Applying Usability Concepts
Project Report
Executive Summary
Following our contextual design project, for the purposes of recruitment, we have prototyped the interview screens in the iPad application. More importantly, the mobility gained by the use of AnyBot amplifies the benefits of the application as a whole as well. We have attempted to use technologies and apply Norman’s concepts on usability to produce an interview session as close as possible to the natural way of interviewing another person.
Selected Focus Areas from project “Recruitment Tool – Intelliview”

We have selected the following 2 focus areas from our contextual design project to prototype for usability purposes:

Focus Area#1: Record Answers & Ratings (for a specific question)

1. (Interviewer) Select a question, and ask the candidate
2. (Candidate) Answer question using the AnyBot
3. (Interviewer) Enters a summary of the candidates answer in the iPad
4. (Interviewer) Enters a rating of the candidates answer in the iPad for the particular question
5. (Interviewer) Select next question from list, to ask the next question
6. (Interviewer) Select Add new question to record a colleague’s question

Focus Area#2: Add questions from colleagues

1. (Interviewer) Adds a new question one of the colleagues asked the candidate, driving the AnyBot to the iPad application
2. (Interviewer) Add answers and rating to the new question in the iPad application
3. (Interviewer) Select next question from list to ask the next question
4. (Interviewer) Select Add new question to record a colleague’s question Prototype #1

Figure 1 - Prototype #1, Focus Area #1: Record Answers & Ratings for a Specific Question

Figure 2 - Prototype #1, Focus Area #2: Add Questions From Colleagues
Assumption: The operation of this application relies on the availability and proper operation of the video and audio feeds to and from the AnyBot.
When a rating button is selected, the application highlights the rating selected and dims the other two.

Figure 3 - Prototype #1, Rating Buttons: Highlighted Rating (Other Dimmed)
The navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen map to the following actions:
“+” Button
Advance to next question
“-“ Button
Go back to previous question
“N” Button
Enter in a new question (see Figure 2)
“E” Button
End interview session

The “+” and “-” navigation buttons disable appropriately whenever there are no questions to advance or go back to, as shown below:

Figure 4 - Prototype #1, Navigation Buttons: Available Buttons for First Question (Previous Button Disabled)

Figure 5 - Prototype #1, Navigation Buttons: Available Buttons for Last Question (Next Button Disabled)
The video feed, the navigation and ratings buttons, and the notes field behave the same for both focus areas.
Flow of Events for Prototype #1, Focus Area #1
For this focus area, the flow of events map to the following actions on the prototype:
Step
Actor
Event in Focus Area
Action on the Prototype
1
Interviewer
Select a question, and ask the candidate
1. The interviewer sees the question in the top-right corner and reads the question to the candidate
2
Candidate
Answer question using the AnyBot
1. The interviewer listens to the candidates response from the audio/video feed
3
Interviewer
Enters a summary of the candidates answer in the iPad
1. The interviewer selects the “Add Notes” field
2. The application brings up a standard iPad touchscreen keyboard
3. The interviewer enters the notes into the field and then closes the dialog
4
Interviewer
Enters a rating of the candidates answer in the iPad for the particular question
1. The interviewer presses one of the rating buttons
2. The application highlights the selected button and dims the other two buttons
5
Interviewer
Select next question from list, to ask the next question
1. The interviewer presses the “+” button (if available)
6
Interviewer
Select Add new question to record a colleague’s question
1. The interviewer presses the “N” button
Analysis of Prototype #1, Focus Area #1
POPULATE
Analysis in the context of usability concepts
Affordance of the modern day’s computer keyboard was based on the typewriter, and designers of document processing
Designing for error: Norman emphasizes that humans do not execute all tasks after reasoning every single aspect of
Selective attention and focus: when I am trying to use the save-as feature to save a word document in a different format
Mental Model Clearly here, the mental model of a user and the design of the user interface will not find a common place to me
Seven states of action this proved to be a classic example of how a simple idea of consistently training the users on the sev
Flow of Events for Prototype #1, Focus Area #2
For this focus area, the flow of events map to the following actions on the prototype:
Step
Actor
Event in Focus Area
Action on the Prototype
1
Interviewer
Adds a new question one of the colleagues asked the candidate, driving the AnyBot to the iPad application
1. The interviewer clicks on the “Add Question” field
2. The application brings up a standard iPad touchscreen keyboard
3. The interviewer enters the question into the field and then closes the dialog
2
Interviewer
Add answers and rating to the new question in the iPad application
1. The interviewer selects the “Add Notes” field
2. The application brings up a standard iPad touchscreen keyboard
3. The interviewer enters the notes into the field and then closes the dialog
4. The interviewer presses one of the rating buttons
5. The application highlights the selected button and dims the other two buttons
3
Interviewer
Select next question from list to ask the next question
1. The interviewer presses the “+” button (if available)
4
Interviewer
Select Add new question to record a colleague’s question
1. The interviewer presses the “N” button
Analysis of Prototype #1, Focus Area #2
POPULATE
Analysis in the context of usability concepts
Affordance of the modern day’s computer keyboard was based on the typewriter, and designers of document processing
Designing for error: Norman emphasizes that humans do not execute all tasks after reasoning every single aspect of
Selective attention and focus: when I am trying to use the save-as feature to save a word document in a different format
Mental Model Clearly here, the mental model of a user and the design of the user interface will not find a common place to me
Seven states of action this proved to be a classic example of how a simple idea of consistently training the users on the sev

Prototype #2

Figure 6 - Prototype #2, Focus Area #1: Record Answers & Ratings for a Specific Question

Figure 7 - Prototype #2, Focus Area #2: Add Questions From Colleagues
When a rating is selected, the rating slider moves to the selected rating, so that the user knows what rating has been selected. Also, whenever there are no questions to advance or go back to, the “next” and “back” navigation buttons disable appropriately. Finally, the “+” button at the bottom of the screen adds a new question to the interview (see Figure 7). The navigation buttons, rating slider, and the notes field behave the same for both focus area.
The “Additional Question” field in the second focus area has a special button for recording the dialogue as opposed to entering in the text. We added this to eliminate lengthy delays during the interview process.
Flow of Events for Prototype #2, Focus Area #1
For this focus area, the flow of events map to the following actions on the prototype:
Step
Actor
Event in Focus Area
Action on the Prototype
1
Interviewer
Select a question, and ask the candidate
1. The interviewer sees the question at the top of the screen and reads the question to the candidate
2
Candidate
Answer question using the AnyBot
1. The interviewer listens to the candidates response from the Anybot feed
3
Interviewer
Enters a summary of the candidates answer in the iPad
1. The interviewer selects the “Add Notes” field
2. The application brings up a standard iPad touchscreen keyboard
3. The interviewer enters the notes into the field and then closes the dialog
4
Interviewer
Enters a rating of the candidates answer in the iPad for the particular question
1. The interviewer selects the ratings
2. The application moves the ratings slider to the selected rating
5
Interviewer
Select next question from list, to ask the next question
1. The interviewer presses the “next” button (if available)
6
Interviewer
Select Add new question to record a colleague’s question
1. The interviewer presses the “+” button
Analysis of Prototype #2, Focus Area #1
REFORMAT
The interviewer looks at this screen where the question is displayed and is a general way to record answers for questions posed to the candidates. The interviewer asks the question, and this screen pops up, and the interviewer tends to “hold” the slider bar, as the candidate is answering the question and then finally makes a final choice based on the quality of the answer, and when he/she enters the notes section, a key board appears for entering comments.
The previous and next buttons help with navigation between different questions, if need be. There is also an option to record the summary of the answers provided by the candidate. For this purpose, we foresee a training program for the interviewers where they are asked to summarize the candidate’s answer after each question, and have them record the summary of the response from within their application itself.
Analysis in the context of usability concepts
Affordance of the modern day’s mobile devices imply that any text input area will pop-up a virtual keyboard, so that is in line with a user’s expectation. At the same time, recording a conversation also will require a display of the time elapsed, that will indicate the amount of time elapsed. With mobile devices, real estate comes at a very high price, so the designer had to accommodate this by sacrificing some of the user’s expected behavior.
Designing for error: Norman emphasizes that humans do not execute all tasks after reasoning every single aspect of a task. The prototype here adheres to that pretty well, making the best use of the real-estate with as few tasks as possible, leaving the least sources of errors.
Selective attention and focus: When performing an interview, it’s really hard to switch between 2 different screens and with the AnyBot as well present in the room, not having video feed integrated forces the users of the system to have to switch between 2 machines at the same time. By nature, we are bound to have selective attention, and by and far, during the interview, the interviewer will be the most curious to look at the expressions on the interviewers face.
Mental Model the interviewer’s mental model analysis will indicate that there are too many things to observe record and make quick decisions on, during an interview. The fewer guesses an interviewer needs to do, the better the prototype fits the mental model. This prototype’s success to match an interviewer’s mental model of the application increases significantly high, for that reason.
Seven states of action so far we discussed the interaction part with the application, but the context here, is to select the right candidate for the person to work with in the future. This adds a lot of emotional and cultural factors as well into the mix. What this drives is the goal and how this goal gets shaped up through this process. For example, a great candidate may have answered the first 3 questions right, and may have appeared in the line as the 10th candidate after 9 very average candidates – which may drive the actions differently and may want quicker ways to get to the next question. Vice versa, when a candidate provides an average answer after 9 great candidates, now the interviewer wants to potentially skip performing many of the activities before. The prototype sacrifices some of these “quick links” to account for the seven stages of action.
Flow of Events for Prototype #2, Focus Area #2
For this focus area, the flow of events map to the following actions on the prototype:
Step
Actor
Event in Focus Area
Action on the Prototype
1
Interviewer
Adds a new question one of the colleagues asked the candidate, driving the AnyBot to the iPad application
1. The interviewer clicks on the recording icon in the “Additional Question” field
2. The colleague and/or interviewer ask or repeats the question for recording purposes
3. The interviewer clicks on the icon again to stop the recording.
2
Interviewer
Add answers and rating to the new question in the iPad application
1. The interviewer selects the “Add Notes” field
2. The application brings up a standard iPad touchscreen keyboard
3. The interviewer enters the notes into the field and then closes the dialog
4. The interviewer presses one of the rating buttons
5. The application highlights the selected button and dims the other two buttons
3
Interviewer
Select next question from list to ask the next question
1. The interviewer presses the “next” button (if available)
4
Interviewer
Select Add new question to record a colleague’s question
1. The interviewer presses the “+” button
Analysis of Prototype #2, Focus Area #2
POPULATE
Conclusion
POPULATE (NEEDED?) Appendix:
The Seven Stages of Action: Norman Lewis