My experience for User Experience

Holding water with Hand

Designing User Experience (UX) to me is like holding water with your hand; no matter how hard you try or clench your hands together, water still slips through. I can never cater to all with the UI we created as a group. However, certain steps such as the Ten Heuristics do serve as a general guideline. After some thinking, I thought perhaps it is due to the social environment people grow up in that is why they have a general acceptance to the things mentioned in the Ten Heuristic. As much as we tried to grab all the water(users) through card sorting, surveys, in depth interview and so on, the best we got was an insight. In fact, I realised the limitations of the work we did. All the research and prototype is still unable to test the exact experience we wanted because our goal was to create a website (UI) which customised contents and generate them for users according to their likes and dislikes. It seems that what we have been able to do till end was the overall layout but not the true experience we hope to create.

Bottomless Pit

Researching on UX is like falling down a bottomless pit. One will never be able to get all the experience down or to express the entire experience clearly to the details. Hence, it is impossible to scientifically 'reproduce' an experience for one user to another. UX is unique and mysterious in that there will be difference no matter how close one feels from another in terms of the website (UI).

A little step at a time

Through the research done, I realised a lot of information which I would never have thought about. Even though users went through the same thing, the comments were drastically different like 2 ends of the pole at times. There can never be enough work done or changes made as there are new insights each time we try to research on people the latest prototype.

Walking in Circles

At times I feel that I'm walking in circles making changes time and again but it is not true. When I went through our first prototype with our 4th or 5th one, the experience was better. I guess the quest in this merry-go-round would come to a stop when the creators feel that there is more or less a unique experience in the pleasant sense for majority of the target users. The work never stops, through feedback, changes will be made again. Just like Yahoo!, Google or any websites or UI, they change with time through valuable insights gain on UX.

Enlightenment of UX

Designing UX is like seeking englightenment. UX is subjective and unstable where one can never quantify. Hence I feel apart from the general guidelines to guide designers, it is the inspiration that counts, the personal touch that adds depth and body to UI like a piece of art as some authors like to put it. Thus, even the reflection on this module is difficult as the overall knowledge learnt is like an experience, those that I can write out are but guidelines which authors pass on. However, it is my experience that will have a different touch in designing of UX apart from the others.

Reflections on User Research - Smoke and Mirrors

UX vs Englightenment

It is clearly evident that the author was trying to explain that techniques and methodologies of gaining user insights on User Interface (UI) or User Experience (UX) so to say, is not restricted by boundaries, concrete or scientific. With this, I kind of understand the joke that my lecturer (Reddy) shared with us. Be it the story of the person seeking englightenment or the samurai trying to become one, it just saying that such insights could be there but yet not. It might sound a little confusing but I guess it is saying it that the data collected might be right or wrong depending on circumstances and the methods (though the same) could likewise be right or wrong in gaining an insight to UX. Similar to englightenment, UX can be felt but not defined or quantified. Thus, it is important for qualitative research. Nonetheless, research does provide a direction for creators of UX to go in. As a Buddhist might say, all roads led to englightenment but it depends on how you walk it.

The Journey

As from the author, research gives us the direction but it is what we put in that matters just like the depth of a novel. It is impossible to be right at all times, what one interpret will be different from another. Just as what the creators of UX wants might not be what the users felt. Hence, the journey of UX starts with knowing the target group and general traits of such a group through research. With the general direction, UX creators might have to trial and error plus incorporate their ideas for a UI to have the body and flavor for users.

The Goal

I understood that UX is subjective like an art piece. One will never get it 100% right nor would he be totally wrong. Just like the creators, users will never be wrong as it is their unique experience. Experience is subjective and if it could be defined, love could be as well.

Nightmare Assignment

HOW WE GOT DATA

Ethnographic

• Personal observation during lectures (more technical)
• Limited because of nature of learning experience- individual
• We always qualify to comment as we are students
Interviews (focus)
- 12 people in all (excluding us)
- each of us interviewed 4 persons
- 2 friends (more willing to be frank), 2 strangers (diff views as we tend to have same group of friends)

PROBLEMS FOUND PLUS SOLUTIONS

Technical

- equipment not user
- friendly (lecturer doesn’t know how to use, so waste time) training session for lecturers, get tech idiots to choose the AV equipment, attach a technician to these lecturers
- but note that it is better to teach one how to fish than give fish
- poor temperature control (subjective) can’t satisfy everyone, wear less and bring a sweater- low screen leading to poor visibility by shorter students sitting at the back taller positioning of screens- too cramped seats with insufficient leg space

Students

- bad view of screen tall people should just sit behind
- shy to speak up culture change/ technical: logging in real time to contribute
- laptop charging facilities only available at back of lecture build more power supply sockets
- latecomers are disruptive thought of building 2 levels like in UCC but not feasible, thought of imposing fines on latecomers but will not affect the rich → can scan matric card as attendance (but thought that people might get friends to help), so can do fingerprint scanning instead
- help lecturers feel more secure having webcast for those who really can’t make it on that day cause this method ensures attendance
- loud keyboard typing sounds see below- talkative use of technical equipment (soundproof headphones
- those who are hygiene freaks or are feeling too rich can purchase a personal set or coax the school to change new sets every few years. Lighted student seat/ soundproof bell), culture (could it be lecturer’s fault indirectly as well?)

Lecturers

- speak in monotone/ high pitch use of technical equipment to adjust pitch as lower pitches with varying tone have been proven more beneficial for maximal absorption
- talk too fast but if use technology to slow down pace, when people reach home, you might still be there listening to the recorded lecture
- too much information in a single lecture
- information overload get lecturers to better manage workload and cater to students’ tastes by holding surveys, resist the temptation to impart a lifetime of knowledge in one and a half hours
- not sensitive to students’ needs: when we are tired, don’t give break technically, could use technical equipment to vote for a break and alert the lecturer when majority opts for one
- refuse to end punctually, hence the students who may need to leave earlier for a next class may miss crucial things like exam tips and be deprived of a chance to listen through a lecture in its entirety like the above problem, could try not giving lecturers performance bonus
- boring: can cause people to talk/ doze off bring gadgets/ samples like Mr. Reddy did with the cameras and scents, hold surveys/ ratings (but not very effective because locals tend to be polite about this), make lecturers memorise some related jokes when all else fails (it worked for a GEK module I took)
- not uploading notes before lecture culture in Singapore to be kiasu. Some lecturers in other countries may feel this impedes learning,but because of Singaporean culture, we tend to copy everything even when there are no notes; even harder to listen
- quality of notes



BUT....
• Tools are only as good as their user
• Majority of people interviewed mentioned that lecturer is still the most important
• Which way the lecture goes depends on the lecturer: if interesting, people naturally find it easier to follow through and recall/ be silent & punctual out of respect (top down cultural change)
• We admit that being students, we could be biased about the solutions
• If lecturers were to do this assignment…

CONCLUSION: cultural solutions

Good points of cultural solutions:
- get to root of problem
- save $$
- technology can be unreliable at times (headphones could spoil)
- inventions cannot solve the problem and we do not want to churn out inconsiderate noisy people from NUS (macro- societal level)

Bad points of cultural solutions:
- takes a long time to implement and see changes
- people cannot be controlled, could be too stubborn to change, should respect human rights

WHAT WE REALISED
- Everyone is different, can’t please everyone
- No one blamed their own attitude (including us)