Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Note from Wendy's slides:
Why qualitative methods in HCI research?
The nature of the phenomena
Poorly understood contexts of use
Poorly understood activities
No known requirements
Examples---AWARE home, cellphones
The phenomena is not about usability
Why usability Vs. usefulness?
Usability
Primarily targets the actual interface
Aims for measurement of phenomena and value assignment
Focus on the psychological (removed from real-world setting)
Controlled experimentation e.g. usability labs
Concerned with learning/training
Usefulness targets the context
Targets situated meaning and practice--”social properties of settings”
Identifies activities that support activity
Aims for description of “tool” use in naturalized settings
Concerned with uptake/appropriation
Where do qualitative methods belong?
Requirements capture
Identifying activities for support that are legitimate for users
Verification at prototype
Verifying assumptions built into a preliminary prototype
“just-in-time” ethnography
Evaluation
Field testing a built and deployed system
Consciously Embedding Values•Good design driven by deep, rich understanding of target population, practices, underlying culture •A challenging process: •Difficult to uncover underlying culture •Hard to divorce oneself from one’s own world view and culture •Even harder to turn understandings into design •Tensions arise between designer’s culture, target culture, designer’s understanding of target culture, gatekeepers, those in power, economic and technical constraints, etc.
Ethnographic methodologies can help in process of aligning values between tool and target culture –Descriptive methodologies –Helps ground work, suggest areas for improvement •“Hot” HCI research not always what users want –Not a prescriptive methodology •Example: AwareHome
Why qualitative methods in HCI research?
The nature of the phenomena
Poorly understood contexts of use
Poorly understood activities
No known requirements
Examples---AWARE home, cellphones
The phenomena is not about usability
Why usability Vs. usefulness?
Usability
Primarily targets the actual interface
Aims for measurement of phenomena and value assignment
Focus on the psychological (removed from real-world setting)
Controlled experimentation e.g. usability labs
Concerned with learning/training
Usefulness targets the context
Targets situated meaning and practice--”social properties of settings”
Identifies activities that support activity
Aims for description of “tool” use in naturalized settings
Concerned with uptake/appropriation
Where do qualitative methods belong?
Requirements capture
Identifying activities for support that are legitimate for users
Verification at prototype
Verifying assumptions built into a preliminary prototype
“just-in-time” ethnography
Evaluation
Field testing a built and deployed system
Consciously Embedding Values•Good design driven by deep, rich understanding of target population, practices, underlying culture •A challenging process: •Difficult to uncover underlying culture •Hard to divorce oneself from one’s own world view and culture •Even harder to turn understandings into design •Tensions arise between designer’s culture, target culture, designer’s understanding of target culture, gatekeepers, those in power, economic and technical constraints, etc.
Ethnographic methodologies can help in process of aligning values between tool and target culture –Descriptive methodologies –Helps ground work, suggest areas for improvement •“Hot” HCI research not always what users want –Not a prescriptive methodology •Example: AwareHome
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