Activity Theory, Goal-Directed Design, and you

There are several issues that are arising in my work projects, so I’m going to try to talk about the theories that are swirling around in the research world in order to puzzle out my own design dilemmas…

Lately I’ve been doing a little research on the best practice for researching and creating GUIs for software. One such method is goal driven design. It’s discussed in-depth by Alan Cooper in About Face, and is design based upon what goal the user is trying to achieve. Writing a script, finishing his tax return, creating a digital work of art; these are all goals that a user might desire to accomplish and use software to achieve. To Cooper, goals are a collection of activities, and activities are transient and change with time. Goals are forever. For example, it may be your goal to go to Montana. In the old days, that meant climbing in the wagon with the family for an arduous trip that may or may not include cholera and scalping. In modern times, getting to Montana might simply mean getting on a plane after being harassed by airport security. But the goal of heading to the hills of Montana- oh, that remains the same. The techniques employed by GDD include interviews, personas, user stories, and other methods to get to know the user in-depth. It is a process that is very user-centric, and strives to create exactly what that user wants.

On the other hand, there’s Activity Centered Design, which is based on Activity Theory. The cited article explains the theory, though I think it has some double speak that makes the theory more difficult to understand than it should be. Basically, an activity is a motivation which is composed of actions. Actions are guided by the activity, and that action is a culmination of operations. For example, if one wanted to build a house (activity), they would need to transport building materials to the work site (action). In order to complete that action, one would start by loading the truck (operation). Similiar to the scientific method, this process is an unconscious one. But, it is the basis for the previously mention Activity Centered Design (ACD).

Perhaps the happy medium between the two can be found in Designing for the Social Web by Joshua Porter. In it, he suggests focusing on the primary activity and asking ” what are people using your software doing?” I like this question a lot because it has the implied question of who the people are, without getting too entrenched in the details of personas.

Porter goes on to say that the focus should be on the primary activity the user is trying to finish, because while knowing your user is important, you should really hone in on the specific activity you’re supporting with your design. Ultimately, activities reveal the steps involved in people reaching their goals.

The underlying goal of all this theory and practice is to keep in mind the overall desire of the user without getting caught up in the small minutiae of technology. Because, in the end, the use of technology is merely a pragmatic exercise for the user- it is only the means to an end, and rarely do they marvel at its awesome UI. They only want to know what it can do for them, and how easily they can accomplish their goal with this software.

Adding to that, I think it’s important to keep in mind this note from Designing the Obvious by Robert Hoekman, jr.

“When you start imagining how a fictitious character would respond to a hypothetical situation using an imaginary interface, it’s probably time to put down your little plastic army men and crack open the sketchbook.”

Theory, and a process, are wonderful things to help you along. But at the end of the day you’re a user experience designer, not a novelist.