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Imran Hussain University of Management and Technology (UMT)

Virtual University Human-Computer Interaction. Lecture 22 User Modeling. Imran Hussain University of Management and Technology (UMT). In the Last Lecture. Qualitative Research Techniques Conducting ethnographic field studies. In Today’s Lecture …. Personas Goals. Modeling. Why Model?.

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Imran Hussain University of Management and Technology (UMT)

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  1. Virtual UniversityHuman-Computer Interaction Lecture 22User Modeling Imran Hussain University of Management and Technology (UMT)

  2. In the Last Lecture • Qualitative Research Techniques • Conducting ethnographic field studies

  3. In Today’s Lecture … • Personas • Goals

  4. Modeling

  5. Why Model? • Used extensively in design, development and sciences • Represent complex structures and relationships • Have to make sense of unstructured, raw data • Good models • Emphasize features of structures or relationships they represent • De-emphasize less significant details • Create models based on patterns in data • E.g., physicists on the atom

  6. Research Modeling • Use ethnographic research techniques to obtain qualitative data: • user observation • contextual interviews Qualitative Data Usage Patterns Goals Personas Sets of observed behaviors that categorize modes of use Specific and general desired outcomes of using the product

  7. Moving from Research to Modeling • Need to synthesize patterns • This leads to the systematic construction of patterns in interaction • Matching • Behaviors • Mental models • Goals of users • Personas provide this formalization

  8. Personas

  9. Personas • A precise descriptive model of the user • What he wishes to accomplish? and why? • A.k.a. user models • Personas based on motivations and behaviors of real people • Personas based on behavioral data gathered from actual users through ethnographic interviews • When to create • Discovered during Research phase • Formalized during Modeling phase

  10. Strengths of Personas • How do you successfully accommodate a variety of users? • Do not design for everyone! • Different needs (e.g., a car for everyone’s needs) • Person A (Minivan) • Person B (Pickup) • Person C (Sports Car) • Design for specific types of individuals with specific needs • These users should represent a larger set of users

  11. Strengths of Personas

  12. Strengths of Personas • Personas are a tool for • Understanding user needs • Differentiating between types of users • Prioritizing users

  13. Strengths of Personas • Determine what a product should do and how it should behave • Communicate with stakeholders, developers and designers • Common language for discussing design decisions • Build consensus and commitment to design • Common understanding through narrative structures • Measure the design’s effectiveness • Can be tested on personas • Contribute to other product-related efforts • Sales, marketing planning, business strategies

  14. Personas and User-Centered Design • Personas resolve 3 user-centered issues: • The elastic user • Self-referential design • Design edge cases

  15. The Elastic User • The term user causes imprecision • During design decisions user becomes ‘elastic’ • Accommodating, computer-literate • Unsophisticated first-time user • Persons not elastic and represent real user needs

  16. Self-referential Design • Developers’ mental model, skills, goals, motivations projected onto product design • Manifested by a ‘cool’ product • Not understood by users

  17. Design Edge Cases • What could possibly happen, but probably never will • Personas provide reality check

  18. Personas Based on Research • Personas synthesized from data • Primary source of data • Ethnographic interviews, contextual inquiry • Supplemental sources of data • Interviews with users outside their use context • Information about users supplied by stakeholders and SMEs • Market research data (focus groups, surveys) • Market segmentation models • Data from literature reviews • Every detail in personas should be traceable • From user quotes, observed behaviors

  19. Personas Represented as Individuals • Personas are user models represented as specific, individual humans • Represented as specific individuals • Not actual people, but synthesized • Engage empathy of development team towards human target of design • Allow designers and developers to role play in scenarios

  20. Personas Represent Classes of Users in Context • Personas identify usage patterns • Usage patterns are behavior patterns regarding the use of a particular product • Patterns along with work/life-related roles define personas as user archetypes (archetype: an original model or pattern of which all things of the same type are representations or copies) • Personas a.k.a. composite user archetypes • Composites assembled by clustering related usage patterns across individuals • Personas and reuse • Personas context-specific • Cannot be reused across products • Archetypes vs. stereotypes • Stereotypes antithesis of personas • Reflect biases of designer biases

  21. Personas Explore Ranges of Behavior • Personas do not establish an average user • Identifies different kinds of behavior in form of ranges • Designers must collect a cast (collection) of personas associated with a product

  22. Personas have Motivations • Humans have emotions • Personas capture motivations in the form of goals • Identify usage patterns • Identify why behaviors exist

  23. Personas vs. User Roles • A.k.a. role models • User roles and user profiles • both describe relationship of users to products • User roles are • an abstraction • A defined relationship between class of users and their problems

  24. Problems with User Roles • More difficult to identify relationships in the abstract • Focus on tasks, neglect goals as organizing principle • Cannot be used as a coherent tool for communication and development

  25. Personas vs. User Profiles • User profile • Usually a ‘brief biographical sketch’ • Name • Demographic data • Fictional paragraph • Personas derived from ethnographic data

  26. Personas vs. Market Segments • Market segments • Based on demographics and distribution channels • Personas • User behavior and goals

  27. User Personas vs. Non-user Personas • Product definition error is to target people who review, purchase or administer the product • ‘IT Managers’ better served if real end user served • Cater for non-user personas where necessary • Enterprise systems

  28. Goals

  29. Goals and Personas • Personas contain sets of behaviors • Goals drive behaviors • Personas without goals • Communication tool [useful] • Design tool [useless] • Goals should determine functions of product • Function and Behavior of Product must address Goals via Tasks

  30. Goals Motivate Usage Patterns • Goals motivate people to behave in a certain way • Goals provide answer to • Why personas use a product? • How personas desire to use a product? • Goals serve as shorthand (in designer’s mind) for complex behaviors

  31. Goals Must Be Inferred from Qualitative Data • Can’t ask a person what his goals are directly • He can’t articulate them • He won’t be accurate • He won’t be honest • Goals constructed from: • Observed behaviors • Answers to questions • Non-verbal cues • Clues from environment • Goals expressed succinctly • Each goal expressed as a single sentence

  32. Types of Goals … • User Goals • Non-User Goals

  33. User Goals … • Life goals • Experience Goals • End Goals

  34. Life Goals • Reflect personal aspirations of user • Go beyond the context of product being designed • Examples • Be the best at what I do • Get onto the fast track and win that big promotion • Learn all there is to know about this field • Be a paragon of ethics, modesty and trust • Not directly related to design of interface • Addressing life goals creates fanatically loyal users

  35. Experience Goals • Product-related (general) • How someone wants to feel when using a product • People desire to be treated with dignity and respect and supported • Examples • Don’t feel stupid • Don’t make mistakes • Feel competent and confident • Have fun

  36. End Goals • Product-related (specific) • Expectation’s of the tangible outcomes of using a product • Examples • Find the best price • Finalize the press release • Process the customer’s order • Create a numerical model of the business

  37. Combining End Goals and Experience Goals • End goals have more appeal to • Business people • Programmers • Most products satisfy end goals and not the experience goals • Satisfying only end goals  users not happy • Satisfying only experience goals  product becomes a toy

  38. Non-User Goals • Must be considered, but not at expense of user goals • Types … • Customer Goals • Corporate Goals • Technical Goals

  39. Customer Goals • Consumer products • Concerned about happiness and safety (parents, relatives, friends) • Enterprise products • Concerned about security, ease of maintenance, ease of customization (IT managers)

  40. Corporate Goals • Businesses and organizations have goals for product • Enable designers to remain focused • Examples • Increase profit • Increase market share • Defeat the competition • Use resources more efficiently • Offer more products or services

  41. Technical Goals • Programmer’s goals • Ease task of software creation • Often take precedence over user’s goals • Examples • Save memory • Run in a browser • Safeguard data integrity • Increase program execution efficiency • Use “cool” technology or features • Maintain consistency across platforms • Users do not care about technical goals (e.g., type of databases used)

  42. Successful Products Meet User Goals First • Good products • Serve a purpose in a context for people • Key tool in designing is personas • Personas are specific people working towards specific purposes (goals) • Goals of real people using product are always more important than: • A corporation • IT manager • Users will try to meet business goals • But not at expense of their dignity

  43. Meeting user goals • Successful products meet user goals • Don’t make me (user) think • i.e. don’t make em’ feel stupid

  44. A user’s most important goal is always to retain his human dignity(Don’t make the user feel stupid)Today’s digital products degrade human beings

  45. Constructing Personas

  46. Constructing Personas • Personas derived from patterns observed during interviews and observations • Well-developed personas include information about • Goals • Attitudes • Work or activity flow • Typical workday • Use environment • Skills and skill levels • Current solutions and frustrations • Relevant relationships with others

  47. Process for Constructing Personas … • Revisit the persona hypothesis. • Map interview subjects to behavioral variables. • Identify significant behavior patterns. • Synthesize characteristics and relevant goals. • Check for completeness. • Develop narratives. • Designate persona types.

  48. Revisit the persona hypothesis • Compare patterns in data with assumptions in persona hypothesis • List behavioral variables • Behavioral variables in enterprise applications related to job roles • 15 to 30 behavioral variables per role • Modify assumptions if at variance with data

  49. Map interview subjects to behavioral variables • Map each interviewee against each applicable variable range • Place interviewee on a range according to a scale • Clusters indicate behavior patterns • Behavioral range a.k.a. behavioral axis

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