Human Computer Interaction Design

(HUCID)

Conference Information System

~ Conference Finder ~

Walk-Up and use prototype conference system

Word Count: 2563

Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Scope .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Project Goals .............................................................................................................................................................. 3
Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Project Description ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Usability ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
UI Specifications............................................................................................................................................................. 7
User Requirements...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Initial Low-fidelity prototype design ....................................................................................................................... 7
User Requirements second iteration ......................................................................................................................... 13
Low-fidelity prototype re-design ........................................................................................................................... 13
High-fidelity prototype design .............................................................................................................................. 18
System design assumptions and decisions ..................................................................................................................... 23
Evaluation .................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 24
Appendices.................................................................................................................................................................... 25
UP825804 – Portfolio ............................................................................................................................................... 25
UP830109 – Portfolio ............................................................................................................................................... 27
UP872413 - Portfolio ................................................................................................................................................ 30
Additional Designs ................................................................................................................................................... 32
Mobile Version Designs ........................................................................................................................................... 34
Questionnaires samples............................................................................................................................................. 38

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Table of Figures
Figure 1 - Initial draw of the design plan ........................................................................................................................ 3
Figure 2 - Requirements summary .................................................................................................................................. 4
Figure 3 - Conference Information System ‘walk-in and use’ workflow diagram (Abstract) ........................................... 6
Figure 4 - First visual attempt of the device.................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 5 - Memorability test graph ................................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 6 - Usability questionnaire results ....................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 7 - Usability questionnaire results (continued) .................................................................................................... 9
Figure 8 - Walk & Use System main page of the CIF (Left); 'Keyboard Overlay' when user type for search (Right) ...... 10
Figure 9 – (Alternative tablet version) Main page of the CIF (Left); 'Keyboard Overlay' when user type for search
(Right) ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 10 – Walk & Use system Terms of services (left) and Privacy Policy (right) pages ............................................. 10
Figure 11 – (Alternative tablet version) Terms of services (left) and Privacy Policy (right) pages................................. 11
Figure 12 – Search results (Left); Conference Details (Right) ........................................................................................ 11
Figure 13 – (Alternative tablet version) Search results (Left); Conference Details (Right) ............................................ 11
Figure 14 - Speakers List (Left); Speaker Profile (Right) ................................................................................................ 12
Figure 15 - Speakers List (Left); Speaker Profile (Right) ................................................................................................ 12
Figure 16 – Digitally rendered device with interface .................................................................................................... 12
Figure 17 – Main screen embedded device (Left); Main screen tablet device (Right) .................................................. 13
Figure 18 - Enhanced search results for the users who prefer rich visual search results .............................................. 13
Figure 19 - Simplified search results, when 'Basic Search Results' option is activated ................................................. 14
Figure 20 – Simplified conference details page ............................................................................................................ 14
Figure 21 – Multiple options of sharing location (When ‘DIRECTIONS’ button is pressed [Figure 20]) ......................... 15
Figure 22 - Enhanced Speaker List (Search) .................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 23 - Basic Speaker List (Search) .......................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 24 – Speaker Profile ........................................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 25 – Speaker Profile ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 26 – Speaker Profile (Alternative) ...................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 27 - High fidelity prototyping with Axure (Left); Axure design and output side by side (Right) ......................... 18
Figure 28 - Main screen of the system .......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 29 – On-screen keyboard ................................................................................................................................... 19
Figure 30 – Enhanced search results/browsing of conferences .................................................................................... 19
Figure 31 – Simplified search results/browsing of conferences .................................................................................... 20
Figure 32 – Conference details ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Figure 33 – Alternative conference details where venue details are as a pop-up window ........................................... 21
Figure 34 – Popup window of conference details ......................................................................................................... 21
Figure 35 - Sharing location process and confirmation ................................................................................................. 22
Figure 36 - Usability lab test ......................................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 37 - Scenario fragment....................................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 38 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Conference Tab) ............................................................................ 32
Figure 39 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Conference Tab) ............................................................................ 32
Figure 40 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Pictures Tab) .................................................................................. 32
Figure 41 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Location Tab) ................................................................................. 32
Figure 42 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Links Tab) ....................................................................................... 32
Figure 43 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Speaker Tab) .................................................................................. 32
Figure 44 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Tickets-Free) .................................................................................. 33
Figure 45 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Tickets-Paid) .................................................................................. 33
Figure 46 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Tickets-Open Doors) ...................................................................... 33
Figure 47 - Usability questionnaire sample ................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 48 - Summary of evaluation using "Think aloud protocol" ................................................................................ 39
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Conference Finder
 Conference Information System (CIS)
~ Conference Finder ~

Abstract
This project deals with a conference management system for a university where users can view the details of
a conference at the university, including the room location where the conference will be held, participant guests and
speakers accessing an interface that will be used on a large stand touch screen.

Introduction
Scope

The main focus of this project is to design a conference information system (CIS) that will assist the user in
getting around a widespread university campus with the application offering several features that would benefit the
user in a potentially unknown city or environment. The user will most likely be from a professional or academic
background but with different levels of technological awareness.
The project scope is to create a simple but intuitive user interface, where the user will be able to plan to which
conferences, they may want to attend by having an overview of the available conferences, speakers and guests. In
addition, the system will offer interactive directions for the first-time visitors and points of interest around the
university.
Project Goals

Creation of a prototype application for use within a university

conferences planning program, where the application system should be
intuitive and easy to use for a diversified audience. The user interface must be
affective and the system would help the user to navigate easily. System would
include several built-in functions mainly to direct the user to rooms/locations
around campus for a specific time within a schedule including a live update
feature so the user can be notified of late or cancelled talks or events during the
conference. To enhance the functionality of the system, user will have the
additional option to browse for external information such as where to eat, local
attractions to visit or nearest ATM.

Methodology

For this project we used several methodologies:

Figure 1 - Initial draw of the design plan
• Usability heuristics
o Several analyses of interface against a handful of principles
• Walkthroughs
o Analyse an interface by considering what a user would have to do a step at a time while performing
their task
• Contextual inquiry
o Interview methodology that gains knowledge of what people do in their real-world context
• Keystroke-level model
o A low-level description of what users would have to do to perform a task that can be used to predict
how long it would take them to do it
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 • Goms
o Structured, multi-level description of what users would have to do to perform a task that can also be
used to predict time

Figure 2 - Requirements summary

Project Description

Task allocation across the system

The application will be divided into two platforms: embedded device (walk and use) and mobile (phone,
tablets) version. This paper is focused on the embedded device design but elements of mobile devices will be
presented as well. The mobile phone/tablet versions will enhance the embedded device system by giving access to the
users to more functionality by allowing the speaker users to create their personal profile, upload publications and
reference links to their other projects.
The system is divided in 3 access parts, where walk & use device won’t have any login/register section:

• Open free access without need of registrations aimed for front end access with search and browsing
functionality.
o Users can find useful information about available conferences and/or useful locations around the
venue location. Speaker’s profiles are available for search along with their past published works (e.g.
books, journals)
o Conference Location & Details available for print out
o Notifications
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 o Booking
• Registered users (only for tablet/phone) which include all above functionalities along with access to
notifications, bookings and possibility to add conferences to different calendars (e.g. Google calendar, iCalendar etc.).
Registered users are further divided into 2 categories of users groups with different access levels:
o Conference participant – user group with minimum access to the system information. Users assigned
to this group can book a place (or purchase a ticket through 3rd party system) to a conference and receive
notifications about incoming events.
o Conference speaker – user group with all above privileges and with a personal profile page where
they can upload their photo, relevant documents, self-description profile or links to their works.
• Admin area access (briefly covered in this paper) is the systems part where all conferences and system
settings are handled. Please see additional designs section:
o Conference planner
o User Management
o Notifications
o Other administrative tasks

Usability

The Usability Engineering Life Cycle Helps the designers and developers to build a good, fully functioning and
reliable solution with the aid of its set of stages. According to Nielsen given below are the stages of the usability life
cycle model (Nielsen, 1993).

• Know the User

o Individual user Characteristics
o The Users current and desired Tasks
o Functional Analysis
o The evolution of the user and the job
• Competitive Analysis
• Setting Usability Goals
o Financial impact analysis
• Parallel design
• Participatory design
• Coordinated design of the total interface
• Apply guidelines and heuristic analysis
• Prototyping
• Empirical testing
• Iterative design
o Capture design rationale
• Collect feedback from the field user.
The design of
the user interface
affects the amount of
effort the user must
expend to provide
input for the system
and to interpret the
output of the system,
and how much effort it
takes to learn how to
do this, taking into
account the human psychology and physiology of the users and makes the process of using the system effective,
efficient and satisfying. Usability is mainly a characteristic of the user interface, but it is also associated with the
functionalities of the application. It describes how well a product can be used for its intended purpose by its target
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users with efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction, also taking into account the requirements from its context of use.
These functionalities or features are not always parts of the user interface, yet they are key elements in the usability of
a product (Gutierrez, 2014). Failing to use the appropriate prototype characteristics it is a major cause of ineffective
prototyping. For example, providing the target audience with too many or too few details leads to an ineffective use of
the time - either in extra time spent designing the prototype or time spent on a prototype test that is unable to receive
appropriate feedback. It is important to distinguish between the end users of the application and the stakeholders who
will help to make the application (Arnowitz, Arent, & Berger, 2006).
During the discussion, our group found out that the app will be required to keep in sync in order for any room
changes etc. to be updated for the users attending also, it would be beneficial for attendees to create their own log in so
they can save events and book onto slots if needed. An interesting topic that got picked up was showing attendees
what was around the area of the conference this included, where to eat, places to stay and entertainment (family
friendly/not family friendly). The process of prototype development composed of six phases:
Functionality requirements gathering: assembling a list of the functionality required of the system to
accomplish the goals of the project and the potential needs of the users where our initial requirements were based on
the initial interview with the conferences coordinator of University of Portsmouth (please see the raw audio interview)
and some assumptions concluded from the scenario.
Information architecture: development of the process and/or information flow of the system, designing the
application logical flow. For effectively prototype a basic idea of how the user navigates from one screen/page to the
next. (see Appendix A)
User analysis: An analysis of the potential users of the system either through a questionnaire or direct
observation
Prototyping: The initial development of the low fidelity prototypes with minimum of look and feel but
including the logical flow of the application.
Usability test: Testing the initial low fidelity prototype on user—often using cognitive task analysis during the
experience and recorded their response time to a given task.
-Performed the modifications analysed through test
Second Iteration of Usability test: Testing the high-fidelity prototype on the user using the usability lab.

Figure 3 - Conference Information System ‘walk-in and use’ workflow diagram (Abstract)
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UI Specifications

User Requirements

Initial Low-fidelity prototype design

The initial low fidelity prototyping helped us to carry

out the initial empirical evaluation for the system prototype.
The initial designs contain only the rough idea, with couple of
the interface designs. The designs were based on the initial
information gathered through an interview, feedback of the
idea and discussions carried on with other students and
friends. Before we started to use the Balsamiq software
(https://balsamiq.com) for clearer designs, we used just
couple of notes and paper sketches in order to generate the
system work flow.
Initial empirical evaluation and task analysis Figure 4 - First visual attempt of the device

For the Conference Finder system, we combined two techniques in order to better understand the user’s
natural behaviour through the application. The first test was conducted as time-based efficiency and memorability.
The initial test was conducted on 7 subjects ages between 18 - 50 with different technical skills. For this test the
subjects were briefly informed about the application goals and a set of printed out mock-ups of the application layouts
were handed in (see Figure 8 to Figure 15 ).

The subjects were asked based on the information they have about the application to put the mock-ups in a
logical order to “find details about a conference”. Each user repeated the same task 5 times and each time required
from start to end to complete the task was recorded. In Figure 5 we can observe that every user improved the time of
completing the task after each use. Also, at the end of the tests each user was asked to complete a short questionnaire
(Figure 6). Several notes were taken when user tested the low fidelity prototype, using talk aloud protocol.

The design methodology used was user-centred design (UCD), where the user took centre-stage into design
and tests were carried to see how the users are likely to interact with the system and use the interface.

Figure 5 - Memorability test graph

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 Figure 6 - Usability questionnaire results

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 Figure 7 - Usability questionnaire results (continued)

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First iteration of Low-fidelity design

Figure 8 - Walk & Use System main page of the CIF (Left); 'Keyboard Overlay' when user type for search (Right)

Figure 9 – (Alternative tablet version) Main page of the CIF (Left); 'Keyboard Overlay' when user type for search (Right)

Figure 10 – Walk & Use system Terms of services (left) and Privacy Policy (right) pages

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 Figure 11 – (Alternative tablet version) Terms of services (left) and Privacy Policy (right) pages

Figure 12 – Search results (Left); Conference Details (Right)

Figure 13 – (Alternative tablet version) Search results (Left); Conference Details (Right)

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 Figure 14 - Speakers List (Left); Speaker Profile (Right)

Figure 15 - Speakers List (Left); Speaker Profile (Right)

Analysing the feedback given for the digital low fidelity prototypes we receive a couple of suggestions to
change the design, suggestions that are reflected into the second iteration.

As the conference attendees will be

multicultural an option to change the language was
added into the top left of the main screen. An option
to browse the conferences events was also added to
the search part of the screen. This gives the user
more than one way to choose how to find a
conference.
Furthermore, accessibility options were added:

• Bold Text
• Brightness
• Text size Figure 16 – Digitally rendered device with interface
• Colourblind mode
• 2 types of search results display (basic and enhanced)

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User Requirements second iteration
Low-fidelity prototype re-design

Figure 17 – Main screen embedded device (Left); Main screen tablet device (Right)

Figure 18 - Enhanced search results for the users who prefer rich visual search results
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 Figure 19 - Simplified search results, when 'Basic Search Results' option is activated

Figure 20 – Simplified conference details page

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 Figure 21 – Multiple options of sharing location (When ‘DIRECTIONS’ button is pressed [Figure 20])

Figure 22 - Enhanced Speaker List (Search)

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 Figure 23 - Basic Speaker List (Search)

Figure 24 – Speaker Profile

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 Figure 25 – Speaker Profile

Figure 26 – Speaker Profile (Alternative)

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 High-fidelity prototype design

For high-fidelity prototype we used Axure prototyping tool. This software

offered functionality and possibility of simulating a real working software.

Final evaluation was based on high fidelity prototype.

Figure 27 - High fidelity prototyping with Axure (Left); Axure design and output side by side (Right)

Figure 28 - Main screen of the system

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 Figure 29 – On-screen keyboard

Figure 30 – Enhanced search results/browsing of conferences

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 Figure 31 – Simplified search results/browsing of conferences

Figure 32 – Conference details

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 Figure 33 – Alternative conference details where venue details are as a pop-up window

Figure 34 – Popup window of conference details

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 Figure 35 - Sharing location process and confirmation

Note: Our focus was for a walk in and use device. However, during our analysis and design phases we have
designed the interface for mobile phones devices as well. Please see the mobile version design in
Appendices section.

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System design assumptions and decisions

The system design is very much user orientated and keeps true to the university conference management
system description. The design came about with the expectation that the user would have any level of technological
experience from a novice to professional. The system is simple to use and efficient therefore, users can find
information quickly and easily by either browsing the conferences or specifically searching for a speaker or keyword.
It has to be compatible with mobile users as the application was designed to work on mobile devices and walk
up and use touch screen stations. It has to be accessible by all abilities and show considerations for those with
disabilities. It provides descriptive information about the conferences, the speakers, location details and schedule
information. Additionally, it has to show some local information for attendees unfamiliar with the campus which is
achieved by implementing a map feature.

Evaluation

User testing is a critical phase in the design process. The purpose of our research is to gain user
feedback on our proposed Conference Information System (CIS). We hope to understand what users like or
dislike about our system. From here we can see whether the design meets the requirements. Through the use
of paper prototyping combined with a physical mock-up of the device we will give the users a hands-on feel
for our system. Our ideal test will be to take advantage of ‘usability lab’.

Figure 36 - Usability lab test

A test subject was asked to perform some specific tasks based on a script in a controlled environment. With a
controlled test like this, we were able to compare how a user will carry out the specific tasks. After reading out the
instructions we observed how the user chooses to interact with the device in order to carry out the actions. While the
user is carrying out the tasks, he is encouraged to talk out loud and voice his intentions, especially when he is having
difficulties. This allowed us to better understand their thought process and see the interaction from the user
perspective.

Conclusion

We are considering the project to be successful as 88.9% of users recommended this product during high
fidelity prototype testing. This emphasises the benefit of using low and high-fidelity prototypes. While low fidelity will
give a simple explanation of the concept it is the high-fidelity prototypes that really demonstrate the proposed system.
By using high fidelity prototypes where the user had the feel of using a real application, they found it easy to navigate
through the user interface and buttons. The use of personas was particularly helpful and we were able to tailor the
project to the needs of these users. In addition to the alternative designs used in the low fidelity prototyping phase. The
use of the usability lab was instrumental in witnessing how a user would independently operate our system. We
worked well as a team and we believe that we have produced an effective system for a conference.

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Bibliography
Arnowitz, J., Arent, M., & Berger, N. (2006). Effective Prototyping for Software Makers. San Francisco: Morgan
Kaufmann.

Dix, A., Ormerod, T., Twidale, M., Sas, C., Silva, P. A., & McKnight, L. (2006). Why bad ideas are a good idea.
Proceedings of HCIEd.2006-1 inventivity, 23-24.

Golbeck, J. (2014, Apr 04). What a Toilet Hoax Can Tell Us About the Future of Surveillance. Retrieved from The
Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/what-a-toilet-hoax-can-tell-us-about-
the-future-of-surveillance/361408/

Gutierrez, O. (2014, Oct 16). Prototyping techniques for different problem contexts. Retrieved from
ResearchGate.com:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234821018_Prototyping_techniques_for_different_problem_con
texts

Harley, A. (2016, Feb 16). Personas Make Users Memorable for Product Team Members. Retrieved from Nielsen
Norman Group.com: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/persona/

Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability engineering. Morgan Kaufman Publishers.

Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H. (2015). Interaction design: beyond human-computer interaction. New York: Wiley
publishing.

Unicef. (n.d.). Overview: Data Collection and Analysis Methods in Impact Evaluation. Retrieved from Unicef-irc.org:
https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/brief_10_data_collection_analysis_eng.pdf

Usability B.O.K. (n.d.). Cognitive Walkthrough. Retrieved from Usability Body of Knowledge:
https://www.usabilitybok.org/cognitive-walkthrough

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Appendices

Portfolio

Technique: Evaluating Data - gathering and evaluating data

Description and Applications:

Data can be gathered through surveys, questionnaires and interviews, once gathered the data can be evaluated to
work out the significance of responses and identify any patterns/trends. Data evaluation is carried out after other
techniques that generate the data.

Strengths:
Data that has been evaluated can be
instrumental on future decision processes as it
allows you to better understand what areas of
the system need to be focused on.
Weaknesses:
Data can be difficult to interpret if not gathered in a suitable
manner or if there are large quantities of data to go through.

Evaluation:
“Well chosen and well implemented methods for data collection and analysis are essential for all types of
evaluations” (Unicef, n.d.). Without data evaluation we would be making uninformed decisions that could be
counter-productive to the development process.

Technique: Cognitive Walkthrough to evaluate designs

Description and Applications:

A cognitive walkthrough is a “usability evaluation method in which one or more evaluators work through a series
of tasks and ask a set of questions from the perspective of the user “ (Usability B.O.K, n.d.). This is applicable at all
stages of the development process.

Strengths:
Does not require the presence of test subjects.
Can be carried out at any stage in the
development process.
Weaknesses:
Evaluator likely to have used the system before and be familiar
with how it works, meaning they are not going to provide as
much insight as a new user would.

Evaluation:
Cognitive walkthroughs are a useful method for analysing a system from the user’s perspective, however they
should not be relied upon as the only evaluation technique, as data from test subjects should be more insightful.

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Technique: Usability Lab

Description and Applications:

A usability lab is an excellent way to analyse a test subjects interaction with a system. As shown in Figure 36, the
test subject is in a separate room to the tester. From this external room the tester can monitor how the subject
interacts with the system, analysing how they approach the tasks assigned to them without any external guidance.
A useful application of this is for a user’s first interaction with a system, to see how accessible it is without any
external guidance. Once the usability lab is over techniques can be used to gather additional information.

Strengths: Weaknesses:
Gaze tracker is useful to see which parts of the Test subjects may behave differently as they aware that they
system the user is drawn to, and which parts go are under observation.
unnoticed.

Evaluation:
Usability labs are a valuable tool for identifying areas of a system that may be overlooked by users. The
information gathered from using the lab can be used to fine tune the program to make sure all parts of the system
are clearly presented to the user and that there is no difficulty in finding whatever information they are searching
for.

Technique: Verbal protocols

Description and Applications:

Verbal protocol is a think aloud analysis method, suitable for when you want to understand the users thought
process. A suitable application of this technique would be to be to use it in conjunction with the usability lab, so
that the users first encounter with the system can be easily analysed.

Strengths:
The responses are more likely to be unique than
the responses you get in surveys and
interviews, as the user is not guided with any
questions.
Weaknesses:
Test subject may not consider all areas that you want to look at,
leaving gaps in your evaluation of the interface. This can be
mitigated through the use of a script, guiding the test subject on
the areas to look at.

Evaluation:
Verbal protocols are useful for hearing typical users thought process when using the system, this can be useful
when wanting to evaluate whether link names and other areas of the system are clear to the user.

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Portfolio

Competency: Storyboards

Description & Possible applications:

A low fidelity prototype that is used to describe a scenario with a description and images that involves a user such
as describing how to use a traffic light (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2015, p. 389).

Advantages: Disadvantages:

Gives the client or stakeholder a chance to interact Can take time to produce
with the proposed product.
Can result in many scenarios to be created and interacted
Gives the proposed design context with
Low cost

Evaluation:
Similar to a use case diagram in that it describes a process or function involving a user. They are a valuable insight
as to how a user might approach a task especially if the user is not on the team creating the product. Storyboards
can be time consuming and can become over complicated but are a highly effective tool in the design process.

Competency: Paper Prototypes

Description & Possible applications:

Paper prototypes are used to clarify and verify how users might use the design (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2015, p.
388). If you were in the process of building a large application it would be useful to show the client a proposed
prototype before building it to see if you were suitably meeting their requirements and if they understood how to
perform tasks. This method is most commonly used to collect the first wave of user feedback.

Advantages: Disadvantages:

Offers a visual representation of a proposed product. Amendments can be unlimited and time consuming.
Time efficient to produce Prototype may disappoint stakeholder
Low costs
Can be amended easily

Evaluation:
Paper prototypes can jointly offer pro’s and con’s as a tool but overall, they show that they can be a low-cost time
efficient tool for explaining to a potential client how an application could work and allowing changes based on how
they think they would use the prototype.

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Competency: Personas

Description & Possible applications:

A definition of a persona is “… a fictional, yet realistic, description of a typical target user of the product”
(Harley, 2016). In other words, it’s a made-up user who is likely to use a product that you or your team are
designing. Personas are used in user-oriented systems or tools but are not the same as user testing. They are
meant to be used with the thinking will joe bloggs understand how to use this and does he have any impairments
that will impact on the product design.

Advantages: Disadvantages:

Easy to recruit participants by using the personas for
usability studies.
Cost effective where no real participants are
involved.
Can require multiple changes to design
Time consuming to develop multiple persona’s
Persona is not real user so cannot give true feedback

Useful for later data analytics.

Persona is often in rich detail

Evaluation:
Personas provide an excellent starting point for the designer as to who their users might potentially be and are a
highly useful tool. They can cause many changes to a design with each discovery of a new user requirement
without hard feedback, but overall they provide a speculative and highly valuable insight to points of consideration
about the users experience and lifestyle.

Competency: Alternative Designs

Description & Possible applications:

This powerful design activity is used by designers to suggest ideas to meet a stakeholders requirements (Preece,
Rogers, & Sharp, 2015, p. 330).This can be particularly effective in situations where an essential requirement is
expected but can’t be implemented in the first design parameters and an alternative design is conceived and
produced.

Advantages: Disadvantages:

Gives the designer opportunities to refresh design Costly

Allows the designer the opportunity to meet clients
requirements in a different way.
Can solve major project obstacles
Time consuming
Design becomes too different to what client was expecting.
Design can become overcomplicated.

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Evaluation:
The prospect of starting again or changing the original design can create problems in any project however if this is
done in a way that satisfies user requirements and solves obstacles it can only be a good thing. However, it can be
costly, time consuming, back up designs can become distorted in the process. It is better to use alternative designs
in the initial design phase creating multiple options prior to commencing implementation. Alternative designs are
neither good nor a bad design tool but they should be used with care and not as a last resort.

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Portfolio

Storytelling
After the target users were
identified, in order to
better understand their
requirements, different
personas were created, we
need a story or a journey
of how the users will
potentially experience our
system. Therefore, several
scenarios were created in
order to cover some of the
possible situations of the
system usage.
Storytelling has
lots of benefits for a
product design— it
enhances engagement,
improves user experience,
makes the users become
product advocates by
putting a human face on
dry data and breaking
down complex ideas and Figure 37 - Scenario fragment
making them easier to
comprehend. When it comes to design — it helps the designer to speak easily with the users and create
something that makes users’ life easier and delightful.
However, storytelling can be a laborious process and time consuming. A visual storytelling is a much
faster process than a written one but due to lack of drawing skills the written approach was preferred.
The true beauty of a great design is not on the outside; it lies within the solution that the product
provides.
Paper prototypes
For our first rapid iteration, as a group activity during
brainstorming sessions and before starting to use the Balsamiq to draw the
first digital mock-ups, I have created few versions of the screens logic and
main functions. A very inexpensive method with low commitment where
no one wants to throw out a digital prototype that took hours to create. It’s much easier to throw out a sketch
that takes only 5-minute to create. However, at this stage it was hard to collect feedbacks as the user requires
a great deal of imagination and a lot of additional explanations needs to be provided.
Alternative designs
When initial designs and mockups were drawn, for conference systems, I was trying to find different
problems to the system rather solutions for the given task. This led to several other designs and encouraged
discussions between us and opportunities to perceive the project from different angles and identified a large

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set of constraints related to system functionality. This included for example, additional functionality for
users with sight problems.
Beside the benefits outlined above, this technique also has limitations that need to be mentioned. Indeed, the
proposed type of design brief is particularly relevant for new systems technologies such CIS. For an existing
technology such as the use of the web, there will be the danger that the students will be blinkered by
previous experience of its applications. In such cases, more radical means, for example BadIdeas (Dix, et al.,
2006) may be needed in order to encourage divergent thinking during the exploration phase.
Professionalism
In recent years, there has been increased discussion and debate concerning the role of ethics in HCI
research. HCI research projects have generated controversy due to their purported unethicality (Golbeck,
2014).
Like British Computer Society highlights, professionalism should be a core principle for any person
working in any industry not only in IT environment. Codes, values and ethics must be embraced by anyone
through a collateral consent. Sometimes the professional issues faced as system designer, involves data
protection and privacy. Breaching the legal aspect of data protection entails a professional and ethical issue
as well. As a professional I endeavour to understand the business model, rules, how to interact with users
and potential test subjects at every step of the way in order to be able to offer unbiased and viable solutions
for any issue that may occur. It is my responsibility as a professional to be up to date with latest technologies
and suggest improvements where are available. Following and applying ethical and moral obligations will
ensure the trust and confidence of users, potential clients and any other parties involved. The protection of
the stakeholders should be my primary concern. Just briefly to enumerate some of my moral obligations: to
reduce the effort of collecting repeated and unnecessary collection of data about users, use data
appropriately (e.g. not to sell for profit), to ensure stakeholders continued access to their information, to not
promise more than I can deliver, to not support contractor X, just because I know him and should teach and
share my expertise in order to help to grow the collective knowledge base.

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Additional Designs

Figure 39 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Conference Tab) Figure 38 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Conference Tab)

Figure 41 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Location Tab) Figure 40 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Pictures Tab)

Figure 43 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Speaker Tab) Figure 42 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Links Tab)

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 Figure 45 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Tickets-Paid) Figure 44 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Tickets-Free)

Figure 46 - Admin Menu - Creating a Conference (Tickets-Open Doors)

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Mobile Version Designs

Main Screen Main Menu (Not logged in) Main Menu (Logged in)

Login & Signup

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 Sign out Search Notifications

User Profile

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 Conference Calendar Adding a review Near Places (Categories)

Near Places (Details)

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 Embedded Contact Support User Profile (Alternative)

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Questionnaires samples

Figure 47 - Usability questionnaire sample

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 Figure 48 - Summary of evaluation using "Think aloud protocol"

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