HCI101 | Week 3: HCI IN THE SOFTWARE PROCESS

THE SOFTWARE LIFE CYCLE a. High-level decomposition-

breaking down the system
o Software Engineering : Understanding into its fundamental
software process/life cycle components: Existing
o Usability present at all stages of life software products or start
cycle. from scratch
o Waterfall | Prototyping: in reality
software development is between 3. Detailed Design: builds upon the
these two model. architectural decomposition of the
system into smaller components,
enabling individual development of
WATERFALL MODEL each part before they are combined
o Linear together later.
o Continous | progresses only forward
o Cannot go back
4. Coding and Unit Testing: The detailed
o Standalone Systems (no internet)
design for a component of the system
should be in a form that’s possible to
implement in an executable
programming language.

5. Integration and Testing: Once

components have been implemented
and individually tested, they must be
integrated as described in the
architectural design.

6. Maintenance: All work on the system

is considered under the category of
maintenance, until such time as a new
version of the product demands a total
PROTOTYPING | INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS
redesign or the product is phased out
o Interactive Systems (with internet)
entirely.

VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION

Verification: designing the product right

o confirming that it meets its
requirements and adheres to its
design specifications.
o Objective: code
1. Requirement Specification: Acquiring review/automated testing
information from customer/
stakeholders to know what’s the Validation: designing the product right
function of product/ software. o whether the product satisfies the
customer's needs and
2. Architectural Design: overall structure expectations.
and organization of the system are o Subjective: user opinions and
conceptualized and planned preferences.

BAIT-2A | BONGGAL, ALTHEA A.

HCI101 | Week 3: HCI IN THE SOFTWARE PROCESS

Now Level:
THE FORMALITY GAP: difference between o Current state of usability without any
verification and validation processes. planned improvements.
o Highlights the challenge of fully o Baseline for evaluation and
ensuring that a product not only comparison.
meets its technical requirements
but also satisfies user needs and
Wort Case Scenario:
expectations.
o Most unfavorable situations
o Helps designers anticipate & address
MANAGEMENT AND CONTRACTUAL
potential issues.
ISSUES: design in commercial and legal
contexts
Planned Level:
o contractual agreements with
o Targeted or planned level of usability
customers regarding product
that
requirements.
o designers aim to achieve through
o ensuring that the resulting
improvements.
product meets both technical
and user-oriented criteria.
Best Case Scenario:
o The ideal condition of usability
o where UI is highly efficient, error-free,
USABILITY ENGINEERING and immensely satisfying.
(aka User-Centered Design (UCD) or HCI
Design) Example:
o a discipline to make user-friendly,
efficient & effective user interfaces
(UI). Its goal is to enhance user
experience (UX).

USABILITY SPECIFICATION Usability Specification Problems

o usability specification requires level of
o framework to define & measure the detail that may not be possible early in
usability of a product, UI or system. design
o satisfying a usability specification does
1. Usability Attribute/ Principle: not necessarily satisfy usability
Efficiency, effectiveness,
learnability, memorability, etc..
2. Measuring Concepts: Criteria and ITERATION DESIGN AND PROTOTYPING
metrics to assess the chosen usability an approach that involves cyclically
attribute. repeating a series of steps, each time
3. Measuring Method: Procedures & refining and improving upon the previous
tools used for evaluating usability iteration.
attribute.
o Iterative design overcomes inherent
Example:
problems of incomplete requirements

PROTOTYPES
o simulate or animate some features of
intended system

BAIT-2A | BONGGAL, ALTHEA A.

HCI101 | Week 3: HCI IN THE SOFTWARE PROCESS

Evaluation Heuristics: guidelines or

1. Throw-away (Rapid Prototyping) principles used to assess the usability,
- quick and low- fidelity effectiveness, and overall quality of a
representations product, system, or user experience.
- used for exploration and testing.
Dialog Notations: system of symbols and
2. Incremental Prototyping conventions used to represent
- Building upon existing prototypes conversations or interactions between
- adding features or refining the individuals.
design in small increments.
1. What is needed?
3. Evolutionary Prototyping o What exactly is needed.
- Closely resembles the final o necessary to find what’s currently
product. happening.
- continuously refined throughout o HCI Techniques
the design process. o Interview
o Videotaping
Example: o Observing
o Look at documents/ objects
they work with

2. Analysis
o The result of observation and
interview need to be ordered in some
Management issues way to bring out key issues and
1. time communicate with later stages of
2. planning design.
3. non-functional features
4. contracts 3. Design
o central stage when you move from
what you want, how to do it.
FOUR MAIN PHASES a. Iteration / Prototyping
plus, an iteration loop, focused on the o Humans are complex and
design of interaction. we cannot expect to get
designs right first time.

o Most user interface design

involves prototyping,
producing early versions of
systems to try out with real
users.

4. Implementation and deployment

What is wanted, analysis, design, o After the design, we need to create
implement/deploy. and deploy it.
o This involves writing code, writing
Ethnography: research / study of people documentation and manual.
and cultures through direct observation and
interaction in their natural environment.

BAIT-2A | BONGGAL, ALTHEA A.

HCI101 | Week 3: HCI IN THE SOFTWARE PROCESS

Trade-off between length of the design

period and the quality of the final design.

Trade-off: act of giving up one thing in

return for another thing, particularly when
making decisions or allocating resources

*On-time acceptable design > perfect

interaction (design) but late

BAIT-2A | BONGGAL, ALTHEA A.