Readings

Overview

Assigned readings are worth 5% of your overall course grade.

We expect to assign approximately five readings over the length of the quarter. Each assigned reading has a corresponding open-ended question that will be submitted and graded. We have tried to set reading deadlines that give you the flexibility to read before or after the related lectures. Do whichever is best for your personal learning.

Responses are expected to be at most several paragraphs. Their role is to get you engaged with and thinking about the material. They will be graded according to whether they provide evidence you understood and considered the material in responding.

We will make additional resources available for students as interested.

Reading 1: Contextual Inquiry and Design Research

Due: Uploaded Thursday, January 17, 2019 (before section on Friday, January 18, 2019).

Read:

Beyer and Holtzblatt (1997). Contextual Design. Chapter 3.

Optionally, check out these additional design method resources:

After reading, consider how you might apply this approach to a project proposed in Assignment 1b. You may complete this reading in terms of your own project proposal, or you may complete this reading in terms of a "funded" proposal on which you have bid.

Briefly, what was the proposal (e.g., two sentences).
Who and what might you propose to observe in a contextual inquiry (e.g., two sentences).
What focus might you bring to your observation, and why? (e.g., two or three sentences).
Identify a pitfall or limitation of contextual inquiry (i.e., as a method) or your experience (i.e., as a new design researcher) that seems likely (e.g., two or three sentences).
Describe how you might avoid or attempt to correct for this pitfall in your inquiry while still primarily using a contextual inquiry method (e.g., two or three sentences).

Then consider alternative design research methods, such as those in the resources above. Note that you are still in early-stage research, so the relevant methods from Universal Methods of Design are likely in Design Phase 1 or Design Phase 2.

Suggest an alternative method you might propose to also apply to the above proposal (e.g., two sentences).
Describe what additional benefit or complementary perspective it might provide (e.g., three or four sentences).

This reading thus serves as some practice planning design research before moving on to your primary project.

Submission

No more than one page of text in PDF format.

Submit via Canvas here:

https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1254716/assignments/4623578

Grading

This assignment will be graded on a scale of 10 points:

Proposal: 1 pt
People, Data, and Focus : 2 pts
Limitation of Method or Experience and How to Avoid/Overcome : 2 pts
Alternative Method and Benefit: 3 pts
Report Clarity and Presentation: 2 pts

Reading 2: Research Paper

Due: Uploaded Monday, January 28, 2019 (before class on Tuesday, January 29, 2019).

Researchers and designers often re-invent, leading to the saying "A year in the field can save you a day in the library". It is valuable to take advantage of what is already known. To do this, you need to find and understand prior results.

Find and read a research paper that can inform your project. The paper does not necessarily have to describe an app or device directly addressing the same problem as your project. For example, the research paper may describe results of surveys or interviews on how people currently track something relevant to your project, or the paper might discuss general barriers or practices that you think might be relevant to your project.

Your may find relevant papers in leading HCI-related conferences such as:

You might also find a relevant research paper in another related field, such as psychology or medicine. Some conferences at the intersection of technology and health include:

Many papers are available via the ACM Digital Library or on author websites. Unfortunately, search functionality within the ACM Digital Library is generally poor. A better choice is typically Google Scholar. Papers behind paywalls are generally easiest to access while on the UW network, but you can also access them off campus using the UW Libraries proxy. Many academics also make papers available on their personal websites.

In one paragraph, summarize the findings of the research paper.
- What were the main points of this paper?
- Given the content of the paper, critique those main points. Do you believe them? What are their limitations?
In one paragraph, describe how the paper might apply to your project. For example:
- After reading this paper, is there anything you might wish you had done differently?
- Is there some insight from this paper that you might be able to apply in your design?
- If the paper discusses a design, is there something aspect of design you might improve upon?

If you wish, you can do this assignment in pairs from your project team. If you do so, please both submit and include both of your names in the submission.

Potential Readings

As noted above, you are encouraged to identify any research paper that you believe may be appropriate and helpful. You are also welcome to email the course staff to ask if we have any suggestions in the context of your specific project.

Generally useful readings in personal informatics include:

Generally useful readings for re-thinking personalized intelligences include:

A simple primer on challenges and misconceptions in machine learning is:

Domingos, 2012, A Few Useful Things to Know About Machine Learning

Submission

No more than one page of text in PDF format.

Submit via Canvas here:

https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1254716/assignments/4632979

Also submit a PDF of the research paper you read.

Submit via Canvas here:

https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1254716/assignments/4632982

Grading

This assignment will be graded on a scale of 10 points:

Main Points of Paper: 3 pts
Critiques and Limitations: 2 pts
Applying Insights to Project: 3 pts
Report Clarity and Presentation: 2 pts

Reading 3: Storyboarding and Video Prototyping

Due: Uploaded Monday, February 4, 2019.

Read these storyboarding resources:

Watch the video prototypes linked from the lecture on Storyboarding and Video Prototyping, noting the context in which they are linked as a comment on aspects of their effectiveness.

Lecture 8 - Storyboarding, Video Prototyping

Specifically, that is these videos:

Optionally, check out these additional storyboarding resources:

Optionally, check out these high-production "vision of the future" video prototypes:

The Starfire video prototype is notable for including a 'bug', where the system behaves in a manner counter to the person's wishes, but consistent with how we might expect such technology to work. For fun, see if you can spot this 'bug' in the video.

After viewing and considering these examples, think about what approaches were more or less effective.

In one paragraph, describe a technique you saw in these examples that you found highly effective (i.e., in either storyboarding or video prototyping, in the readings or the videos), which you might therefore want to apply in your storyboarding or video prototyping. Be specific, such that it is clear you considered the examples. Discuss why it was effective.
In one paragraph, describe a technique you saw that you found ineffective (i.e., in either storyboarding or video prototyping, in the readings or the videos), which you might therefore want to be mindful of in your storyboarding or video prototyping. Be specific, such that it is clear you considered the examples. Discuss why it was ineffective.

These examples thus support your reflection on how to effectively convey a design. Techniques in these and other examples will also directly apply as you prepare your storyboards and video prototypes.

Submission

No more than one page of text in PDF format.

Submit via Canvas here:

https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1254716/assignments/4633359

Grading

This assignment will be graded on a scale of 10 points:

State an Effective Method: 1 pt
Describe Why the Method Is Effective: 3 pts
State an Ineffective Method: 1 pt
Describe Why the Method is Ineffective: 3 pts
Report Clarity and Presentation: 2 points

Reading 4: Paper Prototyping and Usability Testing

Due: Uploaded Monday, February 11, 2019.

Read:

Optionally, check out these additionally paper prototyping resources:

After reading, consider how you might apply these techniques in your paper prototyping and usability testing.

Describe a specific idea or thought you might be able to apply in your paper prototyping and usability testing.
Describe why this idea is non-obvious or how it well help ensure good results for your paper prototyping and usability testing.
Describe what in the readings gave you this idea.

Your thoughts here should be specific. You are already required to do a paper prototype with usability testing, so that is obviously too high-level for this reading. Convey a specific idea that indicates you did the reading and thought about how to apply it in the context of your project.

This reading thus serves to get you thinking about these methods in the context of your project. What actual techniques your team applies will depend on your larger decisions as a team. This reading is not intended to require that your team later apply the ideas you individually develop here.

Submission

No more than one page of text in PDF format.

Submit via Canvas here:

https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1254716/assignments/4633361

Grading

This assignment will be graded on a scale of 10 points:

Describe a Specific Idea You Might Apply: 3 pts
Describe Why It Is Non-Obvious and/or How It Will Help: 4 pts
Describe What in the Reading Gave You the Idea: 1 pts
Report Clarity and Presentation: 2 points

Reading 5: Patterns

Due: Uploaded Friday, February 22, 2019.

Check out these design patterns:

van Duyne, Landay, Hong (2003). The Design of Sites: Patterns for Creating Winning Web Sites.

Consider how one of these patterns, or a pattern you find elsewhere, may be relevant in your project design.

Briefly, what pattern did you identify as relevant (e.g., by name and ID from Design of Sites, by URL to another pattern).
Describe why this pattern is relevant in your design.
Describe how you might incorporate the pattern in your design or adjust your design process based on perspective surfaced by the pattern. (e.g., describes with text what you might change, or consider providing before / after images).

If you wish, you can do this assignment in pairs from your project team. If you do, include both names in your document. Also ensure you both upload that document.

This reading thus uses your project as a context to have you engage with a set of patterns.