MIDTERMS ICT

• Emotion interaction mechanism


  Describes the way emotions affect each other. Emotional interactions are situated intrapersonal, interpersonal, or human-computer interactions necessary for efficient, effective and affective learning
• Our emotions translate to different aspects of user experience
• Emotions and user experience

  HCI has traditionally been about designing efficient and effective systems. Now more about how to design interactive systems that make people respond in certain ways (e.g. to be happy, to be trusting, to learn, to be motivated)
• Emotional interaction is concerned with how we feel and react when interacting with technologies
• Expressive interfaces


  Provide reassuring feedback that can be both informative and fun. But can also be intrusive, causing people to get annoyed and even angry
• Expressive Interface

  Color, icons, sounds, graphical elements and animations are used to make the 'look and feel' of an interface appealing
• This can affect the usability of an interface - people are prepared to put up with certain aspects of an interface (e.g. slow download rate) if the end result is appealing and aesthetic
• Annoying interfaces


  • When an application doesn't work properly or crashes
  • When a system doesn't do what the user wants it to do
  • When a user's expectations are not met
  • When a system does not provide sufficient information to enable the user to know what to do
  • When error messages pop up that are vague, obtuse or condemning
  • When the appearance of an interface is garish, noisy, gimmicky or patronizing
  • When a system requires users to carry out too many steps to perform a task, only to discover a mistake was made earlier and they need to start all over again
• Gimmicks - Amusing to the designer but not the user (e.g. Clicking on a link to a website only to discover that it is still 'under construction')
• Shneiderman's guidelines for error messages


  • Avoid using terms like FATAL, INVALID, BAD
  • Use audio warnings
  • Avoid UPPERCASE and long code numbers
  • Messages should be precise rather than vague
  • Provide context-sensitive help
• Common web error messages

  • 401 Unauthorized
  • 400 Bad Request
  • 403 Forbidden
  • 404 Not Found
  • 408 - Request Time-Out
  • 500 Internal Server Error
  • 502 Service Temporarily Overloaded
  • 503 Service Unavailable
• Reeves and Naas (1996) argue that computers should be made to apologize

  • Should emulate human etiquette
  • For example, after a system crash: "I'm really sorry I crashed. I'll try not to do it again"
• Emotional technology


  Sensing technologies used to measure GSR, facial expressions, gestures, body movement. Aim is to predict user's emotions and aspects of their behavior
• Facial coding


  Measures a user's emotions as they interact with a computer or tablet. Analyses images captured by a webcam of their face. Uses this to gauge how engaged the user is when looking at movies, online shopping sites and ads. 6 core expressions: sadness, happiness, disgust, fear, surprise, anger
• Website can adapt its ad, movie storyline or content to match user's emotional state
• Persuasive technology


  Commonly referred to as nudging. Interactive computing systems deliberately designed to change people's attitudes and behaviors (Fogg, 2003). A diversity of techniques now used to change what they do or think (e.g. pop-up ads, warning messages, reminders, prompts, personalized messages, recommendations, Amazon 1-click)
• Nintendo's Pocket Pikachu


  Designed to motivate children to be more physically active on a regular basis. Owner of the digital pet that 'lives' in the device is required to walk, run, or jump. If owner does not exercise the virtual pet becomes angry and refuses to play anymore
• Tracking Device

  • Mobile apps designed to help people monitor and change their behavior (e.g. fitness, sleeping, weight)
  • Also apps that encourage reflection that in turn increase well-being and happiness
• Reeves and Naas (1996) found that computers that flatter and praise users in education software programs had a positive impact on them
• Virtual characters


  Appearing on our screens in the form of sales agents, characters in video games, learning companions, wizards, pets, newsreaders. Provides a persona that is welcoming, has personality and makes user feel involved with them

  
  

  Disadvantages: Can lead people into false sense of belief, enticing them to confide personal secrets with chatterbots
• Software is a collection of instructions and data that tell the computer how to work. This is in contrast to physical hardware, from which the system is built and actually performs the work
• System software and Application software

  System software provides the basic functions of the computer, while application software is designed to help users perform particular tasks (e.g. excel)
• Software engineering


  Provides a means of understanding the structure of the design process, and that process can be assessed for its effectiveness in interactive system design. One of the cornerstones of software engineering is the software life cycle
• Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

  A process used by the software industry to design, develop and test high quality software. The SDLC aims to produce high-quality software that meets or exceeds customer expectations, reaches completion within time and cost estimates
• Waterfall Model


  The first Process Model to be introduced. It is also referred to as a linear-sequential life cycle model. It is very simple to understand and use. In a waterfall model, each phase must be completed before the next phase can begin and there is no overlapping in the phases
• Activities in the software life cycle (Waterfall Model)

  • Requirement Analysis
  • System Design
  • Implementation
  • Integration and Testing
  • Deployment of System
  • Maintenance
• Prototype


  A working model of software with some limited functionality. The prototype does not always hold the exact logic used in the actual software application and is an extra effort to be considered under effort estimation
• Throwaway/Rapid Prototyping


  Uses very little effort with minimum requirement analysis to build a prototype. Once the actual requirements are understood, the prototype is discarded and the actual system is developed with a much clear understanding of user requirements
• Evolutionary Prototyping


  The prototype is not discarded and serves as the basis for the next iteration of design. The actual system is seen as evolving from a very limited initial version to its final release
• Software Prototyping is most useful in development of systems having high levels of user interactions such as online systems
• Software that involves too much data processing and most of the functionality is internal with very little user interface does not usually benefit from prototyping
• Advantages of Prototyping


  • Increased user involvement in the product even before its implementation
  • Since a working model of the system is displayed, the users get a better understanding of the system being developed
  • Reduces time and cost as the defects can be detected much earlier
  • Quicker user feedback is available leading to better solutions
  • Missing functionality can be identified easily
  • Confusing or difficult functions can be identified
• Disadvantages of Prototyping

  • Risk of insufficient requirement analysis owing to too much dependency on the prototype
  • Users may get confused in the prototypes and actual systems
  • Practically, this methodology may increase the complexity of the system as scope of the system may expand beyond original plans
  • Developers may try to reuse the existing prototypes to build the actual system, even when it is not technically feasible
  • The effort invested in building prototypes may be too much if it is not monitored properly
• Design rationale


  The information that explains why a computer system is the way it is. It expresses the reasoning and argument that leads to the final design decisions, including the reasoning behind the design process, the justification for design decisions, the alternatives considered, and the trade-offs evaluated
• Design rationale


  The reasoning and argument that leads to the final decision of how the design intent is achieved
• Shum & Hammond, 1993: 'Design rationale expresses elements of the reasoning which has been invested behind the design of an artifact'
• Sim & Duffy, 1994: 'Design rationale is the reasoning and argument that leads to the final decision of how the design intent is achieved. Design intent is the `expected' effect or behavior that the designer intended the design object should achieve to fulfill the required function.'
• Fischer, et. a., 1995: 'Design rationale means statements of reasoning underlying the design process that explain, derive, and justify design decisions'
• Conklin, Burgess-Yakemovic, 1995: 'Design rationale means information that explains why an artifact is structured the way that it is and has the behavior that it has'
• Lee, 1997: 'Design rationales include not only the reasons behind a design decision but also the justification for it, the other alternatives considered, the tradeoffs evaluated, and the argumentation that led to the decision'