Assignment 1

Emlyn Kinzett – 3111246 106CR – Assignment 1

106CR – Designing for Usability Assignment 1

My chosen scenario for this assignment is Scenario 2: Whilst travelling by train between London and Edinburgh, Emily finds herself waiting for a connection in Coventry station. It turns out that the connection is not for another four hours. Emily doesn't know Coventry but would like to use those four hours to visit a local museum, have lunch and 'get a feel' for the city, yet there are no leaflets about local attractions in the station and Google Maps (on her phone) is full of paid advertising links. If you think about it, Emily is in a city of 250,000 experts but doesn't have access to all that expert knowledge. How might we help Emily to find the 'real Coventry' using local knowledge of what is worth visiting and where it is worth eating?

PACT AnalysisFirstly, I conducted a PACT analysis of the scenario to determine who would be the people involved in the activity, what the activity or activities would involve, what the context of use would be (the environment, how the system will be used, acceptability of the system), what the current technology is and what future technology could be used.

PeopleThe people involved in this activity, wanting to find local attractions and restaurants in Coventry, will be of all ages. They will mainly only be tourists, visiting the city to view it's war memorials and historic buildings. Despite the diverse age range (6-75 years), only those aged 16-75 will probably use the system to find the attractions. It cannot be expected of a 6 year old to find the Coventry Cathedral by themselves.

Because elderly persons will be using the system, it has to be suitable for them to use. Therefore, an advanced computerised system would not be suitable, as generally elderly people cannot operate these sort of devices. The system will have to be easy to use for all age ranges.

The tourists visiting Coventry are of all nationalities. I observed, however, that the majority of tourists are from Eastern Asia. But the tourists also consist of Europeans as well. Therefore, language will be an issue within the system. There will have to be a list of languages to choose from before using the system.

ActivitiesCurrently, the activities done by users to achieve their goals (finding and viewing local attractions or restaurants), is mainly done by using a map. The map may include some brief information about certain interest points, but not much. The process of looking at the map to find an attraction is not very interactive and can be frustrating. To eliminate this sort of repetition, a different technology could be used, like a downloaded application or a hand-held device.

A downloaded application or a hand-held device will make the information


gathering process more fun for the user. They could simply click or select the local attraction and the information about it will 'pop' up. If the device uses GPS to find the user's location, they can set a destination and receive voice directions to it. This will make the activity of finding the attraction more enjoyable and possibly less stressful.

Context of UseThe current environment, and the future environment, will be noisy, busy, but leisurely. Sometimes, the environment will be cramped, and with the current technology, it can be stressful to achieve the goal. The users will most likely be in Coventry city centre, exploring the local attractions.

Because of the busy nature of the environment, and possibly a time constraint, the system needs to be used efficiently. The user most likely doesn't want to be standing around trying to work out how to use the system. This brings me on to the next point; training. The current system, maps and signs, doesn't really require to much training, just the ability to read a map. The new system should also have this same characteristic, otherwise it will not be more efficient.

Current TechnologyThe technology used now to achieve the goals are maps, signs, brochures, books, etc. These are useful technologies in their own ways. They provide the information quickly on a certain attraction or place. However, the information provided may not be information required by the user.

A map, brochure or book can act as a souvenir after the user leaves the city. This is the advantage of the current technology.

The language is also a major problem. The majority, if not all, maps, signs and brochures are printed in English. A tourist from Eastern Europe may not be able to read or understand English, so would therefore find it difficult to achieve their goal. They would not be able to understand the information given to them by the maps or brochures.

At the moment, maps and brochures are most suited to the older tourists. This is due to the fact that they have most likely used this when visiting other tourist locations. The younger generation, 16-25, tend to use newer technologies for finding out information. I must take this into account when designing my system. It must not be too advanced for the older generation tourists to use, but it must be advanced enough to please the younger generation. I must find a balance to please the two generations.

Future TechnologyTo solve the problem Emily, and many other new tourists, experience, a phone application or a separate hand-held device could be created. A lot of tourists, mainly those from the older generation, may not possess a phone capable of downloading and installing applications. If the system were to be a phone application, it could not benefit this group of people.

A pre-built hand-held device could be developed and created to solve the


problem. This device could be purchased from the train station or bus station, or any other place of interest in the city. The hardware, the physical device, must be robust in case it is dropped. Touch-screen technology may not be the most suitable hardware for this device. Younger generation tourists would find it easy to operate, however the older tourists may find it more challenging. Therefore a hand-held device with arrows and buttons would be more suitable.

The device will use GPS to track the user's position within the city. This will be incorporated into the software, which will allow the user to select interest points which are near to their location. Upon selection of an attraction, information about that attraction will be displayed on their screen, with a back button to return to the map. On the information screen, the distance to the attraction will be displayed and directions can be obtained.

The user will also be able to search for a location within the city centre, either by using a search bar on the main screen or by sorting the attractions by type or distance.

This technology will help the user achieve their goal of finding local attractions by being able to provide directions and information about any attraction in the city. Of course, each attraction will have to be stored in a database.

This opens up doors to other opportunities. If a user cannot find an attraction using the device but can find one on a map, they could add the attraction to the database. However, this would require database management, to ensure any data added is valid and accurate. This would be costly and would take a lot of time.

But it would also open up doors to other cities. Instead of just being able to use the device in Coventry, it could be used to access information about attractions in Birmingham, for example. However, this would require a larger hard drive in the device, as it wouldn't have access to the internet. But this is another opportunity; allow Internet access so users can add attractions. With Internet access, they'd be able to update their accounts on social networking sites, etc. This would be more engaging for the user.


ObservationsI went to Coventry City centre and visited the train station (and the main bus station, Poole Meadow), to find any leaflets or guides to the attractions of Coventry. I didn't find very much in regards to local attractions.Below is a brochure/leaflet of the Coventry Transport Museum I picked up from the train station:

This particular brochure was amongst other brochures at the Customer Service desk at the train station:

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 1


I spoke to a couple of Chinese tourists at the train station (who did not want their picture to be taken). I introduced my idea of a GPS hand held device or a downloadable application for finding their way around the city centre of Coventry and asked their opinion on it. Their response was: “I like the idea of such a device. It would probably be less hassle than trying to look at a huge map in the middle of a crowded square. But brochures and maps are cheaper and possibly quicker for someone who wants to quickly visit a place.”

The tourists first statement about the map hassle has huge relevance to my design idea. The point of a hand-held device or a downloadable application is to limit the hassle of finding an attraction. With the device, there would be no need to fold or unfold a brochure or map, but instead interact with a device that can fit into one's hands.

I managed to get hold of a city centre map:

The above map isn't too large and is easily manageable, but it does not provide the user, the tourist, with information about any of the attractions. Therefore, for the the user to gain any information, they will have to obtain a leaflet or brochure from each attraction. With a hand-held device, all the information will be stored in one place, which can easily be accessed.

When at the train station, I observed that there weren't many leaflets or brochures about attractions within Coventry city centre. Instead, they mainly consisted of other attractions outside of Coventry, such as in Warwick, Birmingham and Kenilworth. I also noted that all of the leaflets, brochures and maps were only in English. This could cause issues with tourists who are not so strong with English as they may not be able to find their way to an attraction or understand the information they are provided with.

I then proceeded to take photographs of Coventry city centre, to show the environment in which the current system is used and what the new system will be used in:

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Picture 7 is of the Coventry Cathedral. Most of the time, there are people walking past to get to other parts of the city centre, so it can get quite busy. In this instance, using a smaller hand-held device to find another attraction or to find out information about the Cathedral would be easier than looking at a map or a brochure/leaflet.

Picture 8 is of a main street in the city centre. At the time this picture was taken, the weather was relatively windy. The wind would not effect a hand-held device as much as a map or leaflet. It would be far easier to read a map on the device than a paper map because it will not be 'flapping about'.

Unfortunately, I could not take any pictures of tourists performing the above-mentioned activities. This was simply because I could not find any tourists in the city centre.

Picture 7Picture 8

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Secondary ResearchI conducted some research into the scenario, to try and find existing solutions to the problem. I first just tried searching for solutions via Google, and I found an article referring to the City Navigator which is available in Amsterdam:“Amsterdam is the first city worldwide where a GPS based handheld navigational device can be rented by tourists. The City Navigator is easy to use and filled with 500 selected points of interest; tourist attractions, restaurants, bars, entertainment, museums, cultural hotspots etc., as well as various interesting pedestrian routes. The City Navigator helps its users to find their way effortlessly through the beautiful Dutch capital with turn-by-turn directions in all European languages. Strolling through town the users can see on the map which special places are in their direct vicinity. The City Navigator is for rent at various hotels. Prices from 16€/day.” [Ref1]

A picture of the City Navigator is below:

I found an academic journal called “Tourist Information Delivered Through Mobile Devices: Findings From the Image Project”. It puts forth information about the IMAGE Mobility Agent (Intelligent Mobility Agent for Complex Geographic Environments). The IMAGE Mobility Agent provides the following services, directly quoted from the academic journal [Ref3]:“

Personalised information services: based on the user's profile, these relate to transport and tourism [including positioning, routing, mapping, navigation, points of interest (POI) and tourist events];

Non-personalised (“guest”) information services: these relate to transport and tourism (routing, mapping, POIs, events);

Personalised “pushed” information services: these relate to transport and tourism (tourist events and POIs);

Sale of e-ticketing and on-line reservation products; Link to external “e-shops” (e-ticketing and online reservation products).

”From the descriptions above, I particularly like the idea of having a profile. However, that may only apply to those using the Internet to access the IMAGE Mobility Agent. However, if the Mobility Agent was implemented directly into a device instead, it would be far more appropriate for my design idea.

Further on in the 16-page journal, it goes on to talk about the idea of learning from an individual's use of the system, “thus allowing service delivery to be adapted intelligently to habitual behaviour, and for certain services to be

[Ref2]


pushed to the user if desired. For instance, if the user is a regular visitor to a particular restaurant, and the system knows he/she is in the vicinity of that restaurant (through the use of location-based services), it can automatically notify the user and point out information about that restaurant (such as offers, for example). In other words, the system learns from an individual’s use of the Mobility Agent.” [Ref3]This statement really grabbed my attention and it would be something I would include in my system. But it would be displayed in a different colour or style than other points of interest, so it is clear to the user.

The layout and interface of the IMAGE Mobility Agent is also of interest to me, as they are how I would interpret a device such as this:

However, I would not include a login screen in my system, unlike in the image above. This is because my system will not require Internet access to use.

This particular research has been useful in helping me with my designs. I was not completely certain of the layout of the device, but the above image has given me some ideas.

[Ref3]


Low Fidelity Visualisation/PrototypesAfter much thought, I decided to call my hand-held device PIGY – Places, Information, GPS, Yours.

In short, the device will provide the user with places to visit, information about every place, the use of GPS and most of all, it's theirs to keep after purchase.

I first drew the designs for my device, PIGY:

The first drawing shows the main screen. This will be the screen that the user will see upon turning on the device. The name of the device, PIGY, will be displayed at the top with the logo on the right. This will be on every screen. Underneath the header will be the search bar where the user can search for a point of interest. Underneath this will be their recent visits, with a link to the information about each one. Finally, the user can view all the attractions in the city.

The second drawing shows the screen the user will see when viewing an attraction from the main screen. As an example, I decided to display information for the Transport Museum. Underneath all the information will be a button to get directions to the attraction, view the attraction on the map or go back to the main screen.

The third drawing is of a map view with the directions to the Transport Museum. The distance will be displayed on the right, with an estimated travel time.


Because there are directions set, a button will be available to clear them. A back button will also be available at all times to return to the main screen.The fourth drawing shows information about the Nando's restaurant. Instead, this point of interest was clicked on from the map. So therefore the buttons are slightly different. Instead of a View on Map button, there will be a Back to Map button, as the attraction has already been selected on the map.

Finally, the last drawing is of the hardware. A 12.5x6x2 centimetre device, which will fit nicely into a pocket or handbag. The screen will not be a touch-screen, as described in the PACT analysis.

I then decided to use Photoshop to give my designs a bit more colour and realism:

Drawing 1 Drawing 2 Drawing 3 [Ref4]

Drawing 4 Drawing 5 [Ref4]


I used the same template for each drawing, so they were exactly the same, bar the content. The background of each screen is a very subtle gradient from dark grey to light grey. This is so the screens will be darker than the device itself, which is a sky blue.

At the top of each screen is the header, with the device's name (PIGY), and the device logo. Most buttons are blue with white text, so the user can easily distinguish them from normal text. However, the Go button for the search bar is black with yellow text. This is so the user knows it is related to the search bar and nothing else, as no other button is styled that way.

The content within each screen is also styled in a certain way. Headings are of a bigger font size, so it's easy for the user to see what they are looking at or reading about. The headings are of size 18px. Main content text is of size 10px, which is a good size to read. Subscript text, such as that in Drawing 1 and Drawing 5 are of size 8px.

Drawing 5 is of the hardware. I decided to colour it sky blue because of the city it will originate from, Coventry. Coventry's football team, Coventry City Football Club, plays in Sky Blue kits. Therefore, I thought it relevant to colour the device sky blue. This aspect adds a personal feeling to the device, making it feel like a souvenir.

The sky blue colour also adds a bit of fun into the device. Instead of it just being a normal GPS device, it is colourful and pleasant to look at, with the thought of making the user smile. Not only will the device make the user smile, but it will also be easy to use. All of the functions of the system are clearly shown. Not much thought will have to be put into using the PIGY device.

Text images are used on the map view to indicate where certain places are. For example, a ! will be used to indicate a point of interest (POI). A R will be used to indicate a restaurant. This particular letter will be a different colour if the restaurant has already been visited several times. Each letter will be encased in a circle with an arrow pointing towards the building or area.


FeedbackI asked a few people to look at my designs and give me feedback on them.

One male user who looked at them stated that they thought the designs were good and they could understand what the system is and how it would work. They also said that it would be better if images of the points of interest appeared on the map rather than just a ! sign.

I agreed with this user's suggestion. At the moment, the system will require the user to scroll over to a ! marker and select it before finding out what the POI is. If a small image were to appear above it, the map section would be more user-friendly.

Another user (female) particularly liked the blue buttons on the grey background, as it makes the user focus on them. She also found the writing/text easily readable. The shaded yellow search box was also a good feature, they said.

A point she did make about the map was that there is no legend or key explaining what the letters/icons mean. This could cause a bit of confusion with the user.

She also stated that the colour of the hardware itself is too bright and 'neon-like'. Because of the bright blue, it distracts the user from the system itself and isn't very appealing to the eye. She also stated that because of the bright colour, it will be targeted for theft more so than other, darker devices.

In response to this feedback, I will add a legend/key onto the map so the user can understand what the symbols/icons mean. This will help prevent any further confusion when using this feature. I will also consider changing the colour of the device, if other users were to mention it as a 'fault'.


References[Ref1] Hip Travel Guides (n.d) Handheld GPS for rent to tourists in Amsterdam [online] available from <http://www.hiptravelguides.com/modules.php?

name=News&file=article&id=341&site=1> [21 January 2011]

[Ref2] City Navigators (n.d) The City Navigator [online] available from <http://www.citynavigators.com/> [21 January 2011]

[Ref3] EDWARDS ET AL (2006) Tourist Information Delivered Through Mobile Devices: Findings From the Image Project [online] available from: <http://tourism.wu-wien.ac.at/Jitt/JITT_8_1_Edwards_et_al.pdf> [25 January 2011]

[Ref4] Google (2011) Blank Map Image [online] available from: <http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://thecarandtheelephant.com/chapters/resurgam/figs/Fig80.jpg&imgrefurl=http://thecarandtheelephant.com/chapter/resurgam&usg=__KpKdkPT3Bsxb8fUMd6qQMTvaxuc=&h=550&w=410&sz=53&hl=en&start=55&zoom=1&tbnid=vsdc1HmqLfu3QM:&tbnh=165&tbnw=123&ei=Km8_TaqaHpTw4Aap3cnDAg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblank%2Bstreet%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D653%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10,1667&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=510&vpy=204&dur=23&hovh=260&hovw=194&tx=103&ty=154&oei=7W4_TeXYMtD1sgbowfToBA&esq=24&page=4&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:55&biw=1366&bih=653> [25 January 2011]

Assignment 1

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Transcript of Assignment 1