CS182-1: Investigation 2

Investigating Users and Discovering Tasks

Due: Tuesday Jan 31, 1:15pm by email

This is an individual investigation (i.e. everyone should complete their own writeup), but you may discuss it with others. We will discuss this investigation in class, so you may want to bring your writeup to class on Thrusday.

Goals

The goals of this Investigation are:

To develop observational skills
To learn to identify and describe users
To identify tasks performed by users in the real world

Before you Begin

Before you begin Part 2 of this assignment you should have completed the reading assignments through Thrusday, Jan 26. You can do Part 1 after doing the reading for Tuesday, Jan 24.

Assignment

In this investigation you are a UI designer tasked with designing a new user interface for one of two populations: either professors, or grocery shoppers. To get started you must understand your users and observe them carrying out these tasks to know how best to support them.

First, choose which population you will study. Then you can proceed with your investigation.

Part 1: Pre-Observation

Choose a user population, and characterize your users. Identify user classes and characteristics as we discussed in class (on 1/24). (This section should be a couple paragraphs, possibly including a bulleted list).

Part 2: Field Study

Next go observe your users in their "natural" setting. How you observe will depend on which population you have chosen.

Professors: Observe a single class in which you are not participating (i.e. you can't just use one of your own classes). Ignore the material and focus on how the professor presents his or her material.
Shoppers: Go to the grocery store and observe shoppers for an hour. (You should not be shopping yourself during this hour). Focus on how people shop, as well the characteristics of the shoppers you observe. Unlike in the classroom setting, you will have the opportunity to observe many different grocery shoppers; however, you will probably not be able observe meaningful difference between groups of users, so focus on the similarities.

For either population, you should keep the following questions in mind during your observation:

What tasks is your user performing?
How does the user use materals (e.g., the blackboard, or shopping lists) to support these tasks
Are there any tasks that are not well supported?
Which tasks are most common?
What are the characteristics of the users?

When performing your observations, you should take notes in a notebook using a pen or pencil. You should not rely on any kind of recording device.

Part 3: Post-Observation

Identify several (4-5) tasks performed by the users in your study. Using a bulleted list, describe each task and state how it was supported by tools or aids, and how well these tools supported the task. Note which tasks were most frequent.

Update your user analysis based on your observation. You may simply copy your list from Part 1 and annotate it.

In a paragraph, comment on a few things that surprised you from your observations. What did you observe that you had not expected?

What to Turn in

Your writeup should include your Pre- and Post-Observation analysis. You do not need to submit your field notes. You should submit this assignment by email, and be prepared to discuss it in class on Tuesday, Jan 31.

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