User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to Design
The book should be useful to anyone involved in or interested in the issues
surrounding user-centered design of software applications. However, it was
our intention to provide information that will be particularly useful to
practitioners who have a role in designing GUI’s. The emphasis on examples
from real GUI design projects will hopefully accomplish that goal.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Preface
-----------
Contributors
Chapter 1—Introduction: Bridging the Design Gap
Chapter 2—Bridging User Needs to Object Oriented
GUI Prototype via Task Object Design
Chapter 3—Transforming Representations in
User-Centered Design
Chapter 4—Model-Based User Interface Design:
Successive Transformations of a Task/Object Model
Chapter 5—Lightweight Techniques to Encourage
Innovative User Interface Design
Chapter 6—Interaction Design: Leaving the
Engineering Perspective Behind
Chapter 7—Mind the Gap: Surviving the Dangers of
User Interface Design
Chapter 8—Transforming User-Centered Analysis
into User Interface: The Redesign of Complex
Legacy Systems
Chapter 9—Systematic Creativity: A Bridge for the
Gaps in the Software Development Process
CHAPTER 10—The UI War Room and Design
Prism: A User Interface Design Approach from
Multiple Perspectives
Chapter 11—Transforming User-Centered Analysis
into User Interface: The Design of New-Generation
Products
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Table of Contents
-----------
Preface
This book grew out of a workshop held at CHI’97 in Vancouver in April 1997
on “Transforming User-Centered Analysis into Concrete Design”. The
workshop was motivated by the lack of published accounts of how
experienced designers use the results of user work/task analyses and other
tools and resources to produce Graphical User Interface (GUI) designs (i.e., to
bridge the gap between analysis and interface design). Interface designers with
a wide variety of experience were invited to share their methods for addressing
the problem. This book is a result of our collective efforts.
Several themes became apparent in our workshop discussions, such as
representations and models of work, scenarios (examples of user tasks), and
high- and low-fidelity prototyping; designing for heterogeneous vs.
homogeneous user populations; designing “breakthrough” systems vs.
supporting existing work or redesigning legacy systems; and the virtues of
objected- vs. task-oriented interfaces. Authors of individual chapters elaborate
the role of these issues as appropriate to their own methods and work context.
The book should be useful to anyone involved in or interested in the issues
surrounding user-centered design of software applications. However, it was
our intention to provide information that will be particularly useful to
practitioners who have a role in designing GUI’s. The emphasis on examples
from real GUI design projects will hopefully accomplish that goal.
PARTICIPANTS
There were fourteen people who participated in the workshop, among whom
there was a wide variety of design experience. Including the organizers, there
were three from academia, ten from large software development companies,
and one who operates her own consulting firm. The participants included the
following individuals:
• Larry Wood, Brigham Young University, USA (organizer)
• Ron Zeno, Intuitive Design, USA (organizer)
• Tom Dayton, Bellcore, USA
• Joseph Kramer, Bellcore, USA
• Tom Graefe, Digital Equipment Corporation, USA
• Frank Ludolph, SunSoft, Inc., USA
• Andrew Monk, University of York, U.K.
• Peter Nilsson, Linné Data, Sweden
• Martin Rantzer, Ericsson Radio Systems AB, Sweden
• Allan Risk, IBM SWS Toronto Laboratory, Canada
• Sabine Rohlfs, IF Interface Consulting Ltd., Canada
• Jean Scholtz, Intel Corp., USA
• Kevin Simpson, University of Guelph, Canada
• Colin Smith, Northern Telecom, Canada
Acknowledgments
I express my appreciation to the workshop participants for their willingness
not only to share their knowledge and experience in interface design at the
workshop, but especially for their efforts in writing the chapters that make up
the substance of this book. I regret that after his enthusiastic participation in
the workshop, Allan Risk was unable to complete a chapter to be included in
the book. Likewise, following his efforts at organizing the workshop, Ron
Zeno was unable to contribute to the book, which is unfortunate.
I also want to thank our CRC publisher, Ron Powers, and his assistant, Cindy
Carelli, for their patience and flexibility in working with us to produce this
volume.
Finally, I express my gratitude to Shannon Ford, who “found” us and was
willing to provide helpful feedback on the chapters, expecially the introduction
(Chapter 1).
The Editor
Larry Wood is a professor of cognitive psychology at Brigham Young
University, who has taught human-computer interaction and interface design
courses and consulted on design projects for 10 years. His research interests
include all aspects of user-centered design.
Table of Contents
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Table of Contents
-----------
Contributors
Tom Dayton
Bellcore
Piscataway, New Jersey
Thomas M. Graefe
Digital Equipment Corporation
Littleton, Massachusetts
Joeseph Kramer
Bellcore
Piscataway, New Jersey
Frank Ludolph
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Mountain View, California
Al McFarland
Bellcore
Piscataway, New Jersey
Andrew Monk
Department of Psychology
University of York
York, United Kingdom
Peter Nilsson
Linn‚ Data
Frolunda, Sweden
Ingrid Ottersten
Linn‚ Data
Frolunda, Sweden
Martin Rantzer
Systems Engineering Lab
Ericsson Radio Systems
Link”ping Sweden
Sabine Rohlfs
IF Interface Consulting Ltd.
Ottawa, Canada
Tony Salvador
Intel Corporation
Hillsboro, Oregon
Jean Scholtz
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Kevin Simpson
Financial Models Company
Mississauga, Canada
Colin Smith
Corporate Design Group
NorTel Technology (Northern Telecon)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Larry Wood
Brigham Young University
Department of Psychology
Provo, Utah
Table of Contents
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Previous Table of Contents Next
-----------
Chapter 1
Introduction: Bridging the Design Gap
Larry E. Wood
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
email: [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Good Interface Design
2. The Gap: Or Then a Little Magic Happens
3. Bridging the Gap: Major Issues/Considerations
4. Individual Chapter Descriptions
4.1. Dayton, McFarland, and Kramer (Chapter 2)
4.2. Graefe (Chapter 3)
4.3. Ludolph (Chapter 4)
4.4. Monk (Chapter 5)
4.5. Nilsson and Ottersten (Chapter 6)
4.6. Rantzer (Chapter 7)
4.7. Rohlfs (Chapter 8)
4.8. Scholtz and Salvador (Chapter 9)
4.9. Simpson (Chapter 10)
4.10. Smith (Chapter 11)
5. Conclusion
6. References
1. GOOD INTERFACE DESIGN
Design is both a product and a process. The product is an artifact designed for
a specific purpose, given a set of components, resources, and constraints within
which a designer has to work. The process consists of techniques and
procedures for constructing the desired product. While there are principles and
laws that guide effective design, there is usually a certain amount of craft and
creativity involved in producing effective designs.
Whether or not the design is effective obviously depends on the criteria used to
define effectiveness. In his book The Design of Everyday Things, Norman
(1990) makes a strong case for the need to emphasize usability (in addition to
functionality and aesthetics) through the design of artifacts that we frequently
encounter in our everyday lives (e.g., doors, VCRs, and automobiles). He does
so by providing many examples of good and bad designs (from a usability
perspective) and in listing attributes of artifacts that make them usable (e.g.,
providing visible affordances, providing feedback regarding actions
performed, and preventing users from making errors).
The same principles and guidelines outlined by Norman can also be applied to
the design of a software application, particularly the user interface, which is
the focus of this book. To be usable, a user interface must provide access to
the functions and features of an application in a way that reflects users’ ways
of thinking about the tasks that a potential application will support. This
requires that the application not only provide support for necessary aspects of
the users’ work, but must also provide the means for them to interact with the
application in ways that are intuitive and natural. Great improvements in the
effectiveness of a user interface have been made during the last 15 years,
through (1) the improved components and resources available in Graphical
User Interfaces (GUIs), pioneered by such systems as the Xerox Star,
precursor to the Apple Macintosh desktop and in Windows (Smith et al., 1982)
and (2) in the transition from “system-centered” to “user-centered” design
methods (Norman and Draper, 1986).
The Star and related GUI systems introduced new hardware resources and
components, while the user-centered design orientation focused design
methods on the potential users of an application. In essence, the new hardware
and software resources provided the building blocks of more usable computer
applications, while the user-centered orientation provided the impetus to
develop methods to insure that the building blocks were used in ways that fit
the users’ way of thinking about and performing their work. In this way an
interface could be made more natural and intuitive than had previously been
the case.
2. The Gap: Or Then a Little Magic Happens
By definition, user-centered design techniques focus on potential users
(including their characteristics, their tasks, and their environment) whose work
is to be supported by an application (i.e., functional requirements were
developed from a user’s perspective and are referred as user requirements).
Typical activities of a user-centered design development process are listed in
Figure 1.1. It should be noted that, while an order is implied in Figure 1.1, a
critical aspect of user-centered design is that it is iterative, as is emphasized in
the chapters of this volume.
Figure 1.1. Typical activities in a user-centered design process.
Considerable effort has been expended to document methods related to each of
the activities in Figure 1.1. In support of the activities for identifying users and
determining their support requirements, there are sources discussing methods
for gathering user information through field methods (e.g., Wixon and Ramey,
1996) and formal task analysis methods (e.g., Johnson, 1992). Furthermore,
there are sources that emphasize the importance of representing work-related
tasks via scenarios (e.g., Carroll, 1995) and use cases (e.g., Constantine, 1995).
For producing potential designs, there are a variety of sources that provide
guidelines regarding the important characteristics of a usable interface (e.g.,
Fowler and Stanwick, 1995) and for producing design prototypes using both
low- (e.g., Monk et al., 1993) and high-fidelity methods (e.g., Hix and
Shulman, 1991). Also, much has been written about the methods for evaluating
a user interface, once it has been produced, either by expert review (e.g.,
Nielsen, 1993) or by formal testing with potential users (e.g., Dumas and
Redish, 1993).
As indicated above, while there are some excellent sources of information on
user interface design, none contains specific descriptions of how a designer
transforms the information gathered about users and their work into an
effective user interface design. This is indicated in Figure 1.1 by the question
mark between User Requirements and Interface Designs. Some might argue
that is to be expected because that process is a highly creative one and that
creative processes are inexplicable by their nature. While this may be true in a
limited sense, designs don’t really appear as if by magic.1 They are largely the
result of thoughtful, conscious processes, and the chapters in this volume
represent an attempt to make more explicit just how designers bridge the gap.
1For more on this topic, the interested reader is referred to the Creative
Cognitive approach (Ward, Finke, and Smith, 1995) which assumes that the
same methods used to understand normal cognitive processes apply
equally to the understanding and description of creative activities.
Previous Table of Contents Next
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Previous Table of Contents Next
-----------
3. BRIDGING THE GAP: MAJOR
ISSUES/CONSIDERATIONS
The bridging process can be conceptualized as a series of transformations that
begins with the gathering of user requirements and ends with the creation of a
design. While all of the methods discussed in this volume can be viewed that
way, each contributor construes it somewhat differently, as would be expected.
Each method has its relative merits and appropriate conditions of application.
In most chapters the author(s) describes that transformation in the context of a
methodology used with a specific design project. While the projects, the
processes, and the methods vary considerably, the common theme is the
building of that bridge between User Requirements and User Interface Design.
Some contributors view the design process as overlapping, but distinct stages
within a reasonably well-defined theoretical framework. One example is
Graefe (Chapter 3), who construes the design process as transformations on a
set of representations, emphasizing the nature of the representations. Ludolph
(Chapter 4), espouses a similar framework, although he chooses to speak in
terms of transforming models, beginning with important user background
information and ending with a concrete representation of how a user will
interact with an application.
In contrast to a well-defined theoretical framework, some of the contributors
tend to be guided more from a pragmatic perspective, describing their bridging
process as a design story (Nilsson and Ottersten, Chapter 6) or describing the
process from the perspective of design-related activities and their relative
contribution to the effectiveness of the process (Simpson, Chapter 10). Some
of the techniques have been developed for smaller projects designed by small,
nonspecialized teams (Monk, Chapter 5), while others are suited for converting
large, complex, mainframe systems to a GUI interface (Rohlfs, Chapter 8).
Rantzer (Chapter 7) describes a framework where the notion of user interface
is expanded to include user documentation. Two of the chapters discuss
techniques that are particularly well suited to the development of products not
yet on the market (Scholtz and Salvador, Chapter 10) or what Smith (Chapter
11) refers to as new generation products that introduce new technology.
Finally, Dayton, McFarland, and Kramer (Chapter 2) describe a methodology
for developing object-oriented GUIs, asserting their general superiority over
task-oriented GUIs, whereas Rohlfs (Chapter 8) argues the opposite for her
work in redesigning so-called legacy systems.
4. INDIVIDUAL CHAPTER DESCRIPTIONS
4.1. DAYTON, MCFARLAND, AND KRAMER
(CHAPTER 2)
Dayton, McFarland, and Kramer describe a methodology (which they refer to
as the Bridge) for quickly designing object-oriented (OO), multi-platform
GUIs. The methodology produces an OO interface, which means that the GUI
reflects the users’ focus on the discrete units of data — data objects — with
which they do their tasks, and the interface concretely represents each task
object as a GUI object. Dayton et al. point out that their OO GUIs differ from
procedural GUIs, which are oriented around particular procedures for doing
tasks, and from application-oriented GUIs. Furthermore, they claim that the
OO GUI style generally provides the most natural and easy-to-learn user
interface. This position is in contrast with that put forth by Rohlfs (Chapter 8),
who maintains that redesigned legacy systems need to be more task oriented.
Having been developed at Bellcore, the Bridge method draws heavily on
previous, related techniques developed there (e.g., CARD and PICTIVE,
Muller et al., 1995). All design activities are performed in a participatory
manner with a five-member design team (consisting of an expert user, a novice
user, a usability engineer, a developer, and a system engineer) surrounding a
small table. The team is assisted and encouraged in their work by two
facilitators who are intimately familiar with the method. The authors describe
their methods in the context of an application to support a hotel reservation
system.
The major activities of the Bridge method are (1) expressing user requirements
as task flows, (2) mapping task flows to task objects, and (3) mapping task
objects to GUI objects. They are carried out in a series of very intense
workshops over a period of a few days, under the guidance of the facilitators.
The results of design activities are first written on cards and placed on the
table, where they are easily accessible to all participants and can be altered or
even discarded. As consensus is reached on results, they are attached to the
surrounding walls of the room, where they are conveniently available for
reference.
Once the definitions of task objects and the outline of task flows have been
established, these are usability tested by having one team member talk through
each step in the task flows and the other members verifying that all objects
with accompanying attributes and actions are available for performing the
required tasks. This is performed at an early stage and is independent of any
GUI representations of the objects. After the task objects have been mapped to
GUI objects using paper prototypes, usability testing is again performed by the
team members. Final detailed design specifications for a particular platform
are performed by a usability engineer in accordance with appropriate style
guides.
Previous Table of Contents Next
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Previous Table of Contents Next
-----------
4.2. GRAEFE (CHAPTER 3)
Graefe proposes that the design gap lies between various representations used
in the design process (i.e., between a represented world and a representing
world). As with many other cognitive tasks, bridging the gap is a process of
transforming various representations from one to another, in this case,
beginning with user work descriptions and ending with an interface design. He
discusses a theoretical framework in which he specifies a series of
representations and the transformations that lead from one to the next. This
process is shaped by mediating abstractions such as metaphors and by the rules
governing the chosen user interface paradigm.
The context of Graefe’s discussion is a system management application to be
used for monitoring hardware and software processing resources, typically
functioning as servers within a computing environment. Scenarios provide
content and structure for the subsequent steps, beginning with the development
of use-cases, which define the high-level system interactions, the setting of
usability goals, and the development of low- and high-fidelity prototypes.
Specific user scenarios are gathered from interviews with users and from direct
observations of their work. Interviews are also conducted with others involved
in the context of use (e.g., managers).
From scenarios, Graefe generates use-cases, which are defined as “a sequence
of transactions in a system whose task is to yield a result of measurable value
to an individual actor of the system”. Initially, a use-case is defined at a high
level of task interaction, then extensions are developed, which account for
more detailed subtasks. The use-cases capture the users’ work, and Graefe
describes how the designer’s task of creating a user interface is facilitated by
the use of effective meditating representations.
Both the user scenarios and use-cases contain descriptions of user objects and
are the source of metaphors defining the contents of the interface. This
interface is captured first in a paper prototype storyboard, which is reviewed
with users. These data are used to create a computer simulation prototype that
can be tested for more detailed feedback. Graefe concludes that iterative,
user-centered design can be thought of as a corrective measure for biases that
occur in more traditional software development processes. He suggests some
rules-of-thumb for successful design practice.
4.3. LUDOLPH (CHAPTER 4)
Ludolph contends that people use models to explain complex systems. He
therefore bases his approach to interface design on the construction of models
and their transformation from one into another until there is finally a finished
design. He begins with background information, transforms that into an
essential model, transforms the essential model into a user’s model, and
finally, transforms the user’s model into the user interface presentation and
interaction elements. It is this series of transformations that allows the designer
to bridge the gap between user requirements and the finished design.
The context for Ludoph’s discussion is the development of an application
builder, where a developer constructs an application, using reusable chunks of
software as building blocks. The user locates and selects the software chunks
to be used. The first stage in design is the gathering of background
information, consisting of goals, a description of the work environment, the
people involved (including their roles and their characteristics), real-life
scenarios (including task frequencies, artifacts produced, and obstacles), and
environmental constraints.
From the background information, essential task models (use-cases) are
constructed by taking real-life work scenarios, focusing on goals, and then
abstracting away details of specific technologies and descriptions of how the
tasks are currently performed. The essential model includes necessary tasks
with objects and their relationships and essential actions.
Essential models are then transformed into user models, primarily by putting
the tasks, objects, and relationships of the essential model into the context of a
familiar metaphor. In the case of the application builder project, candidate
metaphors were a catalog, a components data handbook, and a parts
bin/cabinet. The characteristics of the candidate metaphors are compared to
those of the essential model to choose the best candidate for the application.
Once a metaphor is chosen, the use-cases are restated in terms of the metaphor
to construct the user model. Another important part of the user model is a
hierarchical task tree which describes functionally what the user does to
accomplish each task, but not how the user actually does it.
The interface design results by transformations on the essential model. First,
rough layouts are constructed by transforming task flows into simples sketches
of window layouts with indicators of flow between them. Interaction design is
produced by transforming the task tree and objects into plausible object views
and controls. Finally, rough layouts are transformed into visual prototypes
(high-fidelity prototypes), which mimic the intended appearance, interaction,
and feedback in a way that allows the designer to validate the design with
potential users. The process of developing the high-fidelity prototypes also
brings many interaction issues to light and also forces the designer to consider
details easily overlooked in rough layouts (i.e., it is part of the design
development process itself).
Previous Table of Contents Next
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
User Interface Design: Bridging the Gap from User Requirements to
Design
(Publisher: CRC Press LLC)
Go!
Author(s): Larry E. Wood
ISBN: 0849331250
Keyword
Publication Date: 12/02/97
Brief Full
Advanced
Search
Search Tips Search this book:
Go!
Previous Table of Contents Next
-----------
4.4. MONK (CHAPTER 5)
Monk makes a strong point that the bridge is better built if one uses the correct
representation for communication and for reasoning about user activities. To
be maximally useful in those two roles (i.e., communication and reasoning),
documents in which representations are captured must be tailored to the
context. He refers to his techniques as discount design methods, making it
clear that they are well suited to everyday, relatively small scale projects,
rather than very large ones. Thus, they are particularly well suited to small
development teams, where resources are scarce and few team members are
highly skilled in the various areas needed for effective design. Monk also
assumes a relatively small and well-defined user base, either because of
in-house tool development or for development of a product in a relatively
narrow, vertical market. Because small projects have small teams, the
members cannot be specialists, so techniques must lend themselves to being
easily and quickly learned by members of the team.
The context for Monk’s discussion is an application used in a warehouse
handling food products for a large group of stores in the U.K. His method
begins with a representation of the “rich picture”, which is a high level
description of the work to be supported and that includes the work
environment described broadly enough to demonstrate that thought has been
given to the impact the new application will have on everyone who might be
affected by it. The rich picture takes the form of a rough, annotated sketch,
broadly describing the work being performed and identifying all of the
stakeholders that need to be consulted about the final design.
From the rich picture, a work objective decomposition (WOD) is performed to
produce a representation in terms of required states of the world. This requires
the designer to think clearly about the purpose of each process, rather than
their interdependencies or the means by which they are achieved. Later on, this
helps promote reasoning about alternative ways in which the work might be
supported. The WOD is a hierarchical representation of objectives with each
decomposed into subobjectives as far as it seems useful. Because the WOD is
an idealized view of the work, it must be supplemented by an “exceptions” list,
indicating things that can go wrong and/or points where the work might be
interrupted for various reasons.
Because the WOD and exception list are relatively abstract, user scenarios are
then constructed to add detail and make the understanding of the work more
concrete. Functionally, they are fictional, but typical stories describing he
user’s work. They also function as effective means for evaluating the design
alternatives.
The four representations described above are preparatory to actually producing
an interface design and are intended to enable the designer to incrementally
and iteratively refine the understanding of the necessary aspects of the user’s
work environment. Once that goal has been achieved, then the beginnings of a
design are formulated in terms of a dialogue model, which frequently consists
of a set of rough screen sketches and some indication of the flow among them.
The dialogue model is at the same level of abstraction as the WOD, the
exception lists, and scenarios, and thus can be verified against them. The
verification might suggest a useful metaphor for data representations or other
presentation/ manipulation aspects of the final interface. Necessary constraints
on the order of the work can be imposed in the dialogue model, but should be
restricted to only those that are necessary.
4.5. NILSSON AND OTTERSTEN (CHAPTER 6)
Nilsson and Ottersten provide an experiential, narrative approach to their
chapter in an attempt to focus on the process of bridging the design gap, rather
than the end result. Consequently, they avoid discussing details of a specific
project, in the interest of portraying the design process as a whole, rather than
risking the confusion of important issues with less significant details. They
begin their chapter with a design story about a project that describes a
collaborative effort between two designers, describing the activities they
perform and how they accomplish their goals. They also describe their
interactions with other members of a design team (e.g., a context and
requirements analyst) as they attempt to bridge the design gap.
The approach taken by Nillson and Ottersten emphasizes the importance of
designers’ reflecting on their efforts as a way of promoting creative processes
that result in new insights about the design goals. They describe activities such
as free sketching, Bubbling, and ways to consider appropriate metaphors. In
particular, the Bubbling technique is designed to get a quick start on the design
process by putting one key issue from the design space in a bubble in the
middle of a piece of paper. The designer (or designers) associate freely to that
issue, drawing connecting bubbles. The next step is to find ideas on how to
create one or more designs for each of the associated words. The Bubbling
technique is part of a more general method called Linné-VISA™ used at
Nilsson and Ottersten’s company, Linné Data AB. While much of the their
discussion focuses on creative activities, they point out the need for a designer
to have a clear and defensible rationale for each design decision.
For Nilsson and Ottersten the final phase of the bridging process begins with a
conceptual design, describing at a high level how the various parts of the
user’s work fit together in a way that matches the user’s mental model. These
conceptualizations are represented in rough sketches for further exploration in
design. In the second phase of design, a “functional” design is created by
making rough sketches of potential screen designs, also showing some
preliminary information about potential GUI controls. The controls are then
used in user evaluations with design guidelines based on principles of human
perception and cognition, which is part of Linné Data’s
AnvändarGestaltning™ method.
Previous Table of Contents Next
Products | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | Home
Use of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is
prohibited. Read EarthWeb's privacy statement.
