hFIDO Blog

Check out this neat article about new discoveries for user-customization capabilities:

New computer tool may unlock programs

The Human Factors in Information Design Organization is having another redesign contest!  Last year, we asked you all to redesign the coffee vending machine in the Adamian building on campus.  The esteemed panel of judges evaluated your submissions based on creativity, simplicity, and ease of use. This year, we are asking you to redesign a different interface you can find on campus.

Have you ever ordered a cheeseburger in the Lower Cafeteria of LaCava (sorry vegetarians, we aren’t trying to marginalize you)?  Well, go and check it out and see if you can come up with an easier process to order a cheeseburger.  We want you to create a prototype showing the following interaction:  order a cheeseburger with all the toppings.

(Click to enlarge)

Submit one entry per person to fitek_dani@bentley.edu by February 13, 2009 to qualify for one of the two prizes.

Contest Prizes:

• First Prize: $150
• Second Prize: $50
• Third: Steel hFIDO water bottle
• Honorable Mentions: hFIDO T-shirt.

We are looking for low to medium fidelity prototypes as well as a brief explanation of your design. The prettiest design isn’t always the winner, so it doesn’t matter if it’s pen on paper or something fancier.

In case you can’t read the specific options in the pictures, here they are…

Burger Fixings:

Free:

• Swiss Cheese
• American Cheese
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Onion

Extra:

• Onions $0.15
• Peppers $0.15
• Mushrooms $0.25
• Bacon $0.60
• Ham $0.50

We do ask that all submissions be made electronically, so make sure you know how to use a scanner.

MS PowerPoint is a fairly effective prototyping tool.  If you’ve never made a prototype before, I suggest you use that.

I recently started following some very interesting conversations on the IxDA discussion forum.

One fiery debate about User Centered Design (UCD) Vs. Activity Centered Design (ACD) was great.  It seems to have been instigated in a large part by Donald Norman’s polemic against “Human Centered Design” (HCD) in favor of ACD.

Jared Spool brought some good historical perspective to the discussion.

In this follow up discussion, I liked Robert Hoekman’s analysis of the distinctions between the two methods.  I’ve included the main points here.

1. UCD = persona descriptions; ACD = activity analysis (focused on users, objects, and the activities themselves)

2. UCD = research focused on user goals, aimed at a niche audience; ACD = focused on how people perform activities, abstracted to a wider audience

3. UCD = involves talking to users in (almost?) every case; ACD = designer can sometimes/often become a SME on the activity with very little or no outside research

4. UCD = users are unreliable, unstable, and often unpredictable; ACD = activities are relatively stable, by comparison

I feel strongly both ways.

By the way, Jared Spool’s User Interface 13 Conference is in Cambridge October 13-16.  It could be fun if you have the time and money to attend.

1st Place – Mike Jenkins

Mike earned himself a Nintendo DS with two Brain Age games. Look for our next contest for your chance to win a great prize, as well as bragging rights.

2nd Place – Drew Condon

3rd Place – Dan Fitek

Sorry for the delay in posting these.  I finally have a few moments of free time now that the spring semester is over.