HCI Assignments

Metaphors

    Problem Scenario 1: finding details for an event should be like...

    1. Looking up a phone number in a phone book.
      You have the name of the person, there is a reason you are interested in finding out more about them. However, you do not have the information you need in order to move forward with contacting them. The process of what you need to do is the same: look up more information with the given information that you already have.
      • Pros: It is easy to find what you're looking for given the information that you have. The information is in a clear, consistent order.
      • Cons: If you do not know the exact name of the person, it becomes much more difficult--if not impossible--to find more information. It is difficult to ask for help unless you have other information to reference and it constricts the process of solving this problem to a single method: knowing the name of the person you are trying to contact.
    2. Finding where your classes are on the first day of high school.
      You know where the classes are, but it is necessary to go through the pitfalls of finding the classroom in order to smoothly find the classroom in future days.
      • Pros: This metaphor shows that there are many different ways to go about the problem of finding details for an event. Someone could walk through the hallways until they find their classroom, or talk to teachers, parents, and friends. They could even look at a map. It is also good because the information that is being found is dependant on location--finding where an event is vs finding a classroom.
      • Cons: The process of finding a class can be more elaborate because there are multiple classes, while finding the location is singular. Additionally, finding classrooms requires navigating multiple locations, which is not necessary for finding out where an event is. Thus, this can be confusing for users to draw a direct parallel. Another con is that because classes are in the same building, one could potentially find the event on their own because there are not many options. This is untrue for finding an event in Boston or on campus. Another restriction of this metaphor is that location is not the only piece of information users are trying to find.

    Problem Scenario 2: finding something to do tonight should be like...

    1. Finding a TV show to watch using the guide
      A guide represents a catalog of TV shows, similar to the catalog of events that we hope to assemble within our product. It gives a 'browsing' feel, and is something you can do passively while watching another show.
      • Pros: The guide's content, the tv shows, are clearly laid out and organized. Browsing a guide is entertaining and relaxing, it does not feel like a chore or a task.
      • Cons: A guide is limited by chronological ordering of shows / channel order, and is not necessarily organized in a 'user friendly' way.
    2. Texting friends and making plans.
      Making plans socially is important, as people are less likely to attend events alone. Our product should make users feel like they should be attending events in this same way.
      • Pros: Friends are responsive and dynamic, they will give very user-centric responses as they know what their friend likes.
      • Cons: A conversational interface would be difficult to pull off as it is hard for a machine to know someone as well as their friends.

    Problem Scenario 3: finding a school club to go to should be like...

    1. Finding something to eat from a menu of a restaurant
      A restaurant menu has clear choices and sections, and it is easy for the customer get at the information that is important to them. Our product should be similarly organized.
      • Pros: There is a variety of choice and different menu subcategories/genres
      • Cons: If you don't like the type of food served at the restaurant, chances are you won't like anything on the menu.
    2. Finding a job at a career fair
      A career fair has a wide breadth of options for all majors and encourages open discussion and exploration, just as our product should encourage users to explore the options available to them on campus.
      • Pros: There are a variety of choices that a user can pick based on what speaks to them most.
      • Cons: It can be stressful and intimidating to have to speak with employers at different booths

Activity Design Scenarios

    Mark White

  • Original Problem Scenario: Mark White is a first year Computer Science student who just finished his first week of classes. He hasn't had the chance to make a lot friends yet, but he heard from his roommate that there is a band playing on campus this weekend that he is interested in, Car Seat Headrest. He wants to know more information, but he is too shy to initialize a conversation with his roommate, or anyone else on campus. To solve this problem, he turns to the internet for answers. He searches Google for "Car Seat Headrest", but is overwhelmed by the number of responses.
  • Activity Design Scenario: Mark White is a first year Computer Science student who just finished his first week of classes. He hasn't had the chance to make a lot friends yet, but he heard from his roommate that there is a band playing on campus this weekend that he is interested in, Car Seat Headrest. He wants to know more information, but he is too shy to initialize a conversation with his roommate, or anyone else on campus. He turns to technology to get more information. He searches for “Car Seat Headrest” in an attempt to find details for the correct event. After finding out when and where the event is happening, he is worried that he might have a prior commitment. He opens his mobile calendar and looks at the day. Thrilled that he is free on the day, he creates an event on the calendar. He enters in the location, time, and marks the event under the category of "social". After finding out that it is at the Curry Student Center, he makes sure to note that it will take him 15 minutes to walk there from his room. Finally, despite how nervous he is about being a shy freshman, he is going to try to find someone to go with. He looks at the information for the event to see if anyone he is friendly with is going. Subsequently, he looks to see when he can meet up with people before the event to walk over with.

    • Jenny Malone

  • Original Problem Scenario: Jenny Malone is a second year Chemistry student back on campus for the fall, and just got out of her last class for the week. All of her close friends are on Co-op this semester, so she does not have any plans for the night. However, she does not want to sit around in her room watching Netflix, so she decides to find an event on campus to go to. She enjoys sports, and decides that she wants find an athletic event that is free. She does not know if there is a dedicated facebook page for Northeastern Athletics, so she goes to myNeu. However, she is not sure where to go from there and is very confused by the interface. She instead decides to go to a concert that a poster in her dorm advertised.
  • Activity Design Scenario: Jenny Malone is a second year Chemistry student back on campus for the fall, and just got out of her last class for the week. All her close friends are on co-op this semester, so she does not have any plans for the night. She doesn't want to spend her night watching Netflix, so she decides to find an event to go to. She narrows down her selection to going to an athletic event, as she has an interest in sports. She decides to use the MyCampus app to help her find an athletic event to go to tonight. She heads over to the discover section of the app, and looks at the different event categories. She finds the “sports” category, looks at the soonest events happening. She is also looking for events labeled as free, as she does not want to spend much money tonight. She then finds a hockey game happening tonight, and clicks on it for more information. She learns that it is happening tonight at 7:30 PM, and is a free event that is happening nearby, at Matthews Arena. She clicks on the link, goes on myNeu, and reserves on ticket. At that point she puts on her husky hat and heads out to the big game!

    • Gregory

  • Original Problem Scenario: Gregory is a first year undeclared major. He is an international student from China and is experiencing a bit of culture shock adjusting to the new American culture. He is living in International Village, but he has a single so he doesn't interact with anybody. After being on campus for about a month, he is starting to miss his traditions back home, as well as the support of friends. To circumvent his troubles, he decides he wants to join a club and go their events. He hears that there is an activity fair happening this weekend, but it conflicts with another one of his plans and he is too anxious to attend.
  • Activity Design Scenario: Gregory, an international student, is not only adjusting to his first year at Northeastern but to the States. He is having a hard time because he misses his traditions and friends. Because he has a single in International Village, it is difficult for him to make new friends here. He wants to meet people, especially ones that share his culture and wants to find a club on campus to join to attend their events. He opens the MyCampus app to see which clubs that interest him are holding events soon. Opening the Discover page, he chooses “clubs” from the list of categories. He then scrolls through the list of Northeastern club categories and finds the International and Cultural subcategory, where he finds the Chinese Student Association. Clicking on it, he is directed to a list of events that are being held and decides to attend the next one. He finds out that the details for the event is that it is in afterHOURS at 4pm on Saturday and marks it down on his calendar.