Meeting 13th March

Aims

- To encourage more posting on the blogs
- To make sure that the questionnaire is complete by persona's
- To discuss the next step in our user-centred design process

It has been a while since anything has been posted, i know we have a lot to do but we are now behind in our project. It has been noted that we should all be posting at least a couple of times a week only relevant material though.

The questionnaire has now been on the blog for well over a week, we discussed the need to complete this and I will analysis the data after putting it into graphs. We discussed the questions themselves and i still felt that the question on weight was a bit hazy but the others couldn't think of any other question to ask about the weight of the device. We decided that everyone should fill in the questionnaire by Wednesday evening latest and that it shouldn't be posted on the blog as it is useless information.

Finally we discussed where to go next in the design process. It was a case of discussing doing a case analysis using our persona's, also Dave said that he would be willing to try and create a prototype using Netbeans mobile device program. Shaun is going to come up with a design of our prototypes hardware as his previous designs using a CAD package were excellent. Simon will continue doing market research to see if that can aid our final prototype design, especially focusing on the graphical user interface side. Tris is going to start the case analysis of the persona and finally I'm going to analyse the data from the questionnaires and see if there are any similarities or a large contrast in answers.

Questionnaire

Here is our questionnaire that we presented to our users after we had designed the prototype. From here we could recieve feedback so we could go away again and refine our requirements. Unfortunately blogger.com isn't particularly friendly with layout so heres the word file, that we actually presented to the user. Below is the contents, just not particularly formatted well of that file.

Questionnaire




1) Which size of screen do you think is suitable for the product to display relevant information back to the user?

A B C D

Additional Comments:


2) Which device has buttons which you feel more comfortable with?

Mobile Phone TV HI-FI Microwave


3) How would you prefer the device to be powered?

Batteries Chargeable Battery (mobile) Solar Power (calculator)


4) Which is the heaviest weight you would be comfortable carrying?

An Orange Bottle of Milk A Bag of Sugar

Additional Comments:


5) Which style menus would you prefer?

Horizontal sliding (iPod) (1) Vertical Sliding (Mobile Device) (2)


6) Would you have a problem with force feedback? (rumble pack, loud beep, flashing screen)

Yes No

Additional Comments


7) Picture yourself scanning an object, would you need one hand or two hands to manoeuvre the device?

One Hand Two Hands


8) Would you like extra functionality if it could be plugged into a computer?

Yes No


9) Would you follow the advice given if you had to eat food which you didn’t like, to keep in touch with your dietary needs?

Yes No


10) Would you follow the advice given if you had to eat food which you did not prefer, to keep in touch with your dietary needs?

Yes No


11) Would you be prepared to use the device daily so that it can store an accurate record of daily intake?

Yes No


12) How useful do you think our product would be in the home environment?

I would use it daily and it could help improve my diet a lot.
I would try to use it daily in the hope that it might improve my diet.
I would use it for a week or so to test how useful it is.
I don’t think I’d use it much in the home.


Additional Comments on the Device:

Meeting 27/2/07

Aims
- Discuss questionnaire design
- Discuss prototype AGAIN!
- Discuss personas (after Monday's lecture)

The meeting today was rather short in comparison to other meetings this is mainly down to the fact that different people are undergoing different tasks which meant that there was much discussion. The discussion started off with the personas coming up again in discussion this was due to Russell showing us his personas on Monday. In general it was felt that a little more work all round should be done to help improve our personas and thus be able to do a very detailed user analysis of our system as well as the questionnaire.
Tris this week designed a questionnaire which we all had our opinions on most of the questions were relevant to the project. One question on his original questionnaire was:

What weight would you be comfortable in holding for a period of time?

250g 1Kg 3.5 Kg

As we are aiming the questionnaire at the elderly it was felt that the measurements given in metric should also be shown in imperial measurements. Then Someone suggested changing the question to include real world object like a bag of sugar as people will find this easier to think about.

The other main issue this week was the prototype design again! This is an on going process with new ideas added. Last week Shaun was asked to find examples of handles that could be used on the device. The ideas he came up with / found were not too bad but we are still in discussion about the actual size of the device and until this in finalised the decision isn't going to be made.

Goals For Next Week
- Finalise Questionnaire
- Re-evaluate personas
- Market research (Simon)
- Research into HCI techniques to make sure we doing the right things

Software Requirements

Hardware Specifications

After analysing each of our prototypes we have produced a list of the hardware requirements that takes what we feel are the best parts of each design.

Tris - With the combination of all of our designs, we could refine our specification a tad more for the hardware side of our device. After discussing it as a group i soon realised why an all-in-one device had so many advantages. One of the only advantages of having the gun was that it would be easier to hold rather than the PDA. I also feel the need for force feedback to play with the senses was an important point bought up. Some points were left out as we felt that didn't satisfy the user-centered design approach and were consistent with other age groups too. I was also pretty keen on the doctor interface, although a bit sceptical at first about it. It could help doctors identify what parts of a diet a client lacks, without them actually realising themselves. I also still feel there is room for the state of the art scales that simon mentioned in his post. Even if its not entirely necessary, its nice to step out of the realms of technology for the product.

Simon - i can see the usefulness of force feedback, like used in the phone, rumble pack or something, however if theyre using the actualy device theye gonna see a box pop up, they dont have to feel the thing rumble to see it. However, if we included a reminder or something in the device then it could work well, for example people with diabetes need to have food at certain time intervals or people who take medication need to have it at a certain time and if the device was kept in the pocket then the rumble would make them aware of the programmed reminder. The scales could be an add on which makes a huge difference in the functionality of the device as saying your eating cabbage could vary in amounts, however, indicating how much your eating would allow analysis of just how much nutrition your actually getting.

Prototype V - Sofware

Note: About the button design elderly people "in today's society" generally will grasp the concept of clicking buttons from similar device like TV remotes, they are probably not used to fancy menus using combo boxes etc.

Comments on design:

The back button on the the screen is a good idea as the user will generally want to go back a step if they did something incorrect.
Generally there will be quite a lot of feedback so the user knows what to do next even if they have forgot from previous times it also shows the user what the system is actually doing at the current moment in time.
This is only a prototype so the colours haven't been finalised but i thought the food group colours were ideal other than fibre as it is hard to see the text.

Prototype V - Hardware

Figure 1 - Sketch of Prototype

The basic functionality of the Hardware is as follows:

Display

• The display is one of the most important features of our design as this is the area where the program will be run. The design of the whole system can be seen in figure 1, there are also existing barcode scanner PDAs which are show in figure 2 and 3 they wouldn't be ideally suited for the elderly but still my design uses some ideas.
  


• The design of the display should combine a 'large' display so that the elderly can see the menu items etc. and an overall size which mean that the device is still portable.
  


• It must be waterproof and be easy to maintain (i.e. when food get on it, easy to wipe off). This is kind of obvious as our product is going to be used primarily in the kitchen and outdoors.
  

Device in General

• Must be durable as with product people tend to drop them which is a big problem for electrical devices. With an increase in dexterity amongst the elderly durability has to be a key feature.
  


• In my prototype idea the design is for an "all-in-one" system which allows the barcode scanner to be attached. In my initial design sketch it is located on the top. The reason for having an all in one system that is simplifies a complex design and stops components getting lost.
  


• The scanner itself although it is attached to the PDA it can be extended by means of a wire which would allow the user "to scan even the trickiest of barcodes" this design would use an idea similar to the vacuum plug, you can pull it out and press a button to retract it.
  


• Size of device should be slightly bigger than a PDA as there average size is roughly
  75mm x 130mm x 15mm (http://www.palmbyal.com/). This would allow for a larger screen but again it can't be too much bigger as it will lose its portability factor.

Buttons

• Generally should be used over other methods such as a scrolling button, touchpad or other form of new interaction mainly because the majority of elderly people don't understand how they work and will just lose faith/patience in the product.
  


• Another very important feature in the design the button generally should be arranged in a logical way some research should be done into TV remotes and other forms of remote control the elderly use.
  


• The buttons should also be limited in number as the common phrase goes "less is more".
  


• The buttons should also be large and have a happy medium of sensitivity when pressed. This is because the elderly general have poor eye sight and general movement so making the buttons large allows for the person to comfortably press the button.
  

Barcode Scanner

• This has been chosen over any other input device because it seems the most logical you can scan in food and it will tell what food automatically and combined with the system can enter amount with ease.
  


• The device should have a button on it as it can be extended with a wire thus the person will want to press a button to scan.

Figure 2 & Figure 3

Prototype IV

Just some sketch ideas for a prototype with some writing and points included on each.

Prototype III

So far the proposed products are all made from existing technologies, however, our project outline does not mention such a restriction. We are not required to create this product, but only approach it in a HCI aspect and so using futuristic technologies could aid in designing a product that

benefits the end user most.

I propose a device that has scales in which the user places the food into, allowing an exact measurement to be taken. The packaging can be intact as i believe it to be negligable. This is a quick and easy way for the computer to measure how much of the food is going to be consumed in the meal - offering advice to whether you need such a big amount/small amount. Kitchen scales can be found in most homes and are very easy to use, so there is no new technology for the user to learn. However, being able to weight the food tells the computer nothing about the nutrition content of the food. This is where scanner comes into it.

The scanner will be able to detect exactly what is in the food, so it could be a home baked cake and an accurate measurement of what the cake contains can be extracted. This would then be able to calculate down to the carb/calorie what your intake should be. A bit out of the realm of science at the moment but such an invention would prove invaluable to such a device.

The information is then retrieved and processed in the digital display, whereby the user can view how much they have eaten that day and what they need to eat more/less of. The display has to be clear and easy to use, possibly with a touchscreen so no external devices are needed to navigate round it. This will save on space, but will mean that no skills needed to use a mouse/keyboard are required.

There are several other opportunities for addons that could be included. An example of such a thing, would be a handheld device which can be carried around on the person and used to scan what food is eaten throughout the day. The weight will have to be entered and not measured, however, most packages hold such information on them.

Another idea is for another scanner to be included which scans your skin and detects its current state. It is widely believed that your diet is reflected on your weight and skin condition. By being able to detect the hydration and other characteristics of your skin, the computer will be able to reajust your diet to ensure you stay healthy, or even suggest contacting a doctor if certain conditions can be detected.

This design may stretch our imaginations a tad too far, however, i think it brings several ideas to the table that we should take into consideration. Something to discuss in our next meeting.

Meeting 20th Feb

Due to unforeseen circumstances the meeting yesterday was cancelled as Simon was ill and some of the other group members hadn't quite finished their prototype ideas.
Tris, Dave And myself decided to have a mini meeting still looking at some of the aims of the meeting and tried to address them. The prototype could not be discussed in great detail as we felt it necessary to have all group members present as we felt that finalising the prototype would take ideas from everyone. The questionnaire also couldn't really be started as it is going to be based on decided for the final prototype.
Although we did get around to allocating a few different tasks for this week with Dave actually finalising the problem definition, Tris will be doing the questionnaire when we have discussed the different prototypes of our product. I decided that i will create a more defined task analysis to help our product solve the tasks at hand.
We will meet tomorrow to discuss the different prototype design so that we can press on with finalising the product.

Rough Prototype Stuff

I've just done some quick drawing the graphics package that I said to one or two of you about. The product I did here was quite simple but it should give you an idea of what can be done on it. So not sure but was thinking when we decide on a final design I could do a full 3D modal, all I would need is some rough measurements.

Prototypes I

Meeting / Reminders

Hi Everyone this is just a message to remind people that we are going to have a meeting tomorrow at 2pm. The aims of the meeting are entirely based on the prototypes that we are supposed to have done this week so REMEMBER TO DO THEM.
Aims of Meeting 20th Feb 2007:

• Run through prototypes - discuss ideas
• Finalise Prototype - Get a final design prototype based on the different ideas
• Talk about questionnaire
• Posting on blogs - more comments / regular posts
• Extend Personas / Design Ideas
• Product Research
• Problem Definition - What is it that our product is going to solve.
  

(feel free to add to list if there is something you which to discuss)
Also just a reminded mainly for Dave that HCI lecture is today at 5pm.

Task Analysis - Food Nutrition Device

Wikipedia Defines Task Analysis as:
Task analysis is the analysis or a breakdown of exactly how a task is accomplished, such as what sub-tasks are required. This information can then be used for many purposes, such as improving the design of tools or procedures that aid in performing the task. These tools can be either physical implements or software.

The task analysis below is based on the product definition formed earlier in the blog. It has feature that could possible be extended but take a look.

HCI Meeting - 13/02/07

Aims of Meeting - 13 Feb 07

• To all agree on final product idea.
• To define a set of 'broad' requirements for chosen product.
• To create a questionnaire based on our final product choice which helps define more specific requirements.
• A review of the personnas.

Meeting:
Following on from a previous meeting a few weeks ago about the different product ideas. It is required that we chose a final product quickly because of the time restrictions. It is also necessary to start prototyping our idea this week so will be added as a goal for next week.

Having been actively posting on the blog it was decided that we would rule out the Remote Security System and the Interactive Soap (see Product Decision). There was a little bit of discussion on the rest of the ideas with myself in favour of the Interactive Walking Guide and the majority of the group in favour of the Barcode Scanner Food Intake Device but, instead of making the Food Nutrition Device a barcode reader we decided to take a step back and allow for it to be any hardware so that we could come up with the better solution.

Now requirements needed to be defined for this product idea but, these have to be broad as we decided that a goal for next week was for each member to come up with a refined set of requirements in the form of a prototype. This would allow us to merge ideas to create the best possible solutions to the problems that are encountered based on the 'broad' requirements. We wrote the requirement on the whiteboard so that a picture could be taken (see Requirements for Designated Product)

Another one of our aims was to create a questionnaire but after a lengthy discussion it was unanimously decided that we wouldn't create a questionnaire just yet as we have a list of broad requirements which will be expanded by us. After the expansion with addition of different features we felt would the best time to ask questions and change aspects of our design based on the general user opinion.

Our final point was about the personas. We have decided to each edit the persona based on the post - Thinking About Personas by dave. We have all decided to go away and add more specific information to our personas.

For next weeks meeting:

• Create prototypes of Food Nutrition Device.

Requirements for Designated Product

We have chosen to design a product around the barcode nutrition idea posted by Shaun. We have, however, decided that we are going to broaden the idea to consider other types of inputs rather than restricting ourselves to a barcode scanner. By broadening our scope for the product we are hoping to be able to propose better solutions, refining them to our final choice in the later stages of this project.

Product Decision II

To follow the last post, as a group, we have come to a conclusion on the product we are designing as part of this module. We chose to implement the barcode scanner device because of the potential it could have as a project and for the target market. The elderly, no matter what their age are always careful with their health. A simple change in diet could extend their life by a number of years.

The Idea

As almost all foods have barcodes on them, this device would allow the user to scan the barcode of the food they are going to eat and it would tell them how much of their daily intake it would allow for. They could take the device to a supermarket too, or they could use it in the home. As the day or week progresses it would allow the user to know what is lacking from their diet and could also possibly make suggestions as to what else the user could eat to better balance their diet. The device could build up a database of either what they like, what they need or what they might like, and then could connect to either a catering company or a firm like tesco's to order the food from the database.

Requirements

We are planning a meeting soon, to broaden the requirements of the product. This way we can build a number of prototypes, each with different requirements, and see which direction the product could move in. For instance, we could rely on something else other than scanning the barcode for input.

Product Decision

We have come to a conclusion on the product which we want to develop. During the meeting, we discussed the pros and cons of each design idea and discussed the possibility's and potential each could bring to the project and also the target market.

Tris - I felt that the first design idea, the Interactive Walking Guide by GPS, could be aimed at a number of age groups, not just the retired 65+ people, and so I was not sure it was something I wanted to develop further especially as the project definition was to design something for either children or the elderly. The idea was sound, and it had a lot of potential to develop but the market was not concise.

The remote control and home security system was basically to collect all home device controls into one PDA style device, to let the elderly operate them easily. The only problem here was that the device didn't had any potential to develop. It was not very original and something like it may already exist.

The interactive soap was software orientated and i would rather develop a physical device than one developed on a screen.

The same is also true for the community website idea on the television, but it had more potential. It had the familiarity of the television and the concept was good but it was going to be hard to develop.

This leaves the barcode scanner intake device, which we will discuss in a following post.

Ben - Adding to what Tris said about the Interactive walking
Guide it is a product aimed at tackling the issue of keeping
the Elderly active, as the majority of Elderly peoples exercise
comes from walking (to and from local shops/ buses etc.). The functionality of the product could be such that it would allow
for bus stops and shops to be added as well as showing walks from the local area. Although i do agree with the fact that the scope of the product isn't age specific and could do equally as well with other age groups.

Having thought of the idea for the remote control security system my position on choosing it as a design idea has changed after some thought. There already exists systems (see links) maybe not controlled by a single device but agreeing with tris' point that there isn't much room for development.

Thinking About Personas

I haven't written my persona, but we are yet to decide on our product. For our personas to be successful, we need to set them relevant goals, skills and attitudes to in turn develop a relevant set of requirements.

From Cooper:

"Use the right goals
Each persona should have three or four important goals that help focus the design. Keep in mind that goals and tasks are different: tasks are not ends in themselves, but are merely things we do to accomplish goals. Not just any goals will do, though, so it's important to understand which types will help you make design decisions."

"... personas must be context-specific—they should be focused on the behaviors and goals related to the specific domain of a product."

It is important to make sure that we can identify these critical goals, and that we don't have these goals covered by multiple personas.

Persona - Harold Carter

Overview

Name: Harold Carter
Age: 66

Harold has only one son (Chris, 25), and two grand-daughters (Milly, 4) and (Claire, 2). Harold divorced his wife, seven years ago, because their relationship broke down and they went for days without speaking to each other despite living in the same house. He lives in a small rural town, on the edge of a commuting area for London. Harold has no physical disabilities, and is perfectly fit.

A Day in the Life

Harold usually gets up at around 8.30am, and has a nutritious breakfast, of orange juice and weetabix, while reading his favourite newspaper, the Times. His morning routine is usually clockwork and by 9.30am, he is ready to begin his day. Since he retired a year ago, Harold has found time for many sporting activities and likes to socialise and take part in community activities, daily. He is a trusted leader of the local neighbourhood watch scheme and very popular in his local community. Each day usually contains a different activity, ranging from golf, to tennis, and bowls. He also enjoys the odd game of poker with his pals fortnightly. He generally has a healthy lunch, usually consisting of salad, which means his dinner can be more substantial. On his nights off, he has a quiet night in and watches TV. He usually heads off to bed quite early, in preparation for the next day. He is visited weekly by his family on Sundays, the day Harold puts aside as a day of rest from his leisurely life.

Work Activities

Harold retired at the age of 65 having spent most of his working life as a carpenter for a local firm supplying building materials to different businesses. He believes real jobs involve manual labour and despises people earning millions from one good idea.

Household and Leisure Activities

Harold is a very keen tennis player and still plays tennis for his local club despite his age. The club arranges 50+ senior days where the courts are booked for members over a certain age, to act as a social community centre for the elderly. In between playing tennis, he enjoys playing golf with his pal (Grandpa Sully, 64) who is also a divorcee. Harold enjoys the banter during his golf games and has been known to wear slippers around the course which has angered the golf management at the club. Another one of his social pastimes is bowls, which he usually plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Harold is a keen bowler and has represented his county at national level. As well as the sporting activities, Harold enjoys other activities on a community level, attending weekly poker games arranged by a friend in his garage. Due to his heavy sporting regime and appearance at community meetings, Harold finds little time to watch TV and relax at home. He tries to spend as much time out the house as possible to make the most of his life. When he does have time off, he enjoys listening to the radio and watching Panorama. His views on the household are that it’s designed for rest and rest only.

Goals, Fears, and Aspirations

Harold’s aim since retiring is to make the most out of life while he is still fit, hence taking part in a range of sporting activities and his involvement within the community. He also wants to spend time with his family while he is still mobile. One of his prominent fears is becoming injured somehow, meaning his social life will never be the same again. He also fears for his son’s health who is a maniac while driving on the roads. Harold aspires to continue his sporting prowess, and represent the clubs for which he plays. He also aspires to live as long as he can, proving a healthy lifestyle is the key to living longer. He despises old people who spend their retired years in the pub, wasting their money.

Computer Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

Harold is computer illiterate and struggles to use his home computer when he needs to, which was built by his son, a computer science graduate. Once he has mastered a device such as the video recorder, it provides no obstacles for him in the future. His main problem is that he usually struggles getting started with most devices. His knowledge on technology is ever growing as he enjoys cutting out newspaper articles for his son to read.

Demographic Attributes

Harold lives in a detached cottage, in a quiet town, and has plenty of garden space. The majority of other people in the area are also retired. There is a local train station which means access to the larger towns in the area is possible. The local bus service was decommissioned a couple of years ago, after the majority of people in the area use the train to travel.

Technology Attributes and Attitudes

Harold uses little technology in the home, but once he has mastered a device, he has no problems with it there after. He is neither a fan nor a hater of technology and believes technology should be embraced on certain levels.

Communicating

Harold usually contacts people by telephone, but in some cases such as friends who moved abroad, he is also fond of writing mail. He has yet to master e-mail, because he keeps forgetting his password for his e-mail account.

Quotes

“It’s the taking part that counts”