Project Change

MOOD&FOOD™

Affinity Diagram Results

aka making list of ideas to brainstorm and browse different possible scenarios.

Assignment 6 — Final Project | Contextual Inquiry

Contextual Inquiry #1

Persona #1

Persona #2

Assignment 5 — Final Project proposal

Stefano Lentini

Interface Design
Prof Sandra Villarreal
Final project Proposal

Sony Ericsson W350i Interface redesign

For my final project I would like to redesign the interface for the Sony Ericsson W350i mobile phone model I have previously tested and analyzed for both the user-scenario creation, the usability test and the paper prototyping activity. I feel that the opportunity to redesign the phone's interface correcting the flaws highlighted from these tests, would be the natural follow-up and a proper final conclusion for my device's analysis. 

According to both the usability test and the lo-fi prototyping experience activity this phone showed to have both ergonomics and visual weaknesses. While I won't be able to redesign the actual physical imperfections because beyond my field of expertise, I would like to focus my attention on the interface itself which I believe it could be effectively improved and refined by taking into consideration the observations gathered from the prior mentioned tests.

The entire system seemed to lack a sensible mapping of buttons, resulting in confusing and frustrating first time users interacting with the phone. The device presented also a difficult navigation hard to read and slowed down by too many steps and amount of options for each menu to choose, which in most cases are not needed or used at all by the user. Removing useless information and options cluttering menus, improving device's icon system design, rethinking and implementing the visual organization of the elements and the font size on the screen as well as redesigning the placement of buttons and other interface components in a more intuitive location are parts of the redesign project which I believe would increasingly improve device's functionality and give back to it a more natural and intuitive usability

Assignment 3 — User Scenarios/Tasks

task 01

task 02

task 03

Assignment 2 —

1. PRELIMINARY TEST

By observing the user interacting with the relatively new phone I could immediately notice how he seemed to have problems understanding how the main structure of menus and sub-menus worked and how to navigate them. He seemed very uncomfortable not being able to go where he wanted. It took a bit of time and effort to start warming up and understand the basic functions of the buttons, associating them with the information on the screen and orient and find his way through the various menus. It was a new process for him, but one thing was almost immediately and intuitively understood: the navigation up - down - left - right. It was the same as on his previous mobile he said. Memory does play a key role in the learning process. As far as I have noticed almost every mobile utilizes multi directional pad shaped like a diamond, with the cardinal points indicated by arrows, for the navigation. This is a very intuitive button which has a natural mapping immediately perceived and assimilated. Like Donald Norman says in the book The Design of Everyday things "A natural mapping reduces the need to memorizing information, which results in facilitating the user and so his user-experience." 

Interview questions

By continuing to watch the user I started writing down the following questions for the interview.

Q. What don't you like about the phone?

A. Wayne finds this mobile phone in general more complex and difficult to use than the previous model he had. "In the old one the menu button - which is the main button you access all the functions of the phone - was placed centrally, while in this one the menu button is unnaturally moved to the upper right side of the phone, just below the screen. 

Although he finds its minimal design and the white creamy color pleasing, and believes the shape is tight and compact, he thinks its size is too small and "gets lost in his hand". He complains it's difficult for him to visualize things as everything is way too small both for his hands and for his eyes. He has to wear glasses to see clearly and proceeds cautiously for every operations he has to make. If he could change anything he would make both the screen and the buttons bigger like his previous generation cell. He doesn't find particularly hard to compose a number but yet he is very slow because he is afraid that his fingers will overlap the numbers. He thinks that the buttons are also much too small for his thumbs."My thumbs cover the entire keyboard". He would be more comfortable with a larger keyboard that he could also see better without having to wear glasses. 

Q. Do you find difficult or easy to navigate the menu?

A. W. doesn't find particularly difficult to navigate up and down, left or right the central menu and in fact he figured out pretty soon both the multi direction and the back button. What he seems to have difficulties with is attending the entire symbology used by the phone. These icons seems not to mean much to him. He can recognize only a few of them (the self explanatory camera, the WWW for the web, the envelope for the messages..) and the rest remains obscure. Even to me to a closer look some of these symbols looked a bit odd. He finds the entire process of using and navigate the phone menus unnatural, overly long and not as direct as he might wish, and this seems to frustrate and confuse him the most. He also finds difficult in understanding how to jump from menu to menu and how to go back to the home page or to the initial central menu from wherever menu level he is at. He understands the upper part of the keyboard is dedicated to the menu navigation while the lower parts is for dialing numbers only, yet he doesn't seem to see an interelation between the buttons pushed and their icons, and the information that comes on the screen.

2. USABILITY TEST


Pre-defined tasks



— I asked the selected user to make a phone call using his new mobile phone 

W. was able to make the ph one calls successfully by remembering the number and than pressing each single digit on the phone's keyboard. He didn't use the address book function or wasn't aware he could memorize numbers in his phone and then call them by accessing the agenda and scroll the list down at a later time.

— I asked the selected user to compose and send me a message

He was a bit frustrated as he said he had done it only once. He showed some problems in finding his way to the message section. He seemed to push buttons randomly trying to guess the right one to find the message section without following a logic. Eventually once he got to the messaging section he really seemed to be lost and clueless as how to compose a word. He knows there is a certain way how to write but he doesn't remember it. He now has to pay extra attention to the buttons he pushes. The small flat keyboard makes it hard for his big thumbs to select the right button. He proceeds very cautiously and slowly. After a bit of effort and testing he is able to understand the working process and finds out how to write. Button 2 ABC one push writes A, 2 pushes B, 3 C, 4 2. Now he doesn't know how to put space between words. After the message is completed he looks puzzled by the two options he has to choose: CONTINUE or MORE. Both mean the same to him and don't make much sense. Continue to write or write more? where is the send button?

— I asked the user to read a message 

Again he wasn't able to find easily his way to the Inbox messaging section. The problem seemed to be recognizing the message menu section's icon in the main menu. Once the message section is found than he was able to select and read the message he wanted, but he was completely unaware on how to delete or forward such or any message.

User-generated tasks

With his phone Wayne would like to be able to make and receive phone calls easily, send and write messages, and eventually extend his capacity to take pictures with and send them to his clients.

2. DEFINE YOUR PERSONA

NAME: Wayne Mahler
AGE: 63
EDUCATION: College BA English Literature
ETHNICITY: Caucasian
FAMILY STATUS: Single
JOB TITLE: Assistant Sales Manager
GOALS AND TASKS IN RELATION TO THE INTERFACE:
Wayne would like to being able to make and receive phone calls and send or write messages, and maybe extend his capacity to take pictures with the phone and send them to his clients.

Wayne is new to the cell phone technology. He purchased one mainly for his job. He works as a Sales person in a fashion boutique store in Upper East Side. His use and need of a mobile phone is strichtly confined/limited to being able to receive calls from clients wherever he is and in any moment of the day. He has been using a cellphone device only for a year and a half now, but this particular model (SONY ERICSSON) only for a month. He is still very unfamiliar with the device and its interface. Because he belongs to a generation which wasn't used to these devices he says he doesn't feel the need of having one at all costs with him all the time and if it wasn't for his job he would not have one. Although he appreciates and recognizes its value in certain situations for instance when you are running late and you need to contact somebody, or in an emergency case, unlike the rest of the society he consider his cell a work or an emergency tool only, not a regular necessity or a status symbol and he firmly refuses to become intimate with it. I respect him for his firm stand and point and wish I could do the same setting myself free from the slavery of a cellular device always with me.

Since his use is limited to basic operations, the best interface for W. I believe it would be one of easy intuitive use, featuring basic operations for beginners which eventually would lead him to go further and extend his device use to more complex functions and operations it can offer.

QUOTE: "I have a block about any kind of technological device or machines in general. I don't retain memory of how to do these things because I don't really care. I find, it reduces the world to a very small landscape".

TASKS:

*********
1. SENDING A MESSAGE

> MENU
> MESSAGING select
> WRITE NEW select
> MESSAGE select
> WRITE MESSAGE
> CONTINUE
> ADD RECIPIENT
> SEND

*********
2. READ A MESSAGE

> MENU    
> MESSAGING select

> INBOX select

> VIEW

> REPLY

*********
3. MAKE A PHONE CALL

> MENU    

> ADDRESS BOOK select

> SELECT CONTACT

> CALL

4. PHOTOS

Sony- Ericsson 

after I have been thinking more about it, I see that the lower production industry costs on high
technology will make it possible to create and introduce to the market new more sophisticated
and technological devices, which before would have been difficult or impossible to sell as well
as for the company to produce, due to the extremely high manufacturing costs. Yes, for all of
us customers and users, more technology to embrace in our lives, learn how to use and adore.
Great right?

Reading: As You May Think by Vannevar Bush

Thoughts 

As a result of the continuous successful application and use of Science for man's benefit, life in the past twenty years has radically changed in every aspects. Undoubtedly today we are living in a highly automatized world - unthinkable twenty years ago - highly influenced by digital technologies. It's mind-boggling to think the limitless boundaries of Science and the constant flux of technologies innovations which are already permeating our society, deeply affecting our culture and the way we live now, and the ones that we will witness and experience in the future. To be honest I find it a bit scary how this all seems to be happening so quickly and how most of us seem to absorb and adjust to the new changes and taking it all for granted. However it's also fascinating to think that some of the things we can do today were pure speculation yesterday.

Communication is the key. I fully agree with the visionary Mr. Bush. Scientists should focus their energies and attention in developing and implementing new more efficient and modern ways to store, transmit and more easily consult all the records of human knowledge and past results of Modern Science that has been collected and amassed for generations, if we want to make it real use of it, manipulate it, and pass it on to future generations. Pretty spectacular and extremely interesting is the concept of the Memex machine which emulates and operates like the human mind with the power of association.

It's amazing that we are entering in a phase where high technologies is becoming standardized to a point that man is able to produce complex and more precise pieces of machinery which will perform reliably with great economy of efforts and costs. I can't think what the good or bad consequences of that will be but it's nonetheless astounding. 

Assignment 1 — Best & Worse Interface

MAC VERSUS PC INTERFACE
I have been using Mac computers for over 10 years. I purchased my first desktop computer in 1998, it was a PowerPC G3, one with the translucent blue and white plastic inserts. I believe that was the first time a computer would "dare" to come in such a bright and unusual look, and one of the first Apple featuring the new FireWire ports also. Over the years I have changed various computers but remained faithful to Apple and never regretted my choice. I went from a tower desktop computer to a series of different laptops. I also owned and used Ipods and Iphones. As a proud and satisfied Apple-customer Mackintosh-user I have witnessed and experienced first person how the Apple interface has changed and how it kept improving, remaining fresh and ahead of the times, with a constant stream/escalation of new features and technologies added to it at every new system update, which I could not experience and find with any other computer. 
Every new operating system introduces new slick behaviors, smoother animations and pleasant and customizable sounds which, while improving the functionality and enabling a more dynamic usability and of the device, they also make the entire user-experience of computing more fun and enjoyable. One thing that I find very smart is how the interface doesn't radically change from one operating system to the next, but instead "gradually evolves", perfecting old features and combining them with newer ones. Moreover I appreciate Apple interface consistency across its entire line of products. I find this to be an extremely important factor which increases a sense of familiarity in the user in front of a new product, and facilitates their learning process without requiring too much explanation. Last but not least Apple products are renown for their refined visual appearance which not only please the eye but also distinguishes them from any other in the market and makes them desirable and trendy objects. Their good design is just another reason why I personally, as a designer and a rather visual person, I like them. Overall I find the entire line of Apple products and their interface to be well-thought, made-and-designed-easy and definitely user-oriented. They are pleasant tools to work with very innovative, cutting down on any unnecessary operations. They are also great for creative applications so they work best for me and my professional needs, but don't think they are for everybody. I am aware some business applications along with other professional fields requires other competence which PCs may be more keen on. I am confident Apple will keep creating great computers and developing amazing interfaces.

Opposed to Mac I find PCs and their interface to be overly complicated and every time I have to use one, the experience turns out to be frustrating as I seem not to be able to freely use the machine as I wish. Every operations seem harder, and not logic even the very basic ones. For instance if I insert an external hard drive in a PC, I immediately feel unnecessarily disoriented and annoyed as I have to go and look for it in some menus or sub-menu somewhere where the external devices are listed in the computer directory. On a Mac instead while a sound alerts me that the external volume has been successfully mounted and it's ready to be used, the icon simply appears on the desktop in front of me. No need to spend time looking for it, it's right there, and right here I think lies the discriminant and decisive difference between the two systems and interfaces and how they operate. As a result one seem to be overly intricate, the other instead more straight forward. I can't think of a reason why PCs were conceived and developed the way they are. They definitely look and feel older, still connected to a conventional ideal and conception of an old and boring calculator machine, serious and complex to understand. Macs do feel younger, modern, fun, and informal, and really are the new generation of intuitive computer. I always smile when I see one of Apple witty commercials on TV, simply comparing two person with different age, attitude and personality to the two different systems. Mac is represented by a young, confident smart and easy-going guy, PC instead by an older, with no sense of humour, a bit awkward and old-fashioned looking business type of person. They are so different, just like the two systems.
I am sure PCs do have their pros and glories and might be best for some people, but to me I just find them more problematic to use, requiring more attention to navigate and efforts to learn them.


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first day

Class seems very interesting. I am excited to see how it develops!