Design, Prototyping, and
Evaluation in Developing
Countries
Jen Mankoff,
Assistant Professor
EECS
1
What is human computer
interaction about?
 Creating applications that provide needed
services to clients in acceptable ways
 Supporting specific goals
– Efficiency
– Fun
–…
 A design process that leads to successful
adoption of designs
2
What is human computer
interaction about?
 Understanding
interaction of
–
–
–
–
Tasks
Customers
Technology
Environment
Tasks
Customers
Technology
 Techniques for
cycle of
– Design
– Prototyping
– Evaluation
3
Case Study: Computers for
Rural Healthcare
 Handheld support for rural healthcare providers
 Tasks supported
– Rapid access to medical records
– Addition of a new case
– Specific modules for pregnant women, young
children, etc.
 Employed a user-centered methodology (includes
customers/technology/Tasks/environment and
iterative design)
4
–Norman
–Value Sensitive
(informed by rural
health example)
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Design: Norman paper
 Even designing for engineers from MIT is
difficult to get right
 Solution: Use a discoverable conceptual model
–
–
–
–
–
Familiar affordances
Visibility of functionality
Natural mappings
Include feedback
Avoid creeping featurism
 Solution: Need to iterate on designs (6-8 times!)
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What does Norman’s model
leave out?
 Differing context of developing countries
– We don’t necessarily know what’s familiar
– Conceptual Models may be different
• Affordances differ
• Natural mappings differ
• Other thoughts?….
– Iteration even more key
 Differing values in developing countries
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Value Sensitive Design
 Values “depend on the interests and desires of
humans within a cultural milieu”
 Explicitly considers both direct and indirect
stakeholders (important for adoption)
 Tripartite methodology -- shared with usability
– Conceptual investigations
– Empirical investigations
– Technological investigations
… all support design
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Prototyping
 Rapid prototyping is crucial
 Goal of prototyping is to support further
evaluation and design (iteration)
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Prototyping Techniques
 Paper Prototyping
 Build it
 Wizard of Oz
 None are perfect -- research lies in creating
tools & techniques that will support rapid
development and evaluation
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Paper Prototyping

Sketch it out on paper
–
–

Fast, simple, effective
Simulate “computer”, get feedback about real use
Problems
–
–
Only really effective in well-constrained environments
Limited to desktop-like applications
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Build it

“sketch” it out on a computer
–
–

Existing prototyping tools & UI builders
Easy to create familiar look and feel
Problems
–
Existing tools limited to the desktop
•
•
–
Lack support for small, mobile devices
Lack support for variety of input and output
Familiar look and feel limited to our culture
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Wizard of Oz

Fake it
–
–
–

Only “prototype” the surface
Use a human “behind the curtain” to fake the rest
Particularly good for recognition
Problems
–
–
–
Easiest to do in a constrained environment
How does one “fake” rapid sensor input, etc?
Wizard must understand dialect, culture, etc.
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–Conceptual
–Empirical
–Technological
(informed by rural
health example)
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Many Different Evaluation
Technqies
 Different strengths and weaknesses
 Appropriate at different stages of iteration
 Samples presented today categorized under
tripartite methodology
– Conceptual investigations
– Empirical investigations
– Technological investigations
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Conceptual Investigations
 Usability: Task analysis:  Values
– What task?
– Who are the
stakeholders?
– Where will it take place?
(e.g. need for rugged
design)
– When will it take place?
– Why is it being done?
– Value identification;
– Stakeholder analysis
(who are they, benefits
& harms for each
group, connection to
values);
– Informed comparison
of fundamental issues
(are there conflicts,
etc)
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Empirical Investigations
 Usability & Values both incorporate
– Ethnographic inquiries
– Surveys
– Interviews
However, the questions asked differ
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Empirical Investigations:
Questions to Ask
 Usability
– Who/Where/When/What/Why (task analysis)
– What is the conceptual model work?
– What are appropriate forms of feedback, mappings,
etc?
 Values
– How are different values prioritized by stakeholders?
– How does what is said differ from what is done?
– What is the impact of larger structures such as
organizations and governments on what is possible?
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Technical Investigations
 Usability & Values both incorporate:
– Toolkits supporting good practice
– “Probes” (technology, culture, value,…)
– Experiments with prototypes
– Field studies
Again, the questions asked differ
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Technical Investigations:
Questions to Ask
 Usability
– Does a system meet specific goals (such as usability,
learnability, fun, etc)
– Does the conceptual model work?
 Values
– Does a given technology allow values to be expressed
in certain ways?
– Does a given technology imply values or impose
values that were not the designer’s intent?
– What benefits and harms does a technology imply?
How does this map onto corresponding values?
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As it happens…
 Major research goal for me is developing
tools and techniques for evaluation
– Ubiquitous computing (mobile devices,
unconstrained environments)
– Universal access (disability, literacy, etc)
 Applications in developing countries are a
perfect testbed for these ideas
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Contributions to date
 Tools & Techniques for simulating different user
experiences
– Motor impairments
– Visual impairments (relates to literacy)
 Technique for handling different values
(modified heuristic evaluation)
 Comparison of field & lab techniques for dealing
with a subset of ubicomp applications
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Plans for the future
 Tool for supporting combination of paper
prototyping & Wizard of Oz in
unconstrained, mobile applications
 Modifications to Ubicomp prototyping
tools specific to supporting different
evaluation techniques
 Additional modifications to evaluation
techniques
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