IA04+Understanding+Metro+Users

= **Understanding Metro Users** = This assignment is to be completed with one partner.
 * Due: ** Email mattm@cs.umd.edu by ** Tuesday, September 17th (before class) Thursday, September 19th (before class) **

= Assignment Overview = Formative inquiry is often performed at the beginning of a design project to better understand a given problem space and associated human behaviors, social contexts, and environmental constraints therein. In this assignment, you will practice using formative inquiry methods--namely, // in-situ // observation--to understand how people currently use the DC Metro ticket machine and turnstiles.You will analyze this data, identify where and how people struggle, and sketch out alternative designs.

Note: although this is under "individual assignments," you are to do this assignment with a partner.

There are four parts to this assignment: > > >
 * 1) You must go to a Metro station of your choosing (the [|College Park station] and [|Greenbelt station] are the closest) and collect observational data about how people interact with various Metro human-computer interfaces (primarily the ticket machines and electro-mechanical turnstiles). You should identify two tasks in particular (one for the ticket machine, and one for the turnstiles) and focus on the steps necessary to accomplish those tasks. For example, for the ticket machine, a task might be "buying a ticket or smart trip card for the first time." Another example might be "refilling a smart trip card with $15.50." For the turnstile, there are of course fewer tasks but be creative: one task may be "getting through the wheelchair accessible turnstile" and another might be "using a smart card with the turnstile" and finally "using a paper ticket with the turnstile." For each task that you decide upon, I want you to observe how people accomplish that task--see if you can identify "expert" users vs. "first-time" users. What are some mistakes that "first-time" users seem to make? What are the confusing parts of the interfaces (//e.g.,// with the turnstile, how does someone know if their smartcard scanned correctly--what feedback does the machine give them?)
 * 1) Your observational data should include notes, pictures, and, in some cases, video (//e.g.,// recorded via your smartphone). Bear in mind, however, that you should not be intrusive. You do not want your presence to affect how people ordinarily behave. IDEO refers to this as the //Fly on the Wall// method--a type of Contextual Inquiry. The goal is to observe and record behavior within its context, without interfering with people's activities. The data you collect should be anonymized (for example, your pictures/videos should not have identifiable information--you should try to avoid recording faces the best that you can).
 * 1) Then, analyze the information you've collected to identify problems, patterns, and insights.
 * 1) Finally, sketch out some alternative designs that help fix the problems you've identified.

=Your Report= Your report should be structured as follows: > > > > >
 * 1) Briefly explain the two tasks that you decided to study and why.
 * 1) For each task, create a top-level header ("Heading 1" style) with the name of the task. Underneath the header, describe the steps necessary to accomplish this task (//e.g.,// the first step to recharging a smarttrip card is to hold the card up to the RFID reader, which is a circular shape on the front of the machine). Use supporting images (with annotations) to help provide a clear breakdown of the task. Alternatively, if you recorded a video demonstrating these steps, you can refer to the video (with link) in the text rather than using supporting images.
 * 1) Create a sub-heading ("Heading 2" style) called "Challenges, Errors, and Successes." In this subsection, enumerate the challenges, errors, and successes that you observed for this specific task. Categorize the challenges and errors into low, medium, and high severity (where high severity is an issue that would likely prevent the Metro user from successfully getting on a ticket or through the turnstile). Use supporting images/figures to help describe these issues.
 * 1) Create another sub-heading ("Heading 2" style) called "Recommendations for Design." In this section, suggest specific design fixes/alternatives that DC metro could implement to fix your identified problems. Be creative but practical. Provide at least one sketch with your recommendations.
 * 1) Loop back to step #2 to describe your second task.
 * 1) Create a top-level header ("Heading 1" style) called "Concluding Remarks." Here, provide at least one sentence describing what you learned from this assignment, one sentence describing what you didn't like from this assignment, and one sentence explaining how this assignment could be improved in the future. :)

As with many assignments in this class, Matt and I reserve the right to award bonus points for excellence and creativity.

= Deliverables = Please e mail your report including inline images taken during your observational study and your sketches to mattm@cs.umd.edu by ** Tuesday, September 17th (before class) Thursday, September 19th (before class). ** If you took video that you think highlights an issue particularly well, please upload this to YouTube and include a link in your report. Make sure both names are on the report.