Panel Report

One Bus Away and Interactive Design

Alan Borning introduced us to some important concepts in interactive design by walking us through the development period of OneBusAway. The first step of the process was identifying their users. OneBusAway was initially targeted towards the frequent, experienced bus riders. But later, the developers designed the UI to accommodate for a wider audience. They started looking at the product from a user perspective. For example, in one of their earlier interfaces, the developers realized that there was confusion as to what was a button and what wasn’t. Additionally, they used a signal icon that had an unclear meaning.

Nordstorm and Usability Testing

Laura Barboza discussed Nordstorm’s approach to using usability research to improve marketing and promotion strategies. The topic covered Nordstorm’s “Early Access” campaign and how her team researched customer’s reactions and interpretations of their website. She mentioned that some features worked well (highlighting important content) but other areas of the website was confusing (the difference between the sale tab vs. anniversary tab). I think how they processed the feedback is important. She mentioned that the way she presented the feedback back to the designers was in a critiquing manner. She would sandwich the feedback, good comments, bad comments, and then good comments.

Application

The One Bus Away case-scenario led me to see the importance of recognizing the limitations of a project and finding a work around. It also showed me how crucial it is to optimize interfaces for the designed user. In my prototype sprint, I need to work on this aspect of the design. I believe I didn’t have a clear understanding of the intended user because the demographic was too large. And I think were a few items in my design that led to confusion, such as the back button.
The Nordstorm case-scenario brought to my attention how to conduct a professional usability research and how to respond to feedback. Laura highlighted key questions such as, “Do customers know how to navigate?” or “How well does the call to action perform?” I believe I can implement this mindset in my own projects. Her approach to usability testing is very purposeful and meaningful; she has very specific questions that need to be answered.