Purpose
In this individual assignment you will share some of your favorite
examples of good and bad interfaces or interaction design and apply
concepts from Chapter 1 to those examples.
What to do
A. Read Chapter 1 of the textbook
B. Find and analyze some examples
- Find an example of an interface feature that you especially like,
and another example of one that causes you problems.
- Analyze these examples in terms of Norman's design
principles (visibility, feedback, constraints, mapping, consistency,
affordance) and/or Nielsen's usablity principles (see page
27 of text). Which principles did your good example follow?
Which principles did the bad example violate?
Now skim through Smith & Mosier's design rules at http://hcibib.org/sam/.
Can you find
- A good interface that violates one of their guidelines?
- A bad example that followed one of these principles, but should not have
done so?
C. Make a web page describing your examples
- Write up your analysis: one paragraph per example. Remember
that this is a writing intensive course, so the writing will
be evaluated. Give a coherent argument explaining your judgment.
What guideline was followed or violated? Why was the interface
more usable or less usable as a result? Write professionally,
as if you were making a report for a client or your boss.
- Make screen
dumps or take digital images of your examples, as appropriate.
Please use GIF or JPG formats so that they can be viewed
on any platform.
- Put the images and your analysis
in a
web page
on your
UH ITS
account
web site
(or your own server if you have one) with the paragraph
of analysis.
What to Turn In
Find the Assignment 1 discussion in the workspace.
Make a new thread using Create New Topic, and put the
URL of your analyzed example in the Web Address field. (Alternatively,
if you decided to make a document you may upload the document,
but don't give a URL to a document!) You don't need to say anything
significant in the body of your message: that is already in the
web page.
Once you have posted your example, take a look at and
comment on the examples and analyses of the person who posted immediately
before you. This ensures that everyone gets some peer feedback.
(If you went first, good for you! Come back later to comment
on whatever you want.) Also comment on others if you wish for
participation credits.
Pau |