CS408 Final term

Lec No. 19:

1. Types of research:
Qualitative research:
 Qualitative research is a scientific method of observation to gather non-numeric data.
 This type of research refers to the meanings, concepts, definitions and characteristics of
things.
 Qualitative research focus on the quality of the thing.

Quantitative Research:

 Quantitative research deals in numbers, logic, and an objective stance.

 Quantitative research is the systematic empirical investigation of observable
phenomena via statistical, mathematical techniques.
2. The value of qualitative research: Qualitative research helps us understand the domain, context
and constraints of a product. In particular, qualitative research helps us understand:
 Existing products and how they are used.
 Potential users of new or existing products.
 Technical, business, and environmental contexts.
 Vocabulary and other social aspects of the domain in question.
3. Types of qualitative research: Following are the qualitative research techniques:
 Stakeholder interviews.
 Subject matter expert (SME) interviews.
 User and customer interviews.
 User observation/ethnographic field studies.
 Literature review.
 Product/prototype and competitive audits.

Stakeholder interviews:

Stakeholder: Anyone affected by the result of the product or product itself is called stakeholder.
Stakeholders are any key members of the organization commissioning the design work. E.g:
Managers, Engineers, Sales persons, Marketing People, Design people.
Subject matter expert (SME) interviews:
Stakeholders may also be subject matter experts (SMEs): experts on the domain within which
the product you are designing will operate. Some points to consider about using SMEs are:
 SMEs are expert users.
 SMEs are knowledgeable, but they aren’t designers.
 SMEs are necessary in complex or specialized domains.

User and customer interviews:

Users: People who use the product and try to accomplish something with it.
 Customers: Customers of a product are those people who make the decision to purchase it.

When interviewing customers, you will want to understand:

 Their goals in purchasing the product

 Their frustrations with current solutions.

Information we are interested in learning from users includes:

 A clear understanding of user goals.

 Domain knowledge from a user perspective.

Literature review: Gather product research to inform design decisions. This can and should
include product marketing plans, market research, technology specifications and white papers,
business and technical journal articles in the domain, competitive studies.

Product and competitive audits:

 Examine existing products and prototype

 Examine competitive products
 Design team gets a feel for things
 Source of information for question
 To understand the audit based upon heuristics
 Expert review of product interfaces and to make comparisons.

Lec No. 20:

1. User-Centered Approach: Designing products/services with the user's needs, wants, and
behaviors as the top priority. In 1985, Gould and Lewis laid down three principles they believed
would lead to a “useful and easy to use computer system.”These are very similar to the three
key characteristics of interaction design.
Early focus on users and tasks: Study users' characteristics and tasks.
Empirical measurement: Measure user reactions through testing and prototypes.
Iterative design: Iterate design through cycles of test, measure, and redesign.
2. Applying ethnography in design: Ethnography is a method that comes originally from
anthropology and literally means “writing the culture”. It has been used in the social sciences to
display the social organization of activities, and hence to understand work.
3. Ethnography framework: Ethnographic framework has been developed specifically to help
structure the presentation of ethnographies in a way that enables designers to use them. This
framework has three dimensions:
 Distributed co-ordination: Focuses on coordinating tasks and activities across multiple
locations.
 Plans and procedures: Examines organizational support, such as workflow models, to
inform system design.
 Awareness of work: Emphasizes sharing information to keep individuals informed of
others' actions. Two methods described below give such support.
 Coherence
 Contextual design
 Coherence: Combining ethnography and requirements engineering to inform design with
real user experiences.

Contextual design: A technique for collecting and interpreting fieldwork data to inform
software product development.

Contextual design has seven parts:

 Contextual inquiry: Gather data through field interviews and observations.

 Work modeling, consolidation: Analyze and visualize user tasks and workflows.
Consolidation: Identify patterns and themes in user data.
 Work redesign: Develop new workflows and processes.
 User environment design: Design user interface and experience.
 Mockup: Create prototypes for testing.
 Test with customers: Validate design with user feedback.
 Putting it into practice: Implement and refine the design solution.

Improving on contextual inquiry:

 Shortening the interview process.

 Using smaller design teams.
 Identifying goals first.
 Looking beyond business contexts.
4. Preparing for ethnographic interviews:
 Identifying candidates: Designers choose interview participants based on research
and expert input.
 The personal hypothesis: A starting idea of who the product's users are and
what they're like.
Behavioral and demographic variables:
 Behavioral Variables: Characteristics influencing user actions, such as habits, skills, and
motivations.
 Demographic Variables: Statistical traits describing users, including age, gender,
income, education, and occupation.
Domain expertise versus technical expertise:
 Domain Expertise: In-depth knowledge of a specific industry, field, or business area.
 Technical Expertise: Specialized skills and proficiency in specific technologies, tools, or
technical areas.
Environmental Variables: External factors influencing user behavior, such as physical
space, culture, organization, and technology.

Lec No. 21:

1. How to conducting ethnographic interviews?
Securing interviews: Use the followings to get access:
 Stakeholders.
 Market or usability research firm.
 Friends and relatives.
2. Phases of ethnographic interviews:

3. Early-phase
 Exploratory
 Focused on domain knowledge
 Open-ended questions
Mid-phase
 Identify patterns of use
 Clarifying questions
 More focused questions
Late-phase
 Confirm patterns of use
 Clarify user roles and behaviors
 Closed-ended questions.
4. Basic interview methods
 Interview where the action happens
 Avoid a fixed set of questions
 Focus on goals first, tasks second
 Avoid making the user a designer
 Avoid discussions of technology
 Encouraging storytelling
 Ask for a show-and-tell
 Avoid leading questions
5. Basic interview methods:
 Goal-oriented questions.
 System-oriented questions .
 Workflow-oriented question.
 Attitude-oriented questions.
Goal-oriented questions
 Opportunity: What activities currently waste your time?
 Goals: What makes a good day? A bad day.
 Priorities: What is the most important to you?
 Information: What helps you make decisions?
System-oriented questions
 Function: What are the most common things you do with the product?
 Frequency: What parts of the product do you use most?
 Preference: What are your favorite aspects of the product? What drives you
crazy?
 Failure: How do you work around problems?
 Expertise: What shortcuts do you employ?
Workflow-oriented questions
 Process: What did you do when you first came into today? And after that?
  Occurrence and recurrence: How often do you do this? What things do you
do weekly, monthly but not every day?
 Exceptions: What constitutes a typical day? What would be an unusual
event?
Attitude-oriented questions
 Aspiration: What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
 Avoidance: What would you prefer not to do? What do you procrastinate
on? Motivation: What do you enjoy most about your job (or lifestyle)? What
do you always tackle first?
6. Others types of qualitative research:
 Focus group.
 Market demographics and segments
 Usability and user testing.
Focus group
 Used by marketing organizations
 Used in traditional product marketing
 Representative users gathered in room
 Shown a product and reactions gauged
 Reactions recorded by audio/video

Market demographics and segments:

 Demographic data: Race, education, income, location etc.

 Psychographic data: Attitude, lifestyle, values, ideology etc.

Lec No. 22:

1. Model: Models are used extensively in design, development, and the sciences. They are
powerful tools for representing complex structures and relationships for the purpose of better
understanding or visualizing them.
2. Personas: Fake users based on real data, helping designers understand user needs.
3. Strengths of personas as a design tool:
 Determine what a product should do and how it should behave.
 Communicate with stakeholders, developers, and other designers.
 Build consensus and commitment to the design.
 Measure the design’s effectiveness.
 Contribute to other product-related efforts such as marketing and sales plan.
4. Personas and user-centered design: Personas also resolve three User-Centered design issues
that arise during product development:
 The elastic user: A user who adjusts to fit the product.
 Self-referential design: Designing for yourself, not for the actual user.
 Design edge cases: Focusing too much on rare or unlikely user scenarios.
5. User personas versus non-user personas: User personas target end-users, while non-user
personas focus on influencers like reviewers, purchasers, or administrators who interact with
the product indirectly.
 6. Goals: Specific, measurable objectives users aim to achieve when interacting with a
product or service.
7. Types of goals:
 User goals: User personas have user goals. User goals fall into three basic categories:
 Life goals: Long-term personal aspirations. E.G: Be the best at what I do.
 Experience goals: Desired feelings during product interaction. E.g: Don’t make mistakes.
 End goals: Specific, achievable objectives. E.g: Find the best price
 Non-user goals: Customer goals, corporate goals, and technical goals are all non-user goals.
 Customer goals: Business objectives related to customer needs. (safety, happiness,
security).
 Corporate goals: High-level business objectives (profit, growth).
 Technical goals: Technical requirements and performance targets. (efficiency, ease).
8. Constructing personas: Process of constructing personas involve following steps:
 Revisit Hypothesis: Review initial persona assumptions.
 Map Interview Subjects: Connect user data to behavioral traits.
 Identify Patterns: Discover recurring user behaviors.
 Synthesize Characteristics: Combine traits and goals.
 Check Completeness: Ensure persona accuracy.
 Develop Narratives: Create persona stories and backgrounds.
 Designate Persona Types: There are six types of persona:
 Primary Persona: Main target user guiding design decisions.
 Secondary Persona: Important but secondary user influencing design.
 Supplemental Persona: Less influential, yet informative user.
 Customer Persona: Buyer, not necessarily the end-user.
 Served Persona: End-user benefiting from product, often indirectly.
 Negative Persona: Anti-target user, defines design boundaries.

Lec No. 23:

1. Narrative as design: When we talk to another or give an explanation this is called narrative.
 It is simple story telling. It consists of simple text.
 Good for representing the interaction concept.
2. Scenarios: An "informal narrative description". Describes human activities or tasks in a story.
3. Scenario based designs: scenario-based design focuses on describing how users accomplish
tasks.
4. Types of persona based scenarios:
 Context scenario.
 Key path scenario.
 Validation Scenario.
5. Defining the requirements: The Requirement Definition phase determines the what of the
design. The following five steps comprise this process:
 Creating problem and vision statement
 Brainstorming
 Identifying persona expectations
  Constructing the context scenario
 Identifying needs
Creating problem and vision statement:
Problem statement: Define objectives of design.
Vision statement: Defines high level design vision.
This step defines the design challenge and ideal outcome.
Brainstorming: It is a method design teams used to generate ideas to solve clearly defined
designed problems. Brainstorming should be unconstrained and critical.
Identifying persona expectations: Determine what personas need to achieve goals.
Constructing context scenarios: Describe the environment and usage situations.
Identifying Needs: Define the functional and information requirements.
 Data needs: Persons’ data needs are the objects and information that must be
represented in the system. Charts, graphs, status markers, document typesare
examples of data needs.
 Functional needs:Functional needs are the operations that need to be performed on
the objects of the system.
 Contextual needs and requirements: Contextual needs describe relationships between
sets of objects or sets of controls, as well as possible relationship between objects and
controls.
Other requirements:
 Business requirements can include development timelines, regulations, pricing
structures, and business models.
 Technical requirements an include weight, size, form-factor, display, power
constraints, and software platform choices.
 Customer and partner requirements can include ease of installation, maintenance,
configuration, support costs, and licensing agreements.

Lec No. 24:

1. Defining the interaction framework: The following six steps describe the process of defining the
interaction framework:
 Defining form factor and input methods
 Defining views
 Defining functional and data elements
 Determining functional groups and hierarchy
 Sketching the interaction framework
 Constructing key path scenarios

Defining form factor and input methods: The first step in creating a framework is defining the
form factor of the product you'll be designing then determine the valid input methods for the
system: Keyboard, mouse, keypad, thumb-board, touch screen etc.

Defining Views: Identifying screens, pages, or interfaces needed.

Defining functional and data elements: Visual representations of functions and data, fulfilling
user needs and requirements. Functional elements to meet that need include:
  Voice activation (voice data associated with contact)
 Assignable quick-dial buttons
 Selecting from a list of contacts
 Selecting the name from e-mail header, appointment, or memo
 Auto-assignment of a call button in proper context (appointment coming up)

Determining functional groups and hierarchy: Organize the elements logically (navigation,
content, actions).

Sketching the interaction framework: Creating rough wireframes of the interface.

Constructing key path scenarios: Mapping user journeys through the interface.

2. Prototyping: Creating interactive, tangible representations of a product or interface, allowing

stakeholders to experience and test its functionality, usability, and potential. Prototypes are a
useful aid when discussing ideas with stakeholders; they are a communication device among
team members, and are an effective way to test out ideas for yourself.
Low-Fidelity Prototyping: Simple, inexpensive, and adaptable mockups (e.g., paper, cardboard)
for exploring and testing design concepts.
Storyboarding:It is an example of low-Fidelity prototyping. Sketching:It is an example of low-
Fidelity prototyping.
High-Fidelity Prototyping: Detailed, interactive, and visually realistic mockups using final-
product materials or software tools.
Marc Rettig (1994) argues that more projects should use low-fidelity prototyping because of the
inherent problems with high-fidelity prototyping. He identifies these problems as:
 They take too long to build.
 Reviewers and testers tend to comment on superficial aspects rather to content.
 Developers are reluctant to change something they have crafted for hours.
 A software prototype can set expectations too high.
 Just one bug in a high-fidelity prototype can bring the testing to a halt.
Lec No. 25:
1. Interaction Design Principles: Interaction design principles are generally applicable guidelines
that address issues of behavior, form, and content.
2. Principles minimize work: Minimization of work (Goodwin, 2002a). Kinds of work to be
minimized include:
 Logical work
 Perceptual work
 Mnemonic work
 Physical/motor work
3. Principles operate at different levels of detail: Design principles operate at three levels of
organization:
 Conceptual-level principles help define what a product is and how it fits into the broad
context of use required by its primary personas.
 Interaction-level principles help define how a product should behave, in general, and in
specific situations.
 Interface-level principles help define the look and feel of interfaces.
4. Design Principles (Norman):
 Visibility
 Affordance
 Constraints
 Mapping
 Consistency
 Feedback
5. Nielsen's design principles:
 Visibility of system status
 Match between system and real world.
 User freedom and control
 Consistency and standards
 Error prevention
 Recognition rather than recall
 Flexibility and efficiency of use
 Aesthetic and minimalist design
 Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
 Help and documentation
6. Design Principles (Simpson, 1985):
 Define the users
 Anticipate the environment in which your program will be used
 Give the operators control
 Minimize operators’ work
 Keep the program simple
 Be consistent
 Give adequate feedback
  Do not overstress working memory
 Minimize dependence on recall memory
 Help the operators remain oriented
 Code information properly (or not at all)
 Follow prevailing design conventions
7. Design Principles (Shneiderman, 1992):
 Strive for consistency
 Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
 Offer informative feedback
 Design dialogs to yield closure
 Offer error prevention and simple error handling
 Permit easy reversal of actions
 Support internal locus of control
 Reduce short-term memory load
8. Design Principles (Dumas, 1988):
 Put the user in control
 Address the user’s level of skill and knowledge
 Be consistent in wording, formats, and procedures
 Protect the user from the inner workings of the hardware and software that is behind
the interface
 Provide online documentation to help the user to understand how to operate the
application and recover from errors
 Minimize the burden on user’s memory
 Follow principles of good graphics design in the layout of the information on the screen
9. Interaction Design Patterns: Design patterns serve two important functions. The first function is
to capture useful design decisions and generalize them to address similar classes of problems in
the future (Borchers, 2001).
10. Interaction and architectural patterns: Types of interaction design patterns:
Postural Patterns: Define the layout and organization of UI elements.
Structural Patterns: Describe how to organize and connect different views or pages.
Behavioral Patterns: Define how UI elements respond to user interactions and behaviors.

Lec No. 26:

1. Software Posture: The manner in which the program present itself to user.
2. Postures for the Desktop: Desktop applications fit into four categories of posture: sovereign,
transient, daemonic, and auxiliary.
Sovereign posture: Programs that are best used full-screen, monopolizing the user's attention
for long periods of time, are sovereign posture application. E.g: PowerPoint.
 Take the Pixels
 Rich Visual Feedback
 Rich Input
 Document-Centric Applications
 Transient posture: Appears, performs a single task, and disappears, letting the user return
to their main activity.

 Bright and Clear

 Keep it Simple
 Remembering State
Daemonic posture: Programs that do not normally interact with the user are daemonic posture
programs. These programs serve quietly and invisibly in the background, performing possibly
vital tasks without the need for human intervention.
Auxiliary posture: Programs that blend the characteristics of sovereign and transient programs
exhibit auxiliary posture. The auxiliary program is continuously present like a sovereign, but it
performs only a supporting role. E.g: Windows taskbar, clock programs. Auxiliary programs are
typically silent reporters of ongoing processes.

Lec No. 27:

1. Kiosks: It laid in banks. It has transient features. Kiosks, being large and full-screen, are typically
used as main applications (sovereign posture).
2. Handheld devices: It has transient features. Like mobile phones.
3. Appliances: It has transient features. Like microwave ovens.
4. Flow and Transparency: When people are able to concentrate wholeheartedly on an activity,
this is called flow. First identified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor of psychology at the
University of Chicago, and author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (HarperCollins,
1991). There are several excellent ways to make our interfaces recede into invisibility. They are:
 Follow mental models.
 Direct, don't discuss.
 Keep tools close at hand.
 Provide modeless feedback: Modeless Feedback that doesn't interrupt or block the
user's workflow.
5. Orchestration: Designer should be invisible. All elements must work together towards a single
goal for a good orchestration. Make our things perfect. The poor writer is a visible writer, and a
poor interaction designer looms with a clumsily visible presence in his software.

Lec No. 28:

1. Excise: Excise is the extra work that satisfies either the needs of our tools or those of outside
agents as we try to achieve our objectives.
2. "Pure" excise: Tasks that are unnecessary for all users, such as manual hardware management.
3. Visual excise: Overusing visual metaphors that can become cluttered and confusing.
4. Navigation and Inflection: Any action that takes the user to a new part of the interface is called
navigation. Types of Navigation: The following are common types of navigation:
 Navigation between multiple windows or screens
 Navigation between panes within a window (or frames in a page)
 Navigation between tools or menus in a pane
 Navigation within information displayed in a pane or frame (for example: scrolling,
panning, zooming, following links)
 Navigation between Multiple Windows: Switching between separate windows or screens.
Navigation between Panes: Moving between sections within a single window.
Navigation between Tools and Menus Switching between options or menus within a section.
Navigation of Information: Scrolling or exploring content within a specific section.
Improving Navigation: There are many ways to begin improving (eliminating, reducing, or
speeding) navigation in your applications, Web sites, and devices. Here are the most effective:
 Reduce the number of places to go
 Provide signposts
 Provide overviews
 Provide appropriate mapping of controls to functions
 Inflect your interface to match user needs
 Avoid hierarchies

Reduce the number of places to go: The most effective method of improving navigation sounds
quite obvious: Reduce the number of places to which one must navigate. In terms of the four types
of navigation presented earlier, this directive means:

 Minimize Pages/Windows: Limit to 1 full-screen window with 2-3 views.

 Limit Adjacent Panes: Maximum 3 panes in sovereign apps, 2 navigation areas + 1 content
area on web pages.
 Simplify Controls: Only include essential controls for user goals.
 Optimize Scrolling: Minimize scrolling, ensure sufficient pane space.

Signposts: consistent, recognizable elements guiding users through interfaces.

Overviews: persistent, graphical or textual summaries helping users navigate and

understand content.

5. Menus: Consistent, reliable navigation aids with minimal changes.

6. Toolbars: Recognizable, customizable control panels for frequent actions.
7. Inflect your interface to match user needs: In general, controls and displays should be
organized in an interface according to three attributes: frequency of use, degree of dislocation,
and degree of exposure.
 Frequency of Use: Place frequently used controls within easy reach.
 Degree of Dislocation: Position disruptive functions deeper in the interface.
 Degree of Exposure: Protect irreversible or critical functions with added complexity.

Lec No. 29:

1. Evaluation:Analyzing anything at anytime is called evaluation. John Gould and his colleagues
(Gould et aL 1990; Gould and Lewis, 1985) recommended three principles for developing the
1984 Olympic Message System:
 Focus on users and their tasks
 Observe, measure, and analyze their performance with the system
 Design lucratively.
 Agencies such as National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA, the
International Standards Organization (ISO) and the British Standards Institute (BSI) set standards
by which products produced by others are evaluated.

2. Why you need to evaluate? Evaluation is needed to check that users can use the product and
like it.
3. Reasons for investing in user testing: Tognazzini points out that there are five good reasons for
investing in user testing:
 Problems are fixed before the product is shipped, not after.
 The team can concentrate on real problems, not imaginary ones.
 Engineers code instead of debating.
 Time to market is sharply reduced.
 Finally, upon first release, your sales department has a rock-solid design it can sell without
having to pepper their pitches with how it will all actually work in release 1.1 or 2.0.
4. Formative evaluations: Evaluations done during design to check that the product continues to
meet users' needs are known as formative evaluations.
5. Summative evaluation: Evaluations that are done to assess the success of a finished product are
known as summative evaluation.
6. Evaluation paradigms: four core evaluation paradigms:
 “Quick and dirty” evaluations:A "quick and dirty" evaluation is a common practice in
which designers informally get feedback from users or consultants to confirm that their
ideas are in line with users" needs and are liked.
 Usability testing: Formal techniques for evaluation. Usability testing was the dominant
approach in the 1980s (Whiteside et al., 1998).
 Field studies: Observe a user to use a product. In product design, field studies can be used
to:
 Help identify opportunities for new technology
 Determine requirements for design
 Facilitate the introduction of technology
 Evaluate technology (Bly. 1997).
 Predictive evaluation: Analyzing design elements to forecast user
experience and usability.
7. Techniques: There are many evaluation techniques and they can be categorized in various ways:
 Observing users:Watching users interact with products to identify usability issues.
 Asking users their opinions:Gathering feedback through surveys, interviews, or
questionnaires.
 Asking experts their opinions: Seeking input from usability specialists or domain experts.
 Testing users" performance:Measuring user efficiency and effectiveness through usability
tests.
 Modeling users' task performance to predict the efficacy of a user interface:Simulating
user interactions to predict interface usability and efficacy.

Lec No. 30:

1. DECIDE: A framework to guide evaluation:To guide our evaluations we use the DECIDE
framework, which provides the following checklist to help novice evaluators:
 Determine the overall goals that the evaluation addresses:
 Explore the specific questions to be answered:
 Choose the evaluation paradigm and techniques to answer the questions:
 Identify the practical issues that must be addressed, such as selecting participants:There
are many practical issues to consider when doing any kind of evaluation. These are:
 Users: Ensuring representative participants, demographic diversity, and comfortable
testing conditions.
 Facilities and Equipment: Managing cameras, recording, spare materials, and
minimizing participant discomfort.
 Schedule and Budget Constraints: Balancing resource limitations with evaluation
goals and timelines.
 Expertise: Ensuring evaluators possess necessary skills, knowledge, and resources
for effective evaluation.
 Decide how to deal with the ethical issues: The following guidelines will help ensure that
evaluations are done ethically:
 Inform Participants: Clearly explain study goals, process, time, data collection, and
analysis.
 Protect Sensitivity: Ensure confidentiality of sensitive information, use coding
systems.
 User Autonomy: Allow participants to stop evaluation at any time if uncomfortable.
 Compensation: Offer payment to establish mutual commitment and responsibility.
 Anonymity: Avoid revealing identities, use representative words or
obtain permission.
 Evaluate, interpret, and present the data: Analyze data accurately and clearly, ensuring
reliability and validity.
 Reliability: Consistency of results when repeating a measurement or technique.
 Validity: Accuracy of measuring the intended aspect or outcome.
 Biases: Systematic distortions or influences affecting evaluation results.
 Scope:Applicability and generalizability of evaluation findings.
 Ecological Validity: How well the evaluation environment reflects real-
world conditions.

Lec No. 31:

1. What is Usability Testing? Usability test shares these five characteristics:
 The primary goal is to improve the usability of a product:
 The participants represent real users:
 The participants do real tasks.
 You observe and record what participants do and say:
 You analyze the data, diagnose the real problems, and recommend changes to fix those
problems.
2. What Is Not Required for a Usability Test?
  A laboratory with one-way mirror
 Data-logging software
 Videotape
 A formal test report

Each of these is useful, but not necessary, for a successful usability test.

3. When is a Usability Test Appropriate?A usability test is appropriate iteratively throughout

the design and development process, from predesign to final testing.
4. Testing Applies to All Types of Products: Usability testing works for all types of products.
I.e: Consumer products, Medical products, Engineering devices and others.
5. Testing with Different Techniques: Two ideas that many teams have found useful are:
 Co-discovery: Co-discovery is a technique in which you have two participants work
together to perform the tasks (Kennedy, 1989). Co-discovery is more expensive than
single participant testing, because you have to pay two people for each session.
 Active intervention: Active intervention is a technique in which a tester sits with the
participant, asking probing questions to clarify understanding.
6. Comparing Usability Testing to Beta Testing:
 Beta Testing
 Real users test the product in their own environment.
 Little to no feedback is received on usability issues.
 May not identify major problems until it's too late.
 Usability Testing
 Controlled environment to test specific tasks and features.
 Observers record user behavior to identify usability issues.
 Provides valuable feedback to improve product usability.

Lec No. 32:

1. Web Navigation: you go through the following steps when you enter a Web site.
 You're usually trying to find something.
 You decide whether to ask first or browse first.
 If you choose to browse, you make your way through a hierarchy, using signs to guide
you.
 Eventually, if you can't find what you're looking for, you'll leave.
 No sense of scale: Unlike physical spaces, websites lack a sense of scale, making it difficult
to know when you've seen everything of interest.
 No sense of direction: In a Web site, there's no left and right, no up and down. We may talk
about moving up and down, but we mean up and down hi the hierarchy—to a more general
or more specific level.
 No sense of location: In physical spaces, we build mental maps, learning shortcuts and
remembering locations of items through experience.
 The overlooked purposes of navigation: Two of the purposes of navigation are fairly
obvious: to help us find whatever it is we're looking for, and to tell us where we are.
 It gives us something to hold on to.
 It tells us what’s here.
  It tells us how to use the site.
 It gives us confidence in the people who built it.
 Some Exceptions: There are two exceptions to the "follow me everywhere" rule.
 Home Page: A unique page with different responsibilities and promises to keep.
 Forms: Pages that require users to fill in information, where minimal navigation is often
preferred.
 Site ID: A logo or identifier that confirms the user's location within a website.
 The Utilities: Utilities are the links to helpful site features or information about the
publisher, separate from the main content. Utilities will vary for different types of sites.
 Low Level Navigation: Navigation within a specific section or category, helping users
find related content.
 Page names: Page names are the street signs of the Web. There are four things about
page names:
 Every page needs a name. Every page should have a name.
 The name needs to be in the right place.
 The name needs to be prominent.
 The name needs to match what I clicked.

Lec No. 33:

1. Four reasons to use tabs:
 Self-evident: Tabs are intuitive and easy to understand.
 Hard to miss: Tabs are visually distinctive and grab users' attention.
 Slick: Tabs add polish to a webpage without increasing load time.
 Physical space: Tabs create an illusion of physical movement, enhancing user experience
2. Why Amazon is good?
 They’re drawn correctly.
 They load fast.
 They're color coded.

Lec No. 34:

1. IMP Points:
 Browser Title always contains the word ‘Home’.
 Banner ads take up too much space.
 Use of highlighted tabs in global navigation bar shows this is the ‘Home’ page.
 Absence of highlighted tab confuses user about the current section being viewed.
 Version numbers should not be given on the main page of web site since it does not interest users.

Lec No. 35:

1. Nature of the Web: Medium The World Wide Web is a combination of many different mediums
of communication.Today’s we pages and applications incorporate elements of the following
media: Print, Video, Audio, Software applications
2. Conceptual Framework for Developing User Experience:
 Surface Plane: The visible elements of a website, including images, text, and interactive
elements.
Skeleton Plane: Underlying website layout structure for optimal user experience.
Structure Plane: Organization and relationships between website parts for navigation and
interaction.
Scope Plane: Range of website features, functions, and content defining its capabilities.
Strategy Plane: Overall website goals, objectives, and vision guiding its
development and purpose.
Building from Bottom to Top: These five planes-strategy, scope, structure, skeleton, and surface
provide a conceptual framework for talking about user experience problems and the tools we
use to solve them.
Strategy Plane: Aligning user needs with business objectives to define the site's purpose.
Scope Plane: Defining the features, functions, or content elements required to achieve the
strategy.
Structure Plane:Organizing content or functionality to create a logical and usable system.
Skeleton Plane: Designing the layout and interface elements to facilitate user interaction.
Surface Plane: Creating the visual design and look of the finished product.

Lec No. 36:

1. Understanding undo:
Users and Undo: Undo is the remarkable facility that lets us reverse a previous action. Undo is a
lifesaving feature that rescues users from mistakes and errors.
User mental models of mistakes: User interfaces should be designed to assume users are
always right and never make mistakes.
Undo enables exploration: Designing software with the assumption that users can't make
mistakes empowers them to explore and learn without fear.
Designing an Undo Facility: Users have varying mental models of the undo function, and an
effective undo facility should accommodate these different perspectives.
2. Types and Variants of:
 Incremental and Procedural Actions
 Blind and Explanatory Undo
 Single and Multiple Undo
  Redo

Incremental and procedural actions: Incremental Undo reverses individual, small actions (e.g.,
typing a character), while Procedural Undo reverses larger, procedural actions (e.g.,
formatting text).

Blind and Explanatory Undo: Blind Undo automatically reverses an action without explaining
what was undone while Explanatory Undo provides feedback on what action was undone.

Single and multiple undo: Single Undo allows reversing only the most recent action while
Multiple Undo enables reversing multiple previous actions in sequence.

Limitations of Single Undo: Single undo can fail when users don't notice mistakes immediately,
causing important work to be lost.

Limitations of Multiple Undo: Multiple undo solves some problems but introduces others, such
as requiring users to re-delete items and following a strict Last In, First Out (LIFO) order.

Redo:A feature that reverses the effect of an undo, restoring the previously undone action.
3. Category-specific Undo: The Backspace key is really an undo function, albeit a special one.
When the user mistypes, the Backspace key "undoes" the erroneous characters. If the user
mistypes something, then enters an unrelated function such as paragraph reformatting, then
presses the Backspace key repeatedly, the mistyped characters are erased and the reformatting
operation is ignored.
4. Deleted data buffers:A deleted data buffer is a repository that stores deleted text or data,
allowing users to easily recover and reuse it.
5. Mile stoning and reversion:Milestoning is a feature that allows users to save snapshots of their
work at specific points, enabling easy reversion to a previous version if needed.
Reversion: A feature that allows users to restore a previously saved version of a document.
6. Freezing: Freezing, the opposite of mile stoning, involves locking the data in a document so that
it cannot be changed.
7. Rethinking Files and Save:The file system and concept of saving files is often confusing for non-
technical users, causing frustration when interacting with computers.
8. What's Wrong with Saving Changes to Files?The traditional "Save Changes" dialog box is
confusing and unnecessary, stemming from a poor interface design that exposes technical
implementation details to users.
9. Save As: "Save As" is a feature that allows users to save a file with a new name, location, or
format, while keeping the original file intact.
10. Archiving:The "Save As" dialog is an inadequate tool for archiving or making copies of
documents, leading to potential data loss and user confusion.
11. Implementation Model vs Mental Model: The implementation model (how computers work)
conflicts with users' mental models (how they think documents work), causing confusion
and frustration.
12. Designing a Unified File Presentation Model:A unified file model should hide the confusing
detail of duplicate copies of files and programs, providing visual cues to help users understand
what's happening.
Lec no. 37:
1. Unified Document Management: There are several goal-directed functions that the user may
have need for and each one should have its own corresponding function.
 Automatically saving the document:Automatic saving replaces manual saving, ensuring
work is protected without needing user intervention.
 Creating a copy of the document: This should be an explicit function called Snapshot Copy.
A "Snapshot Copy" function creates an identical, independent copy of a document,
automatically naming and storing it.
 Creating a milestone/mile stoned copy of the document:A "Snapshot Copy" function
creates an identical, independent copy of a document, preserving its current state
 Naming and renaming the document: The name of the document should be shown on the
application's title bar. If the user decides to rename the document, he can just click on it
and edit it in place.
 Placing and repositioning the document:New documents are automatically saved to a
reasonable location, with an option to manually move them to a desired location.
 Specifying the stored format of the document: There is an additional function
implemented on the Save As dialog. The file format option should be separated from the
Save function and placed in a Document Properties dialog or Export dialog to avoid
unnecessary complexity.
 Reversing some changes:The "undo" function should be used to reverse changes, not the
file system, to maintain a clear and intuitive user experience.
 Abandoning all changes:An "Abandon Changes" option should be available to discard
changes, with clear warnings and undoability to prevent data loss.

A new File menu:A simplified menu has intuitive options: New, Open, Close, Copy,
Print, and more.

A new name for the File menu:Instead of "File", the main menu can be labeled "Document" or
a type-specific name like "Sheet" or "Invoice".

2. Are Disks and Files Systems a Feature? From the user's point of view, there is no reason for
disks to exist. From the hardware engineer's point of view, there are three:
 Disks are cheaper than solid-state memory.
 Once written to, disks don't forget when the power is off.
 Disks provide a physical means of moving information from one computer to another.
Disk drives have many drawbacks compared to RAM. Disk drives are much slower than solid-
state memory. They are much less reliable, too, because they depend on moving parts. They
generally consume more power and take up more space, too. But the biggest problem with disks
is that the computer, the actual CPU, can't directly read or write to them.
3. What Makes Software Considerate?The following list enumerates some of the characteristics of
considerate interactions that software-based products (and humans) should possess:
 Considerate software takes an interest: Shows engagement and attention to user's
needs.
 Considerate software is deferential:Respects user's decisions and autonomy.
  Considerate software is forthcoming: Provides clear and timely information.
 Considerate software uses common sense: Makes logical and practical decisions.
 Considerate software anticipates needs: Prepares for user's potential requirements.
 Considerate software is conscientious: Carefully considers user's well-being.
 Considerate software doesn't burden you with its personal problems: Avoids
unnecessary error messages.
 Considerate software keeps you informed: Provides regular updates and feedback.
 Considerate software is perceptive: Understands user's emotions and intentions.
 Considerate software is self-confident: Trusts its decisions and doesn't second-guess.
 Considerate software doesn't ask a lot of questions: Minimizes unnecessary prompts.
 Considerate software takes responsibility: Owns up to mistakes and learns from them.
 Considerate software knows when to bend the rules: Adapts to unusual situations.
4. Task coherence: The idea that people's goals and tasks tend to remain consistent from day to
day, following predictable patterns.

Lec No. 38:

1. Designing Look and Feel:
Visual Art versus Visual Design:
Visual Art: Self-expression for emotional or intellectual impact.
Visual Design: Creating functional visuals to communicate information.
Graphic Design and Visual Interface Design:Graphic Design focuses on aesthetics, while Visual
Interface Design balances aesthetics with functionality and interaction.
Graphic design and user interfaces:Graphic designers specialize in creating visually appealing
interfaces, focusing on aesthetics, branding, and communication.
Visual interface design and visual information design: Visual interface designers focus on
organizing design elements to communicate behavior and interact with users, balancing visual
structure with logical behavior.
Industrial design: As technology advances, industrial designers, interaction designers, and visual
designers must collaborate to create usable and visually appealing products.
2. Principles of Visual Interface Design: Visual interfaces should:
 Avoid visual noise and clutter
 Use contrast, similarity, and layering to distinguish and organize elements
 Provide visual structure and flow at each level of organization
 Use cohesive, consistent, and contextually appropriate imagery
 Integrate style and function comprehensively and purposefully
a) Avoid visual noise and clutter: Keep the interface clean and simple.
b) Use contrast and layering: Organize elements using visual differences and grouping.
 Dimensional Contrast: Using 3D-like effects to highlight interactive elements.
 Tonal Contrast: Distinguishing elements using color, saturation, or brightness
differences.
 Spatial Contrast: Organizing elements by position and proximity to show relationships.
 Shape Contrast: Differentiating elements using distinct shapes.
 Orientation Contrast: Using direction and angle to create visual distinction.
  Size Contrast: Using varying sizes to show importance, scope, or comparison.
 Layering: Organizing interfaces using visual cues to create a hierarchy.
 Figure and Ground: Balancing focus elements and background for a harmonious
design.
 The Squint Test: Squinting at the screen to test contrast effectiveness and
visual hierarchy.

Lec No. 39:

1. Principles of Visual Interface Design(Remaining):
c) Provide visual structure and flow at each level of organization:Interfaces are composed of
grouped visual and behavioral elements, organized by position, alignment, color, texture,
size, or shape to create a clear visual structure. This section describes several important
attributes that help define a crisp visual structure:
Alignment: Organize visual elements to help users navigate the product easily. In
particular, designers should take care to: Align Labels, Align Controls and Grid Structure.
Symmetry and balance: Symmetry helps create visual balance in interfaces, while
asymmetry is challenging due to screen space limitations. Two types of symmetry are most
often employed in interfaces: vertical axial symmetry (symmetry along a vertical line,
usually drawn down the middle of a group of elements) or diagonal axial symmetry
(symmetry along a diagonal line).
Spatial Harmony: Use balanced proportions, sizing, and white space to create a visually
appealing and comfortable layout.
d) Use cohesive, consistent, and contextually appropriate imagery:Effective use of icons and
visual elements in an interface requires understanding users' mental models, cultural
differences, and domain-specific visual languages.
Function oriented icon: Designing icons to represent functions or operations performed on
objects leads to interesting challenges.For concrete functions, some guidelines apply:
 Use visuals that show both actions and objects to improve understanding.
 Avoid metaphors that may be misunderstood by your target audience.
 Group related functions visually to provide context and clarity.
e) Integrate style and function comprehensively and purposefully: When applying stylistic
elements to an interface, consider the global design to ensure harmony between
functionality, visual brand, and user experience.
2. Principles of Visual Information Design: Information design guru Edward Tufte asserts that
good visual design is "clear thinking made visible," and that good visual design is achieved
through an understanding of the viewer's "cognitive task" (goal) and a set of design
principles.Tufte claims that there are two important problems in information design:
 It is difficult to display multidimensional information on a two-dimensional surface.
 Computer displays have limited information density due to low resolution, making it
challenging to display dense information.

Tufte introduces seven Grand Principles:

 Enforce Visual Comparisons: Enable viewers to easily compare visual data.

 Show Causality: Illustrate cause-and-effect relationships in the data.
  Show Multiple Variables: Display multiple data variables simultaneously.
 Integrate Text, Graphics, and Data: Combine text, images, and data in a single display.
 Ensure Quality, Relevance, and Integrity: Guarantee the accuracy and relevance of the
data.
 Show Things Adjacently in Space: Display related data side-by-side, rather than
sequentially.
 Avoid De-quantifying Quantifiable Data: Preserve numerical data in its
quantitative form.
3. Use of Text and Color in Visual Interfaces:
Use of text:Humans process visual information faster than text, so use short, recognizable, and
memorable text, and prioritize visual objects and symbols to facilitate navigation. When text
must be read in interfaces, some guidelines apply:
 Ensure text has high contrast with its background and avoid conflicting colors.
 Choose a clear typeface (sans-serif for brief text, serif for paragraphs) and a readable
point size (at least 10).
 Use concise, clear language, avoiding abbreviations unless standard and necessary.
Use of color:Color is a powerful design tool in visual interfaces, conveying meaning and
enhancing user experience when used effectively. Color, when used appropriately, serves the
following purposes in visual interface design:
 Color grabs attention and communicates important information through rich visual
feedback.
 Consistent color use enhances navigation and scanning speed by highlighting key
information.
 Color reveals relationships by grouping or connecting related objects visually.

Misuse of color: There are a few ways that color can be misused in an interface if one is not
careful. The most common of these misuses are as follows:

 Too many colors: Using too many colors (more than 7) can degrade search performance
and navigation.
 Use of complementary colors: Avoid using complementary colors together as they
create visual artifacts that are hard to perceive.
 Excessive saturation: Highly saturated colors can look garish and distracting, and may
cause visual artifacts.
 Inadequate contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast between figure and ground by varying
brightness, saturation, or hue.
 Inadequate attention to color impairment: Consider color impairment by avoiding
reliance on red-green color differences and using saturation/brightness variation.
 Ensure colorblind users can distinguish colors by varying saturation or brightness.
 Test color palettes by converting to grayscale to ensure distinguishability.
4. Consistency and Standards:C onsistency in digital product design ensures a similar look, feel,
and behavior across products, promoting a seamless user experience.
Benefits of interface standards:
 Improves users' ability to learn interfaces quickly
  Enhances productivity by increasing throughput and reducing errors
 Reduces customer training and technical support costs
 Decreases development time and effort
 Leads to reduced maintenance costs and improved reuse of design and code
Risks of interface standards:
 A standard can only be as good as its initial development
 May not ensure a truly usable interface
 Can be misused as a panacea for good interface design
 Focuses on syntax and visual aspects, neglecting deeper behaviors and logical structure
 Lacks context-specific considerations, focusing on general human
perception and cognition.

Lec No. 40:

1. What and when to observe: Observing is useful at any time during product development. Early
in design, observation helps designers understand users' needs. Depending on the type of study,
evaluators may be onlookers, participant observers, or ethnographers.
2. How to observe: Observing involves directly watching and recording the behavior, actions, and
interactions of individuals or groups. This can be done through direct observation, taking
detailed notes, and collecting video footage.
3. How is the activity organized? What rules or norms influence behavior? Colin Kobson (1993)
suggests a slightly longer but similar set of items:
 Space. What is the physical space like and how is it laid out?
 Actors. What are the names and relevant details of the people involved?
 Activities. What are the actors doing and why?
 Objects. What physical objects are present, such as furniture?
 Acts. What are specific individuals doing?
 Events. Is what you observe part of a special event?
 Goals. What are the actors trying to accomplish?
 Feelings. What is the mood of the group and of individuals?

These frameworks are useful not only for providing focus but also for organizing the observation
and data-collection activity. Below is a checklist of things to plan before going into the field:

 State the initial study goal and questions clearly.

 Select a framework to guide your activity in the field.
 Decide on a recording method (notes, audio, video, or combination) and ensure proper
equipment.
 Review notes and records within 24 hours to clarify details and resolve ambiguities.
 Separate personal opinions from observations and note areas for further exploration.
 Be prepared to refocus your study based on initial observations and analyses.
 Gain acceptance and trust by adopting a similar style, showing enthusiasm, and
developing relationships.
 4. Data Collection: Data collection techniques (i.e., taking notes, audio recording, and video
recording) are used individually or in combination and are often supplemented with photos
from a still camera.
 Notes plus still camera: Taking notes while observing can be challenging, but working
with a partner or using a laptop can help.
 Audio recording plus still camera: Audio recording is a flexible and less intrusive
alternative to note-taking, but lacks visual records and can be time-consuming to
transcribe.
 Video: Video captures both visual and audio data, but can be intrusive, focus attention
narrowly, and require extensive analysis time.
5. Indirect observation: tracking users' activities: Sometimes direct observation is not possible, so
users' activities are tracked indirectly. Diaries and interaction logs are two techniques for doing
this.
Diaries: Diaries provide a record of users' thoughts and interactions, useful for remote or long-
term studies.
Interaction logging: Interaction logging records user behavior (e.g., key presses, mouse
movements) for analysis, offering unobtrusive data collection.
Analyzing, interpreting, and presenting the data: Observational evaluations generate large
amounts of qualitative data, requiring careful planning and analysis to identify patterns,
categorize, and quantify the data. The discussion that follows focuses on three types of data:
Qualitative data that is interpreted and used to tell "the story" about what was observed.
Qualitative data that is categorized using techniques such as content analysis.
Quantitative data that is collected from interaction and video logs and presented as values,
tables, charts and graphs and is treated statistically.

Lec No. 41:

1. Interviews: Interviews can be thought of as a "conversation with a purpose" (Kahn and Cannell,
1957).
2. Developing questions and planning an interview: When developing interview questions, plan to
keep them short, straightforward and avoid asking too many. Here are some guidelines (Robson,
1993):
 Avoid long questions because they are difficult to remember.
 Avoid compound sentences by splitting them into two separate questions.
 Avoid using jargon and language that the interviewee may not understand.
 Avoid leading questions such as, "Why do you like this style of interaction?" It used on its
own, this question assumes that the person did like it.
 Be alert to unconscious biases. Be sensitive to your own biases and strive for neutrality in
your questions.

To ensure a successful interview, pilot-test questions, consider interviewees' comfort and time,
and make the experience pleasant for them. The golden rule is to be professional. Here is some
further advice about conducting interviews (Robson. 1993):

 Dress in a similar way to the interviewees if possible to build rapport.

  Prepare an informed consent form and obtain the interviewee's signature.
 Ensure recording equipment is working properly and use it to capture
answers accurately.
3. Types of interviews:
Unstructured interviews: Unstructured interviews are conversational, open-ended, and
generate rich data, but can be time-consuming and difficult to analyze.The main points to
remember when conducting an unstructured interview are:
 Create an interview agenda aligned with study goals and questions.
 Be prepared to explore new relevant topics during the interview.
 Ensure informed consent and address ethical issues.
 Build rapport with interviewees by dressing similarly and showing interest.
 Respond sympathetically without influencing respondents' ideas.
 Clearly indicate the start and end of the interview session.
 Analyze and organize data as soon as possible after the interview.

Structured interviews: Ask predetermined, closed-ended questions to gather specific

information.
Semi-structured interviews: Combine closed and open questions, with a basic script and
probing for more information.
Group interviews (Focus Groups): Involve a small, representative group of people discussing
topics of interest.
Other sources of interview-like feedback:Alternative interview methods include telephone,
online, video-conferencing, and retrospective interviews, which offer flexibility
and convenience.
4. Questionnaires:Questionnaires are a well-established technique for collecting demographic
data and users' opinions. They are similar to interviews and can have closed or open questions.
Designing questionnaires:Questionnaires often start with demographic and user experience
questions to understand the sample group's range and tailor design to the target audience.
Question and response format: Different types of questions require different types of
responses. Sometimes discrete responses arc required, such as ''Yes” or "No."
Check boxes and ranges:When designing demographic questionnaires, use clear and non-
overlapping ranges for age and other categorical questions to avoid confusion.
Administering Questionnaires: Sampling techniques are used for large surveys, while small
samples (less than 20) can achieve 100% completion rates. Some ways of encouraging a good
response include:
 Design the questionnaire to be user-friendly and engaging.
 Provide a short version option to encourage partial completion.
 Include a pre-paid return envelope for convenience.
 Explain the purpose and assure anonymity to build trust.
 Send follow-up reminders to increase response rates.
 Offer incentives, such as payment, to motivate respondents.
Online Questionnaires: Effective for reaching large numbers quickly and easily. Two types: email
(targeted, but limited to text) and web-based (flexible, with multimedia options and immediate
data validation).Other advantages of online questionnaires include (Lazar and Preece, 1999):
  Responses are usually received quickly.
 Copying and postage costs are lower than for paper surveys or often nonexistent.
 Data can be transferred immediately into a database for analysis.
 The time required for data analysis is reduced.
 Errors in questionnaire design can be corrected easily

Heuristic evaluation developed by Jakob Nielsen and his colleagues (Nielsen, 1994a) Experts
review a user interface using a set of usability principles (heuristics) to identify design issues
and improvements. Nielsen (1999) suggests that the following heuristics are more useful for
evaluating commercial websites and makes them memorable by introducing the acronym
HOME RUN:

 High-quality content
 Often updated
 Minimal download time
 Ease of use
 Relevant to users' needs
 Unique to the online medium
 Net-centric corporate culture
5. Asking experts: walkthroughs: Walkthroughs are an alternative approach to heuristic evaluation
for predicting users’ problems without doing user testing.
Cognitive Walkthroughs: Cognitive walkthroughs simulate a user's problem-solving process to
identify design issues.The steps involved in cognitive walkthroughs are:
 Identify user characteristics, develop sample tasks, and create a prototype.
 Designer and evaluators analyze the interface together.
 Evaluators answer questions about user actions, visibility, and feedback.
 Record critical information, assumptions, and design changes.
 Revise the design to fix identified problems.

Pluralistic Walkthroughs: Pluralistic walkthroughs involve users, developers, and usability

experts working together to identify usability issues.The walkthroughs are then done by
following a sequence of steps (Bias, 1994):

 Develop task scenarios with hard-copy screens.

 Evaluators write down actions to navigate between screens.
 Panel discusses actions, starting with representative users.
 Repeat the process for all scenarios.

Lec No. 42:

1. Eliminating Errors: Bulletin dialog boxes are used for error messages, notifiers, and
confirmations, three of the most abused components of modern GUI design.
Errors Are Abused:Error messages are often misused in GUI design, as users prefer to avoid
errors altogether rather than receive error messages.
Error messages don't work:Error messages don't prevent users from making mistakes, they only
protect the program from user errors.
 Eliminating Error Messages:To eliminate error messages, software should be designed to
prevent errors from occurring in the first place, rather than simply reporting them.
Making errors impossible: Making it impossible for the user to make errors is the best way to
eliminate error messages. To eliminate error messages, design software to prevent errors by
using bounded input, smart defaults, and automating tasks, making it impossible for users
to make mistakes.
2. Positive feedback:Software should provide positive feedback to acknowledge and reward users
for correct actions, rather than relying on negative feedback to correct mistakes.
3. Alerts and Confirmations: Like error dialogs, alerts and confirmations stop the proceedings with
idiocy, but they do not report malfunctions. An alert notifies the user of the program's action,
whereas a confirmation also gives the user the authority to override that action.
Alerts: Avoid unnecessary alerts that confirm obvious actions.
Confirmations : Avoid using confirmations that make the program seem uncertain.
Eliminating confirmations: To eliminate confirmations, follow the "Do, don't ask" principle:
design software to confidently take actions and provide undo capabilities and clear visual
feedback to prevent mistakes.

Lec No. 43:

1. Audible feedback:For data-entry tasks, provide both visual and auditory feedback, using silence
to indicate errors, allowing users to monitor input success without looking at the screen.
Negative audible feedback: announcing user failure: Avoid using sounds to criticize or
announce user errors.
Positive audible feedback: Use subtle sounds to confirm user actions and indicate success.
Other Communication with Users:
Your Identity on the Desktop:Display your program's name and visuals to establish its identity.
This helps users recognize and connect with your program.
Your Program's Name:Show your program's name in the title bar for easy identification. This is a
standard convention in GUI design.
Your Program's Icon:Create a unique and recognizable icon for your program. This icon
represents your program and helps users distinguish it.
Ancillary Application Windows:Use additional windows for communication, branding, and
providing extra information. These windows supplement your program's main interface.
About Boxes:Display program information, credits, and version numbers in the about box. This
box provides essential details about your program.
Splash Screens:Create an engaging splash screen to introduce your program and establish its
visual identity. Splash screens appear when your program launches.
Shareware Splash Screens:Inform users about shareware terms, payment, and registration
details on the splash screen. This ensures users understand the shareware agreement.
Online Help:Provide a comprehensive reference tool for perpetual intermediates who need
detailed information. Online help should be searchable and easy to navigate.
The Index:Create a thorough index to facilitate quick searching and access to information. A
good index is essential for effective online help.
Shortcuts and Overview:Offer shortcuts, overviews, and summaries to help users quickly access
information and understand complex topics. This enhances the usability of your online help.
 Not for Beginners:Focus online help on perpetual intermediates who need detailed information
to advance their skills. Beginners typically don't use online help.
Modeless and Interactive Help:Use modeless, interactive help systems that provide contextual
assistance without interrupting the user's workflow. ToolTips and pop-up hints are examples.
Wizards:Avoid using wizards, which can be restrictive, linear, and annoying. Wizards often treat
users like peripherals, rather than engaging them in a conversational process.
"Intelligent" Agents:Avoid using anthropomorphic agents, which can be distracting, annoying,
and unhelpful. These agents often create unrealistic expectations and frustrate users.
2. Improving Data Retrieval:
Retrieval methods:There are three retrieval methods: positional (by location), identity (by
name), and associative (by attribute or content). Associative retrieval is not commonly used.
An attribute-based retrieval system:An attribute-based system enables searching by document
contents, such as text strings. This approach would greatly improve document
retrieval efficiency. The program could, for example, easily remember such things as:
 The program that created the document
 The type of document: words, numbers, tables, graphics
 The program that last opened the document.
 If the document is exceptionally large or small
 If the document has been untouched for a long time.
 The length of time the document was last open
 The amount of information that was added or deleted during the last edit
 Whether or not the document has been edited by more than one type of program
 Whether the document contains embedded objects from other programs
 If the document was created from scratch or cloned from another
 If the document is frequently edited
 If the document is frequently viewed but rarely edited
 Whether the document has been printed and where
 How often the document has been printed, and whether changes were made to it each
time immediately before printing
 Whether the document has been faxed and to whom
 Whether the document has been e-mailed and to whom

Lec No. 44:

1. Metadata: Data about data is metadata. Metadata tags are used to describe documents, pages,
images, software, video and audio files, and other content objects for the purposes of improved
navigation and retrieval.
2. Controlled Vocabularies: Vocabulary control comes in many shapes and sizes. A controlled
vocabulary is any defined subset of natural language.
3. Thesauri:Dictionary.com defines thesaurus as a "book of synonyms, often including related and
contrasting words and antonyms."
4. Accessibility: Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a system is
usable by as many people as possible without modification.
 5. Introduction to Web Accessibility: The Internet has revolutionized modern life, providing
unparalleled access to information, services, and opportunities.
The Web Offers Unprecedented Opportunities:The Internet is one of the best things that ever
happened to people with disabilities.
Falling Short of the Web's Potential:The Internet's potential for people with disabilities remains
largely unrealized due to accessibility barriers.
People with Disabilities on the Web:Approximately 20% of the population has a disability, and
excluding them from web content can be detrimental to businesses and institutions.
Comprehensive Solutions:There are two key components to any effort to achieve web
accessibility:
 Commitment and accountability
 Training and technical support
Either of these by itself is insufficient.
Commitment and Accountability: Awareness is key to web accessibility. Leadership and policies
ensure standards are met.
Training and Technical Support: Developers learn accessibility basics quickly. Ongoing support
ensures successful implementation.

Lec No. 45:

1. Ubiquitous computing:Ubiquitous computing integrates technology into everyday
environments and objects to enable natural and casual interactions with information.
2. Wearable Computing: Devices worn on the body, allowing constant interaction and
multitasking, used in fields like healthcare, military, and media.
3. Issues:The widespread use of wearable computers and surveillance technology has raised
concerns about social control, privacy, and the impact on personal aspects of daily life.
4. Tangible Bits:Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) aim to make computing ubiquitous and invisible by
turning everyday objects and surfaces into interactive interfaces.
The ClearBoard transforms passive walls into dynamic collaboration mediums, enabling
interaction with virtual spaces.
Bricks is a GUI that allows direct control of virtual objects through graspable handles, promoting
two-handed manipulation.
The Marble Answering Machine integrates computing into everyday objects, making digital
information tangible and interactive.
Goals and Concepts of “tangible bits”: "Tangible bits" aims to bridge the physical and digital
worlds, leveraging human senses and skills to create more intuitive interactions.
Goals:The goal is to merge the physical and digital worlds by making digital information tangible
and interactive through everyday objects.
Concepts:Three key concepts - interactive surfaces, coupling bits and atoms, and ambient media
- enable seamless interactions between the physical and virtual worlds.
5. Attentive Environments: Attentive environments are environments that are user and context
aware.