Mental Models, Microinteractions & More

A talk about interfaces, how people interpret them, and how we can improve them by focusing on small interactive details, or microinteractions.

Transcript

1. Mental Models Microinteractions & More Andrew Croce
2. Interface An abstraction of an engineered system, that exposes its functionality in an intuitive way For humans or machines
3. Mental Models Not complex An map (or picture, or story) Confirmed or contradicted
4. UI Features Macro A user story Multiple parts Multiple use cases Lengthy interactive life cycle Micro Implementation details Few parts One use case Short interactive life cycle
5. Microinteraction A microinteraction is a moment of connection with an interface’s smallest meaningful features, when a user is completing a simple task. Setting a preference Filling out a form field Responding to a notification Confirming a choice etc.
6. Mere Details? Interactive details teach us the rules of a system If trigger then feedback Builds our mental model
8. What have we learned?
9. Security "Password length and complexity matter" "Hacking is a concern" "This system has it covered"
10. Personality "Communication is important to this system" "It feels intelligent" "This system is friendly " But its still not a complete model
11. Who fills in the blanks? The user! When gaps are present in a mental model, users will tend to fill them in with human characteristics and expectations of behavior. Nobody cares how it really works!
12. Conversational language Human-like feedback can reinforce branding Human conversation is fluid Don't always be funny
13. Read Context Humans excel at inferring context from other humans Give a greater impression of intelligence and friendliness Adapt (really, don't always be funny!)
14. Make Assumptions Humans make them all the time Based on profile Based on environment Based on previous behavior Don't start from zero
15. Mental models are NOT engineering models Interfaces are abstractions Macro features: the user stories Micro features: the details Microinteractions: small, meaningful tasks Details help us build mental models Users fill in the blanks Take advantage of conversational language Read from context Make assumptions In Summary...
16. References Karen Tang, "Designing the Details: How Micro-Interactions Can Elevate Your UX", Abstractions Conference, 18 Aug 2016, Pittsburgh, PA Brad Fults, "Interfaces: Building Worlds & Feeling Great", Abstractions Conference, 18 Aug 2016, Pittsburgh, PA Greg Nicholas, "Conversational User Interfaces: Let Apps Speak for Themselves" Abstractions Conference, 20 Aug 2016, Pittsburgh, PA Dan Saffer, "Microinteractions", O'Reilly, 2014