“Low-Fidelity User Interface and Usability Test Script for Goal-Directed Design”

QUESTION

Hello. So here’s the prompt/assignment. Prompt: Part 1

Create a low-fidelity version of your revised user interface and the usability test script. Use the test script included in the topic materials as a model to create your own. You may choose to draw your revised user interface and test script or use software to create it. (Please   draw it)

Part 2

Conduct a usability test of your revised user interface on at least one other person. Capture your results so that you may share them with the instructor and other students in the course.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Submit your assignment in a format that best suits your wireframe (Word doc, PowerPoint, scanned doc, photo of diagram, etc.). If you choose to upload a format other than a Word document or PowerPoint, please know you may only upload .jpg, .png, .bmp, .pdf or .gif file format. File size not to exceed 10 MB. Here are the steps to create a low-fidelity version of a revised user interface and generate a usability test script based on the provided essay:

                                        Essay:    Goal Directed Design

Kaarthik Chandrashaker

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University

PSY 582: Software

Dr. David DiBari

July 25, 2023

                                   Goal Directed Design

User interfaces (UIs) play a critical role in shaping users’ interactions with digital products and services (Cooper, Reimann, & Cronin, 2007). They serve as the gateway through which users access and interact with various functionalities and features. However, not all UIs effectively meet user needs, leading to frustration, inefficiency, and a poor user experience. In this paper, we will focus on a mobile banking application as a UI that could benefit from modification. We will explore how the concept of goal-directed design can be applied to enhance its usability and improve the overall user experience.

The mobile banking application presents several challenges that hinder users from efficiently achieving their financial goals. These challenges include complex navigation, unintuitive processes, and limited personalization options. Users often struggle to find the information or perform the tasks they need, resulting in a suboptimal experience. To address these issues, we will apply the principles of goal-directed design, which focuses on understanding user goals and aligning the design with those objectives.

The goal-directed design process begins with comprehensive user research, employing methods such as interviews, surveys, and usability testing to gain valuable insights into user behaviors, preferences, and pain points when using the existing mobile banking application (Bargas-Avila & Hornbæk, 2011). By conducting thorough research, we aim to obtain a comprehensive understanding of user needs, motivations, and challenges, which will serve as a foundation for subsequent design decisions.

Based on the research findings, we create detailed user personas that represent different user groups within the target audience (Cooper et al., 2007). Each persona embodies the characteristics, goals, and aspirations of typical users, allowing us to develop a nuanced understanding of their specific needs and tailor the UI to align with their objectives. Defining specific goals for each persona, such as checking account balances, transferring funds, or setting up recurring payments, ensures that the design focuses on addressing the key tasks and requirements of the user base.

Next, we review and enhance the information architecture of the mobile banking application. This step involves simplifying the navigation by organizing menu options, streamlining the overall structure, and prioritizing essential features (Nielsen, 1993). By ensuring that important functionalities are easily accessible and reducing the cognitive load on users, we create a seamless and intuitive navigation experience that enables users to find what they need quickly and efficiently.

Subsequently, we analyze the user flows for common tasks within the mobile banking application. The objective is to identify potential pain points or unnecessary steps that hinder users’ progress (Norman, 2013). Through this analysis, we streamline the user flows by removing redundant screens, minimizing user input requirements, and providing clear progress indicators. By optimizing the user pathways, we create intuitive and efficient interactions that align with users’ mental models and anticipated actions, reducing frustration and increasing task completion rates.

Improving the visual design and interaction elements of the UI is another crucial aspect of enhancing the user experience (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2019). We incorporate consistent visual cues, appropriate typography, and meaningful icons that align with established design principles. By ensuring a visually appealing and intuitive interface, we create a positive emotional response and facilitate users’ understanding of the application’s functionalities.

Additionally, we provide clear and timely feedback for user actions, such as button states and animations, which helps users develop a sense of control and understanding during their interactions. Contextual help and guidance are also incorporated where needed; ensuring users have access to relevant information to complete their tasks successfully.

In today’s digital landscape, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of users is crucial for creating engaging and user-friendly interfaces. Recognizing this, our modified user interface (UI) goes beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and incorporates extensive personalization options, empowering users to customize their experience according to their individual preferences and requirements.

One of the key features of our modified UI is dashboard customization. Users can personalize their dashboard by arranging and organizing elements based on their priorities and preferences. They have the flexibility to choose the information and widgets they want to see prominently, allowing them to have a quick and personalized overview of the relevant data and features that matter most to them. This level of customization enhances the user’s sense of ownership and control over the interface, enabling them to tailor it to their specific needs.

Additionally, our modified UI offers preferred transaction categories selection. Users have the ability to define and prioritize their preferred transaction categories based on their financial goals and priorities. This customization feature allows users to streamline their financial management process by focusing on the specific aspects that are most relevant to them. By aligning the interface with their individual preferences, users can navigate and interact with the system more efficiently, leading to a more satisfying and personalized user experience.

Personalized notifications are another integral part of our modified UI. Users can choose the types of notifications they wish to receive and the preferred frequency of those notifications. This level of customization ensures that users stay informed about the updates and events that are most important to them, while minimizing unnecessary distractions or information overload. By empowering users to personalize their notification settings, we respect their preferences and enhance their overall engagement with the interface.

The incorporation of extensive personalization options in our modified UI aligns with the principles outlined by Cooper et al. (2007). It recognizes the importance of user empowerment, sense of ownership, and control over their digital experience. By offering customization features such as dashboard customization, preferred transaction categories selection, and personalized notifications, we aim to create a user-centric interface that adapts to the unique needs and preferences of each individual user.

Through the ability to customize their dashboard, users can arrange and prioritize the information that is most relevant to them. They can choose the layout, display widgets, and determine the order in which information is presented. This level of customization allows users to create a personalized banking dashboard that aligns with their specific financial goals and priorities. For example, a user who frequently monitors their savings may choose to prominently display their savings account balance and a savings goal progress tracker on their dashboard.

Furthermore, the option to select preferred transaction categories empowers users to tailor their banking experience to their specific needs. Users can define and organize categories based on their spending habits, making it easier to track and analyze their transactions. For instance, a user who frequently travels may create a “Travel Expenses” category, allowing them to quickly filter and review their travel-related transactions.

Personalized notifications offer users timely and relevant information based on their individual preferences. Users can choose to receive alerts and notifications for specific events such as low balance, large transactions, upcoming bill payments, or account activity. This customization ensures that users stay informed about the aspects of their financial accounts that matter most to them, reducing the need for constant manual monitoring and enhancing their overall sense of control.

By providing these extensive customization features, our modified UI fosters a more engaging and satisfying experience for users. Users feel a stronger connection with the application as they can tailor it to their specific needs, preferences, and financial goals. This level of personalization enhances the overall user experience by empowering users to interact with the application in a way that aligns with their unique requirements.

Moreover, personalization promotes a sense of ownership and investment in the application. When users are able to configure the UI according to their preferences, they feel a greater sense of control over their digital banking experience. This increased sense of control can lead to improved engagement and a deeper connection with the application, as users perceive it as a tool that caters to their individual needs.

Throughout the design process, we conduct rigorous usability testing with representative users to validate and refine the modified UI (Bargas-Avila & Hornbæk, 2011). Usability testing involves observing and recording users’ interactions and feedback as they perform common tasks within the mobile banking application. This iterative testing phase aims to uncover any usability issues, gather user perspectives on the effectiveness of the modifications, and identify areas for further improvement. Based on the insights gained from usability testing, we refine the UI, address identified issues, and incorporate user feedback, ensuring that the design decisions are grounded in user needs and preferences.

In conclusion, the goal-directed design process for modifying the mobile banking application’s UI involves comprehensive user research, the creation of detailed user personas, enhancement of information architecture, streamlined user flows, improved visual design and interaction, extensive personalization and customization options, as well as rigorous usability testing and iterative design. By following this process, we aim to transform the application’s UI into a user-centered, intuitive, and efficient tool that provides an enhanced user experience for banking activities. Through the application of goal-directed design principles, we strive to address the challenges posed by the existing UI and create a mobile banking application that meets user needs and expectations, resulting in increased user satisfaction and engagement.

References

Bargas-Avila, J. A., & Hornbæk, K. (2011). Old wine in new bottles or novel challenges: A critical analysis of empirical studies of user experience. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 2689-2698). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221515404_Old_wine_in_new_bottles_or_novel_challenges_A_critical_analysis_of_empirical_studies_of_User_Experience

Cooper, A., Reimann, R., & Cronin, D. (2007). About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/About-Face-Essentials-Interaction-Design/dp/0470084111

Wiley. Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering. Academic Press. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/books/usability-engineering/

Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition. Basic Books. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654

Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H. (2019). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. Wiley. Retrieved from https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Interaction+Design:+Beyond+Human+Computer+Interaction,+5th+Edition-p-9781119547259