Interaction Design

Traditionally, all the knobs, buttons, and displays that were used to operate a machine (whether real or simulated in software) were thought of as "the user interface." Indeed, that's true in a traditional universe of machines and static information; however, in the world of dynamic information, there is not a single interface. On the Web, every page is a different interface. The interface can be thought of as everything that goes into the user's immediate experience: what the user sees, hears, reads, and manipulates. The interface experience isn't just functionality, but readability, navigation, and (the black sheep of the family) advertising. In short, it encompasses all facets of someone's interaction.

Interaction Designers

Interaction designers control the immediate user experience. They determine how to navigate around the information architecture, arrange that users see what they need to see, and make certain that the right data are always presented in the clearest way, with the appropriate emphasis. Interaction design is different from information architecture in the same way that the design and placement of road signs is different from the process of laying out roads—information architects determine the best path through the terrain, whereas interaction designers place the signs and draw the maps.

Information Needs of Interaction Designers

Interaction design requires more specific, more narrowly focused information than that collected for information architecture. After the mental model and the target markets have been determined, the focus shifts to the specifics of interaction. Depending on the stage in the development process, the designer may need to know general information either about whether his or her designs are on the right track or about whether people can actually do what they're supposed to be able to do.

• Task flows are strings of actions that are necessary for something interesting to happen. Researching task flows include knowing in what order people look at the elements, what their expectations for the next step are, what kind of feedback they need, and whether the results are what they had anticipated.

• The predictability and consistency of interfaces is critical. Research determines how much predictability is enough for people to feel comfortable with the task flows and how much consistency is necessary for different task flows to feel familiar.

• The relationship between the features on a site and the emphasis of specific interface elements is likewise crucial; for example, whether a large illustration on the right of the screen takes attention away from core functionality on the left, or whether the repetition of a feature in different parts of the interface affects how often people use it.

• Different audiences. First-time users need different features and use them differently than experienced users. Teenagers understand terminology differently than 40-year-olds. If a product serves various target markets, it's important to know what those markets want and what they can use.

Useful Tools

Task analysis is the most useful tool for finding out what interaction sequences should be. It's also good for establishing the terminology and, to some extent, the emphasis of features.

Focus groups are by far the easiest way of determining people's priorities. They can gauge what the target market finds most valuable about a service, and they help determine the relationships people already make about the interactions of certain features (though they are not useful for figuring out how people actually behave or whether a system is usable). Focus groups are described in Chapter 9.

Task-based usability testing is often the most useful tool for getting information that is immediately applicable to interaction design. Although it's not the best tool for discovering what people want and how they want it, it's the best one for finding out whether they understand what's been created. Usability testing is also one of the most flexible of the techniques. It can be done at nearly every point of the development process and provides valuable insight throughout. Chapter 10 describes how to conduct and analyze a usability test.

Log analysis gives immediate hard numbers of where people go and how often. When the analysis includes clicktracks, it also says how they get there. Chapter 13 describes log analysis issues and techniques.

Note

Identity is a big part of the product's brand but is not the whole of the brand. Brands are incredibly powerful parts of the user experience and can color users' expectations to the point that all other factors virtually vanish. Unfortunately, there is much confusion, debate, and punditry surrounding what makes up and affects the product's brand. However, despite its importance, brand building and research is—to my honest relief—outside the scope of this book.