Intro

In a broad sense, an interactive technology is any technology intended to help people complete a task, achieve their goals.
Look and feel come second, what people need to do comes first.
“Design is not about how things look. Design is about how things work.” – Steve Jobs

Usability

“The user” dehumanizes your users, making them abstract, and slippery to get a hold of in terms of knowing what their goals are and how they will act.
Understanding that gives a first step to being able to conceptualize what the system should do.
Are realistic representations of skills and attitudes towards technology.
At their best when based on data and observation.
A robust cast of characters that can be drawn on during design meetings and activities.

The persona briefing captures different aspects of the user and collects them under broad categories.
- e.g. A day in the life • Work actvties • Household & leisure activities • Goals, fears & aspirations • Computer skills, knowledge & abilities • Market size & influence • Demographic attributes • Technology attributes • Technology attiudes • Communicating • Quotes

Scenario Based Design: Elaborate the design by writing scenarios (=stories) about the current domain and existing interactions.
Problem scenarios - Describes current practice.
Activity scenarios - Describes ideas of how to meet the users needs.
Claims Analysis: Examine features of existing practice looking for good and bad aspects.

There is a pervasive myth of the ‘dumb user’ in computing – that users are essentially incompetent knuckleheads who intentionally screw up the system.
In reality, almost always, it is dumb design – the system has been constructed in such a way that it not only doesn’t take the human into account.