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01-08-2013 | Long paper

Investigating designers’ and users’ cognitive representations of products to assist inclusive interaction design

Authors: Anna Mieczakowski, Patrick Langdon, P. John Clarkson

Published in: Universal Access in the Information Society | Issue 3/2013

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Abstract

There is strong evidence of the importance of good interaction design in the creation of intuitive-use products. However, there is also a strong indication, both in the literature and in the study with designers documented in this paper, that despite this evidence designers get little support in adequately representing, analysing and comparing design and user information. Since designers require a practical and relatively easy-to-use support tool that would enable them to better understand cognitive processes of users and evaluate the accessibility and usability of different product features, this paper proposes the Goals-Actions-Beliefs-Objects (GABO) modelling approach that can form the basis of such a tool for designers. The four distinct stages of the GABO approach are designed to assess and compare designers and users’ understanding and usage of everyday products. The evaluation results of the GABO approach with eight product designers have indicated that designers find it useful and effective in identifying the key similarities and differences in the understanding of designers and users.

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Title: Investigating designers’ and users’ cognitive representations of products to assist inclusive interaction design
Authors: Anna Mieczakowski
Patrick Langdon
P. John Clarkson
Publication date: 01-08-2013
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Universal Access in the Information Society / Issue 3/2013
Print ISSN: 1615-5289
Electronic ISSN: 1615-5297
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-012-0278-8

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