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# ACIT 2811 - Session 2

### 7 Factors that Influence User Experience

1. Is the product/service __Useful__
2. Is the product/service __Usable__
3. Is the product/service, and the content within the product/service, easily __Findable__
4. Do users find the product/service __Credible__, i.e. is it trustworthy
5. Is the product/service __Desirable__
6. Is the product/service __Accessible__, can anyone use it, including users with disabilities
7. Is the product __Valuable__

<span class="exercise">Group Exercise: 7 Factors</span>

Given two of the 7 Factors (assigned to your group by the instructor) - brainstorm two existing products/services (digital or physical) that satisfy _one_ of the factors and _not_ the other.

Write a brief document detailing:
- Your two products/services
- How they satisfy or do not satisfy the combination of factors
- How the products/services could be changed to satisfy **both** factors

For example:

Factor A: **Usable**
Factor B: **Findable**

A product that **is** Findable but **not** Usable are the faucets in the washrooms at the Downtown BCIT campus. This product could be made more Usable by [insert solution]

A service that **is** Usable but **not** Findable is the Account Balance and Summary page on my.bcit.ca. This service could be made more Findable by [insert solution]

### Design Thinking

Very broadly speaking, Design Thinking is an iterative five-stage methodology to help generate ideas, challenge assumptions, and solve problems.

The five stages of Design Thinking are:

__Empathize__: Observe and perform research to identify challenges faced by systems/users

__Define__: Analyze data to articulate the problems that need solving

__Ideate__: Brainstorm a variety of diverse ideas that could serve as potential solutions to the problems

__Prototype__: Attempt to identify the best solution(s) and create prototypes

__Test__: Use the prototype to get feedback and validate your assumptions

<span class="exercise">Individual Exercise: Applied Design Thinking</span>

Apply (as much as possible) the five stages of Design Thinking to the problems facing prospective students at BCIT.

**Empathize** by imagining a prospective student who faces a challenge (e.g. academic, financial, housing, language) coming to BCIT that you yourself did not face, and **Define** one or more problems they might encounter.

Next, **Ideate** quickly, informally, and without self-judgement some possible solutions to those problems.

After creating a few potential solutions, attempt to identify the best (i.e. most feasible) solution.

Once these steps are done, we will discuss as a group what some potential **Prototypes** might consist of, and how we could **Test** and iterate on those prototypes.

<!--
### Problem Statements

Problem statements are simple statements of the form:

<span class="underfixed">User</span> need(s) <span class="underfixed">Need</span> because <span class="underfixed">Insight</span>

For example:

<span class="under">Prospective students</span> need <span class="under">an easier way to enrol in CIT</span> because <span class="under">the application process is too complicated and frustrating</span>
-->

### User Centered Design

Whereas Design Thinking can be applied to problems of all types and scales, User Centered Design (UCD) is typically focused on creating specific products or services for users.

In a User Centered Design process, user input is utilized (via surveys, interviews, and testing) in every stage of a product's development to help create products that best serve their needs.


In an iterative fashion similar to Design Thinking's 5 stages, User Centered Design typically involves 4 phases:

__1. Understand the context of use__
__2. Specify user requirements__
__3. Design solutions__
__4. Evaluate solutions against requirements__

As we will see next week, [Personas](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/personas) and [User Stories](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/information-architecture) can help us maintain a User Centered Design process when creating or improving products and services.

## Formal Project Proposals

**Due Date:**

Thursday May 2nd before the end of class

**Instructions:**

For the project we chose last session, create a Formal Project Proposal (pdf only please!) containing the following information:

- Your group number and members (and optional group name)
- A brief description of the app/site
- A list of issues you have identified - these may be problems that are not served by current apps/sites OR problems with an existing app/site
- A list of usability factors you intend to focus on with your design/redesign

A template is

## Further Reading

* [Introduction to Information Architecture (IA)](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/information-architecture)
* [Personas](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/personas)
* [User Stories](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/user-stories)

## Tasks To Complete Today

- [ ] Submit a Formal Project Proposal
- [ ] Complete the readings listed above under [Further Reading](#Further-Reading)