Objectives

By the end of the class, you will be able to…• Describe typical users by using “personas”• Write detailed task descriptions to inform

design.• Create scenarios to demonstrate example

uses of a system.• Perform hierarchical task analysis.• Conduct a cognitive walkthrough of an

interface

Activity Part 5: Personas (con’t from last class)

Create personas for your online grocery store users

(one persona for each group of users)

Some tasks

• Enter meeting details into a paper calendar

• Arrange a meeting using a shared calendar application

• Change the radio station on a car stereo

HTA for shared calendar

Arrange a meeting– Decide meeting constraints

• Approx time / deadline• Location• Who will attend

– Choose a time for the meeting• Check when other participants are available• Find times when everyone is free• Select one time for the meeting

– Record the meeting time and location• Type or write into calendar

– Notify other participants

Scenario definition for this class

• A personal narrative story identifying a task, with specific details

• Shows context of use

• Does not say anything about the system interface

Restaurant guide scenario

Christina is at the park with 3 friends. They’ve decided to go out for dinner. Christina uses her mobile device to search for a Japanese restaurant within walking distance (1 km), that will cost less than $15 per person. The system tells her that space is available. She then makes an online reservation for 6 pm.

Scenario for shared calendar“Joe enters all the names of the meeting participants together with some constraints such as the length of the meeting, roughly when the meeting needs to take place, and where it needs to take place. The system checks against the individuals’ calendars and the central departmental calendar and presents Joe with a series of dates on which everyone is free all at the same time. Then the meeting is confirmed and written into people’s calendars. Some of Joe’s colleagues want to be asked before the calendar entry is made, so the system emails them automatically and asks that it be confirmed before it is written in.”

Use case for shared calendar1. The user chooses the option to arrange a meeting.2. The system prompts user for the attendees.3. The user types in a list of names.4. The system checks that the list is valid.5. The system prompts the user for constraints.6. The user types in meeting constraints.7. The system searches the calendars for a date that satisfies the constraints. 8. The system displays a list of potential dates.9. The user chooses one of the dates.10. The system writes the meeting into the calendar.11. The system emails all the meeting participants informing them of them appointment

Alternative courses for shared calendar

Some alternative courses:5. If the list of people is invalid,

5.1 The system displays an error message.

5.2 The system returns to step 2.

8. If no potential dates are found,

8.1 The system displays a suitable message.8.2 The system returns to step 5.

Online Grocery Store Activity

• Create personas (concrete example users)

• Define all the tasks that people will do with the system

• Create 3 representative scenarios

• Do a Hierarchical Task Analysis of one of your scenarios

Scenario for Cognitive Walkthrough

• Jessica is a working single mother who wants to save time by shopping for groceries online.

• Before signing up for the service, she wants to see whether spud.ca sells all the groceries she needs this week (soy milk, bananas, eggs, and flour) and compare the total cost to her last grocery bill.

Key Points

• Define tasks before designing or evaluating

• Use scenarios and use cases

• Cognitive walkthrough can quickly identify some usability flaws