Blog Three: Date
1/27/2019

What is Attention?

Attention “is the process of selecting things to concentrate on, at a point in time, from the range of possibilities available” (Preece, Rogers & Sharp, 2015, p.84). It’s our ability to choose what we hear and see around us.

Reflection

Most are familiar with the idea of paying attention in certain scenarios where it is demanded. But whether or not it is difficult or easy to be attentive “depends on (i) whether we have clear goals and (ii) whether the information we need is salient in the environment” (Preece, Rogers & Sharp, 2015, p.84). With the first point, one either knows what they are looking for or they don’t. So assuming that a person is looking for a specific word in a word scramble puzzle, they begin looking for a match. within a moment that person can find the words, especially if there are only a few places left unmarked on the puzzle. On the other hand, if the words to the puzzle are not given then that person could take much longer to solve the puzzle. With the second point, information can either be easy or difficult to find depending on the way information is displayed. So for example, try to find every word repeated twice in a row in the following passage:

You will probably notice that this text is significantly smaller than the the rest of the text on this page. A smaller font size definitely makes the text harder to read for for most people. As you continue to read this you you may notice that it only continues to become more difficult to read given how compact this block of of text is. By now you have probably noticed a few few that have been repeated. The question is whether or not not you are aware that you just missed the the “not not” in this sentence. If so, you may have missed the “the the” in that last sentence as well.

Given that the text is smaller and more compact, a person can easily skip over the repeated words without realizing it. This is because, after the initial sentences, a person likely starts to read the words faster and ultimately ends up skipping over words that are repeated. In the blur of visual scanning, the eyes meld the two words together, only seeing one word. A study on this phenomenon shows that “A word is skipped when it does not receive a direct fixation during the first pass; skipping occurs quite frequently with 1/3 of all words” (Robinson, Arbez, Berta, Tolk & Wagner, 2015). Of course, awareness can easily trump this trick. If one knew that each sentence had a repeated word, or assumed so, then they would take more time to read the passage more carefully.

My Thought

“Often I hear about people struggling to pay attention to the tasks that they need to get done. I’ve noticed from personal experience that this is because these tasks tend to be things that we don’t want to do. We are constantly distracted by our devices, the sources of our short term pleasures. My solution to this is to close the door, turn off my phone’s notifications, and listen to some quiet lofi hip-hop.” (McMillan, 2019).

Reference List

1. Preece, Rogers & Sharp, (2015). Interaction and Design: Beyond human-computer interaction. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2. Rayner, K., Slattery, T., Drieghe, D., & Liversedge, S. (2019). Eye movements and word skipping during reading: Effects of word length and predictability. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3543826/

Blog Two: Date
1/20/2019

What is a conceptual model?

A conceptual model “is used by the design team as the basis from which to develop more detailed and concrete aspects of the design” (Preece, Rogers & Sharp, 2015, p. 39). It is the organization of a design’s details to better understand various concepts and they relate to each other.

Reflection

Because a project often has a multitude of professionals of different skills, it is important to have a conceptual model. The conceptual model can come in many forms; the important thing is that it is done early during the design of the product. This is so everyone is on the same page. It is essentially a “working strategy and a framework of general concepts and their interrelations” (Preece, Rogers & Sharp, 2015, p.39). One example of a conceptual model from the text is the Xerox Star interface. The model was designed for less computer savvy workers. It introduced a simplified system with icons representing the office environment. By representing real-world objects and their functions an office employee is able to familiarize themselves with the system. Failure to create a conceptual model can be fatal to a project. Without the conceptual model “the group cannot come to an understanding of the model to be developed” (Robinson, Arbez, Berta, Tolk & Wagner, 2015). For example, a programming team could put in charge of developing a model. The result would likely be that “behavior features will be significantly biased to programming constructs” (Robinson, Arbez, Berta, Tolk & Wagner, 2015). Looking back at the Star interface example, this would mean that the system would have been designed less so for the user but more so with functionality in mind. This would have resulted in the non-computer savvy workers having difficulty using the product due to a lack of familiarity and understanding of the system.

My Thought

“The conceptual model is like a game plan or the debriefing before a mission. In this case, the mission is the product’s design. The goals of this mission are to better understand the user’s interaction with a product and for there to be an agreeable understanding of the system’s design moving forward into the project.” (McMillan, 2019).

Reference List

1. Preece, Rogers & Sharp, (2015). Interaction and Design: Beyond human-computer interaction. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2. Robinson, S., Arbez, G., Berta, L., Tolk, A., & Wagner, G. (2015). CONCEPTUAL MODELING: DEFINITION, PURPOSE AND BENEFITS [Ebook] (p. 4). Retrieved from https://www.informs-sim.org/wsc15papers/277.pdf

Blog One: Date
1/10/2019

What is Interaction Design?

Interaction Design is the process of “designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their every day and working lives” (Preece, Rogers & Sharp, 2015, p. 6). It involves a range of techniques to produce user experiences that improve the quality of life for people.

Reflection

Interaction design is something that spans over more than just a single professional field or product. In this case, I’ll look at a product I currently own, a computer mouse (see image below). It is clear to me that this mouse was designed with a particular user in mind. Near where the palm rests is a rubber, treaded surface meant to reduce sliding. On the left side of the mouse, a series of numbered buttons exist well within the thumbs reach. And the overall shape of the mouse fits the hand nicely. On top of this, the mouse is wireless. The user in mind is a gamer; the goal is to improve said gamer’s performance within the game while reducing strain on the wrist and forearm. Engineers, artists, programmers, and plenty of others were clearly involved in this product’s interactive design. As is the case with any successful product “designers need to know many different things about users, technologies, and interactions between them” (Preece, Rogers & Sharp, 2015, p. 9). The buttons on the side of the mouse were placed there with an understanding that certain gamers could benefit from having additional programmable controls on the same hand as the mouse itself. In an article about the creation of Logitech mice, the author describes the engineers behind the development of the product and its design. As Honorof mentions, the engineers “were both lifelong gamers and incredibly knowledgeable electric engineers, applying the demands of gaming and the laws of physics with equal fervor” (Honorof, 2019).

My Thought

“To be successful with interaction design, one should have set goals in mind. These goals should be focused on the targeted user and how the product in question can better support that user in achieving their own goals. There is always room for further improvement” (McMillan, 2019).

Reference List

1. Honorof, M. (2019). Inside Logitech’s Quest to Make a Perfect Gaming Mouse. Retrieved from https://www.tomsguide.com/us/inside-logitech-perfect-gaming-mouse,review-3486.html
2. Preece, Rogers & Sharp, (2015). Interaction and Design: Beyond human-computer interaction. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.