Exploring Interaction Design
For this week’s sprint activity, we zoomed in our focus onto the Interaction part of the design process. We were introduced to Interaction design as the “practice of designing interactive environments, digital products, systems, and services”. Our activity for this week involved us making an interactive app that enables citizens to help environmental researchers collect useful data for their studies.
Introduction
We first began by familiarizing ourselves with things to include in an interactive app. We needed navigation-a way to move fluently between screens, a way to share textual and numeric/sensory data, motivation to keep users on using the app itself, and a wildcard for an extra functionality. We were also given the task to include public participation in scientific research for amateurs or non-scientists.
The Process
We began by brainstorming ideas on our given topic, Plant Health, and how non-scientists can share numeric/sensory and textual information about it. Like most design projects, we had to decide who our users will be, and possible things to collect data on. Collaborating with the class gave us ideas such as gardeners, hikers, or involved parents near a public area for users and things like data on specific plant species, invasive plants, or plants containing allergens.
Along with users and data, we had to decide how our app was going to flow well. We still had to consider how a user can input data and textual information, along with adding in motivation and wildcard features. The specific combination I had come up with for my app was the parents of children in a public area concerned for the well being of everyone in their neighborhood. Things they would collect data on would be harmful plants in their area to help others avoid them. This would include things like where the plant would be found, the level of danger (numeric) and added description (textual) which could be along the lines of which areas it could potentially be, whether near roads or a lake, or if they had an allergic reaction in some way. Motivations would include the well being of children and others who may have allergies and my wildcard was including a plant database to know what harmful plants may be in the area.
Reflection
Although I found the combination of plants and finding data about them to be quite formidable, it was still amusing to learn about what it takes for the interaction between a user and an app. I have always given myself credit for my artistic ability, but I learned to tone it down. Simplicity is all it takes when it comes to sketching an interaction flow chart that works well. Being able to collaborate as an entire class this time was also an eye-opener to how many ideas there actually are in comparison to what one person can think of. I feel this can be invaluable when thinking of an interaction. Scientists can now collect data through non-scientists. This great innovation and possibilities can help other fields of science, not just on plants, to further advance; and we can do so by make a relationship between technology and user that is efficient, flows well and is easily managed.