Interactivity, continuity, sketching, and experience: (keynote abstract)

The design and development of a software system deals with both the world of making and that of using. The world of making is concerned with molding, constructing and building. The world of using is concerned with engaging, experiencing, and interacting-with. The two worlds are structurally, semantically, and temporally intertwined through software. Designing the world of using requires painstaking effort to envision all the possible situations of use for all the possible types of users in all the possible contexts, in various temporal and situational levels of granularity, to create a coherent and convivial user experience. To frame this world of using, it is not sufficient to identify typical use scenarios or depict snapshots of crucial usage situations. Thorough analyses of the possible flows of interactions over a long period of time through the dynamism of user engagement and experience are essential in framing the world of using. Through the delineation of our work on designing and developing research prototype tools for creative knowledge activities, observing and analyzing interaction design processes, and directing user experience design teams for consumer products, this talk will address the expression, representation, communication, and assessment of the design of the world of using from the perspectives of interactivity, continuity, sketching and experience.