User Modelling ID 405 Human-Computer Interaction

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User ModellingID 405 Human-Computer Interaction
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Ascending and Descending By M. C. Escher 1960
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Mental models and program/design models
Users mental model
Designers program model
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What you are up against

• a mental model is what the user believes about
  the system at hand (belief, and not facts)
• individual users each have their own mental model
  (different users, different models)
• mental models are in a flux (users are bound to
  update models with experience)
• users suffer model inertia
• mental models are simple (if design model is
  nontrivial, it's probably not the user model)

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Lets see some examples

• the word "Google" is usually the top query at
  other search engines, and words like "Yahoo" and
  "Bing" score high on Google
• Why do people search for a website if they
  already know its name? Why not just type,
  google.com into the URL field?

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Lets see some examples

• Users don't just confuse search fields many less
  tech-savvy users don't understand the differences
  between many other common features
• Operating-system windows vs. browser windows
• A window vs. an application
• Icons vs. applications
• Collapsible/expandable views
• Single-clicks vs. double-clicks
• Local vs. remote info

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Lets see some examples

• Netflix queue vs. shopping cart
• Picture embedding in a word processor vs. WYSWYG
  HTML editor

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Lets see some examples

• When people have to guess how a program is going
  to work, they tend to guess simple things, rather
  than complicated things

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Lets see some examples

• When people have to guess how a program is going
  to work, they tend to guess simple things, rather
  than complicated things

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Lets see some examples

• In Microsoft Windows the AltTab key combination
  switches to the "next" window
• Most users would probably assume that it simply
  rotates among all available windows
• If you have window A, B, and C, with A active,
  AltTab should take you to B. AltTab again would
  take you to C
• Actually, what happens is that the second AltTab
  takes you back to A. The only way to get to C is
  to hold down Alt and press Tab twice.
• It's a nice way to toggle between two
  applications, but almost nobody figures it out,
  because it's a slightly more complicated model
  than the rotate-among-available-windows model

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So what can we do?

• In case of a mental model mismatch, you basically
  have two options
• Make the system conform to users' mental models
• Improve users' mental models so that they more
  accurately reflect the system

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Personas

• Personas are archetypes that describe various
  goals and observed behaviour patterns among your
  potential users and customers
• A persona encapsulates and explains the most
  critical behavioural data in a way that designers
  and stakeholders can understand, remember and
  relate to
• Personas use storytelling to engage the social
  and emotional aspects of our brain, which helps
  us to visualise and empathise with the user in a
  vivid and direct manner

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Personas

• Katie Bennet, digital camera user
• from Designing for the Digital Age Creating
  Human-Centred Products and services by By Kim
  Goodwin (pp.230)
• Set of goals
• Mental model
• Environment
• Skills
• Frustrations
• Likes dislikes
• Attitudes
• Typical tasks
• Behaviour patterns

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What personas are

• Personas are fictional characters but distilled
  from real data you gathered from actual users
  (data driven not based on assumptions)
• They are based on what users do and why they do
  them (actions, goals, motivations behaviours)
• Sound personas emerge from good data, rigorous
  analysis, and compelling human presentation

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What personas are NOT

• Creative writing exercises with photos and
  fictitious biographical details
• Market segments
• averages

Market segments
Mental models and goals
Segment size and value
Skills attitudes and behaviours
Demographics
always have May have
Personas
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What personas are NOT

• Creative writing exercises with photos and
  fictitious biographical details
• Market segments
• averages

Market segments
Mental models and goals
Segment size and value
Skills attitudes and behaviours
Demographics
always have May have
Personas
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Structure of a persona

1. Use a photo for your persona. A good photo is key
   to making the persona believable and convincing.

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Structure of a persona

1. Use a photo for your persona. A good photo is key
   to making the persona believable and convincing.
2. Give your personas names. Refer to them by those
   names. Avoid silly or alliterative names. Also
   avoid placing your persona in a category (like
   Stay-at-home-Mom). Silly names and categories
   allow people to stereotype the persona, and thus
   treat them as an other, not as someone
   potentially just like themselves.

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Structure of a persona

1. Use a photo for your persona. A good photo is key
   to making the persona believable and convincing.
2. Give your personas names. Refer to them by those
   names. Avoid silly or alliterative names. Also
   avoid placing your persona in a category (like
   Stay-at-home-Mom). Silly names and categories
   allow people to stereotype the persona, and thus
   treat them as an other, not as someone
   potentially just like themselves.
3. Highlight personas key behaviors and motivations.
   In order to deliver a great user experience, you
   need to understand why people would engage with
   that experience, and how they would go about it.

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Structure of a persona
4. Include basic demographic information. But
only to the degree that helps a reader better
understand who your persona is. Age, income,
occupation, marital status can be informative.
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Structure of a persona

• 4. Include basic demographic information. But
  only to the degree that helps a reader better
  understand who your persona is. Age, income,
  occupation, marital status can be informative.
• 5. Provide key statements in the personas voice.
  This statement might be something you heard in a
  research interview, or it might be a fabrication.
  The quote will allow others to see a distinct
  person.

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Summary

• User research is primarily about empathy
  getting designers and developers to have empathy
  for their users, and be able to deliver products
  and services that really appreciate the users
  needs and goals
• And personas are perhaps the best tool in the
  user-centered design toolbox for communicating
  empathy they feel like real people with real
  concerns, and when crafted well, can transfer
  insights realized through research to other
  members of the project team

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Summary

• User research is primarily about empathy
  getting designers and developers to have empathy
  for their users, and be able to deliver products
  and services that really appreciate the users
  needs and goals
• Personas are perhaps the best tool in the
  user-centered design toolbox for communicating
  empathy they feel like real people with real
  concerns, and when crafted well, can transfer
  insights realized through research to other
  members of the project team