Unit II

“DESIGN PROCESS”
The process of design :
These are the steps to follow for interaction design.
• Research: The first step in the design process is to conduct
research to understand the users and their needs. This includes
collecting data on the target audience, their goals, and their
environment.
• Design: Based on the research, the next step is to design the user
interface. This involves creating wireframes and prototypes of the
interface, taking into account user requirements, usability, and
accessibility.
• Evaluation: Once the design is created, it is necessary to evaluate
the usability of the interface. This can be done through user testing
and feedback. This step helps in identifying any issues or problems
in the design.
The process of design :
• Iteration: Based on the feedback received, the design is
refined and improved. This iterative process continues
until the design meets the needs of the users and
achieves the desired outcomes.
• Implementation: Once the design is finalized, it is time
to implement it into a working system. This involves
coding and testing the system to ensure that it works as
intended.
• Maintenance: After the system is implemented, it needs
to be maintained to ensure that it remains usable and
effective. This includes regular updates, bug fixes, and
user support.
User Focus Design:

• User-focus design in human–computer interaction (HCI)

refers to designing an interface according to the users'
needs. This means we take all decisions for the interface
considering the end users' preferences and abilities.
User Focus Design:
Why is user-focus design important?
• An interface can be excellent in terms of usability, but is of
no benefit if no one uses it. Therefore, we must not ignore
the end-users in the design process.
• User-focusdesign ensures that the users' needs are taken
into account, and provides a high-quality user experience for
them.
Scenarios in HCI:
There are many scenarios in which HCI plays an
important role :
• Designing a mobile app: When designing a mobile app,
HCI principles can be used to ensure that the app is user-
friendly and easy to use. This includes things like designing
an intuitive interface, using clear and simple language, and
ensuring that the app is accessible to people with different
abilities.
• Testing a website: Before launching a website, HCI experts
may conduct usability testing to ensure that the website is
easy to navigate and use. This can involve asking users to
perform specific tasks on the website and observing their
interactions to identify any issues or areas for improvement
Scenarios in HCI:
• Creating a voice interface: When designing a voice
interface, HCI principles can be used to ensure that the
interface is easy to use and understand. This includes things
like designing clear prompts, using natural language
processing to understand user input, and providing feedback
to the user.
• Developing a virtual reality experience: HCI principles
are important in the development of virtual reality
experiences, as they can help ensure that the experience is
immersive, engaging, and easy to navigate. This can involve
designing intuitive controls, creating realistic environments,
and ensuring that the experience is comfortable for users.
Navigation Design in HCI:
Navigation design plays a key role in helping users navigate
through digital interfaces such as websites, mobile apps, and
software applications. Here are some key considerations for
navigation design in HCI:
• Consistency: Consistent navigation design throughout an
interface can help users understand how to navigate and
find what they need. Consistency can be achieved through
the use of common navigation patterns such as menus, tabs,
and breadcrumbs.
• Clarity:Navigation elements should be clear and easy to
understand. Use labels and icons that are self-explanatory
and provide meaningful feedback when clicked or tapped.
Navigation Design in HCI:
• Hierarchy: Navigation design should reflect the information
architecture of the interface. Important content or features
should be placed prominently, while less important elements
should be placed in secondary menus or sub-pages.
• Context: Navigation should be designed with the user's
context in mind. For example, on a mobile app, users may
want to quickly access frequently-used features, while on a
website, users may want to browse through different
categories of content.
Navigation Design in HCI:

• User Testing: User testing is essential in evaluating

navigation design. Conducting usability tests or user surveys
can help identify areas where users may struggle with
navigation and provide feedback for improvements.
• Flexibility:
Navigation design should be flexible enough to
accommodate different devices and screen sizes. For
example, a responsive website should adjust its navigation
design based on the device being used.
Screen Design and Layout:
• Screen design refers to the graphic design and layout of
user interfaces on displays. It is a sub-area of user interface
design but is limited to monitors and displays.
• Inscreen design, the focus is on maximizing usability and user
experience by making user interaction as simple and efficient as
possible. Technical background functions do not matter in screen
design.
• Web design, on the other hand, is the process of creating
websites that implement the functions not considered in screen
design. You could say that screen design thus makes the
functionality specified in the context of web design applicable to
users.
Screen Design and Layout:
• Screen design will typically differ depending on whether it is
designed for older people, children, or adults.
• Someone who deals with a particular device on a daily basis
will have less difficulty using complicated screens than
someone who is less familiar with them.
• Screen design is about making interaction easier for users
through a functional yet aesthetic arrangement of all screen
elements, whether it is the display of a smartphone or the
touch screen of a car navigation system.
What makes good screen design?
Focus on users –
• Good screen design always focuses on users and takes their
needs and expectations into account when designing a user
interface.
• The elements (text, images, icons, and buttons) are
arranged and designed in a way that enables consumers to
easily understand and apply them.
• User-oriented screen design is based on knowing users'
preferences, skills, and goals and requires a designer who
can empathize with their audience to create a simple and
effective solution that is easy to execute.
What makes good screen design?
Screen design doesn't reinvent the wheel -
• Good screen design takes into account that over the years
users have become accustomed to certain elements and
their function and appearance.
• People will accept and use new applications more quickly if
their design is similar to applications they are already
familiar with.
• Therefore, some companies are developing a library of
standard screen templates that developers can use. This
approach not only helps enforce design standards but also
accelerates screen design development.
What makes good screen design?
Less is more -
• Too many details can overload a screen and confuse viewers. Good
screen design considers users’ eye movements and provides clarity
with simple symmetries.
• An incoherent alignment of different sections, texts, and images can be
overwhelming. There should be a comfortable distance both towards
the screen edge and between different sections of the screen.
• Dividing the screen into sections is useful when these sections clearly
serve different purposes.
• Colors can be useful to highlight sections and required field entries or
to improve overall appearance. Use common fonts that are familiar to
users.
Basics of Layout:
• Layout is defined as the particular way elements are
arranged. In the case of interface design, these elements are
the informational, functional, framing, and decorative parts
of the screen.
• Thoughtful placement of these elements helps to guide and
inform your users about the relative importance of the
information and functions.
• No matter what size screen you are designing for—web,
kiosks, or mobile—careful consideration of the placement of
content is key to helping the user understand what they
need to know and what to do about it.
Basics of Layout:
The layout of screen elements is an important aspect of designing a
user-friendly interface. The goal is to arrange the elements in a way
that makes it easy for users to understand and interact with the
interface. Some common layout patterns include:
• Grid layout: This involves arranging elements in a grid pattern,
where each element occupies a specific cell within the grid. This
can make it easier to organize elements and create a consistent
visual structure.
• Flow layout: This involves arranging elements in a linear
sequence, where each element flows from left to right or top to
bottom. This can be useful for presenting information in a
structured way, such as in a form or a list.
Basics of Layout:
• Hierarchical layout: This involves arranging elements in a
hierarchy, where the most important elements are given
prominence and lesser elements are arranged in a subordinate
position. This can be useful for interfaces that require users to
navigate through multiple levels of information.
• Radial layout: This involves arranging elements in a circular
or radial pattern, with the most important elements placed at
the center and lesser elements radiating out from there. This
can be useful for interfaces that require users to quickly access
a large number of options.
Iteration and Prototyping
Iteration and prototyping are two important concepts in human-
computer interaction (HCI) design that help designers create
more effective and user-friendly interfaces.
• Iteration involves repeating a process or a set of steps
multiple times, making small changes each time in order to
improve the outcome.
• In HCI design, iteration involves repeatedly testing and
refining an interface in response to feedback from users. This
allows designers to identify and fix usability issues and
improve the overall user experience.
Iteration and Prototyping
• Prototyping involves creating a preliminary version of an
interface in order to test its design and functionality.
Prototypes can range from simple sketches or wireframes to
more detailed and interactive mockups.
• By testing prototypes with users, designers can identify and
fix usability issues early in the design process, before
investing a lot of time and resources in development..
In HCI design, iteration and prototyping often go hand-in-hand.
Designers create prototypes, test them with users, and then
iterate based on the feedback they receive. This process may
be repeated several times until the design meets the needs
and preferences of the target users.
Usability Engineering -
The goal of usability engineering is to create interfaces that are
easy to learn, easy to use, and provide a positive user experience.
Usability engineering is an iterative process, and each step may be
repeated multiple times until the interface meets the desired level
of usability.
The usability engineering process typically involves the following
steps:
• Identify user requirements: This involves identifying the
needs and preferences of the target users. This may involve
conducting user research, such as surveys, interviews, or
observations.
Usability Engineering -
• Establish usability goals: This involves setting
measurable goals for the usability of the interface. For
example, goals may include reducing the time it takes to
complete a task, reducing the number of errors made by
users, or increasing user satisfaction.
• Design the interface: This involves creating an interface
that meets the identified user requirements and usability
goals. This may involve using design patterns, guidelines,
and principles that have been shown to improve usability.
Usability Engineering -
• Prototype and test the interface: This involves creating a prototype of
the interface and testing it with users. Testing may involve usability
testing, where users are observed while they perform tasks on the
interface, or user acceptance testing, where users provide feedback on the
interface
• Evaluate and refine the interface: Based on the results of testing, the
interface is evaluated and refined to improve its usability. This may involve
making changes to the design, layout, or functionality of the interface.
• Implement and maintain the interface: Once the interface has been
finalized, it is implemented and launched. The interface may require
ongoing maintenance and updates to ensure that it continues to meet user
needs and usability goals.
UI Design Rules
There are several UI design rules in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
that are essential to creating effective and user-friendly interfaces.
• Consistency: Consistency is key when it comes to UI design. Users
should be able to predict how the interface will behave based on
previous interactions. This means using consistent placement of
buttons, menus, and other interface elements across all screens and
maintaining consistent terminology.
• Visibility: All important functions and features of the interface
should be visible to the user without requiring additional effort. The
user should be able to easily find what they need to accomplish their
task.
UI Design Rules
• Feedback: The interface should provide feedback to users in response
to their actions. This can include visual or audio cues to indicate a
button press, progress indicators for long-running tasks, and error
messages when something goes wrong.
• Error Prevention and Recovery: The UI should be designed in a way
that prevents errors from occurring in the first place. If errors do occur,
the system should help the user recover from them quickly and easily.
• User Control: The interface should allow the user to control their
interactions with the system. This means allowing them to customize
settings, providing options for undo and redo, and avoiding automatic
actions without the user's consent.
UI Design Rules
• Minimize Cognitive Load: The UI should be designed to minimize
the cognitive load on the user. This means avoiding clutter and
complexity and using simple, consistent design patterns.
• Accessibility: The interface should be designed with accessibility
in mind, so that it can be used by people with disabilities. This
means providing options for screen readers, keyboard-only
navigation, and other accessibility features.
Principles of usability in HCI
• HCI(Human Computer Interaction) and Usability are
becoming core concepts of the system development process
to improve and enhance system facilities and to satisfy user
needs and necessities.
• Usability ensures the system is efficient, effective, safe, easy
to learn, easy to remember, easy to evaluate, and provides job
satisfaction to users.
• ISO 9421 defines usability as effectiveness, efficiency, and
satisfaction with which users accomplish tasks.
Principles of usability in HCI
Principles of usability in HCI
Principles of Learnability:
• Predictability: It determines the effects of future action based on
past interaction history.
• Synthesizability: It determines the effects of past operations on
current states. eg.- move file
• Familiarity: New users can get familiar with the functionality and
interaction style of the application.
• Consistency: It means through the resultant behavior of the
system. Every time system gives the same result on the same set of
inputs.
• Generalizability:It requires specific knowledge of the same
domain knowledge. eg.- Cut, Copy, etc.
Principles of usability in HCI
Principles of Flexibility:
• Dialog initiative: All the dialogs are done by a simple request
and response system.
• Multithreading: Single set of code on input can be used by
several processes at different stages of execution.
• TaskMigratability: Transfer the execution of the task from the
system to the user and decide who is better. eg.- Spell Checker
• Substitutivity: It allows equivalent values of input and output to
be substituted with each other. eg.- Percentages and Grades
• Customizability: It supports the modifiability of the user
interface by a user (adaptability) or system (adaptivity).
Principles of usability in HCI
Principles of Robustness:
• Observability: The user should be able to evaluate the internal
features of a system and give proper feedback.
• Responsiveness: Real system feedbacks on the user’s action.
• Recoverability: To fix and solve errors and get the correct
actions.
• Task Conformance: The system supports all the requirements
of the user and how the user interacts with them