SIMS 213:
User Interface Design & Development
Marti Hearst
Tues, Jan 17, 2006
Alternative names for this course
User Interface Design, Prototyping, and
Evaluation
Human-computer Interaction
Why is HCI Important?
It can determine who becomes president of the USA!
A Related Problem
Evaluate the figures in a research paper
A Related Problem
What’s wrong
with this table?
Redesign: add
space between
the columns.
Palm Beach Phone Book (a joke)
Problems
The instructions are misleading
– Use of the phrase “vote for group” is misleading
• Should say “vote for one”
– Instructions only on lefthand side
• Implies righthand side is different
The interleaving of holes is misleading
– Only the president page has this layout
– Other offices are one per page (with appropriate instructions)
The sample ballot looks different
– No holes – the source of the problem
– Did not lead to complaints
Other Issues
People vote infrequently
– Have to re-learn the system each time
Rushed, uncomfortable circumstances
Palm Beach Demographics: Elderly
How to know if it will work?
Test out the design!
– Have real people use it!
– Try to match the appropriate demographics
– Even a few tries can turn up major problems
An Informal Usability Study
Barbara Jacobowitz, CHI-WEB, Nov 10, 2000
“I was able to print 10 different sample ballots from
various sources. Last night, I ran them all by my mother
(81) and a group of her friends (70-something to 80's).
All are bright, literate, and none are legally blind.
They did reasonably well on 9 of the ballots. On one, 6
marked it incorrectly and didn't realize it, 2 did it
correctly, but very slowly, and 2 had to ask me what to
do. Guess which ballot it was?.”
More Formal Refs
Electronic voting system usability issues BB Bederson, B Lee,
RM Sherman, PS Herrnson, RG., CHI 2003
https://drum.umd.edu/dspace/bitstream/1903/1238/1/CS-TR-4414.pdf
The Unconsidered Ballot: How Design Affects Voting Behavior. SK Roth - Visible
Language, 1994 - eric.ed.gov Visible Language, 28, 48-67
Disenfranchised by Design: Voting Systems and the Election Process,
SK Roth - Information Design Journal, 1998
http://stcsig.org/usability/topics/ballot/roth1998.pdf
Misvotes, undervotes and overvotes: The 2000 presidential election in Florida,- A
Agresti, B Presnell - Statistical Science, 2002 –
http://www.projecteuclid.org/Dienst/UI/1.0/Summarize/euclid.ss/1049993202
Law and Data: The Butterfly Ballot Episode, HE Brady, MC Herron, WR Mebane, JS
Sekhon, KW … - PS: Political Science and Politics, 2002 -
Josephine Scott, CHI-Web, Nov 10, 2000
“I spent fifteen years making the voting process accessible and
usable for all…
Usability standards must be higher for voting than any other
function for the most obvious reasons. Users--in this case, voters,
share the need for the clearest of design and instruction to cast a
vote properly. Many do not speak English well, or see well, or are
able to decipher difficult design cognitively, but they may be able to
make as informed a choice for president as our snobbish "experts"
who don't see a problem. …
Josephine Scott, CHI-Web, Nov 10, 2000
“Bad design like this exacerbates the problem. The glib notion that
"there is no problem because you can see the arrow" or that voters
who made this mistake must be stupid shows a lack of
compassion. Let me suggest that it is simple compassion for the
user that informs usability expertise. …”
Blaming the User
A huge step backwards:
– Cokie Roberts (appearing on David Letterman)
“stupidity is not an excuse”
Well-designed user interfaces do not present situations in
which it is easy to make mistakes
Alan Cooper’s mantra: software should not humiliate the user
In this class we assume: if the user does something “wrong,”
it is usually the fault of the system designer
Administrivia
Course TA:
– Andrew Fiore
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Office hours:
– Will be twice a week
– No need to make appointments, just come
– I will email the class if I can’t be there
Readings
Do indicated readings before the class
Required:
– Course Reader
University Copy
2425 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
510-549-2335
– Jakob Nielsen’s Usability Engineering
– Johnson’s GUI Bloopers
– Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things
– Cooper’s The Inmates are Running the Asylum
Course Schedule (Tentative)
Intro to HCI
UI Design Cycle, User-Centered Design
Goals, Personas, Task Analysis, Scenarios
Prototyping
Design Techniques
Heuristic Evaluation
Cognitive Issues and Human Abilities
Modes
Midterm
Usability Testing
Research Topics
WARNING:
THIS CLASS IS A LOT OF WORK!!!!
Project / Assignments Schedule
Dates shown are the week the item is due
Project proposals (3rd week)
Project personas and goals (5th week)
Scenarios, tasks, and initial sketches (6th week)
Lo-Fi prototype and test (8th week)
Individual Assignment (9th week)
Midterm (10th week)
[Spring Break]
First interactive prototype (11th week)
Class presentation (11th week)
Project heuristic evaluation (12th week)
Second interactive prototype (13th week)
Usability test (15th week)
Class presentations (15th week)
Third prototype and project writeup (Finals week)
Administrivia
Grading:
– Individual assignment: 20%
– Midterm: 30%
– Project:
• Many milestone assignments – required, must be done on time, but
not graded – will receive comments/feedback instead.
• Final project gets a grade at the end – counts 50%
Assignment
Start thinking about projects and team members
Look at previous years’ projects
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http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s05/projects.html
http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s04/projects.html
http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s03/projects.html
http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is213/s02/projects.html