Final Reflections: NM4210

In retrospect, this module has completely changed my perception of what user experience design is. Before this, I did have a preliminary idea that UX was to design something that was user centric, but I did not expect that there were so much more work going on behind this whole UX thing!!

The most interesting I had learnt was designing for personas. It didn't make sense to me at first, to design for a pseudo character who didnt exist in the first place! Mr. Reddy mentioned in class that it was better to design for one person, rather than to design for a large segment as you will tend to lose the focus of the design and end up catering for all (to the extent of none!). He also added that designing for a wide audience does not necessarily mean that some of these people will buy the product. However, if you designed for a particular one person, the product becomes exclusive and belongs only to that person. It does not seem to fit the 'probability' theory working in my head and I wasn't really enlightened until I started to create my own personas. I suddenly understood Mr. Reddy's point that we have to think of personas who will like what type of design and buy what kind of product.

And also after reading the article of 'smoke and mirrors' I further understood the usefulness of qualitative research. Instead of the idea of 'probability'- Design for wider audiences equates to higher chances that some of them will purchase the product, we should think about maximizing the chances of having a particular persona purchasing a specially tailored product to their needs and wants.

But even after learning about the research methodologies about understanding our users, to apply it was really difficult. It is easy to speak of using what kind of methods to gain insights to users experience but in actual fact, it is very hard to execute it.

I have stumbled many times when working on our final project on creating the health monitoring device for elderly. It seemed rather commonsensical while conducting the interview-experiment. By asking users to perform tasks and asking them to vocalize their thoughts was really a chore and a weird experience! More importantly, it was necessary not to reveal too much or give assistance to the users and as facillitators even if it were always tempting to do so. Hence, in my opinion, while qualitative user experience methods may 'seem' easier to conduct, it is definitely not more straightforward than quantitative methods.

Through this course, it has been reiterated many times that to truly create a user centric product, a designer should design for the user, and not for 'himself' . I guess this undeniably conflicts with the designer's ego as it is innate in a designer to want to let his creativity and imagination run wild. While creativity and innovation is crucial, building a user centric product is still about creating the desired experience a user should have based on his interactions with the product. Even though I'm still trying to digest this whole thing about UX design, I believe throughout this course, I have grown to appreciate the importance of this aspect in the design process. : )

User Research: Smoke and Mirrors

The article delivers an interesting argument about design-driven qualitative research versus QA- and performance-oriented quantitative research. It questions and re-explores the usefulness as well as the skeptism of quantitaive research; whether the numeral results are a good justification for the basis of certain design decisions.

Fahey argues that to many user experience designers and firms, the wide options of scientific tools available and its (overrated?) value given to those tools is sometimes seen as a facade to doing the real job: 'being expert designers who draw on deep experience and good instincts.' Instead of relying blindly on statistical results, experience designers should pry deep into the minds of users and get to the crux of understanding their experiences, which provides far more accuracy than what mere numbers can tell.

The article also debunks the 'fad' over the eyetracking design tool, saying that it provides only a superficial understanding of what users are looking at. Also it cannot making meaningful interpretations but only generalizations. For instance, if a user is look at a particular spot , does it mean that it is because it is pleasurable to do so, or is it because the user is trying to make sense of what it is? Since each person's evaluation on a product is so subjective, how then is it possible to use objective methods and 'cold hard' numbers to understand a subjective issue?

Fahey however, talks about making use of scientific research when it comes in handy, especially when politics come in play- when pitching your ideas to bosses or stakeholders who probably accept or understand nothing but numbers, to convince them them adopt or fix the problem at it's right spot.

It seems important not to belittle what user experience research can offer. User experience research, conducted through relatively cheaper methods like card sorting, ethnographic observations, personas etc. can help to steer design decisions in the right direction and probably even provide better insights than what fanciful and expensive quatitative tools can do.

It seems easy to speak of it, but in actual fact, user experience research is not easy as it sounds. Because of its subjective nature it is difficult to get a definite solution to a design problem. On top of that, it is not the culture of users to 'think aloud' and vocalize their thoughts. Moreover, interviews conducted during usability testing must be carefully conducted such that it is not steered to a biased answer. Comments from the users should come intuitively and naturally. Hence, careful thought must be in place whenever setting tasks and interview questions. The difficulty to grasp the user's trail of thoughts because it is so random is, in my opinion, the main obstacle that most experience designer must tackle. Beyond that it is the materializing of user's thought into design solutions.

Final project: Designing for User Experience

For this project, my group embarked on designing a health monitoring product for the aged. Our society is aging and with the demands of today's fast pacing world, it is impossible to give 100% care for our aged. Hence, we propose to create a product that can allow the elderly to be constantly in check of their health status and for neccessary signals to be sent to their families during times of an emergency.

User Research

Target Audience

Elderly prone to health risks that need continuous monitoring. This is especially the case for elderly who have just undergone surgery and need special monitoring.

Our team conducted an ethnographic research and found that problems elderly face when using a health device are :

1) the complicated information displayed on the health monitoring device
2) Small textual information on the device
3) Buttons that are multi-function
4) Too many measurable entities in one device
5) Wearing devices on their bodies as it is not part of their culture

Expertise Interview

· Wrist is an accurate measure of heart rate and blood pressure, but not body temperature.
· Body temperature is usually taken in the mouth, underarm, ear or rectum.

About the Product

Our product will be an integrated, real time health-monitoring device that is able to transmit signals to appropriate parties in times of impending emergencies. With a GPS system embedded in the device, the product is able to track the location of the elderly during the crisis. It will be seamlessly incorporated as a product that can be part of the daily life of the aged.

Measurable Entities of product

-Heart Rate
-Blood Pressure
-Body Temperature

Design of the High Fidelity Product

(Back view)


How it works

Before its usage, there is an administrative step to complete. First, the product is registered online with user's personal information and contacts of doctors or children of elderly added in beforehand. ( http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~vohuutie/nm4210/login.html
). This is to allow automatic relay of messages in times of an emergency. A GPS tracking system is in place to know the exact location of the elderly during an emergency.

After registration, the users can start to use it. The product is to be worn constantly on the elderly's hand. On the wrist, the product can measure blood pressure and heart rate in real time.


To see health status, the user must press the mode button once. To check for the next measured entity, the user simply presses the mode button another time to change the screen. A light signal will inform the user the health conditions (Green = good, Amber= warning, Red= danger).


When not in use, the product will perform like a wrist watch. In times of emergency, the light signal will be illuminated in red, the alarm will sound, and a message is automatically sent to families.

In order to take a temperature reading, elderly have to slip the product face from the strap and place the sensor behind into their ears and push the mode button once. Should the body temperature raise beyond the safe range, the same automated message is sent.

In the event where there is an emergency but no drastic change in heart rate or blood pressure is recorded (for e.g. when an elderly falls down), the elderly can press and hold the 2 emergency buttons located just above and below the product face for two seconds to sound an alarm and send a message to seek for help.

Apart from taking health reading in real time, the product is also useful in information recording. It can be connected to the computer to allow transfers and updates of health information in the software. The data collected will also be sent to the hospital database and documented on a daily basis. This serves as an updated patient’s record that the doctors can keep track, before the next medical appointment.


Pressing the mode button to check for heart rate readings

Pressing the emergency button

Slipping out the product face

Taking body temperature

Experience Strategy

1) -User Experience goals our team hoped to achieve:

o Peace of mind
o Trust
o Easily incorporated as part of lifestyle
o Health-conscious statement to peers
o Value longevity

2) - Business Strategy

Sales model

• Product will be first promoted to hospitals as a recommended device for their patients. (Point of entrance)


• Can be bought from hospitals or over the counter in pharmacies with doctor’s prescription.For infrequent users who do not wish to purchase the device for a short term usage, (for example elderly who have just undergone operation) they can rent the device from the hospital for a period of time.

Marketing

• Has to be heavily marketed as easy to use and help to enhance health through channels that the aged normally subscribe to


• Viral Marketing


• Doctors testament to the product’s use

Government subsidy and support

• Pamphlets or brochures in hospitals or clinics.

Final User Evaluation

• Product appearance is pleasing
• Easy to learn
• Easy to use ( multifunction button, simple interface)
• Light signals are useful
• Large LCD aids visibility
• Trusts & feels safer with the product
• Face is too big and heavy
• Difficulty in slipping the face back into strap
• Difficulty in wearing the product

While the product is generally thought to be easy to use, many respondents mentioned one common difficulty. They found that it was easy to remove the product face from the strap, but problematic to put it back because of the strength of the clip (behind the product face) as well as the flimsiness of the strap. Apart from this, most found that the product was straightforward to use. On the whole, there is a good level of acceptance of product by the elderly. Most respondents said that they are willing to adopt its use because they feel a sense of control when using the product and also feel safer with the device.

Assignment 3: Design Probe

Improving Learning Experience in Lecture Theatres.

Lecture Hall in scrutiny: LT11


For this task, we adopted two methodologies: Ethnographic study and Laddering.

I Ethnographic Study
-Observed at 2 different timings
-8.00-10.00a.m., 4.00-6.00p.m

Here we have identified:

a) Non-human factors


1.Environment

• Big class group



• Air-con too cold



• Noisy doors- around 10% of students are observed to have turned their back to look at latecomers. Also, lecturer paused for 2 seconds before carrying on his lecture.



• Lack of power points for long lectures



• Lack of interaction with lecturer other than breaks



• Small and low tables



• Faulty wired clip-on microphones
  

2. Time

• 8.00a.m. – Too early



• 6.00p.m – Too late

b) Human Factors

1. Students

• Noise level



• Late comers due to morning traffic jams



• Too tired on Monday mornings



• Short attention span



• Book seats for friends



• Do not want to seat in front

2. Lecturers

• Language issues



• Speed of Speech



• Does not engage students in lecture discussions



• Tied back to class size issue



• Do not post notes early
  

II Laddering

Reference A: Mr. Y, Science Faculty Student, Year 3

What is one thing you’d like to change about LT11?
Y: Definitely the chairs and its spatial arrangement.

Why the chairs?
Y: They are too hard for my liking. Furthermore, the narrow spacing doesn’t allow me to rest my leg in a straight line. I have to tilt my legs a little to the side and it causes discomfort to me. The seats are a problem for people with longer legs I supposed.

Why the spatial arrangements?
Y: Firstly it’s due to the leg space issue. Secondly when most seats are taken up, latecomers like me have no choice but to take the left-most or right-most seats at the top. The view from there sucks, especially when you have to stare at the slide for the next 2 hours. And it doesn’t help with the artificial lighting.

Why is there a problem with the lighting?
Y: Well, the lighting makes the lecture hall dull, which makes it harder to concentrate.

Reference B: Miss C. FASS Student, Year 2.

What do you not like about LT11?
C: The tables are too small, it can only either fit my notes and pencil box, or the laptop, but not both.

Why do you think it is important to have a bigger table?
C: With a bigger table, I can fit more studying resources and also put my must-have cup of coffee on the table.

Why do you need a cup of coffee for every lecture?
C: So as to prevent myself from falling asleep and also to keep myself warm

Why will you fall asleep?
C: Because it is too early for a boring lecture!

Why do you think it is boring?
C: The lecture content is super dry.

Why is the lecture dry?
C: Well, because it doesn’t help when the lecturer is merely reading off slides. No video, no nothing for us students. Quite pointless to turn up for lecture.

Why do you still turn up for lecture?
C: ....

Thus, we can see that from the first reference, the respondent’s main issue is with the physical surrounding affecting the quality of the lecture. And as for the second respondent, she points to the human factor (i.e. the lecturer) as a main factor in the quality of her lecture experience.

Recommendations:

Hence, as from our 2 pronged research, we propose the following recommendations:

•Non-Human Factors

1) Large windows to admit more light.

Some health reports have recognized that constant indoor lighting could pose to our physical and spiritual health. Furthermore, research have shown that exposure to natural lighting can enhance students’ learning progress and achievement in schools(Heschong Mehone Group, 1999). The benefits of conscious exposure to natural full-spectrum light includes better achievement and behavior in school and fewer absences from work.

2) Comfortable seats that are ergonomically designed

Sitting on a chair for countless of hours a day has notable effects on students’ bodies. An uncomfortable chair can constrain our bodies and lead to prolong pain and strain in the long term. Chairs are essential for promoting good postures. Adjustable functions allow the individual user to make the chair work well for his or her specific needs. Thus, with the achievement of comfort, learning process can also optimized.

3) Power points to be supplied under every desk.

Low battery life and the lack of power points in lecture halls has impeded the use of laptops during lectures. With power points in place, this is to counter late uploading of lecture notes or to get the latest updated copy. Also, it encourages efficient note taking & multitasking e.g. doing supplementary research or related material lookups, promoting flexible and mobile learning.
Prevent distraction of other students without laptops.

However, there might be abuses. For example, students without laptops are usually distracted by students with laptops who are sitting below who sometimes will be chatting on MSN, surfing youtube etc. This brings in the problem of responsibility in students themselves.

4) Install doors with a mechanism to prevent slamming or creaking

It could probably be a slow close mechanism whereby the door when closing, at mid-way pauses for about 3 seconds before closing gently and silently. With minimal noise levels, there is less hindrance which can affect the lecturer’s ability to teach. Students can then get the best out of their lecturers, thus optimizing learning experience.

5) Smaller class size

With a smaller class, quality of classroom interaction is enhanced. More personal attention will also improve discipline in lectures. Discussions can be thrown to the floor and feedback can be more easily obtained due to the closer proximity. Perhaps with smaller classes, the need for microphones will be less relied upon as well.

•Human Factors

i) Culture

1. Students
a. Start lessons from 10
b. Mandatory rest

As the university life of a student is pretty hectic, with endless projects and datelines never failing to come, lectures should have the tradition of starting at 10 a.m. to allow adequate amount of rest for students.

2. Lecturers
a. Democratic experiential education
b. Better classroom preparation
i. Multimedia resources
ii. Post notes early
c. More interaction in class


Perhaps lecturers should adopt democratic experiential education in which students help to design curriculum. This way, students can become ‘knowledge creators’ and ‘knowledge learners’ at the same time. Experiential makes the subject lively and more interesting. With interest stirred, learning becomes an easier feat and more effective. Instead of planning a neat packaged curriculum, lecturers should review their learning activities organized, and respond correctly to students’ reactions of these activities. Also, lecture resources should be made available to students early to maximize their learning.

Despite the whole list of recommendations, we recognize that there'll be limitations in the solutions we have offered.

a.Budget
•NUS complains not enough funds for maintenance and upgrading.

The Lecture Hall 11 has been recently renovated 3 years ago and is still generally new. It will be costly and impractical to rebuild it again, especially with the limited funds from NUS to embark on upgrading. Furthermore, NUS fee hikes in the last few years have received backlashes from students and parents, causing some commotion and displeasure.

b. Resistance to Change
•Less outspoken students

Students should take responsibility in their own education, and learn how to respond and interact to create the best learning experience. However, Singaporean students are seen to be less likely to take the initiative to speak up, and they do so only unless they are posted a question by the lecturers. It is not so much of a culture in the Singapore culture to challenge the lecturers, to put forth their own ideas and participate actively in class. Since it is in the Singaporean students to keep their mouth shut and accept whatever that is given to them from the lecturers, it becomes an obstacle to implement the democratic experiential learning.

c. Logistic issues

If the recommendation of breaking up LT11 to smaller classes to facilitate interaction and enhance learning experience comes through; there will be a huge issue with not having enough lecturers, since LT11 was designed for a mass lecture style. Also, building the new classroom etc. pose as a huge logistic issue.