Template for report

For your report, please use the template (Word .dot format) that I've placed on the course website here. The template includes a number of styles for headings, paragraphs, etc. Please email me if you have any problems with this.

Multi Touch Table, by Microsoft

Microsoft Surface, looks neat

Will probably cost just under USD 10,000 when its out. Though it seems to be also tangible as well as just touch. Hence the name, "Surface".

Swales Introduction

Briefly Defined


Move 1. Establish field
– Assert centrality
– State current knowledge
Move 2. Summarise previous research
– Outline issues in literature
Move 3. Prepare for present research
– Indicate a gap
– Raise a question
Move 4. Introduce present research
– State purpose
– Outline present research





More Detailed

1. Understand the wider context and importance of the project


• State the general topic and make a claim about why it is important.


• Describe what is generally known about this topic.






2. Summarize previous research


• State the core ideas in the literature and structure them in a logical sequence.


• Draw conclusions from the literature review by summing up the relevance of the literature review for the project and listing the informed decisions that need to be made.






3. Prepare for the current research




• List the gaps. That is, given all the research reviewed in Step 2, what is left to be done? An accurate summary of this situation is one of the critical aspects of a project. Are there gaps related to an area that has not been studied, or to a new method that needs developing?


• List possible methods for addressing the gaps. For a large project, usually at least five different approaches are possible. Understanding the breath of questions that could be addressed is a major step in understanding why your project is addressing the gap that it is.


• Select a gap and a methodology for addressing it. A gap can be selected because new technology, theoretical tools or methods have recently become available. It can be constrained by length of time available for the project or by resources available.
  The gap is frequently large. By appreciating that many approaches would be valid, you can see what aspects you will be able to address with your chosen methodology, and what will be outside the scope of the project. Don’t confuse the gap with your research plan (which is the next Step). It is conceivable that someone else could address the same gap using the same general methodology but design a different specific plan.






4. Research plan


• State the overall goals and the specific aims of the research. In an empirical study, the hypothesis is stated here. Make the aims as specific as possible.


• Outline the methods to be followed. A timeline is frequently useful in this section.

Implications for Design

Implications for Design
Paul Dourish

In the article Dourish is discussing the balance between theory and practice and how the implications that this has on the design.
Although HCI has been merged out of psychology and IT over the years it has created its on identity, conventions and conduct to describe the research that is undertaken within this field.
Historical Context
• Ethnographic studies originated in the area of anthropology
• Dourish states that “ethnography advocates long-term, immersive field work combining observation with participation.”
• Two trends of ethnographic studies
o Computer-supported Cooperative Work as the area of inquiry
 Emphasis on the social organisation of the activity
o Participatory Design (PD)
 “For PD, ethnography may have been an expedient tool rather than an intellectually motivated approach.”

Marginalisation of Theory
• Ethnography is often used as term to mean an investigation that is open ended or qualitative
• Generally can answer questions about how technology is used in the field
• Dourish suggests that by viewing ethnography as a method it supports implication for design. As it will generate a different understanding then if you to do the test in a laboratory
• Anderson’s exploration of the relationship between ethnography and requirements
o 3 considerations
 1st – form of reporting
 2nd – particular rhetorical strategies
• Reveals conceptual organisation of cultural settings
 3rd – reflective character of ethnographic analysis
The study not only reflects the culture being study but also the culture in which it is being written for

Power Relations
• As the aim of ethnographic study is to have implications for the design
• This therefore suggests that there is a ‘end-point’ for the research
• UCD and HCI are the domains of the study
• The main information gained from ethnographic studies is what not to build.

Technology and Practice
• Ackerman suggests that there is a “social –technical gap” which is suggesting that ethnographic studies look at where the technology is not in practice.

Summary Paper by Dourish

During the development of different intellectual disciplines there has been a certain way in which they conform to some kind of similar approach. The same goes for the scientific discipline and HCI in particular; conventions exist in the way in which we conduct and document research. When it comes to ethnographical studies meeting HCI it is very common for the ethnographical field results to be solely used as a way for finding “implications for design”. This is a misperception of the value of ethnographical studies, since it misses where ethnographic inquiry can provide major insight and benefit for HCI research (p. 542).

Ethnography is a sub discipline of anthropology, which itself arose during the colonial era of the Western civilization during the nineteenth century. Anthropology was mainly concerned with the activities of the cultures it studied, while ethnography focused on what the members of the culture actually experienced while acting the way they did. This was accomplished through daily participation in everyday life [p. 542]. Over the years ethnography proved to be useful to a number of different disciplines. For HCI it provided insight into the real-world, offering a description to the way in which technology was actually being used, through a number of different field techniques for collecting and organizing data (p. 543).

The thing is that ethnographic methods are purely seen as a methodological approach from which designers can deduct “implications for design”. By doing this, the actual theoretical and analytic value of ethnographic analysis is blocked and the way it provides benefit for HCI research is missed. The ethnographer is seen as a channel which conveys the observations to how they can be used in design, while it is so much more that has to be taken into account. It must be recognized that the gathered ethnographic data is a result of an encounter of the ethnographer with the subject under a specific setting and an analysis of the data with this in mind is what ethnography actually is.
Seeing the social discipline of ethnography merely as a way to pave a path towards design puts it away as less important and secondary to the scientific disciplines it is used for. Also, since the users of the eventual technologies are the actual creators of the meaning the technologies will have in practice, ethnography can be seen as a way to research how those technologies take on specific social meanings through their embedding within systems of practice (p. 546).

Ethnography has two ways of contributing; on an empirical level and on an analytic level. The empirical level describes the actual happenings while the analytic level encompasses the way in which something useful can be said about these happenings. The key is to find a connection to design at the analytic level instead of the empirical one. That is, to be able to appropriately compare methods and assess results (p. 548). As ethnography may play a large part in uncovering constraints and implications for design, it has an evenly great role in the way it shapes research and strategy. It provides a way of thinking.

Why Heideggerian AI Failed

On a bit of a tangent, but related to the phenomenological theories covered in Dourish's book, this paper isn't intended as a set reading, but rather as an interesting read for you (and something that should now be an easier read following what we've covered so far).

Dreyfus paper for presentation at KTH

Reading: Norman Chapter 3

The ways in which humans respond to the world are influenced by a number of different factors. In a commercial sense designers try to play a role in this, by designing products that appeal to people on a number of different levels that make up human user experience.

The first is visceral design. This level of perception has its roots in nature and the way in which we humans are biological beings. Over the years humans have evolved to pick up emotional impulses from the biological environment they live in. Bigger and more colorful are some features that get perceived as more appealing. Even now, we still look at products in a visceral, perhaps without even noticing it. The judgment of a product at the visceral level are made regarding physical features; the look, feel and sound a product has. It is up to the designer to make a product as appealing as possible by controlling these features.

Then we have behavioral design. The four components of good behavioral design are function, understandability, usability and physical feel. A product has to have a certain function and perform well according to what it's supposed to do. In this case it is important to understand how people will use a product. This can be quite difficult from a designer's perspective. When enhancing an existing product observing users could do the trick, but if the design is an innovative this can be tricky.
The design has to make the user understand how to use the product. This can be obtained by connecting the designer's intention of use to the user's understanding through the system image; the way the product actually communicates its way of use by its physical presence. Feedback giving the user information about the effect of his/her actions is of importance in making the product understandable.
The usability of a product is the ease of which it can be put to use. A well functioning and understandable product doesn't necessarily imply that it is has a high usability. It is how well the product performs when it is actually put to use.
The physical feel of a product is important because it connects with our inner world of emotion, how we experience things. Well designed touch and feel of a product can make it more appealing.

Reflective design covers the personal meaning a user will give a certain object due to cultural aspects or the message it sends out to other people. It is not about functionality, but about satisfying the emotional need people have; one of them being the establishment of one's self-image and one's place in the world (p.87).

Norman: Chapt 3 - 3 Levels of Design

Visceral, Behavioral, Reflective

The chapter starts by comparing water bottles: The Premium, The Practical and The Perrier (instantly recognisable). It stated that design of these bottles reflect the brand and it does not matter on what the H2O actually is.

Visceral:
A design that focuses on perceived visual beauty and has to look nice despite functionality.

Behavioral:
The result of practical use, the feeling or function that a product delivers. UCD: catering different functions to the application by the user. The design activities includes multiple continuous prototyping and revisions.

Example: In-car Airflow Control

Reflective:
Rethinking of how a functioning design can be portrayed in a different way. The message or basic functionality has to be delivered to the use, but in a different fashion. In a fashion that will most cater for the context in which it is designed for.

Chapter Three - Emotional Design

Chapter three of Don Norman's book, Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things, focuses on different levels of design. Visceral, making things look good or 'pretty'. Behavioural, what the product does and reflective, meaning of things or memories that are invoked.

To begin the chapter Norman discuss the bottled water industry. Through the design of the bottle people will choose a brand of water, because in reality all water is pretty much the same. It is through this it can be seen that people choose items based on how pretty things are.


Visceral Design
In nature it can be seen that animals and plants have evolved to make themselves more attractive. For example the male peacock or flowers. Flowers generally have a sweet smell to attract attention as well as vibrant colours and a nice texture. Because of this it can be seen that human's have also evolved in this same format and this is why we perceive this as 'pretty'. A principle for visceral design tends to be that you design for things to be attractive.

Visceral Design can often be seen in the area of marketing. The iMac is a good example of how visceral design is applied. The iMac offered people a colourful package or container on an everyday product. When people see the iMac there first thoughts are not about what does the computer do, it is 'It looks nice'. Norman states that "visceral design is all about immediate emotional impact"

Behavioural Design
Behavioural Design focuses on how the item is used. Norman suggests that "four components of good behavioural design (are) function, understandability, usability and physical feel.“ The first step of a good behavioural design is to discover how people actually use/or will use the product.

History has shown as that people do not always use items how the designer attended. The telephone is an example of the users taking control, originally the telephone was meant for office use and telephone companies even discouraged users from using it for conversations.

However when testing programs to discover what is not working people have difficulties articulating what is wrong with the product. Generally people don't see problems when they occur but blame themselves. For example locking your keys in the car, this can be avoided by having a lock that needs to be locked by the keys only. Norman believes that the only way to discover if a product will work is through constant prototyping and then watch as people try and use the product.

Another aspect of behavioural design is that it should always be user-centred. The designer has to be aware of who is actually using the device.


Reflective Design
Reflective Design focuses on the message, meaning and culture of the product and its use. It is determined by the person's overall impression of a product. In terms of watches, a watch does not just tell the time, it also gives a description to what type of person they are, what their self-image is.

RE:Suggested Reading:

I don't know how but i managed to put the wrong title of the book up before. It is acutally called. Turn signals are the facial expressions of automobiles, by Don Norman

chapter 6

In Dourish's book ‘The foundations of Embodied Interaction’, chapter 6, moving toward design focuses on six design principles/guidelines that Dourish has developed.

Computation is a medium
I believe that the project i am working on is a medium for storing memories.


Meaning arises on multiple levels
This principle is split into two aspects iconic/symbolic.

When considering the iconic/symbolic dimension the project will use more symbolic images to show what has been discussed.



Users, not designers, create and communicate meaning and
Users, not designers, manage coupling

From this principle I can imagine that the way the device will be used as a journal for young children but as a way to help recall memories' for parents and the children when they are older. However there is a possibility that it could also be used as a way that parents find out about what is happing in their children's lives, new friends etc.


Embodied technologies participate in the world they represent




Embodied interaction turn action into meaning
This principle is about how meaning is created. I believe that my project relates to these concepts because its meaning will be interpreted by the user. If it is being used as a way to recall events then it will gain its meaning through this use.

Suggested Reading: Things that make us smart: defending human attributes in the age of the machine

I found this book "Things that make us smart: defending human attributes in the age of the machine", by D. Norman. I think it might be an interesting read. Especially for me as the first chapter discuss how technology has helped to recreate memories, through photos, film etc. however it also discusses its pitfalls.

Chapter 1 can be found at: http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/chapter_1_i_go_to_a.html