Interface Scenario: User Interface for a Portable Hand-Held Information Kiosk for Tourists at Hotels - Research Paper Example

IS2102 User Interface Design Assignment 2 Interface Scenario: User Interface for A Portable Hand-Held Information Kiosk for Tourists at Hotels Student No: Date of Submission: 14 January 2010 Contents Contents...........................................................................................................2 List of Figures 2 Operational Flow-chart 2 Introduction 3 1.2 User 5 There are four users of the device for the purpose of this study: two males and two females aged above 18 years each. All the users, like tourists, will be unfamiliar with the location. The test will determine whether or not the end-user finds the interface user-friendly and convenient to use. 5 1.3 Data 5 1.4 Environment 5 1.5 Usability 6 1.6 Conceptual Models 6 1.7 Hardware Input/Output 6 2. Development of Prototype 7 An operational flow-chart is provided to explain the working of the interface prototype. 7 2.1 Interface Components and Elements 7 2.2 Graphical Interface Style 9 2.3 Design Considerations 9 2.4 Product Structure/Flow of Operation 10 2.5 Method(s) of Production 10 3. User/Usability Testing 10 3.1 Test to Evaluate the Usability of the User Interface 10 3.1.1 Overview of Interface evaluated and evaluation method 10 3.1.2 Goals of Evaluation/Questions to Be Answered 10 3.1.4 Practical and Ethical Issues 11 3.1.5 Results of Evaluation and Analysis of Data 11 3.1.6 Evaluation Outcomes 11 4. Final Interface Design 13 Conclusion 13 6. Farnum, Chris, 2009. What you should Know About Prototypes for User Testing. [Online] Available at:http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/what_an_ia_should_know_about_prototypes_for_user_testing [Accessed 08 January 2010] 14 References .....................................................................................................14 Appendices.....................................................................................................15 List of Figures Operational Flow-chart Introduction This report evaluates a Conceptual Model of a portable hand-held information kiosk for tourists at hotels. The aim of the report is to demonstrate how this conceptual model is reflected in the designed interface. The information interface is implemented on the iphone 3GS, which can function as a regular mobile phone. The identified group of users are male and female tourists aged above 18 years. The interface is designed to provide the tourists with navigation maps, information on their current location, details of a particular location – facts, history, restaurants, markets and shops – and tourist attractions or places of interest. The interface needs to be user-friendly so that it can be operated by any user without difficulty. The conclusions are based on observation of the group of users and questionnaires given to them. The method of observation was used to gather data because observing the users as they operated the device led to a better understanding of how they used the device and the difficulties that they encountered. This would allow for future corrections or enhancements to the applications, if required. 1. Summary of System Requirements This section describes the requirements of the interface to be designed in terms of various factors. In coursework 1, the device used was a type of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), viz. Samsung Omnia Pro Windows Mobile 6.5 GPS. For the final interface design, however, the device chosen is the iphone 3GS. The reason for this choice is that the iphone has certain features that make it easier to implement this interface. The following assumptions have been made as regards the use of the interface: The portable hand-held information kiosk will be provided to tourists above 18 years of age, regardless of their gender, physical attributes and nationality. The age limit would ensure responsible handling and use of the device. Tourists will use this device to navigate, access information - facts, history, restaurants, markets and shops - about the location they visit or information about tourist spots and attractions. The hardware used here is an iphone. This would ensure that the device is portable, light-weight and easy to use; thereby, it would provide relevant information without hindering the tourists on their tours. Based on the above assumptions, the design has the following requirements: 1.1 Functionality The device is an iphone 3GS featuring a multi-touch display for the user to search for the required information. The functions provided by the application would include adequate text and audio in any of the thirty-four different languages supported by the iphone.(2) Thereby, tourists would find the interface user-friendly. Even users with very little knowledge of PDAs and applications would be able to operate it without assistance. For visually impaired users, the gesture-based screen reader called VoiceOver would give an audio description of the item under the user’s finger-tip.(2) The audio may be heard in any one of the twenty-one different languages spoken by VoiceOver. Thereafter, the user can command the iphone by double-tapping, dragging or flicking the item. Furthermore, the Zoom and White-on-Black features of the iphone would give visual relief by providing magnification and contrast, respectively.(2) Tourists would be able to navigate to various locations using the maps provided by the installed Global Positioning System (GPS). Moreover, they could access information about a location – facts, history, restaurants, markets, shops and tourist attractions with the installed GPS. Tourists would be given precise audio instructions and directions in thirty-four different languages.(2) The user can open and exit an application, following which the device can be used as a regular iphone. The user can download an application and update it by tapping on an ‘update’ button. The update would allow the user to receive the latest information regarding on-going events or activities in the location. The user can store data about the locations they intend to visit as well as the locations previously visited. The device will also track the user’s last destination in the application. A bookmarking feature will allow the user to revisit a page. For the comfort of the user, the application will not use the colours red and green simultaneously. Moreover, the use of white spaces in the interface will be limited. This will improve the over-all visibility of the display. Furthermore, output may be provided in the form of textual information from the internet or stored textual information on hotels, restaurants, places of interest, tourist attractions and so forth. For users who may be uncomfortable with text, images may be included in the application. 1.2 User There are four users of the device for the purpose of this study: two males and two females aged above 18 years each. All the users, like tourists, will be unfamiliar with the location. The test will determine whether or not the end-user finds the interface user-friendly and convenient to use. 1.3 Data In this study, data was collected through observations followed by questionnaires. The method of observation was chosen in order to have a better understanding of how the users actually used the device and the difficulties encountered while using it. This would pave the way for corrections or future enhancements to the application. 1.4 Environment The environment for this study comprises all the locations between the hotel and the local market as well as the route to places of interest. This environment is chosen so that the user (subject) can access information from the device and feel safe in relatively unfamiliar surroundings. The user (subject) will need to use a pair of headphones to listen to the instructions without disturbing other people in the vicinity. In this case, the volume-control feature of the device plays an important role. 1.5 Usability The interface would provide text and audio in thirty-four different languages. Further, visually impaired users would find the readability of text enhanced due to the use of ‘Arial’ font. While the device would be rugged enough to withstand hard impact resulting from travel, the user would be held accountable for the loss of the PDA. To correctly use the images, text and audio obtained from the GPS system, the user needs to know exactly what they are doing. 1.6 Conceptual Models A conceptual model categorises what a person (user) is able to do with a specific device, for what purpose they use it and what they specifically require in advance to make use of it. I believe I have a good understanding of my conceptual model. It will cater to all of the users’ requirements. The user will find the interface entirely user-friendly and easy to operate. 1.7 Hardware Input/Output The interface is implemented on iphone 3GS. This device weighs 4.8 oz. and has dimensions 4.5 in. x 2.4 in. x 0.45 in. It has a 3.5-in. wide-screen multi-touch LCD display and 480 x 320 pixel resolution. It supports the display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously. The Operating System used here is Windows Vista, which is compatible with the software application - SurferQuest Lite - used to implement the interface. The iphone provides internet access, assisted GPS and Wi-fi.(2) The input data to the device will primarily consist of: Information entered by the user through the multi-touch display GPS inputs to facilitate navigation The hardware input to the device is the alphanumeric data entered by the user through the multi-touch display. The hardware output comprises the LCD screen, a built-in speaker provided with a volume-control feature, and earphones equipped with a remote and microphone. The screen displays a visual(s) of the information accessed by the user while the audio identifies the visual on the screen and provides the relevant instructions for navigation, e.g. ‘Turn Left ahead’, ‘You have reached your destination’ and so forth. 2. Development of Prototype The following section describes how the prototype of the user interface was developed based on the system requirements. Here, the key elements of the interface are identified, described and explained in terms of their importance. Details of the style of interaction and of the elements and parts used in interaction are included. This is a medium-fidelity prototype because the user can interact with the interface (front-end) to some extent.(6) The back-end development for the interface is in progress. An operational flow-chart is provided to explain the working of the interface prototype. 2.1 Interface Components and Elements The following quotes explain the significance of a user interface. ‘A user interface is the ensemble of hardware and software that let a user and a computer communicate’.(8) ‘A powerful system and a well-designed interface rely on each other, and are equally important. An interface plays a “specific role that bridges a graphical front-end to the underlying information”’.(7) A well-designed interface ‘breaks down a complex information structure and allows one to easily interact with it, understand it, play with it, access it’.(7) The elements of a user-interface are listed below: a) Data: This is an element whose visual representation denotes its value, e.g. text is data denoted by readable letters and numbers.(8) On an interface, data is generally entered by users in a data field in order to access any desired information. Users can enter alphanumeric data in the data fields by using the multi-touch screen. Moreover, information about the items on the screen is visible to the user in the form of textual labels. b) Graphic: It appears as an image that uses a format uniquely recognised by a particular application.(8) The advantage of having a graphical interface is that the user does not need to learn complex command languages.(5) c) Object: It is a representation of a certain combination of data and methods that are visible to the user in the interface. The objects possesses contents and behaviour that user can use to perform an action on the interface and achieve the desired result. They are generally displayed as icons or list-elements and have pop-menus.(8) d) Icon: It is an object represented as a graphic, usually associated with a label. It generally represents a command, file, or window. By clicking the icon, a command can be executed or an icon can be converted into a window. The icon can also be moved around on the display screen.(8) e) Control: It is an element having a predefined behaviour. (8) It allows a user to achieve a defined objective in the interface, e.g. scroll-bars, window-drag corner, window-title bar, buttons, clickable links. They must be intuitive and easy to use so that the user’s objective is easily achieved. Media controls provided on the interface, e.g. volume control enable the user to control the volume of the audio instructions from the GPS. f) Choice: A choice is a control that is used to initiate a user action or toggle a value. There are three types of choices: action choices (e.g. radio buttons, check-boxes, menus), modal choices and toggle choices.(8) Radio buttons are used when the user has to choose a single option from a list of mutually exclusive options. A check-box is used when the user can select one or more options from a list of options. Menus associated with objects allow the user to execute commands.(4) g) Workspace: A workspace contains all the elements of the interface. In general, a workspace contains the following elements: windows (primary and secondary), window icons and optional window icon boxes.(8) h) Window: A window presents a view of an object or conducts a dialogue with the user in the workspace. Windows present objects, messages, menus or prompt the user for information. Windows are of two types: primary and secondary. The screen is divided into different working areas by windows. Each window on the screen can run a different program or display a different file. The visual output of the interface, i.e. text and graphics are displayed in windows on the screen.(8) Other interactive components: i) Navigation: The user can navigate to the desired page on the interface using control elements like the Search button, Next button, clickable links to web-pages and menus. j) Feedback: The interface indicates that the user must wait for information to be displayed on the screen using a cursor (hour-glass image) and text message. k) Attention directing: The interface attracts the attention of the user by means of ‘message-alerts’ where a sound accompanies the textual information on the screen. l) Cut, Copy, Paste functions: These are interface controls for transferring and copying data from the source to the destination. The user can use these controls to transfer data, text, and files between locations on the iphone. Moreover, this feature would be useful to copy text such as names of places to visit or links from the internet. The user can paste this text in the data field or address field on the interface and search for the desired destination or web-page. 2.2 Graphical Interface Style This interface adopts a proprietary, thematic visual style. The visuals are designed in accordance with the theme of the information accessed by the user. The user can interact with the interface by tapping the icons and command buttons from the multi-touch screen. 2.3 Design Considerations The on-screen text uses Arial font in order to ensure visibility for even visually impaired users. The colours red and green are not used simultaneously on the screen in order to facilitate visibility. The use of white spaces on the screen is limited because their presence makes it difficult for the user to search for items. The text and audio outputs are multilingual for the comfort of the user. Headphones will be provided so that the user can listen to the audio instructions without disturbing other people, especially in crowded places. When the user enters the entity to be searched via the GPS, the interface will display a cursor and text to inform the user to wait for a few seconds/minutes until the information is retrieved and displayed. The user is alerted about any problems in the system through displayed text messages. 2.4 Product Structure/Flow of Operation Please refer to the operational flow-chart and interface diagrams at the end of this report. 2.5 Method(s) of Production The icons seen on the SurferQuest screen are images that were edited using Photoshop and the applications MS Word and Paint. The software used in the back-end is Visual Basic (VB). The software application used to implement the interface is SurferQuest Lite. This is a kiosk-based system software that is compatible with the Windows operating system installed on the iphone. This software is protected from hacks and viruses. It prevents disk-clutter because the data accessed by one user is not carried over to the next user. This feature makes the hand-held kiosk reusable and independent of the user and the number of users. 3. User/Usability Testing 3.1 Test to Evaluate the Usability of the User Interface 3.1.1 Overview of Interface evaluated and evaluation method This user interface (ver.1) is implemented on the iphone 3GS having Windows Vista operating system. The interface is designed to provide the tourist/user with navigation maps, information on their current location, details – facts, history, restaurants, markets and shops – of a particular location and tourist attractions or places of interest. The navigation is implemented using GPS. The software application used is a kiosk-based software, SurferQuest Lite. For the purpose of testing the interface, users were asked to use the hand-held kiosk on the route between the hotel to the market and also to different places of interest. The users were each observed for how they used the interface. 3.1.2 Goals of Evaluation/Questions to Be Answered The goal of the evaluation was to assess whether the interface provided simplicity of operation. The questions to be answered were: a) Could the interface be used effectively by people with very little or no knowledge of mobile phones or software application? b) Did the user feel safe in an unfamiliar environment upon receiving navigation instructions over the interface? 3.1.3 Evaluation Paradigms and Techniques The evaluation paradigm is usability testing. The evaluation technique used was observation of the user.(3) The technique of observing the user on the location was chosen because this makes it easier to understand exactly how the user interacts with the interface and what difficulties they encounter in doing so. This would in turn make it easier to make corrections and future enhancements to the interface. 3.1.4 Practical and Ethical Issues None thus far 3.1.5 Results of Evaluation and Analysis of Data The results of the observation indicated that all the users were able to successfully use the GPS to trace and reach their desired locations and return to the hotel. They remarked that they found the GPS easy to use. An important feature from their point of view was that they only needed to enter the name of the desired street or location to receive navigation instructions. 3.1.6 Evaluation Outcomes As all the users were able to use the GPS capabilities of the hand-held kiosk without assistance to reach their destinations, it implies that the interface is fairly user-friendly. It can be operated effectively by people who have very little or no knowledge of PDAs or software applications. 3.2 Test to Evaluate the Usability and Visibility of the User Interface 3.2.1 Overview of the Interface Evaluated and Evaluation Method The user interface of the hand-held information kiosk consists of various elements and components for entering and retrieving or accessing information. This information is provided by the GPS. Following the observations mentioned in section 3.1, the users were each made to answer a questionnaire. 3.2.2 Goals of Evaluation/Questions to be Answered The goal of the evaluation was to assess whether the interface provided simplicity of operation and visual comfort. The questions to be answered were: a) Could the interface be used effectively by people with very little or no knowledge of mobile phones or software applications? b) Did the user feel safe in an unfamiliar environment upon receiving navigation instructions over the interface? c) Was the user comfortable with the visual output and visibility on the screen? 3.2.3 Evaluation Paradigms and Techniques The evaluation paradigm is usability testing. The evaluation technique used here is gathering of user opinion. User opinion: The users were asked to fill up a questionnaire about the interface. Gathering user opinions can lead to a qualitative assessment of the user’s likes and dislikes. 3.2.4 Practical and Ethical Issues None thus far 3.2.5 Results of Evaluation and Analysis of Data The results obtained from the questionnaires indicated that the users were satisfied with the elements on the interface, the visual outputs, the over-all visibility and size of the screen. All the users were able to successfully use the GPS to trace and reach their desired locations and return to the hotel. They stated that the hand-held information kiosk could be used by people who were had very little or no knowledge of PDAs or software applications. They also stated that the iphone was a better option to implement the interface than a normal mobile phone because of the former’s ease of operation. 3.2.6 Evaluation Outcomes The outcome of the above test indicates that the user interface is user-friendly. It also provides the user with visual comfort. It can be operated by people with very little or no knowledge of PDAs and software applications. Moreover, the iphone is a preferable option to implement this interface. 4. Final Interface Design Please refer to the printouts at the end of the report. Conclusion The user/usability tests indicate that the hand-held information kiosk provides a user-friendly interface. This interface can be used effectively by tourists to receive directions to reach their desired destinations as well as access information pertaining to places of interest. The SurferQuest Lite kiosk-based software application used to implement the interface is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system of the iphone. The iphone, as a device, is convenient to use. The SurferQuest software makes it possible for the handheld device to be used independently by any number of tourists. Moreover, the tourist does not need to have in-depth knowledge of PDAs or software. They simply need to know the names of their desired destinations. Moreover, they can receive information and instructions in their native languages. Providing this device to tourists could prove to be a noteworthy service on the part of the hospitality industry. In future, the interface design can be further improved upon to make it the information access more detailed and intuitive. Thereafter, user tests would include users who maybe visually or hearing impaired. References 1. Anglia Ruskin University. Harvard System of Referencing Guide. [e-book]. Available at: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard [Accessed 10 January 2010] 2. Apple Inc., 2010. iphone Technical Specifications. [Online] Available at: http://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/specs.html [Accessed 08 January 2010]. 3. Bilal, Dr. D, 2008. Evaluation Paradigms and Techniques.ppt IS588. [Online] [Accessed 08 January 2010] 4. Crescimanno, Bryan, 2005. Sensible Forms: A Form Usability Checklist. [Online] Available at: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/sensibleforms [Accessed 08 January 2010] 5. Developer Shed, 2010. L., Deepa. The Importance Of Interface Text (part 1). [Online] Available at: http://www.devshed.com/c/a/Practices/The-Importance-Of-Interface-Text-part-1/ [Accessed 08 January 2010] 6. Farnum, Chris, 2009. What you should Know About Prototypes for User Testing. [Online] Available at:http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/what_an_ia_should_know_about_prototypes_for_user_testing [Accessed 08 January 2010] 7. Glasgow, Ryan, RyanGlasgow.net, 2009. The Importance of Interface Design [Online] (sent 20 June 2009). Available at: http://ryanglasgow.net/web-development/the-importance-of-interface-design/ [Accessed 08 January 2010]. 8. Hewlett-Packard Developing Company, L.P. The User Interface: Elements of Style [Online] Hewlett-Packard Developing Company, L.P. Available at: http://docs.hp.com/en/B1171-90148/ch01.html [Accessed 08 January 2010]. 9. Stone, Deborah L., 2009. User Interface Design and Evaluation [e-book]s.n. Available at: http://books.google.co.in/books [Accessed 08 January 2010]. 10. Webopedia, 2009. graphical user interface. [Online] (Updated 07 July 2009). Available at:(http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/g/Graphical_User_Interface_GUI.html)’graphical [Accessed 08 January 2010]. Appendices Usability Questionnaire Read More