Explain the concepts of task-centered design, user-centered design, and system-centered design. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very low and 10 being very high) score each of the three in terms of their importance in the design process if our primary goal is usability.
Low-fidelity prototyping has advantages as well as disadvantages. (a) State and explain what you see as the two strongest advantages of using low-fidelity prototyping in general. (b) State and explain one potential disadvantage of low-fidelity prototypes.
You are being interviewed by Bank of America to be hired to help them
address a problem they see themselves having with older customers.
They have a feeling that older customers don't use ATM machines and
the bank's web site because they are worried about making a mistake
that will lose them money, or of somehow breaking the equipment.
They see this as a problem because it is more expensive for them to have
to keep as many tellers on staff and available for longer hours, and if
more of their customers used automated services, they (the bank) would
save money.
Based on the techniques we discussed in class for gathering information
about users and their actions, describe how you would approach this if
you were hired. Give details, your job interview (and grade for this
question) is riding on it!
What is the defintion of the word "affordance" within the context of this course? Provide a practical example.
What is the defintion of the concept of "transfer effect" within the context of this course? Provide a practical example of a positive effect..
Explain the concept of and the problem/challenge with the so-called "illusory customer" in design?
What do you see as the trade-offs between "magic" and "literalism" in terms of interface design?
In class we looked at eight specific basic cognitive principles that should be kept in mind when designing interfaces. Pick three of these and present real examples where either applying the principle helped or going against the principle hurt your user experience. Your examples must be ones other than those presented in class and in the notes.
Why is it better to present hand-drawn low-fidelity prototypes done in pencil than computer-drawn printouts that look as if they are screencaps when working with users to get ideas on design and feedback on initial designs?
If you had to pick a single creation in the history of HCI technology to identify as the one that has had the most impact, which would it be and why?
Describe what you see as the strongest "pro" and what you see as the strongest "con" of the participatory design as it was discussed in class or the readings.