6 - Trevor Corradin

My redesigning of YouTube focused on the sidebar of YouTube featuring "Best of YouTube" options. The menu options were not consistent for users that were logged in vs users that were not logged in. This made operation of the site and these features confusing for some people that want to use features of their account on the site, but also access the best of menu. The mental model for this feature would keep menus in the same locations so that users can always find them, and also find new places for additional features involved in user accounts.
This would contrast with the implementation model because these aspects of the site are directly related to the experience of the user, not the programmer. The parts of this for the programmer would probably be relatively simple for them to differentiate, but for the user it becomes difficult to use.

6 - Jake Van Schouwen

My partner and I focused our Project 3 around the 'Watch Later' option.  The mental model of our for our redesign was based around the 'Favorite' button on Twitter.  We believe that by providing the user with a button that had the exact same function has one with which they are most likely already familiar, we would create a more efficient way to save videos for later.

In contrast to the mental model, the implementation model would focus on the programming aspect of the button making sure there would be no bugs or glitches in the code before it went live.

6 - Ying Yu Hong

         In the new design, our team changed the old method of entering keywords to search into showing users categorized options that they can click to narrow down the search results. It makes searching videos more convenient and users can get the results without entering an accurate description. In user's mental model, the new design makes them just need to type in one keyword, and YouTube will automatically provide various categories for them to choose.  In their understanding, clicking icons are easier to use than entering keyword. However, the implementation model of the programmers requires programmers to build up the wireframe and write codes that can match related terms for a keyword.

6 - Hayden Mills

For the YouTube redesign me and my partner focused on the YouTube comment section. The users mental model, what they believe is true, for the YouTube comment section is that you can leave a comment on the video you just watched. Just like many other comment sections from other various popular websites, YouTube's comment section is pretty basic in its layout and functionality. With the redesign we did on the comment section we wanted to add an anonymous way for users to comment on a video. With our redesign we hope to design it in a way that still let users feel comfortable using the comment section. 

This mental model contrasts with the implementation model of the programmers by allowing users to feel in control. Our design had no intrusive or confusing wording which can make users feel lost. The implementation model of the programmers typically is a design that helps the programmers find bugs in their code while a mental model design is one in which the user feels comfortable and in control of the application. 

 

6 - Baiyan Zhang

In our project 3 design, our team change the display of the searching result. We integrate all the episode of the TV shows and display them in a more official way. Before we do this change, YouTube would not show the set of the TV shows at the first position. Our user's mental model would be that if they want to search any episode of a TV show, the first position must be its official channel and they can find all the episodes they want. They have no need to find the video from clips or ads and have no need to find the official channal in too many steps.

This mental model contrasts with the implementation model because when they are searching the TV shows, what most users want to see is not those ads but those episodes or certain clips. They can get what they want directly and efficiently. However, the implementation model is basically let the programmers use ads to draw users' attention and make profits, but not design from users' side.

6- Emily Gries

For project 3, my partner and I redesigned the mobile application. We focused on adding push notifications to the app.

A mental model is what we think is true based on our previous experiences and knowledge. It is based on a general functionality and understanding. A user’s mental model of this could be the user clicking an on/off button to provide notifications.

The implementation model is based on the underlying, programming details of an application. This means that the implementation model of this would not focus on functionality or the user, but rather the code within the settings that involve all of the types of notifications.

6 - Jon Burris

For Project 3, my group redesigned the side panel where you can find subscriptions, "What to Watch", etc. A users mental model to our redesign, if they are signed in, is obvious. It allows the users to immediately go to a "Popular" on YouTube page. This is assumed that many daily YouTube users enjoy seeing new up and coming viral videos. The implementation model is our idea that this is the first thing we would do in the use of this design, before we do anything else on YouTube. A users mental model would most likely be to surf YouTube on your own terms before he or she checks out the "Popular" page. The contrast here is we had the design on our mind, while users don't and that is why they would assume their business as usual on YouTube.

6 - Nicholas Barker

For my youtube project, I redesigned the layout for videos posted by the channels you are subscribed to, allowing you to filter the videos based on the most viewed recently.

A user's mental model of using youtube subscription is to browse through videos from channels they find interesting and informative, but if you are subscribed to a lot of channels, this can quickly be clustered with multiple videos. In my redesign, the mental model then shifts to be able to quickly and easily find the most important events or videos that have recently happened.

The mental model might contrast with the implementation model if the a user is not subscribed to very many channels, leaving it only something that can benefit those active users of youtube.

6- Adam Johnson

In our team's redesign of YouTube, I feel the mental model is fairly obvious.  After our initial concept and sketch was tested by a user, they brought to our attention a problem (can't slide between YouTube and iTunes audio player).  Therefore, we took our initial redesign, along with the new knowledge we obtained from the user's comments, and implemented another feature (added the swipe ability) we felt necessary.  This was her thoughts, or mentality when using her design and a feature that would make her "feel good and competent" as Hoekman suggests (we just happened to agree with it being correct as well).  This in it's totality is the mental model of our redesign.  I feel this mental model contrasts the programmer's model in that the user provided nothing besides an idea, or a thought.  We took that thought, agreed with it, and would then proceed to write up some pseudo-code to pass onto an actual programmer to code and make it "come to life".  The implementation model would entail things such as specific details (as in utilization of if/then statements versus while statements or which language to write the new feature in, etc.). 

6 - Kate L'Heureux

For project 3 our redesign revolved around locating and using the inbox on YouTube. The mental model of the YouTube inbox would encompass many features users are already familiar with if they use computers. Users may not know why YouTube has an inbox, and what type of information that inbox would hold; but as far as the features the inbox is composed of users would understand how to use it and what it is. Features like reply, trash, and compose a new email are just a few of many features that pull on users mental models to complete the task.

This mental model might contrast with the implementation model if terminology and steps were included that tended to favor the developer over the user. This would make it hard to understand not only what the YouTube inbox does, but also how to even go about using it. In YouTube's current location of the inbox, one might consider it as an implementation model because in order to locate the inbox one must sieve through a number of tabs and drop down menus first. The organization system is not very user friendly and does not pull on mental models of technology.

6 -Yousef Saead

For Project 3, my team has focused on a completely new feature that was not part of YouTube's app. We focused on how the user would want this feature to be if it was on the app. The feature is to watch/listen to videos from YouTube while your phone is locked.
The user's mental model is an implementation of both swiping and/or a simple button that allows your music to play in the background. The programming implementation  model wouldn't look the same as the mental model because it is easier to program what programmers already know. Lerning how to do new things that are required by the designers are a hassle, thus the design I assume would be more simplified.

6 - Nicholas Fields

For Project #3 I redesigned YouTube's mobile application.  I focused on redesigning the opening or home screen and the way users browse through videos. 

A user's mental model of browsing through videos involves the use of the spread-gesture for expanding/viewing videos.  It also utilizes the swipe gesture for exiting various screens like the description of movies and the video player screen.  Another aspect of the mental model that can be utilized in the video browsing screen is thumbnail images of videos so that users can quickly browse through the chosen category without having to see every video 'full-screen' in size.  The thumbnails can then be expanded via a spread gesture and a description is only shown if a user clicks on the image, aka asks for more details on a particular video clip. 

The implementation model is constrained because it shows a full-size image of each video when a user is browsing which makes it cumbersome to sift through many videos and inefficient.  Another aspect of implementation model that shows is that it provides the user with too many menu options when they click the options tab in the upper-right corner.  If a user has chosen a category to sift through they do not need every option that was presently available on the opening screen. 

Week 06 Blog Assignment

For this week, we turn to Chapter 5, "Support the User's Mental Models."

As you think about your work on project #3, what is the user's mental model with respect to the feature in YouTube you are redesigning / designing? 

How might this mental model contrast with the implementation model of the programmers? (Don't get too involved with this one.) 

A short answer (a few sentences) for each question should suffice. (Obviously you can read the answers of other people and paraphrase what they wrote, but that doesn't help your understanding very much. TRY to answer these questions before looking at the responses of your peers.)

Also, since I'm posting this late, your answer won't be due until Wednesday evening at 11:59 PM (after the exam).

5 - Donald MacLeod

In thinking about dropping a unnecessary feature from Project 3, I decided to contemplate removing the counter timer for the time remaining in an advertisement. The inclusion of many timers in a YouTube - video timer, time until skip, and the advertisement time - made me wonder if this is really a necessary feature because the multitude of timers is borderline too much information for someone who wants to casually browse YouTube. To test this thought I performed the "unnecessary test".

Is there more than one way to complete the task this feature supports?  No, the timer is the only way a user can ascertain the time remaining in a full length advertisement.  Does this feature contribute directly to the completion of the task?  No, because the video can still be viewed without knowing the advertisement length.  Is the task this feature supports vital to the activity this application supports? No, the video can still be played without the timer.

Since users cannot change the play of advertisements anyways, the timer of the ad playing is of no functional use.  The entire site and video playing features would work exactly the same without it.  While the time to skip is still an important feature, the total time of the advertisement is not.  Clutter could be reduced by removing this feature, possibly enhancing overall the design at the expense of some functionality.  

5 - Yousef Saead

I would get rid of the "Recommended Channels" on the right side of the page. Yes, it is a nice to have feature when signed in but it not only takes up too much space but also clutters the whole theme of the website.

I ran the Unnecessary Test on this feature and 1) Yes, there is another way to find recommended pages. It is under subscriptions. 2) No this feature does not contribute to the completion of the task and 3) This task is not vital to the activity of this application. To be clear, the activity of this application is to surf and upload videos.

5- Emily Gries

This blog was difficult to think about for me, because the idea that my partner and I had is not essential to the application. Our idea was to improve the mobile I-Phone application and add push notifications for more avid users. However, using the unnecessary test, I have come to realize that this is merely just a nice accessory and would not help the users improve their usability with the application. It would just be a nice extra, but rather something for a small group of users. It does not contribute directly to the completion to the task at hand and is not vital; going against the last two bullet points of questions for this method. Our project was great in the fact that it would be a great and cool improvement, but it is not necessary and would not pass the 60 second test either, as it would be one of the first things to be cut.

5 - Trevor Corradin

It is fairly obvious that YouTube has a very cluttered homepage. Most of the features provided to users on the homepage are not used, and many even find them annoying. If we used the "Aim Low" method, we could focus on the major parts of the site that are actually used, such as the search feature and related videos feature, instead of focusing on "recommended" videos and "best of" categories. The search and related videos features are used with a much higher frequency than other features of the site, so they should have more time focused on them so that the site will work better with all users, not just some. This also applies to my redesign of the YouTube site in project 3. I focused on a way to better incorporate the "best of" features, whereas the "Aim Low" method would suggest eliminating it all together because it is not a popular feature to most users.

4- Emily Gries

In a lot of cases regarding technology, it is not about the user being right or wrong. It is all about the way their mind works and how easy the application or technology is. Due to the fact that a lot of users have all sorts of different issues with applications and technology, it is important to see the trends of the big usability issues that a majority of people have. This does not make the user or the creator right or wrong, it just means they have looked at different aspects and decided to create it based on a certain way. I think that Hoekman’s larger focus with the idea of  “user-centered” is to decrease this gap of user and developers. An idea that goes off of this is personas. Sometimes the personas can get specific to one type of user, therefore catering to those types of users and not the rest, who may have different issues with using the technology. The more input and personas used to design, the more people will be satisfied and able to understand the application. This is what “user-centered” is all about; attempting to catering to as many usability flaws as possible in order to create the most sufficient product.

                An aspect of situation-centered design that project two was focused on is self-design. In project two, we focused on the usability of gym equipment. What we could have done, and partly did do, is focus on different types of users and what would be easier for other people. That is why we tested other people besides ourselves; because we know what types of issues that we have with using those machines and not what other types of people use. When making something for one’s self, It’s easy to design things solely for them and not taking into consideration what usability issues other types of people would have. We probably should have tested more people (of all types) and came up with different personas.

5-Ying Yu Hong

In the old YouTube design, users have to think of and type in keywords to look for a video, which is inconvenient and they may not get the result they want if they didn't enter an accurate description. While in my new design, after users type in words, YouTube will give some advanced suggestions in pictures. Users only need to browse the pictures and click on the categories to narrow down the search results. It is a useful technique to improves the user experience of searching videos and helps users choose a video easier and can meet their needs and wants effectively as well.

In the Third law of usability, Kurg suggested a good design should "Get rid of half the words in each page, then get rid of half of what's left." This is important to keep a design layout clean and get rid of the unnecessary features for simplicity. Therefore, I think I should keep the front page simple and reduce the words because pictures are explicit enough.

5 - Baiyan Zhang

Before I read the the "Drop Nice-to-Have Features" part in book, I thought the design should be perfectly and have enough features for users. However, after I readd book, I know that some designs are useless and repeated.

In the project 3 design, we added the link to the official website of the TV show. I think I could have dropped this feature. According to the unnecessary test, I found if the users could watch what they want at YouTube, they have no need to go to other websites. If the users want to know the information about the TV show, they might go to google them or go to their official website directly. That feature would distract user's attention and it is not necessary. Therefore, I think this feature might be a good choice to be dropped.

5- Grant Pendrey

YouTube has so much clutter on the front page. There are so many features on the page that most of the features should be hidden or removed. Using the Aim Low method, it is almost impossible to argue to keep all the features on the front page, specifically the "recommended" videos feature. First of all, there are a large group of followers that dislike the feature, as there are many articles, blogs and post complaining about the feature. It is also rarely used because most users visit the front page and immediately search because they already had a video in mind they wanted to see.

This feature could be useful for some users but it is not essential for the functionality of the website. As well this feature creates a lot of clutter on the front page only further explaining a redesign is needed.

5 - Jon Burris

After looking at our teams design, I decided to take "The Unnecessary Test" approach to our final design. Our redesign to YouTube was the side panel when you are signed in.

Here's our sketch:

Using "The Unnecessary Test" technique step by step has allowed me to identify a feature that was not needed in our redesign. As you can see, when the "My Popular" is clicked on there is a drop-down menu. When "My Popular" is prompted, the user is able to see all of their selected tabs on this homepage also which makes the drop-down menu irrelevant. ThereforeI have come to realize that this feature is a "nice to have" feature and is not needed for the overall function of YouTube's side panel. 

Unrelated... again - Jake Van Schouwen

Hey everyone,

I had to leave quickly today after class so missed out on the meet & greet (darn).  I'm sure there will be another on Wednesday but if you want to work together on project 4, just email me!

jvanscho@indiana.edu

Thanks
Jake

5- Adam Johnson

A key sentence that I found very useful when it comes to designing the obvious was "..Take whatever you think your product should be and cut it in half.." (Getting Real). After reading this chapter, I am still pleased with our team's Project 3.  Of course, no design is perfect and there is a feature I would now delete.  Our design (mobile iOS devices only) was to enable YouTube videos/songs to continue playing when the application is closed, and at the same time can be accessed through the iOS controls when you swipe up, including another swipe to the right to switch from iTunes player and the YouTube controls we added. I did The 60-Second Deadline to our design.  I found that I could not add in the swiping to the right from iTunes music to our YouTube controls in 60 seconds.  This tells me that it is a "nice to have" feature and not an "essential" one.  I also found that i did not aim low enough, since it would be just as quick as to open the YouTube application and restarting/replaying songs or videos than it would be to swipe up then swipe right like our design.

In conclusion, our design did cove the necessary features our design needed, but had another feature that was unnecessary.  I found that these techniques relates to the "whole game" because we were too focused on all the rules that would almost never come into play, instead of learning or designing the basics and essentials.

5 - Kristi Starling

For project 3, my partner and I made a very simple change to YouTube, with the goal being an obvious design without bells and whistles.  Any design, however, always has room for improvement.  I chose to use the Unnecessary Test to evaluate what features would be best removed from our design.

The Unnecessary Test involves asking three questions regarding each feature of the design:  Is there more than one way to complete the task this feature supports?  Does this feature contribute directly to the completion of the task? Is the task this feature supports vital to the activity this application supports?  A "no" to any of these questions means a feature could be unnecessary.

Here's a look at our design:

The idea is that the user can save videos to "My Videos" then go to the page shown above to view them and organize them into playlists.  Three different tabs appear at the top to view all videos, view recently added videos, and view and manage playlists.  In light of the Unnecessary Test, however, I realized that perhaps the "Recently Added" tab is a feature we don't really need.  The idea was that videos would appear in the "All Videos" tab in reverse order that they were added (i.e. with the most recently added appearing first), so there is no real reason to also have a "Recently Added" tab.  Accessing recently added videos can be accomplished just as easily through the "All Videos" tab, and thus the "Recently Added" tab fails the first question of the Unnecessary Test.

5 - Hayden Mills

The technique that I would use from the chapter five reading is the "60-Second Deadline". The "60-Second Deadline" technique is where you write down all the features of your design and then cross-out as many unnecessary features as you can in 60 seconds. This technique forces you to quickly determine what your essential and non-essential features are for your design. By applying this technique the goal is to slim down and simplify your design. Hopefully when finished you have only the sole essential features of your design left in which you can concentrate on to make the best design possible.

Thinking about the redesign me and my partner did for the third project I can think of one necessary feature that we could do without. We chose to redesign the comment section of YouTube and make it possible for users to comment anonymously on YouTube videos. On one of our two redesigns we added a feature that would allow users to private message other users that had commented on the same video. This feature was a nice add-on but it was not entirely accomplishing the main goal of our original plans for the comment section redesign. In this instance the private message function was unnecessary and just a "bells and whistles" kind of feature. The private message feature would be the feature that we would remove in hopes of simplifying our design and better concentrating on our main goal for our YouTube comment section redesign.

Above image of the YouTube comment section redesign. To the left of the comment section you can see the "Private Message" button I talked about in my post.

5 - Nicholas Fields

One of the techniques described in this section for dropping 'nice-to-have' features is called, "The Unnecessary Test."  The Unnecessary Test involves examining a feature that you believe is important to have for the application.  The test involves asking a string of three questions.  First, is there more than one way to complete the task this feature supports?  Second, does this feature contribute directly to the completion of the task?  Lastly, is the task this feature supports vital to the activity this application supports?  Answering no to any of these questions means that the feature you are examining may be unnecessary and you should consider dropping that feature. 

Using this test, I determined that I could have dropped the 'Profile' icon from the top taskbar in my application.  This icon appeared in the top taskbar on my 'Home' screen and 'Video Browser' screen.  The Unnecessary Test revealed that there is more than one way to complete the task that this feature supports since the 'Home' screen has a thumbnail icon of the 'Profile' page; therefore, there was no reason to have an icon in the top taskbar for the same thing too.  Also, this feature did not necessarily contribute directly to the completion of the task either.  Therefore, this feature would be a great candidate to be dropped. 

5 - Kate L'Heureux

During project three with my partner, we decided to focus on the location of YouTube's inbox on an internet browser. The inbox was originally hidden somewhere that took at least 4 clicks to reveal. Our redesign revolved around taking the inbox from its current location and placing it on the user's account drop down menu and the Google + notification tab that looks like a bell. 

However, after reading Hoekman's section in chapter four, "Drop Nice-to-Have Features" I would definitely consider dropping the second link to the inbox located on the notifications tab. By adding the second link, it provides unnecessary clutter on the notifications tab. Also after considering the location of these two links, it really doesn't make sense to put them both in the same area, as it only takes up more space. While having a second link in the notifications tab helping the users infer as to what the inbox actually holds, I think this could be deemed "nice-to-have" in the end. 

After performing the 60-second Deadline test, I came to the same conclusion about our redesign. 

5 - Jake Van Schouwen

To be honest, I have no idea what feature I would drop from my partner and my redesign. We had such a simple addition to YouTube that if any part of the redesign was missing, it would forfeit the redesign's wholesome feeling.

But if I had to remove something it would be the recommended videos side bar on the individuals page.  My reasoning is that the page is for videos that the user has explicitly "said" to YouTube that they enjoy.  Therefore, the recommended videos side bar might feel a bit intrusive. 

The technique used here would be to Aim Low.  By Aiming Low, we would put a focus on provided the user with a space for the users videos.  Putting a recommended videos side bar would be a feature that really just does not need to be there. 

Week 05 Blog Assignment

First, let me say that most of you responded with insight to Week 4's blog assignment. I appreciate that you took the assignment seriously! Well done!

For this week, we turn to Chapter 4: "Build Only What is Absolutely Necessary."

Starting with the section (p. 88), "Drop Nice-To-Have Features," various techniques are described to help you eliminate unnecessary features. It's difficult to "let go" of a feature that you've already designed, but smart designers do this frequently.

As you think about the revision to your project 3 design (YouTube), use one of the techniques described in the book and explain what feature(s) you would be willing to drop and why. (You don't need to do this for project 3, but use this prompt as a way to describe what you could have done.)

By the way, where do these techniques come into play in your "whole game of HCI Design" drawing? You don't need to answer this, but minimally think about it.

4 - Hayden Mills

I believe that the user is not always correct. In many situations the user could be completely off the mark and wrong about what your design needs or doesn’t need. The important idea to consider from the third chapter of the book is if the tests and feedback you are receiving from different users is critical to the main goal of your end design/product then you should be weary of changing or adding the features recommended by the users. For example, if you are creating a new application in the hopes of making it easier for people to send email, then that should be your main concern with design changes and additions. If the user says that they want you to add or remove something that drifts away from your main goal of the product then you should thank them for the feedback but still be concentrated on what you are trying to accomplish overall. Many of times companies get distracted by creating new features just for the simple fact of creating new features.  Instead they should be concentrating on how they can better enhance their main product and its design.

Hoekman advocates for a larger user centered focus when he warns that in some instances we give to much credit to the individual and the personality of that individual and we fail to realize the situation in which they are coming from overall. This situation-centric approach speaks volumes to the design process and how we should consider user feedback. Different users experience different problems with your design because people may have different reasons for using the product and come from different experience levels and backgrounds. All people are different and that is a good thing. The challenge designers have is to create designs and products in which the end design can help everyone even when they are different and come from different levels of experience. 

Without a doubt I believe shadowing more users would’ve allowed our team to better understand the problems with the elliptical interface and how we could better improve it. We based all our new design features off our one user test and our personal experiences which weren’t all that bad. It would still not hurt to have tested a few more people to get a better understanding of the real problems with the old design.