lOMoARcPSD|3013804
lOMoARcPSD|3013804
Chapter 2
THEPROCESSOF INTERACTIONDESIGN
2.1 Introduction
2.2 What Is Involved in Interaction Design?
2.3 Some Practical Issues
Objectives
The main goals of this chapter are to accomplish the following:
• Reflect on what interaction design involves.
• Explain some of the advantages of involving users in development.
• Explain the main principles of a user-centered approach.
• Introduce the four basic activities of interaction design and how they are related in a
simple lifecycle model.
• Ask some important questions about the interaction design process and provide the
answers.
• Consider how interaction design activities can be integrated into other development
lifecycles.
2.1 Introduction
Imagine that you have been asked to design a cloud-based service to enable people to share
and curate their photos, movies, music, chats, documents, and so on, in an efficient, safe,
and enjoyable way. What would you do? How would you start? Would you begin by
sketching how the interface might look, work out how the system architecture should be
structured, or just start coding? Or, would you start by asking users about their current
experiences with sharing files and examine the existing tools, for example, Dropbox and
Google Drive, and based on this begin thinking about how you were going to design the
new service? What would you do next? This chapter discusses the process of interaction
design, that is, how to design an interactive product.
There are many fields of design, such as graphic design, architectural design, industrial
design, and software design. Although each discipline has its own approach to design, there
, lOMoARcPSD|3013804
2 T H E P R O C E S S OF I N T E R A C T I O N D E S I G N
38
are commonalities. The Design Council of the United Kingdom captures these in the
double- diamond of design, as shown in Figure 2.1. This approach has four phases which
are iterated:
• Discover: Designers try to gather insights about the problem.
• Define: Designers develop a clear brief that frames the design challenge.
• Develop: Solutions or concepts are created, prototyped, tested, and iterated.
• Deliver: The resulting project is finalized, produced, and launched.
Interaction design also follows these phases, and it is underpinned by the philosophy of
user-centered design, that is, involving users throughout development. Traditionally,
interac- tion designers begin by doing user research and then sketching their ideas. But who
are the users to be researched, and how can they be involved in development? Will they
know what they want or need if we just ask them? From where do interaction designers get
their ideas, and how do they generate designs?
In this chapter, we raise and answer these kinds of questions, discuss user-centered
design, and explore the four basic activities of the interaction design process. We also intro-
duce a lifecycle model of interaction design that captures these activities and the
relationships among them.
2.2 What Is Involved in Interaction Design?
Interaction design has specific activities focused on discovering requirements for the prod-
uct, designing something to fulfill those requirements, and producing prototypes that are
then evaluated. In addition, interaction design focuses attention on users and their goals.
Discover Define Develop Deliver
insight into the problem the area to focus upon potential solutions solutions that work
Problem Definition
Problem
Solution
Design Brief
Figure 2.1 The double diamond of design
Source: Adapted from https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-process-what-double-diamond
, lOMoARcPSD|3013804
2.2 W H A T IS I N V O L V E D IN I N T E R A C T I O N D E S I G N ?
39
For example, the artifact’s use and target domain are investigated by taking a user-centered
approach to development, users’ opinions and reactions to early designs are sought, and
users are involved appropriately in the development process itself. This means that users’
concerns direct the development rather than just technical concerns.
Design is also about trade-offs—about balancing conflicting requirements. One
common form of trade-off when developing a system to offer advice, for example, is
deciding how much choice will be given to the user and how much direction the system
should offer. Often, the division will depend on the purpose of the system, for example,
whether it is for playing music tracks or for controlling traffic flow. Getting the balance
right requires experience, but it also requires the development and evaluation of alternative
solutions.
Generating alternatives is a key principle in most design disciplines and one that is also
central to interaction design. Linus Pauling, twice a Nobel Prize winner, once said, “The
best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas.” Generating lots of ideas is not
necessarily hard, but choosing which of them to pursue is more difficult. For example, Tom
Kelley (2016) describes seven secrets for successful brainstorms, including sharpening the
focus (having a well-honed problem statement), having playful rules (to encourage ideas),
and getting physi- cal (using visual props).
Involving users and others in the design process means that the designs and potential
solutions will need to be communicated to people other than the original designer. This
requires the design to be captured and expressed in a form that allows review, revision, and
improvement. There are many ways of doing this, one of the simplest being to produce a
series of sketches. Other common approaches are to write a description in natural language,
to draw a series of diagrams, and to build a prototype, that is, a limited version of the final
product. A combination of these techniques is likely to be the most effective. When users
are involved, capturing and expressing a design in a suitable format is especially important
since they are unlikely to understand jargon or specialist notations. In fact, a form with
which users can interact is most effective, so building prototypes is an extremely powerful
approach.
ACTIVITY 2.1
This activity asks you to apply the double diamond of design to produce an innovative inter- active
product for your own use. By focusing on a product for yourself, the activity deliber- ately de-
emphasizes issues concerned with involving other users, and instead it emphasizes the overall
process.
Imagine that you want to design a product that helps you organize a trip. This might be for a
business or vacation trip, to visit relatives halfway around the world, or for a bike ride on the
weekend—whatever kind of trip you like. In addition to planning the route or booking tickets, the
product may help to check visa requirements, arrange guided tours, investigate the facilities at a
location, and so on.
Using the first three phases of the double diamond of design, produce an initial design using a
sketch or two, showing its main functionality and its general look and feel. This activity omits the
fourth phase, as you are not expected to deliver a working solution.
Now reflect on how your activities fell into these phases. What did you do first? What was your
instinct to do first? Did you have any particular artifacts or experiences upon which to base your
design?
Continued)
, lOMoARcPSD|3013804
2 T H E P R O C E S S OF I N T E R A C T I O N D E S I G N
40
Comment
1. The first phase focuses on discovering insights about the problem, but is there a
problem? If so, what is it? Although most of us manage to book trips and travel to
destinations with the right visas and in comfort, upon reflection the process and the
outcome can be improved. For example, dietary requirements are not always fulfilled,
and the accommoda- tion is not always in the best location. There is a lot of information
available to support organizing travel, and there are many agents, websites, travel
books, and tourist boards that can help. The problem is that it can be overwhelming.
The second phase is about defining the area on which to focus. There are many rea-
sons for travelling—both individual and family—but in my experience organizing
business trips to meetings worldwide is stressful, and minimizing the complexity
involved in these would be worthwhile. The experience would be improved if the
product offers advice from the many possible sources of information and tailors that
advice to individual preferences. The third phase focuses on developing solutions,
which in this case is a sketch of the design itself. Figure 2.2 shows an initial design.
This has two versions of the product—one as an app to run on a mobile device and one
to run on a larger screen. The assumptions underlying the choice to build two versions
are based on my experience; I would normally plan the details of the trip at my desk,
while requiring updates and local information while traveling. The mobile app has a
simple interaction style that is easy to use on the go, while the larger-screen version is
more sophisticated and shows a lot of information and the vari-
ous choices available.
(a) (b)
Figure 2.2 Initial sketches of the trip organizer showing (a) a large screen covering the entire
journey from home to Beerwah in Australia and (b) the smartphone screen available for the leg
of the journey at Paris (Charles de Gaulle) airport
lOMoARcPSD|3013804
Chapter 2
THEPROCESSOF INTERACTIONDESIGN
2.1 Introduction
2.2 What Is Involved in Interaction Design?
2.3 Some Practical Issues
Objectives
The main goals of this chapter are to accomplish the following:
• Reflect on what interaction design involves.
• Explain some of the advantages of involving users in development.
• Explain the main principles of a user-centered approach.
• Introduce the four basic activities of interaction design and how they are related in a
simple lifecycle model.
• Ask some important questions about the interaction design process and provide the
answers.
• Consider how interaction design activities can be integrated into other development
lifecycles.
2.1 Introduction
Imagine that you have been asked to design a cloud-based service to enable people to share
and curate their photos, movies, music, chats, documents, and so on, in an efficient, safe,
and enjoyable way. What would you do? How would you start? Would you begin by
sketching how the interface might look, work out how the system architecture should be
structured, or just start coding? Or, would you start by asking users about their current
experiences with sharing files and examine the existing tools, for example, Dropbox and
Google Drive, and based on this begin thinking about how you were going to design the
new service? What would you do next? This chapter discusses the process of interaction
design, that is, how to design an interactive product.
There are many fields of design, such as graphic design, architectural design, industrial
design, and software design. Although each discipline has its own approach to design, there
, lOMoARcPSD|3013804
2 T H E P R O C E S S OF I N T E R A C T I O N D E S I G N
38
are commonalities. The Design Council of the United Kingdom captures these in the
double- diamond of design, as shown in Figure 2.1. This approach has four phases which
are iterated:
• Discover: Designers try to gather insights about the problem.
• Define: Designers develop a clear brief that frames the design challenge.
• Develop: Solutions or concepts are created, prototyped, tested, and iterated.
• Deliver: The resulting project is finalized, produced, and launched.
Interaction design also follows these phases, and it is underpinned by the philosophy of
user-centered design, that is, involving users throughout development. Traditionally,
interac- tion designers begin by doing user research and then sketching their ideas. But who
are the users to be researched, and how can they be involved in development? Will they
know what they want or need if we just ask them? From where do interaction designers get
their ideas, and how do they generate designs?
In this chapter, we raise and answer these kinds of questions, discuss user-centered
design, and explore the four basic activities of the interaction design process. We also intro-
duce a lifecycle model of interaction design that captures these activities and the
relationships among them.
2.2 What Is Involved in Interaction Design?
Interaction design has specific activities focused on discovering requirements for the prod-
uct, designing something to fulfill those requirements, and producing prototypes that are
then evaluated. In addition, interaction design focuses attention on users and their goals.
Discover Define Develop Deliver
insight into the problem the area to focus upon potential solutions solutions that work
Problem Definition
Problem
Solution
Design Brief
Figure 2.1 The double diamond of design
Source: Adapted from https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-process-what-double-diamond
, lOMoARcPSD|3013804
2.2 W H A T IS I N V O L V E D IN I N T E R A C T I O N D E S I G N ?
39
For example, the artifact’s use and target domain are investigated by taking a user-centered
approach to development, users’ opinions and reactions to early designs are sought, and
users are involved appropriately in the development process itself. This means that users’
concerns direct the development rather than just technical concerns.
Design is also about trade-offs—about balancing conflicting requirements. One
common form of trade-off when developing a system to offer advice, for example, is
deciding how much choice will be given to the user and how much direction the system
should offer. Often, the division will depend on the purpose of the system, for example,
whether it is for playing music tracks or for controlling traffic flow. Getting the balance
right requires experience, but it also requires the development and evaluation of alternative
solutions.
Generating alternatives is a key principle in most design disciplines and one that is also
central to interaction design. Linus Pauling, twice a Nobel Prize winner, once said, “The
best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas.” Generating lots of ideas is not
necessarily hard, but choosing which of them to pursue is more difficult. For example, Tom
Kelley (2016) describes seven secrets for successful brainstorms, including sharpening the
focus (having a well-honed problem statement), having playful rules (to encourage ideas),
and getting physi- cal (using visual props).
Involving users and others in the design process means that the designs and potential
solutions will need to be communicated to people other than the original designer. This
requires the design to be captured and expressed in a form that allows review, revision, and
improvement. There are many ways of doing this, one of the simplest being to produce a
series of sketches. Other common approaches are to write a description in natural language,
to draw a series of diagrams, and to build a prototype, that is, a limited version of the final
product. A combination of these techniques is likely to be the most effective. When users
are involved, capturing and expressing a design in a suitable format is especially important
since they are unlikely to understand jargon or specialist notations. In fact, a form with
which users can interact is most effective, so building prototypes is an extremely powerful
approach.
ACTIVITY 2.1
This activity asks you to apply the double diamond of design to produce an innovative inter- active
product for your own use. By focusing on a product for yourself, the activity deliber- ately de-
emphasizes issues concerned with involving other users, and instead it emphasizes the overall
process.
Imagine that you want to design a product that helps you organize a trip. This might be for a
business or vacation trip, to visit relatives halfway around the world, or for a bike ride on the
weekend—whatever kind of trip you like. In addition to planning the route or booking tickets, the
product may help to check visa requirements, arrange guided tours, investigate the facilities at a
location, and so on.
Using the first three phases of the double diamond of design, produce an initial design using a
sketch or two, showing its main functionality and its general look and feel. This activity omits the
fourth phase, as you are not expected to deliver a working solution.
Now reflect on how your activities fell into these phases. What did you do first? What was your
instinct to do first? Did you have any particular artifacts or experiences upon which to base your
design?
Continued)
, lOMoARcPSD|3013804
2 T H E P R O C E S S OF I N T E R A C T I O N D E S I G N
40
Comment
1. The first phase focuses on discovering insights about the problem, but is there a
problem? If so, what is it? Although most of us manage to book trips and travel to
destinations with the right visas and in comfort, upon reflection the process and the
outcome can be improved. For example, dietary requirements are not always fulfilled,
and the accommoda- tion is not always in the best location. There is a lot of information
available to support organizing travel, and there are many agents, websites, travel
books, and tourist boards that can help. The problem is that it can be overwhelming.
The second phase is about defining the area on which to focus. There are many rea-
sons for travelling—both individual and family—but in my experience organizing
business trips to meetings worldwide is stressful, and minimizing the complexity
involved in these would be worthwhile. The experience would be improved if the
product offers advice from the many possible sources of information and tailors that
advice to individual preferences. The third phase focuses on developing solutions,
which in this case is a sketch of the design itself. Figure 2.2 shows an initial design.
This has two versions of the product—one as an app to run on a mobile device and one
to run on a larger screen. The assumptions underlying the choice to build two versions
are based on my experience; I would normally plan the details of the trip at my desk,
while requiring updates and local information while traveling. The mobile app has a
simple interaction style that is easy to use on the go, while the larger-screen version is
more sophisticated and shows a lot of information and the vari-
ous choices available.
(a) (b)
Figure 2.2 Initial sketches of the trip organizer showing (a) a large screen covering the entire
journey from home to Beerwah in Australia and (b) the smartphone screen available for the leg
of the journey at Paris (Charles de Gaulle) airport
