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Report On A New Interactive Product For Skiers On The Ski Slopes
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents 1
Introduction 2
Background 2
2.1 Interaction Design Research 3
2.2 Interaction design theory 4
Design Process 5
3.1 Conceptual Design 5
3.2 Five Dimensions of Interaction Design 5
Prototype 6
4.1 Low-Fidelity Prototype 6
4.2 Mid-Fidelity Prototype 6
Research Study 6
Conclusion 6
References 7
Appendix 8
The Test Introduction 9
1. Introduction
Human-computer interaction is a field of study that is multidisciplinary in nature. Its major focus is on computer technology and especially the interaction between human beings – the users of the computers, and the computers themselves. The initial focus was on computers only but it has evolved to incorporate other computer technologies and information technology design. Human-computer interaction encompasses computer science, cognitive science, and human factor engineering. Human-computer interaction is very crucial to different empirical situations, especially now in a continuously digitising world. One of such empirical situations is skiing. When people go out to a mountain slope for skiing, they need real-time weather information quickly and also to be able to track their skiing activities like statistics on their performance and the routes they take.
It would be very appealing to have a system that not only conveys the information they need but one with superior interactive capabilities with the user. This is a report on a new interactive product for skiers. It will generate the requirements for the interaction prototype, a presentation of the proposed interaction prototype to show how the requirements have been met, a detailed proposal for an empirical research study that uses the interactive prototype to test some of the assumptions made in its design, and a conclusion that draws together the key facts, critical reflections of the work and a discussion of potential work in the event of further development of the prototype.
2. Background
As described earlier, human-computer interaction is a field of study that focuses on how humans interact will information technology. Therefore, the work on creating a prototype that provides information to skiers about their performance in the form of statistics and weather forecasts, and also tracks their skiing activities, is situated in the middle of two major elements. These elements are the computer system that gives the information and the human being who receives the information. The interaction between the two is critical and so the prototype should provide an enhanced way to make the interaction between the two elements as smooth as possible (Sood, 2021). In fact, human-computer interaction should be enhanced in a manner that resembles a human-to-human open-ended dialogue. While it is difficult to achieve such an ambitious goal with today’s technology, human-computer interaction can still be enhanced to make it smooth enough for the users.
2.1 Interaction Design Research
In any design of a prototyping model, the first step in design research will be requirement analysis. This is when the requirements of the system are defined in detail. In a human-computer interaction prototype, the requirements are driven by the needs of the users, the characteristics of the context of use, the competitive system aspects and other possible previous systems. Therefore, in a user-centred design like the one proposed in this report some of the requirements include scoping fact-gathering, analysis modelling, validation, trade-off analysis, negotiation, and process map of requirements engineering.
The requirements of the interaction design often begin with a vague statement of intent (Miller, 2020). The first step is to create the scope by establishing boundaries of investigation. In this case, the interaction design is bound by two parameters: firstly, to give important data about the mountains that the uses of the design our skiing and secondly, the statistics of their performance. Data collection strategies are used in the second requirement. Fact gathering techniques include interviews, the use of questionnaires, and observations. An analysis follows fact-gathering and is usually guided by a series of five questions which are “what is the system purpose? what objects are involved? where is the system located? when should things happen? what are the problems that the system intends to solve?” (Lowgren & Stolterman, 2007). Analysis and modelling are interweaved together by those questions.
The other requirement is validation; which means the process of getting the uses of the system to comprehend the implication of the proposed design and then agree that it reflects their wishes. Trade-off analysis is the reporting of non-functional requirements that are not satisfied by a given specification (Interaction design foundation, 2021). Proper negotiation is the other requirement. Modelling, analysis, and trade-off analysis are requirements that are subsumed by negotiation because proper explanation and discussion of all the aspects in the proposed design need to be addressed by the stakeholders and proper negotiation on conflicting requirements done (Interaction design foundation, 2021). The final requirement is a process map of requirement engineering. It is like a schedule that displays activity mixes that had to be taken in the development of the system
2.2 Interaction design theory
The role that cognitive psychology plays in human-computer interaction is critical in describing how human abilities and limitations are taken into consideration in designing the proposed solution (“How people interact with information presentation,” n.d.). Cognitive psychology also involves the study of the mind and how potential users of the proposed solution think. In this case, cognitive psychology is applied considering a range of fields like the users’ attention spans, memory, reasoning, physical strength and speed. Considering all this, the most attractive gadget to be used is mobile in nature : (“Eye-tracking for interaction: Adapting multimedia interfaces,” 2020). For instance, a smartphone or a smartwatch. An application of the proposed system is installed into the gadgets.
The proposed solution incorporates different modes of interaction. Seeing as interaction is the centre of focus in the design, the most suitable interaction modes is organic voice output, and touch, as the input (Clemmensen, 2021). Given the various types of human-computer interaction, the design incorporates at least three major types of interaction: graphical user interface, menu-driven interface, touch-sensitive interface and voice-driven interface (Clemmensen, 2021). The combination of those interfaces gives users the ultimate interaction experience while maintaining the major design principles for human-computer interaction: to strive for consistency, cater for universal usability, ensure there are no errors, provide information feedback, and design dialogue that give closure to the users (Cooper et al., 2014).
3. Design Process
3.1 Conceptual Design
The proposed solution is an application installed in a gadget wearable or mobile like a smartwatch and a smartphone, respectively. The application gives users the information they need about the mountains they are skiing on and the statistics of their performance while skiing. The information mostly focused on weather forecasting and the statistics about the distance they ski, the routes, they take the amount of water they need, and the energy they consume. The application makes use of the interaction types described in the previous section such that has a graphic user interface combined with a menu-driven interface. The design being on a smartphone and smartwatch is touch-sensitive. In order to enhance the user interaction experience, dialogues to provide closure and voice output are integrated.
3.2 Five Dimensions of Interaction Design
An excellent user experience in any human-computer interaction heavily relies on interaction design. The five dimensions of interaction design include words, visual representations, physical objects of space, time, and behaviour. The proposed design has incorporated the five dimensions in the following ways:
From the first dimension, the proposed design has used words in such a manner that gives an organic experience to the users (Chen et al., 2014). The words and the language, in general, is designed to directly fulfil the two needs that the solution is solving: weather forecasting and statistics. Therefore, the language is concise with minimal fluff. The visual presentations of the digital space as seen on the screens of a smartphone or a smartwatch has been meticulously developed to ensure that the typography, icons, pictures, widgets, diagrams and all other graphical elements like the lines and colours are used to grab the attention of the user. From the third dimension, the use of the digital space has been carefully designed and puts the visual representations in the right place, especially considering the small screen of a smartwatch (Chen et al., 2014). The fourth dimension of time has been incorporated in the design to show the users that the media can change with time. Through the use of a feedback loop incorporated in the design, the fifth dimension is catered for. It allows the design to pay attention to how the users perform tasks and behave while using the application.
4. Prototype
4.1 Low-Fidelity Prototype
4.2 Mid-Fidelity Prototype
5. Research Study
6. Conclusion
References
Chen, Q., Zhang, G., & Wang, Z. (2014). Design of a nanometer five-dimension adjusting
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Clemmensen, T. (2021). Human work interaction design for socio-technical theory and
action. Human Work Interaction Design, 11-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71796-4_2
Cooper, A., Reimann, R., Cronin, D., & Noessel, C. (2014). About face: The essentials of
interaction design. John Wiley & Sons.
Eye tracking for interaction: Adapting multimedia interfaces. (2020). Signal Processing to
Drive Human-Computer Interaction: EEG and eye-controlled interfaces, 83-116. https://doi.org/10.1049/pbce129e_ch5
How people interact with information presentation. (n.d.). Human-Information Interaction
and Technical Communication, 330-365. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-0152-9.ch010
Interaction design foundation. (2021). Requirements engineering. The Interaction Design
Foundation. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/requirements-engineering
Interaction design foundation. (2021). What is human-computer interaction (HCI)? The Interaction Design Foundation. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/human-computer-interaction
Lowgren, J., & Stolterman, E. (2007). Thoughtful interaction design: A design perspective
on information technology. MIT Press.
Miller, G. (2020). Cognitive psychology. Science Fiction and Psychology, 201-234.
https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781789620603.003.0005
Sood, S. (2021). Holarchic HCI and augmented psychology (“AugPsy”).
https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/cp7ke
Svanæs, D. (1997). Kinaesthetic thinking: The tacit dimension of interaction design.
Computers in Human Behavior, 13(4), 443-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0747-5632(97)00020-4
Wiberg, M. (2018). Material-centered interaction design. The Materiality of Interaction.
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Appendix
The Test Introduction
