SPRINT: PROTOTYPING

Above: Our finished prototype consisted of a timer, a reset button, and a little buzzer. They are all connected to a battery on the left side (not pictured).

CREATING THE PROTOTYPE

The topic of this week was device/physical prototyping, and it was our task to create a working prototype that was designed to fit particular needs of particular users: in this case, appliance safety for children who cook. You can find the final video of this working prototype here: https://vimeo.com/194699704.

My partner and I worked together and first experimented around with the littleBits kit, connecting the power sources to output and input pieces, and seeing how the bits connected to each other, along with the different effects. Once we established how the bits interacted with one another, we brainstormed ideas concerning appliance features that could help children remember that the appliances are on. We decided on a timer that you constantly have to reset (until the appliance is turned off) to remind the child of its use, and we tried to create it using the tools that we have.

Ideation went well, as we came up with  multiple ideas that could help children, but building the prototype itself was challenging in that we couldn't have the timer count down by seconds, and we were quite limited in what bits we could use to make our prototype come to life. If we had more parts or options, this part could have gone better.

Above: We experimented with how to bits connected to one another (top), and sketched out the concept of how the user will interact with our invention (bottom). 

PROBLEMS

Building this prototype, we brainstormed and thought of multiple ways we could prevent accidents for children in the kitchen, but the biggest problem we encountered with the idea we chose was that we did not have the necessary materials to build a working timer that could reset and buzz at a particular time. We were physically limited to our materials, and we did not completely consider this when ideating.

My partner and I knew we had a timer and a buzzer, but we did not think of whether it would be possible for the timer to count down in seconds or beep when it reaches a particular time (in this case, 0). Next time, we may consider more heavily what we know how to do and what exact materials we have, along with the capabilities of these materials.

Above: Our prototype consists of a timer with a buzzer and a reset button (top), one of many ideas that we had while brainstorming (bottom).

DOES THIS PROTOTYPE SOLVE THE PROBLEM COMPLETELY? 

As with any product, you have to ask whether it fulfills its purpose in the most complete way possible.  Ideally, the timer would be able to remind the children that the appliance is on, but there are many problems to this idea. What if the child leaves the room or the house before the timer is up? The reminder only occurs after a set amount of time, so it is possible for the child to forget about their task in between the timer's buzzes.

The product solves the problem only if the child does not leave the room or if the child is able to hear the buzzer wherever they choose to go. This is not always ideal as there could be children hard of hearing, or if the room they are in is generally loud and they are unable to hear the alarm.

SPRINT 5: VISUALIZATION

THE PROCESS

We focused on visualization this week-- we had to find out how to present massive amounts of data into more understandable pieces for particular users in order to answer their questions. For my user (a driving tourist), the data was overwhelming and my first step was determining what information they needed to know in order to answer their question: Where can I park and when is it safe to drive?

I had to break this question into three parts: Where is there crime at night? When is there least traffic crime during the week? What time of the day has the least number of accidents? Then using these three questions, I used specific data from the spreadsheet to answer them. Using Tableau's suggested visualizations on the side provided good options that matched my data well. It was only a matter of choosing which ones were the easiest to understand.

For the locations of vehicle crime, I had originally plotted it all on a map. This was cluttered and didn't tell us where it was safe to park overnight. But instead by choosing a map that showed the density of particular crime in certain areas, it made it easier to see which place the user should avoid.

Above: The top map is messy and doesn't tell us where it is safe to park. The lower map, using various sized circles, shows us where it is more ideal to park a car overnight. It is a clearer representation that works well with our  data. 

LINK TO PROJECT: https://public.tableau.com/views/Project_141/Dashboard2?:embed=y&:display_count=yes

PROBLEMS AND CHANGES

Working with such a large volume of data, I was unsure of how to initially approach this problem. I had to present many things in a small space, and finding out which data and visualizations worked well was difficult. I had to ask myself: how do I decide which data to omit and which to include?

In the end, I had to decide which details answered the question best and would help the user in deciding where to park or when to drive. Then I had to choose a visualization that showed this the best, whether it was a graph or a map.

Next time, I would challenge myself to create even simpler visualizations for ease of understanding, or I'd include a small description in the subtitle of the data that I included. Color would also help with bringing the data to life and engaging the user.

HOW DO I MAKE AN ETHICAL VISUALIZATION? 

The ethics concerning visualizations are a tricky subject-- we need to present the data in a way that accurately portrays the data and fully informs the user. This lends the question-- whose responsibility is it to ensure that the user is not tricked? Arguably, you could say that it is the user's fault for not looking at the labels carefully and judging the data themselves, but you could also say that a skewed visualization may have the intent to deceive.

In order to create an effective objective visualization, you must first gather accurate data without a bias. The source, like with the design, can be suggestive towards one side or be wholly inaccurate. In addition, the visualization's data has to be easy to understand and objective without exaggerating any particular features purposefully.

SPRINT 4: USER RESEARCH

Above: I wrote brief notes in my notebook about how he washed dishes (motions, techniques), along with the other actions he completed such as cleaning placemats or putting food back into the fridge. 

THE METHOD

My task was to observe cleaning tasks for half an hour, so I headed over to the place that needed the most cleaning in the house: the kitchen. Having just eaten breakfast, my friend was cleaning up after a meal. Cleaning up after a meal has multiple steps: cleaning the table, washing the dishes, and putting away condiments. This was the perfect event to observe for cleaning. 

Dutifully, I jotted scratch notes, making sure to include the place, person, and the practices that he had to accomplish in order to complete cleaning up. Each time he changed methods of accomplishing a task or switching to a different task, I made sure to note of his actions along with accompanying details. 

A SURPRISING PROBLEM

It wasn't until I was taking notes that I realized how many steps go into cleaning a table after a meal. Aside from the tedious task of hand washing dishes, there was much that went into making sure that the dining table was clean. My friend had used a placemat during his meal, and there were condiments still on the placemats after the dishes were removed. Instead of putting the condiments away first, he moved them to the center of the table and proceeded to check the placemats, adding an extra step to his cleaning. In addition, after putting the placemats and condiments away, he still had to check the table for cleanliness. Shouldn't the placemats have prevented any food from touching the surface of the table in the first place?

FOR THE FUTURE

This suggests that there was slight anticipation that the placemats did not completely accomplish this task-- my friend predicted that they may not have completely protected the table. This led me to ask-- what is wrong with the placemats? Why did he think it would not have done its job? 

Perhaps next time, I would pay more attention to the items that my user is incorporating into the practices. Rather than completely focusing on the actions, I need to include more of how the objects themselves are causing him to behave in this way. Perhaps his dishwashing methods could be attributed to the shape of the plates.  

Above: My task was to observe my friend cleaning up after breakfast. This included washing dish ware such as forks, spoons, plates, and mugs. There was also food residue on these plates to be washed away. 

SUBJECTIVE OR OBJECTIVE?

While taking notes of dishwashing, I specifically noted tasks that I considered major myself: changing dishwashing methods or switching cleaning tasks. But after writing these all down, I asked myself, did I only write down practices that I did not anticipate in dish washing? Prior to observation, I already had an idea in my mind as to what washing dishes would look like. It is possible that I focused predominantly on actions that I do not typically include in my personal washing routine. 

It is difficult to write down every detail and every step to the washing method, so I had to evaluate which of his practices are important enough to be noted down. This judgement that I perform is likely to be subjective since I, the observer, am choosing which details are important and unimportant to the user research. It seems that taking notes of actions objectively is more difficult than I thought. 

SPRINT 3: IDEATION

Above: An idea I had about an ant that could assassinate other ants in an attempt to exterminate bugs. This is unrealistic, but the ability to be able to draw this silly idea led to many more realistic concepts. 

THE PROCESS

Faced with the challenge of thinking of creative ideas concerning cleaning, I had to find a way to brainstorm and write down possible ideas for inventions or concepts. I used a quiet space to work and sat down with my yellow notebook, then I asked myself to think of common household cleaning problems and 10 ways of how I could improve them to facilitate cleaning. I sketched an invention or idea on each page, labeling it appropriately so as to include the major features of each item.

Reflecting upon the 10 sketches, I chose the cleaning item that seemed the most practical to me for the everyday, modern household. I chose a bug catcher due to the increasing prevalence of insects moving into people's houses during the current autumn or winter months. Expanding on this, I drew 10 more sketches of various deviations of the bug catcher, and chose the first sketch for the following reasons:

• It is visually appealing and mostly hidden/it is not obvious 
• Mostly hassle-free and the user does not have to worry about battery
• Does not take electricity, can function in a blackout
• Only needs a replacement sticky pad on the bottom to clean out bugs
• Cost effective for cheaper replacement parts 

For all the sketches, I followed a technique where I just drew what came to mind. I pulled ideas from what I already knew-- some of my concepts were based on popular carnivorous plants that ate insects (such as sketch 12). Once I had nature-based ideas, I tried to move on to more creative ideas that suited various desires that people had-- ones that kept the bugs alive or completely shredded them up.  These ideas also didn't come up until I had a fantasy idea where I would hire an ant to exterminate other ants. Letting just ALL my ideas flow out onto paper helped me jump from one creative idea to another. 

Above: This is the design that I chose as the most practical. It is sleek, modern, and effective in trapping a large number of insects/spiders. Though lacking in a bit of sketching detail, I make up for it by labeling a few of its main features.

REFLECTION

As I reviewed these sketches, an important question came to mind: what makes an idea good? We did not go over choosing the best concept in class. Rather, I had to figure this out on my own. Using what I learned in previous sprints, I knew that the product is only as good as what its intended use is for its specific intended audience. I had a broad audience, which led me to believe I needed something that would appeal to all types of homes: messy, modern, organized, or chaotic. 

I also ran across an issue where I didn't know where to begin. Before I laid my pen on any paper, I found myself unable to write about tools under the bounds of cleaning equipment. Fortunately, I knew that inspiration could stem from anywhere, so I looked at my surroundings and gathered my initial sketches' ideas from there.

WHAT PART OF THE SKETCHING WAS FUN?

The most important aspect of sketching was the freedom I felt in the ability to add anything I wanted, wherever I wanted. The project was only constrained by the bounds of the theme about cleaning, so there was a lot of artistic and ideologic liberation that I felt while drawing. Anything was technologically possible in my world of sketching, and it was interesting to see how crazy ideas (a hitman ant) could possibly lead to something more realistic and creative (like what if we kept the trapped bugs alive?). In addition, I found that I could keep adding detail after detail on how to improve the product and have it theoretically perform in a perfect way that makes it effective. 

SPRINT 2: USABILITY TESTING

Above: Our class divided into smaller groups, and each one of us had to conduct a usability test on an oven. Above pictured is a General Electric oven found in Maple Hall Lounge 402E that we used for our testing. 

Product in mind, my small group of 3 had to conduct a usability test on an oven. In class, we planned out 3 practical tasks that our 3 users could do to show how user-friendly this oven is. Along with that, we determined the 3 types of data we needed to collect from each task in order to compare the efficiency of each task through each user-- a measurement of comparison for each task.

We ended up choosing basic tasks such as preheating and moving racks, but we also decided to spice up the traditional window-check task by placing an eye chart in the oven. Meeting our users at Maple Hall, we introduced them to our project and explained their tasks. Respectively, we collected the data.

Above: We planned our tasks according to what an oven is traditionally used for such as preheating and baking, but we wanted to push the limit of the window visibility and opted for a full eye chart to see how visible small details could be seen through the oven window. 

This usability testing project brought up multiple questions regarding the general use of everyday things and their reasons behind design. At first I found it strange to look at the oven and try to figure out why it was designed that way, but after conducting the tests, I was able to see it objectively by seeing how my users interacted with it.

There was a little bit of confusion regarding the second task that involved the eye test (some users thought it worked as an actual eye test and we were testing their vision), so perhaps next time, I would emphasize once again the fact that we are testing the object and not the user.

Overall, this project was very enjoyable since I had never participated nor conducted a usability testing experiment. I had always been exposed to one method of using an oven: mine. It could be difficult to distinguish whether an object is of good design until a third-party of no experience tries to use it. It really opened my eyes to how the things around me are designed, which was the most fascinating part.

When we created our powerpoint, we also created a voiceover presentation to go along with it, linked below: 

USABILITY POWERPOINT VIDEO

SPRINT 1: INTERACTION DESIGN

Above: A couple pages from my notebook while planning Plant Tracker's page layouts

In class, we began thinking about how Plant Science could be applicable to everyone in order to create an app that could benefit scientific research. After thinking of ideas about which features are important in research, I got to work designing the individual app pages.

After an initial rough (then final) sketch, I lay them out on my desk, planning how to link one page to another, then I finalized each design. Describing unknown plants is tricky for the untrained eye, so I created the simplest way users could gather helpful, complete data for scientists without overwhelming the user.

I took a photo of each page, uploaded them to POP, and brought it to life by linking the pages to create a prototype. I filmed a video showing how the pages go together as well.

Above: Planning out how the app pages connect together. Rough sketch, then final sketch.

It was difficult for me to plan an interface that was both informative as well as simple. I ended up creating an over-simplified information tracker for each added plant, but it may be helpful as the targeted audience (people who walk around their urban or suburban neighborhoods) is very broad and it is better to have something clean and visually appealing to encourage continued use of the app. 

Since I was creating the app, I had to put myself into the shoes of my audience and try to think the way they do. Perhaps next time, I will ask a sample set of users to test the app and provide their input. 

I really enjoyed the creative freedom that this project allowed. Designing the pages and deciding where each button went was definitely a challenge that enabled me to think about exactly what the users and the scientists needed. It was fun creating this prototype on the app as well, and it was fun bringing it to life using photoshop. Taking my ideas and making them real is always a pleasure. 

Here are some useful links as reference: 

USER INTERACTIONS VIDEO

POP PAPER PROTOTYPE

POP PHOTOSHOP PROTOTYPE

INTRO: UCD CHARRETTE

(Above: Sticky notes on the board as group brainstormed about types of users)

-A CHALLENGE PRESENTED-

We started the class off by listing several types of scenarios and people involving cars, and we were assigned a group to design for. The challenge presented for this first sprint was to create a vehicle's user-interface for a particular group of users that have certain goals and needs. 

I had the assignment of designing for somebody who was on the road for many hours at a time (such as a truck driver) who needs a way to stay awake on the road. My group thought of a car that senses when the driver is falling asleep (by the tension on the wheel) and wakes them up using an alarm or by music. 

(Below: My group partner and I present what our interface would look like)

Designing for this type of user got me thinking about why designers would choose one interface over the other when there are so many types of people to be addressed. You can't create a design that appeals to every single subgroup of people, but what do they use to determine which subgroups take priority? It was difficult to think of an interface that could apply to any car or truck without having to add all the bells and whistles of an actual alarm. Incorporating this design into an already existing interface (to suit every vehicle's need) was the hardest part.

Overall, this project was enjoyable; I do not have a lot of opportunities to work with a team to come up with brand new ideas in my typical classes, so it pleased me to see how many concepts and ideas my small team of three could come up with. The amount of time that we were able to accomplish this was also surprising, as we created a flow chart and some concept art for our idea, along with a brief presentation to the class. 

-THE PROCESS-

The main takeaway of this assignment for me was that I had to open my eyes to all the different potential users of a product, so the charrette process could be useful when I'm trying to find a wide range of ideas to suit, for example, a wide range of people. App designs or interface layouts need this amount of thought and consideration per idea. 

This process is quite handy when it comes to getting a large number of ideas posted and outlined for brainstorming, but it's not as appropriate when there's one clear solution to a problem (as you don't need such a large number of ideas). Why brainstorm together when there's only one path to solve this? But otherwise, this is a good way to collaborate.