UX and Usability Workshop Southampton Solent University
Pervasive Home Control App UCD
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203CR Portfolio2
Pervasive Design
C o v e n t r y U n i v e r s i t y
c h a r i s i t @ u n i . c o v e n t r y . a c . u k
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Theodoros Charisis
In thisreportI am goingto show my designand the
usabilityevaluationsaswell asthe interface toa
pervasive device. Iam goingto show paper
prototype of myapplicationandmid-fi prototype,
alsoI will describe the studyandthe methodologyI
will carryout.
Blog
URL:http://theocharisis1995.blogspot.co.uk/
Blog Rating: 2.1
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1 Introduction
In this reportI will be describing my user-centered design of my
pervasiveinterface. In this report I designed and also carried out
usability evaluations of the interface to a pervasivedevice. The interface
I am referring to is GUI interface-design on a mobile device that means I
have created a mobile application that could run on any smartphone.
Basically I created the Interface(GUI) of my application. My GUI
application is about making your life easier at home, by controlling
everything in your house with justyour mobile phone. You can control
electricity, climate and doors. This app focuses moreon people with
disabilities or elder people.
I will explain what a UCD process is and its differentstages and present
all my findings from the testers and show my low-fiand mid-fi
prototypes. In this user study I will need 5 participants and I will provide
them firstwith my low-fi prototypes and then with my mid-fi (mobile
phone required) and I will give them somespecific tasks to complete. I
will observethe participants when they are testing my prototypes and in
the end I will providethem a sortquestioner and finally I will evaluate
my findings.
As a major requirement for every usability study are the conceptual
frameworks. Conceptualframeworksareimportantbecauseit leads us
to questions which focus our usability study and helps us design it or
improveit. I will make use of the usability goals which includes
Efficiency, Effectiveness, Learnability and Memorability which I will find
out during my study.
The data that I would collect from the participants will be quantitative
(number of taps, number of errors, if task was completed, no action
taken).
1.1 OpportunitySpace
The phrase“Opportunity space” is not very common in HCI (Halloran
j).Basically it’s a design of a new activity which helps people with their
lives, making something new to solve problems that rise. My user
centered design is about making the lives of the people easier. My GUI
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interface that I created for mobile phones (lo-fi, mid-fi) is about
controlling any device in your house. This app can be used by any
person, but it is designed to help elder people or people with some
disabilities. The app focuses on making our lives easier by controlling
everything in our house, from electricity to television and climate. This
app needs a server to run properly so it can haveaccess to your house
system, but in my prototypes I use a demo offline to show how it works.
2 Methodology
Conceptual frameworks are a theoretical structureof assumptions,
principles, and rules that hold together the ideas including a wide
concept. Conceptual frameworks areimportantbecauseit leads us to
questions which focus our usability study and helps us design it or
improveit. The conceptual framework thatI will be using is the design
principles (Norman). In which I willinclude in my study and test the
effectiveness efficiency and learnability.
For my usecase study I will be gathering quantitative data. Quantitative
data is about numbers, the number of taps, number or errors or how
many times he asked for help. To ensure that the data is verifiable it just
have to meet the needs of the task and be a realistic test fromthe
participants, further more I would be able to conclude if the data is
verifiable as I will be the observer.
2.1 Tasks
For my user centered design (GUI) I willhave 5 tasks to be completed for
every 5 of my participants. The participants will be shown the tasks and
they will have to complete each one at a time. Then they can give me
there feedback so I can improveit for my mid-fi prototype.
The tasks will be:
1) Find and turn off the air conditioner in the living room.
2) Find and turn on the Tv in the Bedroom.
3) Find and turn on the spotlight in the living room.
4) Find and turn off the thermostat in the living room.
5) Find and open the Garage door.
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2.2 Participants
I will need 5 male participants for each of my GUI UCD process age
between 20-30, each participant will be testing my lo-fi prototypeand
then my mid-fi prototype. The participants mustbe the same. Each one
of them will be completing 5 tasks and by the end of the testing I will use
their feedback to improvemy GUI for the next time which will be mid-fi
prototype. For my user centered design (GUI), I willinstructthe
participants and make them understand the purposeof my study and
what this study is about.
Then I will providethem with a paper of the ethics and consent process
of the UCD. Then I will providethem will a piece of paper that it will have
the certain tasks to complete and I will makesure that they understood
it then I will proceed by observing them during the test.
3 UCD Process
UCD is a projectapproach that puts the intended users of a site at the
center of its design and development. (Clara Teoh)
UCD is all aboutidentifying needs, generate requirements, prototype and
evaluation. I considered these for my GUI interface design study.
User Centered Design is a process in which the needs, of end users of a
product, serviceor process aregiven extensive attention at each stageof
the design process. User-centered design can be considered as a
problem solving process thatdesigners can analyzeand predict how
users arelikely to use a product, but also to test the validity of their
expectations with regard to user behavior in real world tests with actual
users.
For my UCD design study I am using the testing usability method as well
as the questionnaire method. Usability testing can be used as an input to
design or at the end of a project. Usability testing requires some formof
design, in this case paper prototypeand mobile GUI prototype.
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Questionnaires allow statistical analysis of results which you can gain
feedback from the testers.
Iteration 1: Lo-fi
Link with photosprovided in appendices and in VerifiableUserdata
Lo-fi or else low-fidelity prototype is a prototypethat is made with pen
or pencil and is not completed. Ithas somecharacteristics of the target
productbut it’s very simple, usually to quickly create the prototype and
test it to get some results.
User Study
For my lo-fi GUI interface I used a pencil to draw on paper my concept
application. Then I created a consentformso the tester can sign and a
questionnairefor them, after that I started prototyping. The original
consentform is shown below:
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The original questionnaire is shown below:
Prototyping Lo-fi
My lo-fi GUI app was an idea of making the lives of the people easier
especially disabled or elder people. This app can be used to controlyour
houseelectric devices, climate and a lot more. When my paper
prototypewas ready I had it tested.
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Home page
I found 5 participants to take part in my GUI interface testing. I gave
each one of them a consentformto sign, then I gave him the tasks that
he should carry out and I would be observing and taking notes of
quantitative data. After he had completed the paper prototype I would
give him a questionnaire to fill so I can get somefeedback and improve
my lo-fi and proceed to mid-fi.
Requirements
My design in the lo-fi is justa part of the final application. I need the lo-fi
design so I can haveit tested and get some feedback fromrandom
people. That can help with the final design and improveit so you can
make a mid-fi prototypeand have again tested to makea final app.
Rooms page
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User Evaluation
User evaluation refers to a collection of methods in my case my methods
are observation as well as providing a questionnaire. I will be collecting
quantitative data (number of taps, errors, help needed, completed tasks)
During the usability test I was observing the tester and taking notes
some of my findings are stated below:
Quantitative Data (lo-fi)
Task1
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 2 6 Yes ---
User2 0 3 Yes ---
User 3 0 2 Yes ---
User4 0 2 Yes ---
User 5 1 4 Yes ----
Task2
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 0 4 Yes ---
User2 2 5 Yes ---
User 3 0 3 Yes ---
User4 0 4 Yes ---
User 5 1 4 Yes ----
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Task3
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 0 3 Yes ---
User2 0 3 Yes ---
User 3 0 3 Yes ---
User4 1 4 Yes ---
User 5 0 3 Yes ----
Task4
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 0 3 Yes ---
User2 0 3 Yes ---
User 3 1 4 Yes ---
User4 1 4 Yes ---
User 5 0 3 Yes ----
Task5
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 0 3 Yes ---
User2 1 4 Yes ---
User 3 0 3 Yes ---
User4 0 3 Yes ---
User 5 0 3 Yes ----
After the tester has completed his tasks which cover the effectiveness,
efficiency, utility of my design I gave him a questionnaire to fill.
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Iteration 2: Mid-fi
Link with photosprovided in appendices and in VerifiableUserdata
Mid-fi prototypeis the next stage of lo-fi prototypeto proceed in the
mid-fi you need to have the lo-fi tested and get some feedback or
answers to make it better, considering the lo-fi you create then the mid-
fi the upgraded one. In this mid-fi GUI I took the advice of my testers
feedback (questionnaires) and I managed to make it better than before.
Mid-fi Prototyping:
Home Page Rooms Page
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Requirementsand Prototyping
After I completed my paper prototypeand I ran user
evaluations, I got feedback frommy testers. I used
analyzed their feedback and I considered their
questionnaires. Then I started doing my Mid-fi
prototypeby using a programin my computer, it’s
called “Judtinmind”.
In this stageof Mid-fi GUI interface my design was
improved fromthe lo-fi, in other words the low-fi
design helped me create a better design afterwards
using also the feedback fromthe testers. In this point
my Mid-fi now has to be tested again to see an
actual improvement. I will present my findings
below.
User Evaluation
During my second usability evaluation tests, I used the sameparticipants
frombefore so the results will matter. As they wereundergoing my test I
provided them with the same tasks to complete. I was observing them
and taking notes. Some of my findings are stated below:
Quantitative Data (Mid-fi)
Task1
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 0 3 Yes ---
User2 0 3 Yes ---
User 3 0 2 Yes ---
User4 0 2 Yes ---
User 5 0 3 Yes ----
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Task5
Users Errors Taps Task
Completion
No Action
User1 0 2 Yes ---
User2 0 2 Yes ---
User 3 0 2 Yes ---
User4 0 2 Yes ---
User 5 0 2 Yes ----
Conclusion
My Mid-fi prototypepasses all the tests. The users werereally excited to
see a difference frommy lo-fi to mid-fi, they also commented that the
app idea is very cool and innovative, and they liked it. My app was
effective and efficient in the matter of usability.
4 Future Work
In the future if I wanted to proceed with this application I could start
making my application in High-fiwhich means a full functionaland
running application. I would use the data collected fromthe testers and I
would make an improved and better application. Also I would consider
using more participants if I wanted to havemany differentideas and
feedbacks.
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5 References
Wikipedia (2015) ConceptualFramework [online] available from:
<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_framework >>[March
2015]
Wikipedia (2015) User Centered Design [online] available from:
<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User-centered_design >>[March
2015]
Webcredible (2014) User-centered design(UCD)6methods [online]
available from: << http://www.webcredible.com/blog-reports/web-
usability/user-centered-design.shtml >>[March 2015]
BusinessDictionary (2015)Conceptual Framework [online]
available from:
<<http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/conceptual-
framework.html >>[March 2015]
Usabilityfirst (2015) low-fidelity prototype [online] available from:
<<http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/low-fidelity-prototype/
>>[March 2015]
Wikipedia(2015) User experience evaluation [online] available
from: << https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_experience_evaluation
>>[March 2015]
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Link for the Appendix Pictures is provided:
<<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4uaji19oig12flr/AAAixfuoH-
OwpetOufhd3w4Ba?dl=0 >>
7 Verifiable User Data
Link provided for the following stuff:
Original consentForm
Consent FormSigned By Users
Original QuestionnaireSheet
QuestionnaireFilled Up By Users
Tasks Sheet To Follow
Lo-fi Paper prototypephotos
Mid-fi prototypephotos
User Testing
LINK: << https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4uaji19oig12flr/AAAixfuoH-
OwpetOufhd3w4Ba?dl=0 >>
