BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) COMPUTING

COMP 1649 - HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

BANNER ID: 001207267

DUE DATE: 25TH NOVEMBER, 2021
CENTRE: ZCAS UNIVERSITY
LECTURER: MR. J. ZULU
WORD COUNT: 2, 683
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
1.1 User profile..............................................................................................................................3
1.2 Scope........................................................................................................................................3
2 BACKGROUND..........................................................................................................................4
2.1 FRAMEWORKS AND PROCESSES FOR INTERACTION DESIGN.........................4
2.1.1 USER CENTERED DESIGN.....................................................................................4
2.1.2 GOAL-ORIENTED DESIGN......................................................................................6
2.1.3 PARTICIPATORY DESIGN........................................................................................7
2.1.4 JUSTIFICATION..........................................................................................................7
2.2 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY............................................................................................8
2.2.1 Attention......................................................................................................................8
2.2.2 Perception...................................................................................................................8
2.2.3 Memory........................................................................................................................8
2.3 INTERACTION DESIGN THEORY..................................................................................9
2.3.1 Voice.............................................................................................................................9
2.3.2 Touch...........................................................................................................................9
2.3.3 Graphical User Interfaces (GUI).............................................................................9
2.3.4 Command Line Interface.........................................................................................9
2.3.5 Menu Driven Interface............................................................................................10
3 DESIGN PROCESS.................................................................................................................11
3.1 Interaction Design Research........................................................................................11
4.0 Hierarchical task analysis......................................................................................................12
5.0 Mid-fidelity prototype..............................................................................................................13
6.0 Research Study........................................................................................................................17
7.0 Evaluation of developed prototype......................................................................................18
8.0 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................19
9.0 References..................................................................................................................................20

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1 INTRODUCTION
The car dashboard has evolved over the years with transition from mechanical to
electronic components. The improvements in in-car entertainment systems have
become a popular distinguishing feature among car brands. Many new entertainment
systems are complex and difficult to use while driving thereby shifting the attention of
the driver from the road and steering wheel.

The purpose of this assignment is to design and develop a concept and a prototype
of the new in-car entertainment and navigation system. The new system will require
the users to access the music library and use navigation services with ease while
driving in order to avoid distractions.

1.1 User profile

The mid- fidelity prototype will mainly be targeting users who are at least 18 years of
age, because that is the legal driving age. The prototype will target drivers who
already have hands on experience in-car. The prototype will seek to address the
navigational constraints users may face while on the road.

1.2 Scope
The study seeks to deliver a mid-fidelity prototype for a new in-car entertainment and
navigation system. The principles of cognitive psychology will be applied to evaluate
the final prototype. The delivered artefact will represent the user goals below:

 A user should be able to access the music library.

 After they access the library, the can choose a song and play it.
 The prototype should also allow users to access navigation services.

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2 BACKGROUND
The in-car entertainment systems were initially car audio systems that consisted of
radio, cassette and cd players. Driven by the need to have more connectivity in cars,
in-car entertainment systems today have become more complex and now
incorporate navigation services, video players, Bluetooth connectivity etc.

The emerging technologies have brought about competition among manufacturers of

in-car entertainment systems and the need to design better systems with the user in
mind for the satisfaction of the user.

This coursework will explore different aspects of human computer interaction in order
to develop a system that will meet the user requirements.

2.1 FRAMEWORKS AND PROCESSES FOR INTERACTION DESIGN

2.1.1 USER CENTERED DESIGN
User-Centred Design (UCD) is an interaction design framework that prioritizes users
and their needs across the whole design process. The following are some of the
advantages of UCD (Usability.gov, Interaction Design Basics, 2014):

 It results in increased sales and fewer costs as the product is highly likely to
meet users’ specifications as a result of the user’s participation throughout the
design processes.
 It minimises the chances of human errors, thereby leading to safer products.
 It results in increased engagement between the users and the design team.
 User Centred design also makes end users more efficient as it is easy and
quicker to complete tasks.

Below are the steps that are key in the User-Centred Design process:

i. Research: The main goal at this stage is to gain a deeper understanding of

the user requirements and needs. A combination of research methods are
used to get a universal understanding of the users.
ii. Define Requirements: Identify the business requirements or user needs that
must be satisfied for the product to be successful.

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iii. Design Solution: This is the stage at which the requirements come to life by
prototyping the designs, building from concept to a complete design.
iv. Evaluate Designs: At this stage, evaluation is done through broad user
testing and feedback.
v. Iterate: The above stages must be performed as many times as it takes to
produce a product that satisfies the requirements of users.

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2.1.2 GOAL-ORIENTED DESIGN
This is a process of developing products that will assist users meet their objectives
through understanding the importance of user needs and behaviour and ultimately
builds a product that satisfies those needs. This method also aims to help the user
achieve their goals without having to do many tasks.

Goal oriented design can result in products that are more powerful and more
satisfying to use. There are three major benefits to using this design process:

i. Enhanced product quality

ii. A reduction in development time which leads to reduced cost
iii. Improved documentation (Reducing the complexity of the software reduces
the time spent explaining software problems and frees up time to explain how
the software can really help users).

Below are the phases of goal oriented design;

 Research: The aim of this stage is to collect qualitative and quantitative

information through surveys, market analysis and interviews with the sole
purpose of generating an image of the user.
 Modelling: Information gathered during Research is broken down into models
involving detailed graphs and schemes of the project. These combined would
form a persona, a detailed archetype of individual characteristics, behaviours
and motivations of a potential user.
 Requirements Definition: This stage uses methods that are focused on
meeting the goals and needs of specific user personas. The personas will
assist the design teams to understand which tasks are important and why.
 Framework Definition: In this stage, designers develop the product concept,
defining the product’s behaviour and physical form.
 Refinement: This stage is where each facet of the project is given detail and
a document of design is produced.
 Support: This is the stage at which the designers and developers work
together to tweak the design.

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2.1.3 PARTICIPATORY DESIGN
End-users as full participants in activities leading to software and hardware computer
products and computer-based activities are the focus of participatory design (PD), a
set of theories, techniques, and investigations (Greenbaum and Kyng, 1991; Muller
and Kuhn, 1993; Schuler and Namioka, 1993).

This approach ensures that the needs of the users are satisfied and the result is
usable.

Participatory design makes use of sessions, which are easy tasks in which users are
given tools to create and design mock-ups of software or products that they want.
Recent research indicates that better and more innovative products are developed
by designers when they work alongside other stakeholders like users. This is usually
done by holding workshops. By conducting the design sessions with the user, one
would learn a lot than through mere interviews with the user.

The major benefit of participatory design is that it creates prospects for stakeholders
to meet and work on a common idea which in turn builds new social capital and
strengthens existing networks.

2.1.4 JUSTIFICATION
It's important to remember that technology's perceptions and beliefs have a greater
impact on acceptance than legal and technical limits (Detmar W. Straub, Seymour E.
Goodman, Richard Baskerville, 2008). Participatory design can reveal details about
the features of the organization where the technology will be used. The participatory
design technique is good because it decreases the risk of failure because user
requirements and wishes are based on true discoveries rather than assumptions.
This strategy, rather than giving answers to customers, may give them a sense of
ownership over the product. Finally, this technique promotes open communication
among stakeholders, which allows realistic expectations to arise and, as a result,
reduces opposition to change.

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2.2 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The study of how the brain collects and uses knowledge to produce behavior is
known as cognitive psychology. The application of learned knowledge necessitates
the use of mental processes such as reasoning, remembering, learning, speaking,
seeing, and making decisions, among others. These processes shape who we are
and what we do. These processes also have an impact on how we use computer
systems. They decide whether or not a thing is simple to use. The processes listed
below are the most important in terms of Human Computer Interaction design
(Norman,A, 1988).
2.2.1 Attention
This refers to the users’ focus on a task. When using the in-car entertainment
system, the user’s main tasks will either be to access the music library or the
navigation system. The system will be built so that the user can easily perform the
tasks with very little attention taken from driving. This will involve designing a simple
and easy to use interface that will incorporate big touch buttons and bright colours to
help the user to focus on the core tasks.

2.2.2 Perception
Perception is the understanding of the world based on our senses and cognition. The
goal is to design representations that are correctly perceived and recognised by the
users i.e. icons and other representations should be readily distinguished, buttons
should be well spaced and defined by borders rather than background colours and
text should be legible and distinguishable from the background.

2.2.3 Memory
This process involves first encoding and then retrieving knowledge. It involves
filtering and processing what is attended to. Context i.e. Where, when and how you
were feeling influences how the memory is encoded and whether it can be recalled
later. The in-car entertainment system will be designed with simple procedures to
complete tasks, thereby helping the user to easily recall the procedures and
ultimately the system becoming user-friendly.

Conclusion: The in-car entertainment system should take into consideration among
others the following:

i. The requirements of the user

ii. Keeping the interface uncluttered

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 iii. Making information prominent when it needs attending to
iv. Information needs to be easily perceived and understood
v. The meaning of icons and graphical representations should be easily
distinguished
vi. Text should be legible and distinguishable from the background
vii. Simple procedures to help user’s complete tasks.

2.3 INTERACTION DESIGN THEORY

The construction of interactions between users and products is known as interaction
design. The goal is to build user interfaces that allow people to do activities quickly.
Interactions can take place in a variety of ways, including speech, touch, and so on.
The modes/interfaces are chosen according to the user type for whom the system is
being created. The modes of interaction listed below are some of the ways in which
people interact (Interaction Design Basics, 2014).
2.3.1 Voice
Voice interfaces are interactive media which use speech for communication. They
make it possible for users to interact with devices and applications using voice
commands.

2.3.2 Touch
With the fast growing ICT technologies, touch-screen interfaces on mobile computing
devices have become a popular and regular feature. Users interact with these
interfaces using fingers or touch pens. The in-car entertainment system will be
designed for touch screen use.

2.3.3 Graphical User Interfaces (GUI)

GUIs are interfaces through which users interact with electronic devices through
graphical icons such as buttons, scroll bars, windows, tabs, menus, cursors, and the
mouse pointing device. .

2.3.4 Command Line Interface

This is a text based interface used to view and manage computer files, operate
software and operating systems through text based commands.

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2.3.5 Menu Driven Interface
These are commands that are presented in the form of a menu such as a drop down
or full screen menu. An example of a menu driven interface is an Automated Teller
Machine (ATM).

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3 DESIGN PROCESS
3.1 Interaction Design Research
To ensure that the outcome meets the needs of the stakeholders, participatory
design necessitates actively including stakeholders in the design and decision-
making processes (Greenbaum and Kyng, 1991; Muller and Kuhn, 1993; Schuler
and Namioka, 1993). It is typically used to develop ideas that will inform the final
design of a project.

This process will require us to hold workshops with developers, designers and users
and conduct participatory design sessions. These are simple exercises for users to
create and design mock-ups of the in-car entertainment system while giving
explanations for their designs. The users, who must be drivers will be picked at
random from taxi and bus drivers and other members of the public who frequently
drive and interact with other in-car entertainment systems. From observing and
listening to their explanations, we will begin to understand their requirements for the
in-car entertainment system and avoid making mistakes.

From observing and listening to the users, the requirements of the in-car
entertainment system are:

 It should have a music library

 It should have navigation services
 It should use easily recognisable icons and text with icons on prominent
action items.
 It should use good sized buttons to operate the touch screen easily.
 The navigation flow should be simple

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4.0 Hierarchical task analysis
This method requires that a task be broken down into a hierarchy of subtasks,
allowing analysts to describe iterative, conditional, and sub sequential activities.
According to public research, task analysis allows us to examine multiple
approaches to performing the same task while creating a new system, while
examining an existing system enhances interaction (UXmatters.com, 2010). It is a
useful tool for system documentation because it captures information on why users
do things the way they do.

This method was chosen because;

 Helps identify the specific user goals

 Gives specific steps a user needs to take to achieve their goals.
 Helps optimise operational procedures hence making the user experience
smooth and uncluttered.
 The user orientation approach helps us maintain consistency with prexisting
implementations.
 Enables us to express navigational flow in a structured way.

Off Screen

OnMenu

Music Library Navigation

Now Playing

Paused

Stopped

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5.0 Mid-fidelity prototype
The final prototype will follow cognitive principles to make it easy to use and
understand. It is developed using participatory design in order to fully capture the
requirements of the users.

Figure 1: shows the off screen

Figure 2: Main menu showing music library and navigation access option

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Figure 3: The music library showing song list

Figure 4: The now playing screen showing the selected song playing.

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Figure 5: The screen shown when music is paused

Figure 6: screen shown when a song is paused

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Figure 7: The navigation screen shown when the access navigation menu option is clicked.

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6.0 Research Study
The research study will be conducted using participants drawn from different
sections of society including taxi and bus drivers and general members of society
who frequently interact with different in-car entertainment systems. The objective will
be to answer one important question, does the prototype meet the requirements of
users? Some of the questions that will be used to test the prototype are listed below.

Does the design of the prototype exhibit consistency throughout?

The main navigation is a group of buttons that change state to switch between the
music library, navigation services and other functions of the in-car entertainment
system. All the states of the prototype have the same design and colours for the
group of buttons for navigation.

Are the icons in the prototype easy to understand?

The icons used are industry standard and easy to understand. For example, the
Navigation icon is widely used to represent Google maps in most applications while
music library icon is also widely used in most car entertainment systems and on
mobile phone applications.

Are the texts, images and buttons clearly visible?

The texts, buttons and images are clear and big enough to support touch screen
capabilities.

Are the colours used in the prototype appropriate?

The colours used in the prototype make the text easy to read and makes it more
appealing.

Are the elements for interaction in the prototype of appropriate size and fit for
touch screens?

All the interactive elements in the prototype are appropriately sized for touch
screens. The buttons are of proper size and positioned appropriately, making the
prototype easy to use.

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7.0 Evaluation of developed prototype
The in-car entertainment and navigation system will be evaluated by applying
cognitive psychology principles.

Attention: the main menu is simple and easy to recognise. Combinations of text and
action icons help users easily recognise the action items.

Perception: the use of a white backdrop and black icons helps enhance the user
perception of the developed prototype.

Memory: the icons used on the action buttons are relatable this is because the icons
are modelled after real world implementation found in most electronic devices.

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8.0 Conclusion

The developed mid-fidelity prototype was evaluated by applying the cognitive

principles. Real world relatable text and icon were used to enhance perception. To
improve learnability of the interaction hierarchy, the interface is consistent across all
the screens. All the action options are visible to avoid over loading the end-users
memory (Nielsen, J. ,2020). The major challenge posed in this assignment is
designing for a broad group of users with different preferences when driving.
However, from the research conducted into the development of the mid-fidelity
prototype, the product meets the human computer interaction design principles and
the core requirements for the in-car entertainment system mid-fidelity.

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9.0 References

1. Jon Kolko (2010), Thoughts on Interaction Design

2. Usability.gov, Interaction Design Basics, Available at:
http://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/interaction-design.html (Accessed:16-
11-2021)
3. Dan Saffer (2009), Designing for Interaction: Creating Innovative Applications
and Devices (2nd Edition).

4. Norman,A, 1988, The Psychology of Everyday things, Basic Books, USA

5. Randy Allen Harris (2005), Voice Interaction Design, Crafting the New
Conversational Speech Systems
6. Josh Clark, 2020, Designing for Touch, Available
at :https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2020/02/designing-for-touch.php
(22-11-2021)
7. Lin, H., Wu, F.G., Cheng, Y.Y (2014) Legibility and visual fatigue affected by
text direction, screen size and character sizeon color LCD e-reader.
8. Preece, Rogers, Sharp (2002), Beyond Human Computer Interaction, John
Wiley and Sons, New York.
9. Raymonde Guindon (1988), Cognitive Science and Its Applications for
Human-computer Interaction.

10. Nielsen, J. (2020). 10 Heuristics for User Interface Design. [online] Nielsen
Norman Group. Available at: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-
heuristics/.

11. Uxmatters.com. (2010). Hierarchical Task Analysis: UXmatters. [online]

Available at: https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2010/02/hierarchical-
task-analysis.php.
12. Detmar W. Straub, Seymour E. Goodman, Richard Baskerville 2009, Information Security:
Policy, Processes, and Practices.

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