Week 6 / Fifth Lecture: User Centred Design [WeeFong]

User Centred Design (UCD) is an approach to design that grounds the process in information about the people who will use the product. UCD processes focus on the users through the planning, design and development of a product.       SOURCE: http://www.upassoc.org/usability_resources/about_usability/what_is_ucd.html

User Centred Design Principles

1. Designed for the user and their tasks 

A successful system meets business objectives through being user-centred and task-oriented. Throughout  development, always bear in mind the characteristics of the user population, their real-world tasks, and their working environment.

2. Be consistent

To minimize the learning requirements for users, make the behaviour of common interface elements and dialogue boxes as consistent as possible.

3. Use simple and natural dialogue

The dialogue between user and system should follow the natural sequence implied by the task. All messages and instructions should be in plain English and should use the vocabulary of the intended audience. 

4. Present information early

Don’t overwhelm the user by providing more information or coding than is necessary to perform the task. Where appropriate, present information in a consistent manner and location across different windows to  enhance learn ability.

5. Reduce errors

Reduce errors by guiding the user down the correct path to accomplish their goal. Where appropriate to the task, users' responses should be constrained to avoid error. Similarly, the system should validate data entry as near to the point of input as possible.

 SOURCE: http://www.usabilitynet.org/management/b_design.htm

Simplicity

Simplicity is a process of elimination. That mean simplicity force to have a good reason for everything. There is a film called FORESHADOWING mean that simplicity is not simple. A quot from Albert Eisntein, " if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand well enough ". 

Human Perception

- Chunking

Chunking is the elements of perception plus memory. That mean is a part of memorizing. Presentation of information is simplified by dividing up. However, the bite size is for easy to storage. Forming chunks in working memory depends on how information is presented. For example, categorized them in a shape and group to memorize. 

- Visual Variable

Visual Variable is a form of communication by encoding drawing and date. There are 2 ways that visual variable work on perception. 

1. Selectivity - Make it more attractive and stand out by the position, size, orientation, hue, value and texture. 

2. Associativity - There usually blended together and hard to differentiate the images which is attractive and the main.