and a person to record the issues raised during the meeting

Four stages of paper prototyping may be required concept design interaction design screen design screen testing


1. Concept design Sit round a table and sketch out possible approaches in a

brainstorming environment Evaluate the extent to which each approach meets the

objectives agreed in the stakeholder meeting

2. Interaction design Brainstorm possible screens or page types based on user

tasks Write the name of each suggested screen or page on a

post-it-note. Put each post-it-note on the wall close to related notes. Group the post-it-notes in clusters that are meaningful to

users. Consolidate duplicates Give a name to each cluster


3. Screen design Sit round a table and sketch out design ideas in a

brainstorming environment Use this as a basis for rough sketches of each screen Produce a rough design for each screen drawn by hand, or

using a drawing package or prototyping tool

4. Screen testing Ask the user to carry out a realistic task As the user selects options on each screen, the developer

explains what happens, and either points to the next screen or presents the next screen to the user

To test more detailed interaction, prepare pieces of paper with menus, scroll boxes, dialogue boxes, etc., and present these to the user when they select the appropriate option. The user simulates pointing and clicking using a pencil, and simulates typing by writing on paper

Usability Testing(1)

To identify usability problems and obtain measures of usability

Method Planning

Select the most important tasks and user groups to be tested Select users who are representative of each user group Produce a task scenario and input data and write instructions

for the user Plan sessions allowing time for giving instructions, running

the test, answering a questionnaire, and a post-test interview

Invite developers to observe the sessions If possible use one room for testing, linked by video to

another room for observation


Running sessions Welcome the user, and give the task instructions Do not give any hints or assistance unless the

user is unable to complete the task Observe the interaction and note any problems

encountered Time each task At the end of the session, ask the user to

complete a satisfaction questionnaire Interview the user to confirm they are

representative of the intended user group, to gain general opinions, and to ask about specific problems encountered

Assess the results of the task


Reporting Produce a list of usability problems,

categorized by importance (use post-it-notes to sort the problems), and an overview of the types of problems encountered

Arrange a meeting with the project manager and developers to discuss whether and how each problem can be fixed

If measures have been taken, summarise the results of the satisfaction questionnaire, task time and effectiveness (accuracy and completeness) measures

Case Study of LAHAV

TRUMP applied methods to realize UCD in the LAHAV division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) in Israel IAI LAHAV division has a group of about 100

people developing aircraft avionics and uses a well-established development methodology, but their process for specifying operational requirements is not supported by any specific methods and techniques

The TRUMP project was undertaken as one of the process improvement activities at IAI

Benefits from Joining TRUMP

They found out that most methods are quiet intuitive and can be learnt on the job

The methods were practised by developers They liked them and recommended to make

them a standard in the development process Another important point is a close link

between process improvement and product improvement

In the TRUMP project the methods cost was extremely low and the results were obvious in the very short term

Cost benefits

Cost-benefits were calculated Maturity assessments

The maturity briefings and assessments cost $5K in staff time Development cost/benefits

IAI estimated that all the methods used resulted in savings in development costs of between $5K and $70K for each method, with a total saving of $330K. The cost of using the methods was only $22K, giving a cost-benefit ration of 1:15

Sales cost/benefits Increased sales because customers would be more likely to

buy the product were estimated to be $400K Support cost/benefits

Reduced costs of training and support were estimated at £50K Overall cost benefits

The overall costs of the maturity assessments and use of methods was $27K. The total estimated savings and increased sales is $780K, giving a cost-benefit ration of 1:29

References

Handbook of User-Centred Designhttp://www.ejeisa.com/nectar/inuse/6.2/contents.htm Trump Project:http://www.usability.serco.com/trump/methods/

index.htm

Documents

User Centred Design Laura Massa. UCD (User Centred Design) Introduction Standard ISO 13407 Methods to realise standard ISO 13407 TRUMP Project Generalities