A Glimpse of Human Factors in the New Media Industry

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A Glimpse of Human Factors in the New Media
Industry

• Evelyn So

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Agenda

• Shake Hand
• What
• Why
• Who
• How
• When
• Where
• Wrap Up

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Shake Hand

• School (University of London, U.K.)
• B.Sc. Social Psychology
• M.Sc. Ergonomics
• Work
• Consultant (banks, military, ISP etc.)
• ExtendMedia
• eso_at_extend.com egvso_at_excite.com

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WHAT - New Media

• New Media ?
• Internet Intranet
• CD ROM
• Email
• WebTV
• Films
• PDA
• Phones
• Kiosks
• Games
• (example www.theweathernetwork.com)
• (examplewww.jacob22.com)

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Websites with Different Purposes

• Ziff-Davis ZDNet (computers and information
  technology)
• The Weather network (weather-related info,
  business travel, etc.)
• Jacob22 (children community, online games)
• How are the sites designed to cater to different
  audiences and purposes?

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ZDNet.com
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(No Transcript)
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Theweathernetwork.com
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Temperature Map (pop-up)
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Pressure Map (pop-up)
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(No Transcript)
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Www.Jacob22.com
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WHAT - Human Factors

• Human Factors (HF) ?
• Usability
• Usability Engineering/Architecture
• Information Design/Architecture
• User Centred Design
• User Interface Design
• Cognitive Ergonomics
• Human Factors Engineering
• Human Computer Interaction
• Man Machine Interaction etc.

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WHAT - Myths

• Human Factors
• Advises if the buttons have the right colors or
  in the right spot?
• Run focus groups?
• Usability testing?
• Wrong!!!

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WHAT - The Real Picture
User-centred Design represents not only the
techniques, processes, methods and procedures for
designing usable products and systems, but just
as important, the philosophy that places the user
at the center of the process Jeffrey Rubin,
1994

• Overall team approach mindset
• Driven by user needs instead of technology
• Representative user input early often
• Iterative design cycles
• Consider the big picture
• Maximize user experience

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WHY

• NOT because technology is here
• User/Consumer
• efficiency
• cost-saving
• fun
• get information
• Business
• achieve solutions e.g. save money, increase
  productivity

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WHO

• Human Factors wears
• many hats in the
• New Media industry

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WHO -UI Designer Hat

• Most expected
• Throughout the design process -
  Conceptualization- High level design- Detailed
  design
• A range of user interfaces
• Work with team (graphic artists, technical,
  business, marketing, writers etc.)

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WHO - Tester Hat

• Most expected
• Throughout the user testing process-
  Preparation- Facilitation - Analysis
  Reporting
• Work with professional moderators
• Usability Bug Testing

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WHO - Analyzer Hat

• User analysis
• Needs analysis
• Task analysis
• Business analysis
• Competitive/market analysis
• Leverage existing data (e.g. from market
  research)
• Work with other experts

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WHO - Marketing Hat

• Users as Customers
• Customer-centered design
• Consider big picture (marketplace)
• Sometimes design for the future
• Shared knowledge with other experts e.g. market
  researchers, business analysts.

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WHO - Instructional Designer Hat

• Learners are users
• Training applications
• HF and ID share common methodology
• Application Interface Content

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WHO - Writer Hat

• A wide range style- content (information,
  marketing etc)- training script - documentation
  - online help- error messages
• Every one is a writer?
• Utilize professional support

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WHO - Project Manager Hat

• Planning, planning, planning
• Budgeting
• Resourcing
• User Testing is a mini-project

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WHO - Consultant Hat

• Internal (with colleagues)
• External (with clients)
• From Strategy to design support

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WHO - Team Builder Hat

• New Media is a team environment
• HF is another cook in the kitchen
• Must be a people person
• Must know how to sell HF

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WHO - Evangelizer Hat

• HF/Usability Vs User-centred design
• Shared team mindset
• Planting HF seeds
• Company maturity
• What have other companies done?

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WHO - Coach Hat

• Non-HF people show increasing interests in the
  discipline
• Company-wide knowledge sharing
• Internal coaching (colleagues)
• External coaching (clients)

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WHO -Business Development Hat

• Sell HF
• Support company efforts

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WHO - Learner Hat

• What they did not teach you in school ..(a lot!)
• Utilize all resources
• Learn as you go along
• Professional organizations
• Discussion groups
• Industry news etc.

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WHO - Trend Spotter Hat

• Key part of learning
• Identify emerging trends
• Develop new thinking
• Identify new partners
• Proactive research (industry news, HF methodology
  etc.)

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WHO - ??? Hat

• You never know
• Prepared for upcoming challenges
• Quick adapter
• Quick learner
• Enthusiasm energy

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HOW

• Big picture . From birth to delivery
• Vision
• Objectives
• Plan (team, methods, timelines, budget etc.)
• Development
• Deployment
• Evaluation

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HOW- Typical Process

• Analysis
• Design (example Rapid Prototyping)
• Production
• Testing
• Deployment

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WHEN - Where HF Fits In

• Ideal Throughout the process
• Real Life Sell, sell, sell!

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WHEN - Iterative Cycles
Analysis, functional requirements, look-and-feel
Low-fidelity prototype
User feedback
Incorporate feedback
Med/High-fidelity prototype
User feedback
Incorporate feedback
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WHERE

• Lab?
• Field?
• Users home?

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WRAP UP

• New Media is
• Chaotic
• Fast
• Innovative
• Fun
• HF in New Media is
• a young discipline
• rapidly expanding field
• in demand!
• Questions? eso_at_extend.com egvso_at_excite.com