Week 9

Chapter 10

The first thing I really liked about chapter was the picture on pg. 475, because I think that's how design for users' needs really does happen 95% of the time. If determining good design wasn't so difficult, then so much research and analysis wouldn't currently be going into it. I think the requirements phase is probably one of the most difficult phases of design, because most of the time the customer doesn't even know what THEY want. So trying to explain what they want to a designer can be very frustrating. Sometimes they do know what they want, but they do a poor job of conveying that, and end up with a product that isn't what they had imagined.

I liked that this chapter also had many real world examples. I find it much more useful to see techniques already discussed being applied somewhere, rather than reading something that's as dry as stereo instructions. For example, reading about the task descriptions or the Web Fun Central, were actually interesting because they apply to something a little more concrete.

Chapter 11

I think that prototyping is probably the most enjoyable part of design; especially after watching the video in IDEO in class several weeks ago. This is probably so, because prototyping involves the most amount of imagination and creativity. Being able to brainstorm with a group of people, then design some of those ideas just sounds... fun! Not to mention while trying to design one thing, you may end up designing something entirely different than what was planned, but can be extremely useful somewhere. It's also good to see work going into making prototypes of new interfaces for systems already in place, such as the eSpace project.

It was also interesting to read about the tool support, such as DENIM. I think an entire chapter should be devoted to tools used by designers to make their jobs easier. Not only that thought, I just enjoy reading about new programs I haven't heard about before. Who knows, maybe I could use one of the programs for something entirely different than what IT was designed for, such as Thoughtless Acts.

Chapter 12

After reading chapter 12, evaluation sounds like it would be a fun part of design as well. Hearing about why users did or didn't like your product will help you in future designs, as well as possibly understanding more about what users like and dislike when it comes to interfaces. Additionally, after some field work has been done, and the prototype has been evaluated by users, the prototype may need to be redesigned, which leads us back to the fun stuff!

Chapter 13

This was a rather short chapter, which really just wrapped up the basics of interaction design using the DECIDE framework. I suppose it was nice of the authors to provide us with an easy to remember acronym for working on a design project, even if it is overly simplified.




It really seems like the past few chapters have had largely redundant information. For example, chapter 10 had a large amount of data analysis, interpretation, and presentation information, even though an earlier chapter was already covered much of that. Also, chapter 13 provided the DECIDE framework, which is just a simple acronym for everything covered in previous chapters (although I think it was the first time informed consent and ethics were discussed).

Overall I think the book has been interesting, but the past... 5 or so chapters could have been mostly eliminated. The new information in each of those chapters could simply be inserted into their respective chapters.

Class Discussion

I really enjoyed Tuesday's lecture, specifically the mention of Spore and Will Wright. I've been following Spore for some time now, and think it's not only going to be a great game, but also a great leap in interaction design (just as his previous games, such as The Sims, have been). I also enjoy listening to Will's speeches, because he's such an intuitive and inspiring person. He's the kind of person that makes others really think and do. Also, I'd never heard of TED, and after browsing their website they're something else to keep an eye on.

Listening to Professor Hollan discuss Beyond Being There was also interesting, but I have to admit, in my opinion I don't think any sort of interface will ever be able to replicate (or even improve on) face-to-face interaction. There's something about actually being next to a person you're talking to that I don't think can be reproduced by any interface.

The guest lecturer on Thursday was also intriguing, because everyone loves music, and mixing music with new technology and interfaces can only make both of them better (or so I think).