Working with People
& Project Overview
“Doing right by your participants”
In class exercise – observe
someone
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On your cell phone
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Look up most recently called and return
call
Add each other’s name to the phone
book
Swap phones
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Now look up your name and call yourself
What did we learn?
What was surprising?
 What problems did you observe?
 How would this be different in real
world?
 How did you feel about being
observed?
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Evaluation Means People
Recall:
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Users and their tasks are identified
Needs and requirements are specified
Interface is designed, prototype built
 But is it any good? Does the system support
the users in their tasks? Is it better than
what was there before (if anything)?
 Evaluating your design requires human
participants
 Issues of rights, respect, ethics
Ethics
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Testing can be arduous; privacy is important
Each participant should consent to be in
experiment (informal or formal)
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Know what experiment involves, what to
expect, what the potential risks are
Must be able to stop without danger or
penalty
All participants to be treated with respect
IRB, Participants, & Ethics
 Institutional Review Board (IRB)
 Reviews all research involving human (or
animal) participants
 Safeguarding the participants, and thereby
the researcher and university
 Not a science review (i.e., not to asess
your research ideas); only safety & ethics
 http://www.research.uncc.edu/Comp/human.cfm
Ethics Certification
Ethics is not just common sense
 Training being standardized to
ensure even and equal
understanding of issues
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Recruiting Participants
 Various “subject pools”
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Volunteers
Paid participants
Students (e.g., psych undergrads) for course credit
Friends, acquaintances, family, lab members
“Public space” participants - e.g., observing people
walking through a museum
 Must fit user population (validity)
 Motivation is a big factor - not only $$ but also
explaining the importance of the research
 Note: Maintaining proper ethics applies to all
participants, even friends and family
Consent
 Why important?
 People can be sensitive about this process
and issues
 Errors will likely be made, participant may feel
inadequate
 May be mentally or physically strenuous
 What are the potential risks (there are always
risks)?
 Examples?
 “Vulnerable” populations need special care &
consideration
 Children; disabled; pregnant; students (why?)
Before Study
 Be well prepared so participant’s time is not
wasted
 Make sure they know you are testing
software, not them
 (Usability testing, not User testing)
 Maintain privacy
 Explain procedures without compromising
results
 Can quit anytime
 Administer signed consent form
During Study
Make sure participant is comfortable
 Session should not be too long
 Maintain relaxed atmosphere
 Never indicate displeasure or anger
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After Study
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State how session will help you improve
system (“debriefing”)
Show participant how to perform failed tasks
Don’t compromise privacy (never identify
people, only show videos with explicit
permission)
Data to be stored anonymously, securely,
and/or destroyed
Attribution Theory
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Studies why people believe that they
succeeded or failed--themselves or
outside factors (gender, age
differences)
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Explain how errors or failures are not
participant’s problem---places where
interface needs to be improved
Observation
Done at any time during design
process
 Challenge: stepping away from
personal knowledge and
understanding the point of view of the
user
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Observation cont.
“Quick and dirty” or formal
 In lab – usability studies
 In field
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As an outsider
 Or participant (ethnography)
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Assignment 1
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Observe someone or something within our
project theme
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Does not have to be digital photos
Be creative!
Remember ethics!
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If asking someone to do something, explain
the point, get verbal consent
Be prepared
Keep things comfortable
What to take away?
Who, Where, and What details
 See frameworks on pg. 368 for some
questions
 Then, draw implications – what was
interesting to you? What might this tell
you about problems, applications,
etc.?
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Project Structure
Group project – 3 or 4 people
 Worth 40% of grade, 10% per part
 Design and evaluate an interface
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1 - Understand the problem
 2 - Design alternatives
 3 - Prototype & evaluation plan
 4 – Evaluation
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Project theme: Displaying
and/or sharing digital photos
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Think of someone else
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Think off the desktop too!
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Mobile, handheld, environmental
Think everyday
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Avoid being biased by your intuitions
Home
Think about people first, then
technology
Programming requirements
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Leverage team expertise
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Full functionality is NOT intention
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But good evaluation requires
authentic experience
Project Details
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Part 1 - Understanding the problem – Due
Sept. 20
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Describe tasks, users, environment, social
context
Any existing systems in place
Helps form basis for your requirements
“Describe the problem, not the solution”
Project Details
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Part 2 - Design alternatives – Due Oct. 13
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Storyboards, mock-ups for multiple different
designs
Explain decisions
Poster session in class previous week (10/6)
Part 3 - System prototype & eval plan - Due
Nov. 11
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Semi-working interface functionality enough to evaluate
Plan for conducting evaluation
Demo prototype
Project Details
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Part 4 – Evaluation – Due Dec. 1
Conduct evaluation with example
users
 Characterize pros and cons of the UI
 Discuss what you would do to fix
problems
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Present results to class 12/1 and 12/6
Project Presentations
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Informal poster session
Feedback on ideas
 Oct. 6 (right before fall break)
 Other students and “expert” gallery
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Formal project presentation
Final two classes
 20 minute summary
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Project Groups
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3-4 people
You decide
 Diverse is best!
 Consider schedules, email habits, etc.
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Cool name
 Form by end of next week
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Project Topics
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Real “client”
Professional family and friends?
 Organization you belong to, volunteer
with?
 Hobbies or other activities?
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Domain
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Office, home, school
Previous Projects
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System for organizing and showcasing art
Mall kiosk
Friend Finder on a cell phone
System to assist real estate agents with
directions and details for showing houses
System for assisting anesthesiologists
Campus companion
University remote control for a hotel room
Money tracker in your wallet
Example: My Picture Frame
Sharing photos with distant people
 Viewing a person’s “album”
 Letting someone know you are
thinking of them through photos
 Features: web interface to view and
upload, picture frame on someone’s
desk that changes
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Your turn
Pair or triple up…
 Brainstorm
ideas/problems/applications with
digital photo display and sharing
 Choose a couple and elaborate
 Pause to share ideas with everyone…
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