ActionSketch: sketching technique formulated for interaction design

Author(s)

Gil Garcia de Barros

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU/SBI)
• Defense date: 2013-03-20

Examining board members

Carlos Roberto Zibel Costa; Priscila Lena Farias; Artur Simões Rozestraten; Robson Luis Gomes dos Santos; Caio Adorno Vassão

• Advisor: Carlos Roberto Zibel Costa

Abstract

Interaction design is a relatively new discipline which can be understood as the design of the subjective and qualitative aspects of everything that is both digital and interactive. Sketching is a common practice in design and consists of freehand drawings made on paper to test alternatives and communicate them to other professionals. Interaction design brings new challenges to the practice of sketches, because of the need to represent the interaction as well as the visual layout of the interface. A survey of current practices shows significant limitations and that the subject is still little explored. Therefore the aim of this work was to improve sketching in interaction design, with four lines of action: to analyze the specifics of practice in interaction design sketches to understand the opportunities for improvement; to develop a technique, called ActionSketch, to try to take advantage of these opportunities; to verify if ActionSketch improves the process of sketching in interaction design; to analyze the use of the technique to try to identify how it helps or hinders the process. To achieve these objectives, we adopted the following plan of action. We conducted an extensive literature review. We developed proposals of the technique and refined them through iterations of exercises and interviews with professionals. We then presented ActionSketch in workshops for groups of professionals, from where we collected the results. The version of the technique used in this work (v0.8) consists of four parts: frames, colors, symbols and rules. Frames are a way to deal with the question of representing time, the colors try to evidence the user and system actions, symbols are notations to improve the speed of drawing and rules are good practices that guide the use of the technique. This version was presented to 24 professionals in four workshops, followed by a period of continuous use of 18 days on average and closed with individual interviews to gather feedback. To achieve our objective data analysis was done on two levels: a more pragmatic level, to assess the adequacy of the technique in practical application, and another more conceptual level, where we investigate the more general aspects of the practice of sketches, with focus on interaction design. Briefly the results obtained indicate that ActionSketch: assists the cognitive process; facilitates communication when at least one designer knows the technique; may be modified or partially applied; has a smooth learning curve, which can evolve in a modular way; is particularly adequate for details of the interaction. In practical terms the technique seemed adequate enough for use and indicated some points for improvement. In the theoretical aspect we could verify the importance of representing the interaction in sketches, which brought many benefits to the process. The study also points to some interesting future directions, such as a new version of ActionSketch and the creation of a collaborative site for it\'s publication. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/06359-5 - The role of sketching in interaction design.
• Grantee: Gil Garcia de Barros
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate