Tài liệu Working through Screens-100 Ideas for Envisioning Powerful, Engaging, and Productive User

Application Concepting Series

No. 1

A publication of

FLASHBULB INTERACTION, Inc

Also available in .html, “Idea Cards”

and 11’’X17” .pdf formats at

www.FlashbulbInteraction.com

100 ideas for envisioning

powerful, engaging,

and productive

user experiences

in knowledge work

By Jacob Burghardt

WORKING

THROUGH

SCREENS

This book is for my grandfather, William Wolfram, who

believed that the nature of work was changing into something

very different than what he had experienced at sea, in the

fields, and on assembly lines — and strongly encouraged

me to explore what it might mean.

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

2

WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

3 WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

The category of human efforts sometimes called “knowledge

work” is growing.

Knowledge workers are valued for their specialized intellectual

skills and their ability to act on and with complex information in

goal oriented ways.

In many contexts, the idea of knowledge work has become

almost synonymous with using a computer, to both positive and

negative effect.

Product teams creating computing tools for specialized workers

struggle to understand what is needed and to successfully

satisfy a myriad of constraints.

As a result of the design deficiencies in these interactive

products, people experience many frustrations in their working

lives.

Noticeable deficiencies, along with the ones that have invisibly

become the status quo, can lower the quality and quantity of

workers’ desired outputs.

With so many people in front of so many screens — attempting

to practice their chosen professions — these deficiencies have

real costs.

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

4

WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

I’m going to do some

of my normal work

so you can see what I

mean about this new

so�ware applica�on

that I am supposed

to use all day...

Well, there’s one big

thing that I really

don’t understand, but

I can get around it...

So I’m ge�ng started

on a normal work

item that I tackle all

the �me...

EXPERIENCED EFFORT

INTERACTIONS PERFORMED

SUBJECTIVE SATISFACTION

PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL

+

+ + + ++

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

5 WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Done. But I s�ll can’t

arrive at the quality

of work that I want,

no ma�er what...

Hmm, this part is just

too long and arduous

compared to how I

used to do this...

8:12 ELAPSED TIME

+ + + + + +

Boring Circuitous

Awkwardly dynamic

Hard

Inconsistent Distracting

Overly flexible

Mismatched

Replaceable

Needed

Typical

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

6

WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

+

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

7 WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Collectively, we have an infrastructural sense of what these

technologies can be that tends to limit our ability to imagine

better offerings.

Targeted improvements in the design of these tools can have

large impacts on workers’ experiences. Visionary design can

advance entire fields and industries.

At a basic level, applications can “fit” the working cultures that

they are designed for, rather than forcing unwanted changes in

established activities. They can augment rather than redefine.

When workers alter their culture to adopt a new computing tool,

it can be solely because that tool provides new meaning and

value in their practices.

Going further, elegantly designed applications can become a

joy to use, providing an empowering, connective sense of direct

action and a pleasing sensory environment for people to think

“within.”

Product teams can make significant progress toward these aims

by changing how they get started on designing their products

— by beginning with an emphasis on getting to the right design

strategy and design concepts long before getting to the right

design details.

It is time to start holistically envisioning exemplary new tools for

thought that target valuable intersections of work activity and

technological possibility.

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

8

WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Now I’ve got a new

applica�on for doing

the same work, and

let me show you how

much be�er it is by

comple�ng the same

task with this tool...

I s�ll run into confus￾ing spots and errors,

but it’s easier to get

around them...

I feel like I make

progress toward what

I want to accomplish

more quickly...

EXPERIENCED EFFORT

INTERACTIONS PERFORMED

SUBJECTIVE SATISFACTION

PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL

+ + + + + + + +

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

9 WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Overall, this new

tool feels like it just

belongs in how I

think about my own

ways of working...

And I get to a beer

conclusion faster,

which feels much

more empowering...

6:03 ELAPSED TIME

+ + + ++

Meaningful

Beautiful

Engaging

Irreplaceable

Eye opening

Mastery building

Clearly targeted

Domain grounded

Dependable activity infrastructure

Wanted

Extraordinary

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

10

WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Extensive concepting,

based on intensive

questioning,

driving visionary,

collaboratively

defined strategies

for exemplary tools

for thought.

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

11 WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Suggestions for product teams:

Deliberately spend more time envisioning, at a high

level, what your interactive application could be and

how it could become valued infrastructure in work

activities.

Do not assume that a compelling knowledge work tool

will arise solely from the iterative aggregation of many

discrete decisions during the long haul of a product

development process.

Create a divergent ecosystem of concepts for your

product’s big picture and primary experiences.

Examine the potential value of reusing expected design

conventions — while at the same time ideating potential

departures and differentiated offerings.

Explore a breadth of directions and strategies before

choosing a course.

Plan on staying true to the big ideas imbedded in the

concepts that your team selects, while knowing that

those ideas will evolve along the way to becoming a

reality.

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

12

WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Extensive concepting,

based on intensive

questioning,

driving visionary,

collaboratively

defined strategies

for exemplary tools

for thought.

FRONT MATTER | FRAMING THE PROBLEM

13 WORKING THROUGH SCREENS

Suggestions for product teams:

Ask more envisioning questions, both within your team

and within your targeted markets.

Develop empathy for knowledge workers by going into

the field to inform your notions of what your product

could become.

Stimulate conversations with this book and other

sources relevant to the topic of mediating knowledge

work with technology.

Find and explore situations that are analogous to the

work practices that your team is targeting.

Keep asking questions until you uncover driving factors

that resonate.

Create visual models of them.

Focus your team on these shared kernels of under￾standing and insight.

Lay the groundwork for inspiration.