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Paper Prototyping a Dynamic Software Interface: A Case Study Using APT

This paper explores the prototyping of a dynamic software interface based on APT (Analysis of Patterns in Time). Developed by Dr. Ted Frick, APT provides a robust methodology for analyzing temporal relationships in data. We discuss the iterative design approach taken, which prioritized usability and encompassed usability testing with faculty and graduate students. The challenges faced during development—including interaction design elements like pop-ups and dropdowns—are also highlighted. Our findings emphasize the importance of making temporal data concepts accessible to users through thoughtful interface design.

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Paper Prototyping a Dynamic Software Interface: A Case Study Using APT

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  1. IST Conference Paper Prototyping a Dynamic Software Interface: A Case Study Using APT Andrew Barrett Jamison Judd

  2. APT Overview • APT: Analysis of Patterns in Time • A new methodology for researching temporal relationships in a system, developed by Dr. Ted Frick of Indiana University 1990 • APT is a means to capture and analyze the temporal relationship between actions and outcomes • Does not help to determine causality • Helps decision making involving prediction and description

  3. Need for Temporal Analysis • APT directly measures temporal relations through counting the occurrences of the values of a variable • Comparable to approaches taken in other disciplines • people who smoke are more likely to get lung cancer than those who do not • how often does a player scores when specific conditions exist • Important because knowledge of likelihoods of temporal patterns can be used to find relationships that could not be found with linear approaches

  4. Weather Example

  5. Software for Temporal Analysis • There are a wide variety of tools available for conducting linear analysis (e.g. SPSS, SAS, MINITAB, etc.) • Few options for performing analysis based on an APT approach • The need for tools that are based on an APT approach has provided the stimulus for the development of associated software

  6. Goal • Create a usable software interface for APT based on the following principles • Easy to use • Intuitive interface following convention • Flexible for different types of studies • Avoid modes when possible • An iterative design approach was taken that included usability testing and rapid prototype development

  7. Prototype Development • Listed out all the required functionality • An SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and Windows based paradigm was chosen for viewing and entering data

  8. Paper or Electronic Prototype?

  9. Paper Prototype Challenges • Scrolling • Pop-ups • Dropdowns • Text entry (making reusable) • All possible user actions

  10. Methodology – Usability Testing • Developed authentic tasks to test out the prototype • Project Tasks • Creating, Opening, and Closing Project Files • Creating, Opening and Closing Scores • Switching between scores • Duplicating score format • Interpreting scores

  11. Methodology – Usability Testing • APT Score Tasks • Adding, editing, and deleting classifications • Ordering classifications • Recording data in an APT score • Modifying data in an APT score • APT Query Tasks • Creating a new query • Duplicating and editing an existing query • Interpreting query results

  12. How Prototype Was Created • Screen captures • Excels • Arts & Crafts

  13. First Run Issues • Took too long to simulate • Prototype was too modular • Hard to quick change interface pieces

  14. Paper Prototype Challenges • Pop-ups • Dropdowns • Text entry (making reusable) • All possible user actions • Dynamic interface elements • Highlighting selections

  15. Methodology – Usability Testing Subjects: • 2 Faculty/Staff Members • 4 Graduate Students • 1 Data recorder • 1 Computer simulator • Followed standard usability procedure

  16. Duration by Task Box Plot Outliers: Some subjects took considerably longer to complete tasks Large Spread: Duration varied widely among subjects Small Spread: Duration didn’t vary much among subjects

  17. Result by Task Bar Graph All subjects succeeded in tasks 1.3 – 1.7, 1.9, 2.3, 2.4 All subjects had problems with task 3.3 “View the results of an APT query” Most subjects had problems with task 1.8 “Answer questions about APT score”

  18. Problem Tasks A subjective priority level was given to each task where problems were experienced… 1.1: Create a new blank project (1) 1.2: Close a project and exit program (1) 1.8: Answer questions about APT score (4) 2.1: Add a classification (3) 2.2: Change the order of classifications (2) 2.5: Record changes in an APT score (3) 2.6: Edit a previously recorded change in an APT score (1) 3.1: Create a new APT query (1) 3.2: Create an APT query based on an existing APT query (1) 3.3: View the results of an APT query (3)

  19. Conclusion • Generally we didn’t find significant issues with the prototype design • The main problems were: • Affordance Issues: need to move functionality to a more visible location • Difficulty with APT concepts: temporal nature of data • Terminology: Score, results, data, classifications

  20. Demo • Questions or comments?

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