Interaction Design
Qualities
Johan Åberg
Institutionen för datavetenskap
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First Some Definitions
• Design Values
Values that stakeholders have that guide
prioritization and selection
• Design Qualities
Characteristics of the design solution, in
interaction design often referred to as
experiential qualities or use-qualities
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E.g. Togetherness, Surprise, Confusion, Flow,
Effectiveness, Transparency
• Design Quality
An overall value judgment of a stakeholder in
relation to an object, accompanied by an
affective response and an assessment of level
of quality or value
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Design quality
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Synthesis
The Interaction Design Quality Prism
Build quality
Functionality
Communicational
Organizational
Aesthetic
Ethical
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Rationale 1
• An awareness of different perspectives on
interaction design productions allows:
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•
Teachers to show students different aspects of a
product or service
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Creatives to change perspective on their
production and by that think through different
aspects
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Critics to change perspective on interaction
design productions and by that give insightful
critique
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Project managers to staff projects and map
competencies
Rationale 2
• Perspectives on quality are assumptions that
act as frames of reference, which can hinder
people from taking advantage of available
opportunities
• Alternative reasoning provides a basis for
reflection, which is a starting point for learning
• Critical reflection can make you stop taking
your assumptions as objective truth
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THE INTERACTION
DESIGN QUALITY
INDICATOR
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Aesthetics
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Aspect
Dimension
Questions
Aesthetic
Form and material
Are visual and physical form, behaviour, and material
and media formats well chosen?
”Behaviour” refers to how a product or service
responds to interaction.
Character and innovation
Does it have a unique and innovatory character and
feel?
Experience of activity
Is the interaction and activity experienced in a
reasonable, alluring and natural way?
Think about several time frames:
- wow-experience the first 10 seconds of the first
impression
- mmm-experience at a closer inspection the first
10 minutes
- ahh-experience the first 10 weeks.
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Aspect
Dimension
Questions
Communication
Symbolism and identity
Are the operators presented in a desirable way, and
is suitable symbolism used?
Cooperation and
coordination
Does it support cooperation and coordination
between the operators (both front-end towards end
users, and back-end between internal operators)?
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Aspect
Dimension
Questions
Functionality
Usefulness
Is it useful for the user, with respect to its functions
and content?
Usability
To what degree is it understandable, clear, easy to
manage and to navigate?
Aspect
Dimension
Questions
Organisation
Operations
Is the division of labour in terms of leadership and
maintenance well thought through, and is it cost
effective and quality assured?
This is a question of how a product or service is
managed internally (back-end). Operations issues
include further development, administration,
documentation, rights, ownership, support, and
relationships to related products and services.
Business
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How is the product/service adapted to the business,
and what value does it add to the business?
Aspect
Dimension
Questions
Build quality
Constraints
Is the product/service realizable within a reasonable
budget, time frame and with reasonable
performance?
Possibilities
Does the product/service take current technical
possibilities into account?
Example: How does today’s TV:s make use of
internet connectivity in terms of new functions and
services?
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Aspect
Dimension
Questions
Ethics
Habits
What kind of behaviours is the product/service
supporting, and what are the long-term
consequences?
Power
What power structures does the product/service
encourage between individuals, and between
individual and organisation, or individual and the
society?
Norms
Does the product/service strengthen or break norms
and ideals in the society?
Topics in Stakeholder Meetings
Communicational Means & Value Perspectives
Functionality
Sketches
Scenarios
Computer
prototypes
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Organizational
/communicational
Aesthetic
Build
quality
Ethical
Product reaction cards
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Evaluation method
• Select a suitable number of visually loaded
adjectives
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Positive and negative
• Write them on small cards
• Let the user experience the product/service
• Let the user select the cards that best fit
his/her perception of the product/service
• Interview user about selections
• Summarize selection results
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Healthy
Guiding
Reliable
Inspiring
Innovative
Time saving
Top 3 selection
Personal
Selected words
Appetizing
Environment friendly
Cost saving
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Exercise – perform interaction
design quality analysis
• Ryanair.com – Focus on organisation and
aestethics
• PlanEatSmile.com – Focus on ethics and
aestethics
• Facebook.com – Focus on communication and
build quality
• 1177.se – Focus on communication and
functionality
• Systembolaget.se – Focus on functionality and
ethics
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www.liu.se
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