Interpretation at the controller's edge: designing graphical user interfaces for the digital publication of the excavations at Gabii (Italy)

This paper discusses the authors’ approach to designing an interface for the Gabii Project’s digital volumes that attempts to fuse elements of traditional synthetic publications and site reports with rich digital datasets. Archaeology, and classical archaeology in particular, has long engaged with questions of the formation and lived experience of towns and cities. Such studies might draw on evidence of local topography, the arrangement of the built environment, and the placement of architectural details, monuments and inscriptions (e.g. Johnson and Millett 2012). Fundamental to the continued development of these studies is the growing body of evidence emerging from new excavations. Digital techniques for recording evidence “on the ground,” notably SFM (structure from motion aka close range photogrammetry) for the creation of detailed 3D models and for scene-level modeling in 3D have advanced rapidly in recent years. These parallel developments have opened the door for approaches to the study of the creation and experience of urban space driven by a combination of scene-level reconstruction models (van Roode et al. 2012, Paliou et al. 2011, Paliou 2013) explicitly combined with detailed SFM or scanning based 3D models representing stratigraphic evidence. It is essential to understand the subtle but crucial impact of the design of the user interface on the interpretation of these models. In this paper we focus on the impact of design choices for the user interface, and make connections between design choices and the broader discourse in archaeological theory surrounding the practice of the creation and consumption of archaeological knowledge. As a case in point we take the prototype interface being developed within the Gabii Project for the publication of the Tincu House. In discussing our own evolving practices in engagement with the archaeological record created at Gabii, we highlight some of the challenges of undertaking theoretically-situated user interface design, and their implications for the publication and study of archaeological materials

The effects of individual differences on mobile phone users’ operational behaviour

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Mobile handset technology has improved greatly in recent decades. Improvements in hardware and software conduce the importance of the handset as a computer. Whilst the mobile phone industry and researchers emphasise understanding users from sociological aspects, such as services, usage habits, functionalities and so forth; this research aims to seek the variables that impact upon users’ interactions with the phone from the root-individual differences. For the purpose of placing mobile phone users at the core of the interface design process, the individual differences of gender, cognitive style and user experience were applied as the main variables in this research. Accordingly, to examine individuals’ differences and their operational behaviour with phone interfaces, the effects of cognitive style and user experience present stronger impact on the user performance than gender. The two factors were then investigated with regard to individuals’ operational behaviour with phone interfaces. This research then developed categories to link the theoretical attributes of cognitive style and phone users’ practical operational behaviour. Furthermore, the impact of cognitive style on the users’ operational behaviour was also connected to individuals’ problem solving ability. Meanwhile, the effect of user experience was investigated with a novel methodology-Taxonomy of Experience. The results revealed necessary elements that the users cared about the most, and these differed from the interface design guidelines of phone industry. This PhD thesis presents the application of the triangulation method to explore the variables that impact upon individuals’ interaction with mobile phone interfaces, specially concerned with mobile phone interface design from a psychological perspective, and provides a deeper understanding of users for future design events. More importantly, this research delivered the concept of understanding users before conducting design

Board Game Under Construction: Putting the Design in Game Design

The contemporary design landscape is informed by the need for interactive design, yet not all interactive media is digital. Technology has transformed the way many people receive information, and thus the way that they interact with graphic design, and the impact of user interfaces in creating a positive interactive experience is more important now than ever. However, while this phenomenon is usually identified with the digital environment of smartphone apps, websites and video games, user interface is equally important in analog design, and few media illustrate this better than board games. Board games have enjoyed a surge in popularity over the past two decades, during which time the variety and complexity of games on the market has increased dramatically. Board games rely on a thematic and intuitive analog user interface to create an immersive experience for their players, and graphic design plays a substantial role in the success of this interface. Good design bridges the gap between players and a game’s mechanics, and can therefore help make a game more engaging and its rules easier to understand and remember. Conversely, poor design can create unnecessary frustration that inhibits players’ ability to engage with a game. Furthermore, unlike magazine articles or websites, which often follow a relatively predictable format, the mechanics of individual board games might require radically different approaches to design. Therefore, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of the impact of graphic design in board games by examining the success (or failure) of the graphics, icons, text, illustrations, and layout of the components in a board game’s prototype, with the goal of discovering the most effective approach to the game’s user interface and ultimately developing a finished, publication-ready game

Attention Allocation of Dynamic Icons on Mobile App Interfaces

The interface serves as the primary channel for interaction between users and mobile apps, making interface design critical for a successful user experience. To enhance the design language of app interfaces, motion graphics have been used due to their unique appeal. However, mobile usage patterns and interface sizes pose challenges in transmitting information effectively. Thus, the question of how to effectively apply motion graphics to meet users\u27 needs and reflect design value remains a pressing concern for interface designers. To address this, this study focuses on the research of dynamic icons in app interfaces and employs the user\u27s cognitive mechanism as a theoretical basis to explore the influence boundary of dynamic icons\u27 core feature. Specifically, an eye-tracking experiment was conducted to study the impact of dynamic icon attention under various experimental conditions. Through the analysis of the distribution characteristics of user attention, it was found that the influence of dynamic icons on user attention varied with changes in the number of dynamic icons. Moreover, the number of dynamic icons played a significant role in regulating changes in a user\u27s information processing mode. These changes ultimately affect the attention of dynamic icons. This research provides a crucial point of reference for future motion graphics interface design and implementation, as well as a more efficient way to enhance user experiences in mobile app user interfaces

Effects of User Interface Design and Task Complexity Level on User Experience in an mHealth Application

User interface (UI) is a crucial component of any application, including mHealth apps, as UI directly affects the user–app interaction, which then determines the concrete user experience with the app. This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examines the effects of data entry UI types and task complexity on user experience within the context of a mobile app. We used a 2 (touch technique: tap vs. slide) X 2 (target direction: vertical vs. horizontal) X 2 (task complexity: simple vs. complex) design. Our findings indicate that UI design in terms of touch technique and target direction, as well as task complexity have a significant impact on the task completion time. As for error rate, however, we did not find any significant differences by UI design or task complexity level

An intelligent interface for satellite operations: Your Orbit Determination Assistant (YODA)

An intelligent interface is often characterized by the ability to adapt evaluation criteria as the environment and user goals change. Some factors that impact these adaptations are redefinition of task goals and, hence, user requirements; time criticality; and system status. To implement adaptations affected by these factors, a new set of capabilities must be incorporated into the human-computer interface design. These capabilities include: (1) dynamic update and removal of control states based on user inputs, (2) generation and removal of logical dependencies as change occurs, (3) uniform and smooth interfacing to numerous processes, databases, and expert systems, and (4) unobtrusive on-line assistance to users of concepts were applied and incorporated into a human-computer interface using artificial intelligence techniques to create a prototype expert system, Your Orbit Determination Assistant (YODA). YODA is a smart interface that supports, in real teime, orbit analysts who must determine the location of a satellite during the station acquisition phase of a mission. Also described is the integration of four knowledge sources required to support the orbit determination assistant: orbital mechanics, spacecraft specifications, characteristics of the mission support software, and orbit analyst experience. This initial effort is continuing with expansion of YODA's capabilities, including evaluation of results of the orbit determination task

ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF USER INTERFACE/USER EXPERIENCE WITH THE DESIGN THINKING METHOD IN THE ACADEMIC INFORMATION SYSTEM OF JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY

User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX)  design is very important because with a good design that meets user needs, it can make users feel comfortable when using a product. One example is the Academic Information System (SIA), if the design of the SIA is not user friendly, it will have an impact on both the user and the system. Such as input errors, missing information, difficulties in using it. The purpose of conducting UI / UX analysis and design at SIA Universitas Jenderal Soedirman is to solve the problems experienced by users today. Users involved in this research are students. Design is made using the Design Thinking method and for the testing using Usability Testing

User Experience Design for E-Voting: How mental models align with security mechanisms

This paper presents a mobile application for vote-casting and vote-verification based on the Selene e-voting protocol and explains how it was developed and implemented using the User Experience Design process. The resulting interface was tested with 38 participants, and user experience data was collected via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews on user experience and perceived security. Results concerning the impact of displaying security mechanisms on UX were presented in a complementary paper. Here we expand on this analysis by studying the mental models revealed during the interviews and compare them with theoretical security notions. Finally, we propose a list of improvements for designs of future voting protocols.Comment: E-Vote-ID 2019 TalTech Proceeding

USE OF PERSONAS FOR USER INTERFACE DESIGN: RESULTS OF FIELD AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

Persona is a fictitious user serving as a role model for designers, helping them make difficult decisions from the users\u27 perspective during the interface design process. This concept, which was introduced by Alan Cooper in 1999, has been found to be a powerful tool for engaging the designers with the users. Although personas do not replace the rich data acquired through user testing, they enhance the interface development process by focusing the designers\u27 attention on the target user until the interface qualifies for testing. Recognizing the benefits of persona, many companies, including the Fortune 500 have embraced this concept as a way to enhance their customer experience with computer interfaces. As this new technique originated in the practitioner\u27s world, no experimental validation has been conducted on the impact of implementing this technique in the interface design process. Although Pruitt and Adlin investigated methods for developing personas and using them in the design of interface, publishing their results in March 2006, the benefits of personas have yet to be experimentally validated. To address this need, the current research presents two studies focusing on the use of personas. The first details a case study developing an intranet application intended to be used by various user categories for analyzing data from aviation maintenance processes. The second experimentally validates the effect of persona-based user interface design on the performance of the respective user types. The SUMI data and performance specifications gathered through the field studies indicated that the web applications developed to cater to various user categories from the aircraft maintenance industry were highly satisfactory to the end users. The empirical study conducted to validate use of personas showed that the users performed significantly better when they used persona interfaces than while using non-persona interfaces. The results also indicated that the secondary user categories liked the interfaces which were primarily targeted to the primary user category better than those which did not distinguish between the two user categories