Interaction design is about creating interventions in often complex situations
using technology of many kinds including PC software, the web and physical devices
Design involves:
achieving goals within constraints and trade-off between these
understanding the raw materials: computer and human
accepting limitations of humans and of design
The design process has several stages and is iterative and never complete.
Interaction starts with getting to know the users and their context:
finding out who they are and what they are like ... probably not like
you!
talking to them, watching them
Scenarios are rich design stories, which can be used and reused throughout
design:
they help us see what users will want to do
they give a step-by-step walkthrough of users' interactions: including
what they see, do and are thinking
Users need to find their way around a system; this involves:
helping users know where they are, where they have been and what they
can do next
creating overall structures that are easy to understand and fit the
users' needs
designing comprehensible screens and control panels
Complexity of design means we don't get it right first time:
so we need iteration and prototypes to try out and evaluate
but iteration can get trapped in local maxima, designs that have
no simple improvements, but are not good
