Arden University

Computing With Foundation Year

Human Computer
Interaction

STU97458

Karthick Kathirvel

2171
Coursework 1:

In this presented scenario I am a user experience designer for a company that

specialises in app development for a wide array of uses and have been given
the task of taking on one of three projects. Out of three the one that I’ve
chosen to undertake is the development of a property rental management app
useful to both landlords, agents, and tenants. According to the specifications, it
is an app meant to arrange inspections, manage dates for payments, report
any issues and other such functions. This must be done in a high-fidelity paper
format for testing. But before that, we must first arrange a user persona for a
typical user of such an app.

Now, what is a persona? A ‘user persona’ is a semi-fictional character that is

based on the current/ideal customer for your endeavour. This is done to make
product marketing more efficient by creating a model of the average customer
and their buying & searching habits. To create a person, first three questions
must be asked: Who are you? What’s your main goal? What’s the main barrier
that stops you from achieving your goal?

These three questions answer A) The kind of character that choses to buy and
use your product, B) the reason why a customer buys your product and how it
relates to their day to day lives, C) what’s stopping or preventing a buyer from
purchasing your product or using it more often. With this information taken, a
company can better design their marketing to suit the demographics that their
products seek to attract. (Louis Grenier, L. G., 18/08/2022)

Now, to begin crafting a user persona. We must start by creating a survey to

gather data. The example bellow will show the general image a customer will
see when presented with said survey.
Once the survey collects enough data we can go ahead and set up our persona,
but for our purposes here we already have the necessary data to set up our
user persona. Which will appear like this:

Who Are they? What’s their main goal? What’s their main
barrier to achieving this
goal?

User Persona Landlords, agents, and manage dates for rent Face to face or phone
tenants. payments, report communication is time
issues, etc. consuming and difficult.
With this information we have set up our user persona for this app, now it is
time to set up the app itself.

The above picture represents the main page of the app, which can be accessed
via the home button on the top left corner of the screen. Here the user of the
app can access its features and navigate through the app’s interfaces.
To access any of the app’s features the user will simply need to press the black
button that will open a new page in the app. And should they wish to return to
the home page, all they must do is simply press the home button once to go
back. Doing this in the middle of, for example, writing a report will put a pause
on any activity done until the user returns to either finish or cancel their action
on said page.
To the right of the home screen button is the profile page button that will send
the user to the page containing their personal information registered on the
app itself. Here they can view and change any details which will update their
records on the app to match with the new information.
The above picture is the interface that will appear when the ‘Report an issue’
button on the home screen is pressed. Here tenants can write a report for the
landlord or agent regarding an issue with their property, then send it so they
can view the issue and act accordingly. A draft is saved when exiting this page
if the submit button is not pressed, so that the tenant can continue writing the
report later should they chose to.
Another feature of the app, is the ability to set automatic payments from the
user’s account that will withdraw the money automatically, removing the need
for the landlord to come collect the money every time. The above detail will be
used to extract the necessary amount from the tenant on the set date.

Coursework 2:

With the app prototype complete, explaining some things is the next step. The
project was done in the form of a high-fidelity prototype, so first of all its very
important to first explains how this prototype style corelates with the project.

First of all, what is a paper prototype? In the simplest of forms, a prototype is

an expression of a design’s intent. It is the final result and interaction between
user and interface, and depending on what the app is required to do, it is also
able to simulate the entire process or just one single function. In short, it is a
simulation of a product in its finished form and the interactions it will hold with
a user.

Now that brings us to the net point, high and low fidelity. As this project was
done in a high-fidelity style, we’ll focus on that. To start off, High-fidelity are
meant to show off the complete form of a product, with a focus on its content,
visual design, and interactivity. This is done when designers have a sold idea of
the end product, and it is used to test its functionality with real users or show
off to stakeholders. This is why the prototype must be as close to an ‘finished’
state as possible, so feedback can be gathered.

With that said, the app is constructed from digital tools with its processes laid
out and a show of what buttons lead to what interface, that’s what makes it a
high-fidelity prototype. In contrast a low-fidelity prototype would have been
done on paper, mostly to show off the foundation of the product. (Nick
Babich, N. B., 29/11/2017)
Now with all that said, to further justify the design decisions I will detail the
HCI design approaches and what approach was used for this prototype.

To start off, what is HCI? HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) designs are a sort
of development models applied to an app’s interface in order to develop a user
friendly and efficient experience for the user. There are four different types of
HCI designs that can be used.

Anthropomorphic Approach, in which the user interface is designed to contain

very ‘human’ like qualities. This can be done in many ways such as automatic
voice responses using apologetic ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you’ phrases
when it cannot identify what the user is saying. This creates a more empathetic
connection as the computer in this case empathizes with the user.

Cognitive Approach, in which the interface is crafted to consider the abilities of

the human mind in order to develop into an interface that can support an end
user. For example, using metaphors to convey complex information. These
metaphors rely on the user being familiar with them, but when they are the
complex functions of the interface become much easier to process as they are
split into different simple functions such as ‘Trashcan’ ‘Desktop’ ‘Document
folders’ for a PC.

Empirical Approach, a design method useful for comparing the design usability
of multiple concepts. In this case, a designer is given two concepts and is given
the task to test out which of them is more user friendly. This is done because a
user may have preferences for both design idea, favouring specific qualities in
each and as a result the app could potentially become a composite of the two
in order to satisfy every preference of the user.
Predictive Modelling Approach, is a method of examining singular components
of a user’s experience in terms of how long it took for the user to accomplish a
goal in the most efficient way. The GOMS method as it is called (Which stands
for Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection Rules) is a model that is heavily
based on the human mind’s ability to process information, and it is used to
calculate the time necessary to complete an objective.

Coursework 3:

To evaluate the application, we’re going to use the Nieisen Usability Heuristics
principles and break down each part. But before we begin, just what are the
nieisen heuristics principles? Simply put, they are general principles meant to
help make more user-friendly digital products. They’re akin to rules of thumb
meant to guide and do not determine specific rules for usability.

Visibility of system status. Keeping users informed of their actions and about
what is happening during any interaction. The interface of the app is simplistic
and keeps all information on screen, thanks to the save function that keeps all
the details already written down in a draft for later use, all interactions can be
completed whenever without the need to repeat every step. (Editorial Aela, E.
A., 29/06/2022)

Match between system and the real world. To ensure that everything stays as
understandable as possible for a user of an app, its important to keep a sort of
link with reality. The home and profile buttons are good examples of these, as
both can be interpreted by the average person due to that link with real life.
(Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)
User control and freedom. A system should never be forcing a user into taking
an action, only guide them to their desired action. In this case the app shows
the paths to whatever place the user wishes to go, and as an added bonus if
the user makes a mistake (Like clicking on the home button on accident) the
save feature ensures that nothing is lost during their interaction. (Editorial
Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)

Consistency and standards. When creating an app, the important thing to keep
in mind is to ensure that everything is consistent and that everything is written
in the same language, this is so that the user does not become confused and
should have no doubt about wat each part of the app does. In the app above,
every interaction is done in a similar manner and written in plain English (that
can be changed at the user’s discretion). (Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)

Error prevention. One critical detail of app making is that the app must always
prevent any errors from occurring. For example, in the app, any Submit option
is followed by a warning asking the user if they wish to continue so that way no
error on the user’s end occurs. (Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)

Recognition rather than recall. Reducing cognitive load on the user is a rather
important thing to aim for, which means it’s a good idea to customize the app
in a way that is easier to recognize than remember. And thanks to the simple
design of the app with clear and straightforward options, a user will not have
an issue recognising what each part of the app does and won’t need to remind
themselves of every detail. (Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)

Flexibility and efficiency of use. When it comes to user’s experience, both the
experienced and inexperienced user should be able to use the app in their own
way, as both will have different requirements based on their experience. The
interface of the app is more beginner friendly, but even experienced users can
benefit from its design. (Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)
Aesthetic and minimalist design. When it comes to designing, functionality is
not something that should be sacrificed for aesthetics. The app uses simplistic
designs which allows more time and space for information and functionality, it
can’t overwhelm the user in any way. (Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors. Apps should always
be able help users identify and find solutions to problems, error messages that
point out issues are a must to ensure that the user is not confused. Thankfully,
with the ‘report issue’ button on the app, the user has an easier time getting in
contact with someone to report and possibly fix an issue, both with the app or
other problems. (Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)

Help and documentation. All the previous steps are meant to ensure errors on
the user’s end are kept to a minimum, but in the end, they still need help to be
able to perform their task. Given that everything is simple and easy to follow, it
becomes easy for a user to learn and use each function of the app. (Editorial
Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022)
 Reference List

(Louis Grenier, L. G., 18/08/2022), How to create a simple, accurate user

persona in 4 steps without leaving your desk. Available At:
https://www.hotjar.com/blog/user-personas/

(Nick Babich, N. B., 29/11/2017) Prototyping 101: The difference between

low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes and when to use each. Available at:
https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2017/11/29/prototyping-difference-
low-fidelity-high-fidelity-prototypes-use#low-fidelity-prototyping

(Editorial Aela, E. A., 29/06/2022) Nielsen’s Heuristics: 10 Usability Principles

To Improve UI Design. Available at:
https://aelaschool.com/en/interactiondesign/10-usability-heuristics-ui-
design/#:~:text=Nielsen's%20heuristics%20are%20general
%20principles,friendly%2C%20and%20intuitive%20digital%20products.