I am an interface designer

Since I am currently working on an interface design, I have some insights when I read the chapter 5, in particular the three aspects of meaning: ontology, inter-subjectivity, and intentionality. It changes my perspectives of looking at the system design process and my role as a designer.

I used to think my job is to create a user-friendly interface. I followed the principles & steps in the role model & task model to analyze different roles, create use cases, and test usability. Therefore, I thought a good design was having a good navigation, accessibility, readability, and so on. I have to admit that I didn’t think it thoroughly that user’s experience plays such an important role in designing process. Based upon this concept, I was actually building a common ground with the users and negotiating meanings in user’s experience during in interviews.

Thus, I am so agree the author’s statements: “Computation is fundamentally about representation (p.137)” and “The system can be thought of as the medium through which a designer and a user communicate (P.132)”. The representation must fit into user’s experience and can be understood & share common meanings by users, because users are acting through the system in order to accomplish something in their minds, for example: maybe making a complaint, a compliment, a suggestion, or a solution, etc. If the system doesn’t make sense to the users or doesn’t fit their ontology, they will simply not use it anymore. This is also the major finding I discovered after the usability tests in my project.

After reading these chapters, I do learn a lot and I realize the importance of a. From now on, I will have a brand new attitude toward my design process and I will keep those 6 principles in mind. :-)

miserable day... :-(

I am so miserable today. I spent a lot of time getting lost.... and, of course, doing some interviews & usability testing today (from 10:00am to 4:00pm). However, when I went back to transfer my DV firms to a CD, I found out my firms had NO audio at all. I was so shocked and upset, but I could do nothing about it even though some friends were trying to help me out. I should have checked it right after each interview, but, instead, I just assumed that it worked fine based upon my prior experience. Anyway, I learned a lesson today. However, I might be a victim of a broken camera because a friend of mine checked out a camera and reported the same audio problem last week. Therefore, the problem might not be fixed yet. Anyway, because of this event, I got some insights too. One is how come the camera doesn’t have any volume indicator. Second, I finally realize how a person feels when he is trying to report an error and how he would expect a system to help him with and to function.

Different frameworks in technological design

Different frameworks in technological design

Social computing design is moving from emphasizing a physical interactive and sharing space to a place which activities take place and also consider social understandings within it. Since a place is shaped by social meanings which created by a group of people, the place cannot be designed, but it can only be designed for. (p.91) Therefore, Fitzpartrick's locale framework is developed and it has a root in Strauss's theory of action. I'd like to think of this framework as a set of guidelines used in conducting analysis and system design. In the past, designers developed system based upon user’s needs by using role model and task model analysis. However, it often missed to consider what those action or activity means to them.

Here is a good example. I am working on a reporting system revision and conducting some usability test & interviews for the current version that they have been used for three years. There are some interesting discoveries during the interviews. The most significant one is if the system doesn’t "mean" anything to the users, they are not going to use it. For example, the system shows "problem resolved" on the screen to indicate the problem resolved status. Regardless whether or not the problem has been actually resolved, the status label "problem resolved" means nothing to the problem reporter. From the interviews, the problem reporters explicitly tell me they want to know HOW the problem is resolved. Otherwise, it’s a lot easier to just walk there and ask them for the information they want to know than use the system. How to design a system to support the dynamic process and fit into their working situation is a big challenge. The locale framework provides a different but very useful perspective to look at computer system design.

First try....

Never actually try to write a Blog before, even though I know some researches have proved its benefits. I have no doubt that it will be very interesting and challenging, especially to a person who has never written a diary for a single day. … Anyway, don’t know where to start yet, I think I will start with checking other’s blog.