HCI Blog: 25 March 2007

Summary of HCI Project

Explaining and discussing practical and theoretical aspects of HCI

Product Research
Meetings

HCI principles applied to the practical problem

Personas
Questionnaire
Responses To Questionnaire
Evaluation Techniques

Analysis and Design work in HCI

Characteristics of Elderly People
Design Ideas
Product Decision - Nutritional Device
Problem Definition
Requirements for the Nutritional Device
Task Analysis
Initial Prototypes
Hardware Requirements from the Prototypes
Software Requirements from the Prototypes
Final Hardware Prototypes
Software Prototype
Evaluation Techniques
Re-Design on Hardware
Re-Design on Software Prototypes
Cognitive Walkthough on Re-design
Conclusion

Conclusion of Final Hardware Design

Our design has changed somewhat from our original, however these changes have been justified through our cognitive walkthrough, our questionnaire and market reseach.

The first design, although looking rather slick with its 'ipodness' theme of being white, slim and rather attractive did not fulfill the objectives set out. As described in the walkthrough, the device was hard to hold, with no strap and the buttons not large enough. The product also lacked a feeling of robustness with the screen being so large and no grips/protective sides. Although the center button was easily identifiable, the other weren't so and so some labelling would have been helpful but the layout was well established and followed other devices used frequently by people(e.g remote) which was identified in the questionnaire.

The second design solved the problem of the buttons however the grip was way too large and uncomfortable to hold. The idea of grooves on both sides may allow both left and right hand users to use the product, however it ruined the look of the product and appeared to be overkill. The scanner is also hard to identify so where the put the barcode is confusing. The screen stayed the same size as it was seen adequate in the walkthrough and was inline with other PDA screens found in the market research.

The final design offers the user a device that can be held comfortably and used with ease. The buttons are self explanitory with the use of labels, and the scanner clearly indentifiable. The modified grip now looks in keeping with the design and the overall outfit is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. An added modification that can not be seen is the use of a strap that can be added to ensure that the PDA stays firmly in the palm of the user. Overall the developments that have taken place on the design have made the end product a user friendly device that is purposely sculptured around its target audience.

Conclusion of Final Software Mock Up

The screens(designed by david) have taken into consideration everything a lot that we have discussed on this blog. If you review back to the photos of the meetings on the software requirements we can tick evaluate our final design to what we set out to achieve:

Simple Menus: Everything is clearly labelled and the buttons easily identifiable
Nutrition Colours: The food can be broken down into its components which is understood by the majority of the users. If, as expected, the owner uses this device often they will become familiar with the colours and be able to identify the healthier foods more easily by its 'components'.
Advanced Options: The owner can set up their own profile whereby they can set allergies or particular diets that they need to follow. This is really important for elderly people whose diets could make a huge difference to their actual health.
Clear: each screen is labelled and set out with to maximise clarity. No large words or huge amounts of texts are used. As our senses depreciate with age, and our target audience being the elderly this was a major factor in our design. If the text is too small then all the functionality of the device would be wasted as it would be deemed unusuable by a large proportion of the population we are aiming at.

Re-Evaluation - Cognitive Walkthough II

Upon picking up the device I was pleased with the improvements I suggested. I'm not sure why the screen size has decreased, but the text seems viewable for me at least. It’s always nice to have a large screen but maybe this was the reason I found it hard to pick up in the first place. The suggestions of button colour, design and text placement on the device are to my liking. Despite the reduction of screen size I still feel people with arthritis will still find it hard to pick up and hold. I think now that the device is easy to hold with one hand there is no need for a strap to attach it to my person.

When I turn the device on the initial screen showing the setup was of decent quality and allowed me to personalize the device to my dietary needs. I noticed that some dietary needs were still missing and if you add these the device will be improved. I started off by trying to scan in a packet of crisps and I was still confused when it didn't scan in first time round, but it finally worked just like last time. I can't see a way you can improve it though. I was disappointed there was no picture alongside the text which displayed the item I scanned in. I like the way it said press the red button since pressing a coloured button is easier than which of the two buttons is the select button. I like the way you could go back to the main menu easily but preferred text which displayed how far along the chain of menus I was. Going back to the main menu I was somewhat pleased that the main menu was quite simple but also it had lost a lot of functionality I think more menus should be added but maybe this is just a prototype of what it looks like rather than a complete prototype. On the report screen it would have been nice to display numbers/percentages on the bars to show the values. It was also lacking a suggest meal plan option unlike the old prototype which I think you should bring back. I think if you added more functionality the product would be better but then again you need to keep the device simple for my companions.

Analysis