Creating Representations

“The average person has the attention

span of a ferret after two cappuccinos.”

                                                     -Dennis Miller

Good representations address the business problem by:

abstracting the essense of the problem and giving an affordable rendering of it;

making sense to the people who have to do the work; and

presenting minimal, essential information in a manner that is reachable and immediately comprehensible.

To create good representations:

1. Choose an appropriate metaphorical performance space.

2. Use your imagination:  draw on your experience with toys, games,  gadgets, work, things...to identify something that reminds you of the process and people who have to do it.  Ask the problem solvers...(!)

3.  Consider the kind and presentation of information to “get it” quickly.

4.  Take a shot at creating a representation.

5.  Try making another representation.

6.  ...and another....

7.  Test usability.  

8. Make a decision based on your usability results.

…repeat steps 5 through 7 over and over and over...

Example:  The Game of 15  (See Don Norman's POET or TTMUS.)

Representations speak to different perspectives:

Internally:          What is in the problem solver’s mind

Externally :        What is presented in physical attributes              

By Developer:    The “expert” in how problems are solved in the systems they design.