Advanced principles of Human computer interaction - Assignment Example

Advanced principles of Human computer interaction - Apple I-pod Model being used: Fifth Generation iPod 60 gig Question Front The front of theiPod is completely flat and smooth and the color can vary according to user preferences. Just below half of the front is taken up with the transparent screen through which you view the display for the interface. Just below the screen area is a circular motion manipulation area which is matt where the rest of the front is shiny. In the center of the circular matt area is a smaller circle that is shiny in the same manner as the area surrounding the larger circular area. The front is completely flat with no protrusions at all; when you run your hand over it you will feel no difference in texture anywhere apart from the circular matte area. This matte area is marginally raised from the surface for a functional reason. On the matte area, on the four points of the compass are four playback buttons. At the north point is a "MENU" button that allows you to navigate through the menus. At the west point is a step back button. At the south point is a play / pause button. At the east point is a step forward button. The MENU button takes you from the normal screen to a menu screen that allows you to navigate to different capabilities including "Music", "Photos" and "Videos" options on the menu. You can then enter each of these menus and navigate through them and if you want to go back up to the previous level of the menu then you can just press the MENU button again. This allows you to move back through the menu systems if you have made a mistake during your navigation. Each time that you press it will take you to the next level up in the menu system until you reappear at the original screen that you started from. The step back button allows you to go back to the beginning of the playback of an item should you wish to. It allows you to return to the start of a song or a movie if you should need to do that. If you press the button twice then you will return to the start of the previous item and each time that press the button after that you will be moved to the item before that until you reach the start of the play list. The step forward works in reverse since clicking on it will take you one item further on for every click of the button until the end of the play list The play / pause button determines the playback of items depending on the amount of times you press the button. If you press it once then the item will play and if you press it twice then the track or video will freeze in place and continue from that spot when the button is pressed again. There are some actions that can be performed to the iPod that can cause it to automatically halt the playback of an item, such as removing the headphones from their jack, but the playback can be resumed by pressing the button. The circular matte area itself also serves a purpose with regards to playback and navigation while the smaller circle within in it has navigation functionality. The larger circular area is used to control the volume of the items being listened to or watched. This control is exercise by running your finger or thumb in a circular motion over the area. The interior button is used to confirm a choice being made when it is depressed. If you wish to increase the volume of the sound then you should move you finger or thumb in a clockwise circular motion over the area, while if you wish to decrease the volume then you would move your finger in an anti-clockwise motion on the area. In terms of navigation if you wish to navigate towards the bottom of the screen then you should move your finger in a clockwise direction on the surface, if you wish to move towards the top then you should move your finger in an anti clockwise direction on the surface. Top and Bottom On the top of the iPod is a slider that is used to lock the "key pad" of the iPod so that while it is been transported around random buttons cannot be pushed and damage the appliance. The slider prevents the pressing of buttons from having any affect on navigation of the menus or playback of items. On the right of the slider is a head phone jack that can accommodate a set of head phones or a set of speakers. At the bottom is an inlet for the cable that doubles as a data cable and a power cable. This allows the iPod to be plugged into a PC or a Mac so that data can be moved between the two devices through the USB port of the computer. While the cable is plugged into both devices the portable devices is charged. The cable being plugged into both sides does prevent any use of the portable device though until it has been unplugged again. Interface The interface is a series of different menus arranged in a vertical list and is very simple in design to make manipulation and navigation as uncomplicated as possible for users. The background is white with black writing and colored accents throughout to prevent the appearance looking too stark. Each option has an arrow next to it if it has submenus and options below it which can be accessed through the use of the navigation tools on the front of the device. There are two distinctive different areas of the interface, the menu area and the current song area. The menu area of the interface allows you to construct play lists of songs and select a particular song, artist or album to play as well as allowing the user to choose whether they would like to view a video or alter the settings of various features of the device. Confirmation of actions is performed by depressing the inner circle on the front of the device while cancellations and reversing up the menus is done through the use of the MENU key. The current song area shows the details of the song that is currently being played and a few related details. The time is displayed at the middle of the top color bar and to the right of that the battery power is displayed. The song number in the play list is shown next to the total number of songs in the play list. The song title, artist and album are displayed in the center of the screen. There is a status bar below showing the progress of the item and below are digital timings of the item. When the volume is manipulated through the controls on the device then the status bar is replaced by a volume level bar. The step forward and step back keys are also used here to navigate through the songs on the play list. Question 2: Selecting a song to play Song: Father and Son Artist: Cat Stevens Album: Remember - The Ultimate Collection To get to the root menu screen from the current song playing interface is accomplished through the use of the MENU button. This then gives you a list of options on the screen: Music Photos Videos Extras, Settings Shuffle Songs Sleep Now Playing To get to the songs the "Music" option needs to be selected by moving your finger or thumb counter clockwise on the matte circle on the front of the iPod if the highlighted bar is not on the Music option. Once the highlight bar is on the "Music" option then the smaller inner circle within the matte area needs to be depressed which will take the user to the vertical menu that is on the next level down. This menu then offers a list of the next level of menus: Playlists Artists Albums Songs Podcasts Genres Composers Audiobooks From this level of menus there are three options that can be taken in order to find the song that you are looking for. The route that you take is determined by exactly how many details you know about the song that you are looking to play. If you know all of the details, including how the song has been labeled then the fastest route is to manipulate the surface of the matte circle until the option "Songs" is highlighted and then depress the small circle within the matte area. If you are only aware of what the name of the artist is that performed the track that you are looking for then you should go to the option that says "Artists". If you know which album the song came from then it would be a better idea to make use of the "Albums" option since there are likely to be fewer entries for that option. If you are unsure of the exact details of the track that you are looking for, but you know what type of music it is then you should make use of the "Genres" option since it can cover a wider range of tracks than the other options. Conversely if the track is a classical piece or was written by famous composer then making use of the "Composers" option is likely to be your best option. Each different option has advantages and disadvantages in terms of locating the precise track that you wish for, one of the main factors is the numbers of different options listed under these options. To access any of these options manipulate the matte area either clockwise or anti-clockwise as appropriate until the option you wish to use is highlighted and then depress the small circular area in the middle of the circular matte area. If you make use of the "Songs" option then you will be taken to a screen that lists all the tracks that are in the memory of the device. The songs will be listed in ascending order according to the title of the track. If you choose any of the options mentioned then you will find either a list of different artists, albums, composers or genres, depending on which is appropriate to the option that you chose. These options will also be listed ascending alphabetical order. Once you have highlighted and selected the appropriate option for you then select it using the same method that you have used to navigate through the menus up till this point. This will take you to a list of tracks the fit the options that you have chosen up to that point. Due to the fact that some labeling may be erroneous there is a chance that the track you are looking for will not be there, but if this is the case then it is recommended that you navigate back to the menu where you can opt to navigate to the "Songs" option and then navigate through that. This will allow you to search through all the songs on the memory. Path to track wanted: Menu Artists Cat Stevens Father and Son Question 3: I have decided that the reason why I want to redesign the iPod is to make it accessible to the blind community and those whose site is degenerating, no matter what the cause is or how far their sight has degenerated. This is a large portion of people who are being denied the ability to use this type of device and are losing the ability to derive enjoyment from it as sighted people can. There are many reasons why I believe that this device needs to be redesigned, but it is attainable due to the fact that the actual changes that are needed are relatively few. The unfortunate thing is that although the changes that are needed in order to make this type of device accessible to blind or partially sighted people are few they can complicated to undertake. They can unfortunately also prove to be too expensive to make it profitable, but for the benefits that it can provide to so many people make the alterations can be viewed as necessary. Questionnaire: 1. Name: 2. Age: 3. Career: 4. Do you have a disability 5. If you do, what was the cause 6. Have you heard of Apple or Mac Products 7. Have you heard of the Apple iPod range of products 8. How did you hear about them 9. Have you ever made use of any of these products 10. For how long did you make use of the product (short, medium or long term) 11. What was your initial impression of the product 12. What was your overall impression of the product 13. What aspects of the product did you think were the best 14. Why did you feel this way 15. What aspects did you find the worst 16. Why did you feel this way 17. Would you recommend the product to friends or acquaintances 18. Can you explain why 19. Did you experience any difficulties using the product with your disability 20. Can you suggest any improvements that can be made to the product to help eradicate the difficulties that you previously mentioned 21. Are there any other suggestions you have that you believe would help improve the usability and accessibility of the product for other people who have similar disabilities to you or indeed any disabilities at all 22. If the changes that you have suggested were implemented would you be more likely to buy and make use of one of these products 23. Are there any other comments that you have that you believe would help us to provide you with a product that would serve you better Question 4: All of the three people interviewed have some sort of visual disability, whether it is complete blindness from birth or degeneration of eyesight. I performed the questionnaire by asking the questions and then wrote down the answers in a word document. These three questionnaires are attached at the back as Appendix A. Question 5: The changes that I am going to make are going to make these products more accessible to those people who are blind or who are almost blind. These changes can also help other people who are unable to look at the screen of the product while they are making use of it. The principle design change is one that is classified as a speech synthesis innovative interaction style. There will also be other, smaller changes that can are designed to further the general aim of the major change and increase the accessibility of the product. The main innovative interaction style is Text-to-Speech (TTS) synthesis. This will mean that each item on the menu will be spoken aloud as it is highlighted. This will be enabled by the small speaker that will be implanted in the iPod. This speaker can then allow the user to listen to music without needing ear phones until such time as they choose to utilize head phones through the use of the head phone jack. This will allow any person not able to see the screen to be aware of exactly which option is currently highlighted. This will lessen mistakes being made in navigation and may allow people who cannot view the interface to become fully aware of all the options that it is possible to choose from. This can allow them to make better use of the products capabilities and master the functions of the iPod more effectively. This mastering of the controls can improve the perception of the product and can lead to the product being recommended to other people which can in turn lead to increased revenue. The synthesis can be simplified by having the basic menu options synthesized using Copy synthesis to record the vocal element for each option and then have the TTS in use for any non-standard options that can be highlighted during navigation. This can lessen the amount of processing power that is needed to provide this service. The copy synthesis can also make the options sound a little less mechanical in sound, which can improve the user's perception of the altered product. In the auditory department the highlight bar that is a necessary for visual stimulation can be replaced by using non-speech sound in the interface, but in order to increase the accessibility of the product I would not remove it. A sound can be made every time the person moves the focus one option down. This would act as a pre-cursor to the speech since the speech synthesis would only be utilized once the focus has been on an entry for 3 seconds to prevent the constant re-uttering of the same words which could cause annoyance in the user. These auditory elements could orientate a user as to how far down the screen they are. They can be used in a few variations to provide different signals to the user. They could use two sets of signals to tell the user when they have reached the first or last option on a menu so that no time is wasted in fruitlessly scrolling up or down once the end has been reached. They could also be used to signal various actions in navigation including a set of sounds that signal that the user has gone one level down in the menu structure and another signal to alert the user that they have gone one level up in the menu. There is a supplementary innovative interaction style that can help to decrease the amount of time needed to locate the option on the menu that you require and this is discrete word recognition technology. All of the options of the menus are one word long or at most very short phrases. There is also a fair different between most of the standard options on the menus. This will allow the person to say the word of the option they want and have it highlighted. There is also a measure to ensure the correctness of the indicated option through the repetition of the name by Copy synthesis or Text-to-Speech synthesis. The smaller changes are physical changes that can be made to the outer shell of the product, using the model I examined. There are various aspects that can be changed in order to provide additional accessibility to those who cannot view the screen. The icons that are on top of each button can be raised so that passing a finger over them would immediately alert you to the fact that this was the location of the button. To make the product more accessible to the blind, these raised symbols would have the Braille equivalent directly beneath them on buttons that have been slightly widened to give a greater margin for error in pressing the button. The buttons themselves would be slightly raised so that by a touch the exact location and size of the button. The central button that currently has not symbol on it would have the Braille equivalent of enter for a computer on it to enlighten users about its purpose. Each different portion of the product would be labeled to ensure there was no confusion about its usage. This would include having Braille next t the headphone jack, the hold button and the data cable entry point. This can save a lot of trouble and also allow for easier orientation of the product and its accessories. There can however still be problems if the user is not aware of the exact instructions that are needed to make full use of the product. This is why an instructional manual printed in Braille is such a necessity. It shows that the company is willing to go some extra steps to help those who are unable to see make full use of their products as every other person does. This can allow any user to become thoroughly acquainted with the system and be able to become proficient in using it in the shortest possible time. It will also help to provide instructions on how the user can navigate to different areas so that no matter where they are they can be sure of knowing how to get where they would like to go. The introduction into the design of a speaker, of small size, would provide the user with the opportunity of sharing their music with other people. The speaker serves a functional purpose due to the fact that it broadcasts the speech and non-speech elements that are generated by the product for different reasons. It also allows people to be able to dispense with head phones if they are in an environment that allows it. This will allow any worry about the loss of head phones to diminish and it allows a wider area to receive the sound being output by the product. It allows all navigation related sounds to be heard without the need for headphones which can be very beneficial. Question 6: Selecting a song to play Song: Father and Son Artist: Cat Stevens Album: Remember - The Ultimate Collection To get to the root menu screen from the current song playing interface is accomplished through the use of the MENU button. This then gives you a list of options on the screen: Music Photos Videos Extras, Settings Shuffle Songs Sleep Now Playing The "Music" option is selected by saying the word "Music" slowly and carefully or it can be selected by moving your finger in the appropriate direction on the touch pad until the highlighted bar is on the Music option. Once the highlight bar is on the "Music" option and the word "Music" has been said, indicating the correct option is highlighted then the smaller inner circle within the matte touch pad needs to be pressed which will take the user to the menu on the next level down. This menu then offers a list of options: Playlists Artists Albums Songs Podcasts Genres Composers Audiobooks To access any of these options say the name of the option that you wish to highlight or manipulate the touch pad area in the appropriate direction until the option you wish to use is highlighted and the correct word has been said, then press the small circular area in the middle of the circular touch pad area. These options will then be listed in alphabetical order, say the name of the option you wish to highlight or manipulate the touch pad appropriately. Once the word or phrase highlighted area has been said and has been deemed to be correct then it can be selected using the same name as previously. This practice continues until you reach the lowest level and the song you wish for has been selected and its name has been said. Then you can play it by pressing the central circular area again. This will cause the song to play. In this case the amount of levels down that you will need to go will be four, but other options or songs can take longer to locate. One of the paths to track wanted: Menu Artists Cat Stevens Father and Son See Appendix B for story board Questions 7: The alterations have been created to follow along the lines of Schneiderman's eight golden rules. Each of the aspects of the alterations is designed to comply with his rules in order to make the user's experience as pleasant as possible. Some of the rules are conformed to due to the original construction of the iPod which has been designed to make the interface as simple to use as possible and as uniform as possible to ensure that ease of use. This includes the coloring of the interface itself which is simple enough not to distract the user, but merely to give accent to the screens. The alterations have been created to ensure that the actions that can be taken on each page are identical. The alterations are also designed so that a vein of consistency runs through the interface of the product. Each page of options is laid out in the same manner; the manner of navigating around the pages is identical as is the manner of selecting the correct option. The coloring and layout remain consistent throughout the interface. The interface is designed to provide shortcuts for the user so that they do not need to scroll through the lists of options that are available. Throughout the interface the method of using the shortcuts is identical to ensure that the user knows what to do in order to make use of these shortcuts. This prevents any confusion on the part of the user and therefore allows them to navigate through the interface with as little hassle as possible. For every actions that is selected and for every navigational key that is used in the menu interface there is a sonic feedback as well as a visual feedback. The sonic feedback allows the user to know exactly where the highlight is positioned on the interface even if they are unable to see it. The fact that the name of the option is spoken allows the user to be sure of the correctness of the selection. It also makes sure that the shortcuts have worked as they are supposed to. The variation of the feedback in response to different actions provides a greater level of information to the user than a uniform response would. The dialogues have been designed by the original designers of the product and as such when they are measured against the golden rules, they are seen to conform to the rules regarding dialogue design to a greater extent. The error handling design has also been handled by the original designers so that was left untouched, but when evaluated using these rules, they are seen to comply with the rules since this product is designed to eliminate the possibility of error. This elimination of error eradicates the need to be able to undo actions, but there are measures in place that allow the user to reverse the navigation. The complete control that the user is offered in this system, both by the original design of the product and the alterations that have been done allow them to truly feel in control of the operation of the product and thereby be in compliance with the seventh golden rule. Appendix A: Questionnaire 1: Questionnaire: 1. Name: Warren 2. Age: 23 3. Career: Writer 4. Do you have a disability Yes, I am blind 5. If you do, what was the cause I suffered from macular degeneration which has lead to me becoming blind. 6. Have you heard of Apple or Mac Products Yes, I have 7. Have you heard of the Apple iPod range of products Yes, I have 8. How did you hear about them Yes, heard about them through a shop assistant when I went to an electronic store. 9. Have you ever made use of any of these products Yes, I have 10. For how long did you make use of the product (short, medium or long term) Short term, an approximately 5 minute trial in the store 11. Which product did you use The iPod 60gig - the new one that can apparently play videos too 12. What was your initial impression of the product Absolutely useless for me to use as a blind person 13. What was your overall impression of the product Unfortunately, due to my short time that I used the product my overall impression was the same as my initial impression. 14. What aspects of the product did you think were the best The head phones were used with the product 15. Why did you feel this way They were more comfortable than most other headphones and rested nicely on the back of my neck. 16. What aspects did you find the worst The overall design of the product 17. Why did you feel this way There seem to be no aspects that are designed to make it more accessible to the portion of the population who, like me, are unable to see properly. 18. Would you recommend the product to friends or acquaintances I would recommend it to sighted friends, but not to other blind people unless it was altered to make it easier for us to use it. 19. Can you explain why There is little point in buying a product of this nature that will frustrate you and provide you with little or no enjoyment. 20. Did you experience any difficulties using the product with your disability Yes, without the help of the assistant within the shop I was unable to make use of the product properly due to the fact that I am blind. 21. Can you suggest any improvements that can be made to the product to help eradicate the difficulties that you previously mentioned I believe that if a version of the product was released that had raised Braille markings on the product to provide information about the information of each button and each area of the product. This can help to make use of it far easier for myself and others in my position. 22. Are there any other suggestions you have that you believe would help improve the usability and accessibility of the product for other people who have similar disabilities to you or indeed any disabilities at all To have a Braille manual accompanying the product would be a great help to allow people in my position to get a sense of what the different controls do within the product. This will help to make navigation through the options of the product far easier. 23. If the changes that you have suggested were implemented would you be more likely to buy and make use of one of these products I think I would and if Apple was to show the sort of consideration that would be needed to implement these changes then I would recommend that my friends support the brand, not only the iPod range of products. 24. Are there any other comments that you have that you believe would help us to provide you with a product that would serve you better I believe that having one or more blind people on the development team in some capacity in order to be sure that the end product has all the needed functionality needed to make it an easily used product. Questionnaire 2: Questionnaire: 1. Name: Seth 2. Age: 29 3. Career: Information Technology 4. Do you have a disability I am blind 5. If you do, what was the cause The cause of my blindness was Retinitis Pigmentosa which caused me to go blind at the age of 15. 6. Have you heard of Apple or Mac Products I have 7. Have you heard of the Apple iPod range of products I have heard of the group of products 8. How did you hear about them A friend of mine who owned one told me about it. 9. Have you ever made use of any of these products The friend that told me about it leant it to me for a weekend to try out since I love listening to music. 10. Which product did you use The iPod 30gig capacity 11. For how long did you make use of the product (short, medium or long term) Short term. I only used the product for a portion of a weekend so only a short term use 12. What was your initial impression of the product The first impression was that non-sighted people had been completely over looked when this product was made. 13. What was your overall impression of the product The time that I spent attempting to make use of this product only enforced my opinion that this product was never designed to be made use of by person who is sightless. 14. What aspects of the product did you think were the best The quality of the sound when a song was played 15. Why did you feel this way I felt this way since there were no other aspects of this product that I that I enjoyed 16. What aspects did you find the worst The overall physical design of the product 17. Why did you feel this way As I stated before I do not believe that the product was ever intended to be used by any person who cannot see. The physical shell of the product is too smooth to be able to ascertain whether there are controls to manipulate the interface. I was only aware that controls existed since the owner spent time with me explaining how to use the product, but once on my own I was unable to utilize it properly. 18. Would you recommend the product to friends or acquaintances I would not recommend it to any blind friends of mine. 19. Can you explain why I doubt whether they would be able to make more use of it than I was able to. 20. Did you experience any difficulties using the product with your disability Yes, I did as I explained in response to previous questions. 21. Can you suggest any improvements that can be made to the product to help eradicate the difficulties that you previously mentioned I believe that if the controls were raised and the markings on the controls were also raised then manipulation of the interface may be easier. 22. Are there any other suggestions you have that you believe would help improve the usability and accessibility of the product for other people who have similar disabilities to you or indeed any disabilities at all Make the front and back of the product easier to manipulate and the large area that apparently is used to display the interface can be made smaller. 23. If the changes that you have suggested were implemented would you be more likely to buy and make use of one of these products I would see how successfully the ideas had been implemented and whether they truly made my experience easier and more pleasant before deciding whether to buy the product 24. Are there any other comments that you have that you believe would help us to provide you with a product that would serve you better I think I have provided as much as information as I can. Questionnaire 3: Questionnaire: 1. Name: Juliette 2. Age: 23 3. Career: Travel agent 4. Do you have a disability I am sightless 5. If you do, what was the cause I was born sightless. 6. Have you heard of Apple or Mac Products I have heard of them through their advertising 7. Have you heard of the Apple iPod range of products Yes, I have heard of the iPod, but had not realized that they were produced by Apple since I have only ever heard of them being referred to as an iPod. 8. How did you hear about them Through hearing other people talking about the products 9. Have you ever made use of any of these products I went down to an electronics store to try out the product 10. Which product did you use The iPod Shuffle - don't remember the capacity 11. For how long did you make use of the product (short, medium or long term) Short term. For a few minutes within the store 12. What was your initial impression of the product That it was never in tended for use by a person who has my handicap 13. What was your overall impression of the product Since those few minutes were the only time that I used it, my overall impression didn't change from my initial impression. 14. What aspects of the product did you think were the best I like the lightweight feel of it and the small proportions of it. 15. Why did you feel this way Carrying around something large and heavy can cause strain on the body and unfortunately there were no other aspects that I viewed as positive. 16. What aspects did you find the worst The overall design of the product 17. Why did you feel this way It is slightly easier to use than the other products in the range since the buttons are raised, but they do not have raised symbols on them to tell me what their function is. There is also no way to know where you are in the menu system 18. Would you recommend the product to friends or acquaintances I doubt it 19. Can you explain why I believe that a product that this forcefully excludes an entire group of people does not deserve recommendation to others. 20. Did you experience any difficulties using the product with your disability Yes, making use of the product generally was difficult 21. Can you suggest any improvements that can be made to the product to help eradicate the difficulties that you previously mentioned I believe that if there was a small speaker on the front of the product that spoke the name of the menu item that was highlighted at the time then it would enable far easier maneuvering through the menu system. This could help to make sure that the correct item is selected. 22. Are there any other suggestions you have that you believe would help improve the usability and accessibility of the product for other people who have similar disabilities to you or indeed any disabilities at all I believe that having a speaker the plays the music you want to hear until you place a jack for a head phone into the port would allow people to listen to the music without worrying about headphones. 23. If the changes that you have suggested were implemented would you be more likely to buy and make use of one of these products I would definitely be more likely to make use of these products if the changes I suggested were performed. 24. Are there any other comments that you have that you believe would help us to provide you with a product that would serve you better No - I believe that I have given you all the comments I can think of that could be helpful. Read More