Chapter 4: Design
Discussion Topics with Answers
1. You are the new Chief Design Officer (CDO) of a new start-up, DTUI Inc. The project is
to design a system for hospitals that will allow receptionists to check in people at the
hospital faster. They wish to develop an interface that meets both the receptionist and
patient’s needs. Describe in detail a design methodology of 4 stages to facilitate proper
design of such a system.
Write your answer in the form of a management plan for this project. For each stage,
indicate the number of weeks that should be allocated. Hint: note the four phases of the
design process:
1. Requirements analysis
2. Preliminary (conceptual) and detailed design
3. Build and implementation
4. Evaluation
For questions 2-4, refer to the following scenario:
The State of Maryland is developing a web-voting interface. For selecting the candidates,
one design (RB) is a set of radio buttons and another is (CB) a combo–box (drops down
when selecting the scroll arrow icon), both using standard fonts at 10-point size.
2. Compare these two designs when there are 4 candidates and predict the relative
speed of performance and error rates. Support your choice by a thoughtful
argument.
3. An expert reviewer complains that both designs may work with young users who
are familiar and expert in using a mouse, but that there will be problems for elderly
and motor-impaired users who have difficulty controlling a mouse. The reviewer
recommends a new design that includes a larger font (20-point size) and a
numbered list to allow selection by keyboard easily.
Describe a Participatory Design or Social Impact Statement process that might
clarify this issue with elderly users.
4. Design an experiment to help resolve the issue brought up in Question 3. Assume
you have substantial resources and access to subjects.
5. Provide a definition of participatory design. Give three arguments for and three
arguments against participatory design.
6. Consider a system that does not yet exist. An example is a totally automated fast–
food restaurant, where customers order via touch screen interactions, pay by swiping
their debit or credit cards, and then pick up their food—analogous to the self-check-
out at some supermarkets, but even more extreme. Discuss how you conduct a
contextual inquiry for a system that does not yet exist.
CASE STUDY: Evaluate an existing system where you would propose improvements to the
user interface. For example, visit the local mass transit station (e.g., the subway)
and observe users purchasing tickets. If possible, interview users regarding their
preferences for improvements in usability. One method to facilitate user cooperation
may be to solicit fellow students or colleagues who are new to your community and
have not yet taken a ride on the subway system. Plan for contextual interviews by
developing questionnaires. Conduct the contextual interviews, then tabulate the
results and analyze them with an eye to understanding the demographics and skills
of the user community. Then follow the remaining steps outlined in this list,
eventually developing storyboards and prototypes to evaluate with users.
Consider tailoring this assignment that is doable as a team homework
assignment to be completed in about one week. Ensure the students are