Investigation 1: Design sensitivity

Assigned

Friday, 2 April 2021

Summary

In this assignment, you will identify and explore a simple design problem, sketching a description of the problem in a way that may help others understand it.

Collaboration

You may work alone or in a team of up to three students. You may consult other students in the class as you develop your solution. If you receive help from anyone, make sure to cite them in your responses.

From your direct observation of someone else having difficulty using a machine, a computer application, or any designed artifact, prepare a short description (including both text and diagrams as appropriate), sketching the situation and explaining the difficulty. Additionally, think about and note the various perspectives of those who may have created the situation (i.e., Why would someone choose to design it this way?). Be prepared to present it to the class.

Please look for something that others might not think of: The more diverse the examples we share in class, the better. I’d definitely like to see a fair number of non-computer ones!

Format

If we were in person, you would be preparing your description as a physical poster. Since we are working online, your description should take the form of the equivalent of a single “page” to show on a computer screen, most likely in landscape format (so that it uses much of the screen), such as a slide from a Powerpoint or Google Slides.

We will tour through your individual pages during class.

You need not (and, in fact, should not) prepare a polished essay or polished poster. Your goal is to quickly capture and communicate a design problem, factors that may have contributed to the given design, and a possible solution.

Goals

Human-centered

Begin by think about problems that you have had. (That should be comparatively easy.) But challenge yourselves by trying to notice the problems that others have had or are having. Consider how you watch and how you uncover intentions.

Critical search

Now that you’ve read the first chapter of Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things, you might be able to pick up some of his spirit in your search for design problems. Poorly designed everyday things may be the hardest to notices. Apply concepts to consider why things are difficult to use.

Multiple modalities

Good designers represent what they have learned with multiple modalities: sketches, annotated photos, flowcharts, cartoons, outlines, stories, tables, and more. Try out a variety of these modalities, using them together as time and space permit.

Multiple perspectives

Try to understand and explain what factors led to the (seemingly poor) design. Any design is the result of compromises. There is seldom one right answer. Think about the historical, economic, aesthetic, political, physical, and personal factors that played (or may have played) a part in influencing your subject design.

Assessment

I will assess your work with respect to the four goals above, each with respect to the clarity (not polish!) of your presentation. The rubric I use for each follows.

Plus	Exceeds goal	4.2
Check	Meets goal	3.5
Minus	Fails to meet goal	2.5
Zero	Not submitted	0

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Citation

This investigation is based closely on one designed by Janet Davis for the Fall 2015 section of CSC/PSY/TEC-232, Human-Computer Interaction.