Context is everything
We must ground our work in a rich understanding of
the context of use, or else we run the risk of creating
well meaning rubbish
Iain Barker
iain.barker@gmail.com
http://www.simplerisbetter.wordpress.com

SA80

Defining the requirements
(not an actual picture of the SA80’s business team)

SA80 requirements
1. Accuracy
2. ?

Issues:
• Couldn't be fired from
the left shoulder
• It went off when dropped
• Safety catch would break
if the trigger was pulled
hard
• Plastic would swell in
rain and jam the safety
switch on/off
• When running a heavy
ammunition magazine
would fall out

“You must have some very
clever soldiers”
Mikhail Kalashnikov

Iterative design alone does not
ensure a successful product
If you only do iterative design and don’t explore real
user requirements you’re reliant on guesswork.
What is to stop your project having the same type of
problems as the SA80?

Test or else
Iterative design, with its repeating cycle of design and
testing, is the only validated methodology in existence
that will consistently produce successful results. If you
don’t have user-testing as an integral part of your
design process you are going to throw buckets of money
down the drain.
Bruce Tognazzini
Asktog, June, 2000
http://www.asktog.com/columns/037TestOrElse.html

Get yourself a good map
before you start digging for
gold
Business requirements
Requirements workshop Iterative design
Contextual research

First Rule of Usability? Don't Listen
to Users
To design an easy-to-use interface, pay attention to
what users do, not what they say. Self-reported claims
are unreliable, as are user speculations about future
behavior.
Jakob Nielsen
Alertbox, August 5, 2001
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html

Possible design solutions

First sketch

Design space

Launch version

Launch version
Better solution
Better solution

Understanding offline activities
helps us create better interactive
experiences
What makes something pleasurable/painful?
What process do I go through before I make a purchase?
…

Full potential
Iterate Alternate solution
Iterate
Today Solution A

MP3 Player: Requirements
Radio?
FM Radio?
External Memory Slot?
Colour options?
Built in camera?

Innovate then optimise
Use explorative techniques to discover real needs,
then use iterative techniques to create a highly usable
solution

Persuading clients
and managers

Making something that does what people
really want is a rare thing. With it comes
success and recognition.

Doing something innovative makes you
stand out from the crowd.

Your competitors are already doing it.
Do you want to be left behind?

It is simply what successful people do

Iain Barker
iain.barker@gmail.com
http://www.simplerisbetter.wordpress.com

That’s all folks
Iain Barker
iain.barker@gmail.com
http://www.simplerisbetter.wordpress.com