Transcript Design Considerations for Information Appliances Ketan Babaria Human Computer Interaction Lab

Design Considerations for
Information Appliances
Information Appliances and Beyond
By Eric Bergman
Ketan Babaria
Human Computer Interaction Lab
University of Maryland
Where we will go today ??
 Information Appliances : The definition
 Design Considerations
 Challenges ahead
What are information
appliances ?
An information appliance is a
computer enhanced consumer device
dedicated to a restricted cluster of
task.
Or simply..
It’s an electronic device that performs only a
few tasks but does them efficiently and with
little effort from the user.
So…
 PDAs are information appliances while
Computers are not
 Other examples
– Microwave
– TV Set-Top Box
– Screen phones
Characteristics of information
appliances
 Limited purpose and functionality
 Not necessarily extensible or upgradeable
 Replacement expectation
 Perceived as less expensive than PCs
 Perceived as less complicated to run and
maintain versus PCs
 Very easy to learn and use
 No expectation of expert user
Why new interface..
 Audience reach
– Very wide base of consumers
– Minimal computer experience
 High level of specialization
Design Considerations for
information appliances
Define your domain
 Entertainment
– Interaction with content is the most important
factor. User experience is paramount.
– Task completion time is not a critical factor
 Information access and Communication
– Ease of learning is important
– Efficiency is critical
 Assistant devices
– Same as information access and communication
Design dedicated user interfaces
 Integrate user interface with I/O,
applications and other system
characteristics
 Predictability more important than
consistency or efficiency !!
Allocate functions properly
 Distribute functions between hardware and
software
– Frequency of use
• Assign very visible and easily accessible location in
hardware/software
– Importance of use
• Ensure simplicity
Simplify
 Follow 80/20 rule
 Optimize user interface around those 20%
of functions
 Limit the choices available at the same time
provide reasonable defaults
Design for responsiveness
 All operations should be immediately
interruptible (no dialogue boxes)
 Provide continuous feedback
Design Consideration sum up
 Define your domain
 Design dedicated user interfaces
 Allocate functions properly
 Simplify
 Design for responsiveness
Challenges
 Infinite types of user interfaces ?
 Is the product too general/too specific ?