More TCUID:
Tasks, Scenarios, and the Design Process
Hall of Shame
Median Crossing on First Avenue in Cedar Rapids
Sign B
Sign A
Sign B
Sign A
What's the issue?
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Mapping
• biggest issue
• "Do Not Enter" signs
• proximity of exits and entrances
Constraints
• elevation in the road
• "Do Not Enter" signs
Affordances
• openings in the median AFFORD to be turned into
Signifiers
• mostly ineffective
Feedback
• when every car is heading the opposite direction of you
Objectives for today
• Review project deliverables for this week
• Continue working through TCUID
– Elaborate; relate to other approaches
– Try out some techniques
Project: what’s coming up
• First, check the project guide frequently!
• Some of you may have met with your users
• …. So, any questions?
Deliverables for Week 5
• User Visit Report
– 5 Tasks
– 2 Scenarios
– Other stuff
User Visit Report
• Summary of the process you carried out
• A user description – relevant user characteristics
you are considering in your design.
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expected range of computer and internet experience
use environment
special user concerns or motivations
…
• what users do today to fulfill the needs that your
project aims to satisfy in a new way
Task Analysis
• Descriptions of at least five (TCUID) tasks that users would
accomplish with your prototype
• For each task description
• who are the users
• what are they doing
• why are they doing it
• At least three should be general tasks that users accomplish
today
• Detailed enough for users to understand and comment on
• Not tied to a specific interface
Current Usage Scenarios
• For two of the tasks, provide a detailed
scenario explaining how users accomplish
that task today
• These scenarios may involve computer
software, paper, or other devices, in any
combination
Other Stuff To Include
• Anything else you learned from the user
visit not already covered
• How effective was your process
• Lessons learned – what you’d do different
in the future
• Any information you could not gather,
along with either (a) plans for how you will
get it or (b) how you’ll continue without it
Be prepared to discuss
• What you learned from the analysis
• Any changes in your conception of the
project
Quick Review of Tasks
Tasks
• A detailed description of a complete job that a
specific user wants to accomplish
• Doesn’t specify how they would do the job –
separate the What from the How; concentrate
on the What
Using tasks
• Set goals for system functionality
• Inform design decisions
• Thomas: “Let’s add this cool new feature!!!”
• Sharon: “Why? Which task does it support?”
• Compare design alternatives
From Task to Design
• Write-up tasks, circulate among users
– clarify missing details
• Mock up an interface, using existing
systems or designs where possible
• Sketch out how each task would be
accomplished in the interface, then develop
scenarios
Sample Task
• Rita Neus, the on-line production coordinator for
the paper sits down at 1:30 AM before going
home for the night, and
– Selects the stories stokeef.xy, stguns.xy, stvet.xy,
stwres.xy, stcomp.sy (in that order) for the “news”
section of the website.
– She decides that stvet.xy should be the lead story
– She realizes that stwres.xy is actually a sports story and
moves it to that department.
Sample Task
Dr. Wenthold, head of the search committee, is in
charge of setting up the schedule for the campus visit
of a job candidate (Sal Lammy) on February 7th.
He schedules
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time to take the candidate to lunch, and dinner.
3:30-4:30 PM for the candidate’s research talk.
4:30-5:30 for the “wine and cheese reception.”
A 90-minute block for a campus tour which ends with a
meeting with the Dean (check with the Dean on
availability).
He contacts the other members of the department and
allows them to schedule 30 minute meetings with the
candidate for any time slot not yet taken and to join
meals.
Exercise
• Consider the general task of voting
– A voter chooses one (or more) candidate from a
set of candidates for a particular office
– In a given election, voters may have to make
choices for multiple offices
Exercise – Part 2
• Now consider tasks
– Write 2 task descriptions
• Who are the users?
• What are they trying to do?
Some example “tasks”
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Casting a vote
Changing a vote
Casting a ballot
Counting votes
Recounting votes
A better task description
• Mary Lee Rollalong gets a ballot.
• She votes for:
– Jay Walker for Mayor
– Krystal Ball, Moe Cotton and Jim Lawless for City
Council
– Bob Shotwell for Sheriff
• She then realizes she can only vote for two city
council members and so she “unvotes” for Moe
Cotton
• She submits her ballot.
Scenarios
• Specific instances of system use
– From the what to the how
• A particular task
• A particular interface
– What the user do would, in detail
• enough detail for a user to complete without task
knowledge
Example Scenario
Open two command prompt windows.
In window #1 type “ls –l”
In window #2 type “pico news.ord”
Type the following items one per line
“stokeef.xy”
“stguns.xy”
“stvet.xy”
“stwres.xy”
“stcomp.sy”.
Example Scenario
Using the cursor keys, move the cursor after the y in
the line reading “stvet.xy”.
Type “>lead”.
Using the cursor keys, move the cursor to the line
reading “stwres.xy”
Press ctrl-k to delete this line.
Press “ctrl-x” followed by “y” to save this file.
Type “pico sports.ord”
At the end of this file type “stwres.xy”
Press “ctrl-x” followed by “y” to save this file.
Scenarios aren’t always computer related
Obtain a paper copy of the “visitor schedule” sheet from the
secretary.
In the “who” field write “Sal Lammy.”
In the “when” field write “February 7th.”
In the “why” field” write “job interview.”
Draw a box around the fields for 12:00 and 12:30. Inside this box
write “Lunch with Li and others.”
Draw a box around the fields for 6:00-8:00. Inside this box write
“Dinner with Wenthold and others.”
…
Pick up the phone and dial 3-1234. Find out what time in the
morning the Dean would like to meet the candidate.
Draw a box around the time field suggested by the Dean and the
hour prior to this. Label the box “tour and visit with Dean.”
Properties of Scenarios
• Interface-dependent
• Detail appropriate to user, task, interface
• Make certain issues obvious
– how components work together
– tricky parts of the interface
• First step in evaluation
Exercise
• Take a look at myUNIverse.uni.edu
• Define 3 tasks students might try to
accomplish with the site
– Remember what tasks are used for
Where are we?
• Project
– This week in Studio
• First user visit during week
• Visit Report due Friday
• Reading
– Should have read
• DOET
• TCUID 1-2
Hey wait!!!!
• Weren’t we supposed to have some “pop
quizzes” from time to time???
• Put everything away except a pen/pencil.