Interactions - September/October 2008

to the standard video-refresh rate of about 60 fields per second [ 5], high-speed video can capture hundreds or thousands of fields per second. More information is captured, enhancing the researcher’s ability to observe occurrences that are too rapid or brief to perceive unaided.

We’re currently applying high-speed video to:

• Improve our understanding of the steps in complex manual maneuvers that occur too quickly to see clearly with standard video analysis. For example, the details of manual surgical maneuvers, to inform the design of medical instruments.

• Analyze the micro-ergonom-ics of everyday product interactions—from cooking utensils to consumer electronics—to identify motor-coordination hesitations, inefficiencies in hand travel, and similar improvement opportunities.

• Explore rapid user responses and reactions (e.g., quick gestures and facial expressions) as correlates to usability and aesthetic characteristics for prototype evaluation and differentiation.

Until recently, high-speed video has been prohibitively expensive and technical to use. Casio has changed that with the launch of the Exilim Pro EX-F1 ( http://www.exilim.com/ intl/ex_f1), the first prosumer-targeted digital camera with high-speed capabilities. The camera provides several unique features, including the ability to record at up to 1200 fps per second (although 300fps and 600fps modes are more pragmatic).

Note that high-speed video
requires sufficient lighting, so it
is most appropriate for daytime-

outdoor or studio use. And it requires significant file sizes for storage—about twice that of HD. But unlike HD, which provides an incremental aesthetic improvement, high-speed video provides a new perspective on observing physical behavior that expands the potential for identifying innovative product design opportunities. Extending visual perception to micro-seconds can reveal informative sub-patterns of movement that are overlooked or invisible at a standard time-scale. And as with any technology, thoughtful use and analysis is required for meaningful interpretation.

play back the audio that was recorded when you had originally written the note. For user interviews, the researcher can quickly reference notes directly back to the audio of interviewees’ words for clarity and idea expansion. For ethnographic observations, both conversations and environmental sounds can be unobtrusively recorded (in stereo) while taking notes. While the device does not provide the highest-resolution audio quality, it increases the working bandwidth and accuracy of the design researcher.

Audio Technology

Multi-tasking is an essential skill in user research. Whether interviewing a consumer, observing a task in real time, or usability testing a website prototype, the researcher needs to see and hear what is occurring while simultaneously writing down key information and insights. Recordings can back up the researcher, but handwritten notes are the primary means of documenting and reviewing data. At the same time, notes tend to be succinct and coarse, conveying the concept, but not the verbatim of an event.

The Livescribe Pulse (www. livescribe.com) is a pen-based computer that offers the ability to narrow the gap between what you observe and what you write. The pen records the ambient sound (e.g., interviewee’s voice, contextual noise) and synchronizes the audio recording to what you are writing. Subsequently, when you place the pen-point on a particular note (or sketch), the pen will

Data Analysis Tools

After research data is gathered, the team needs to make sense of it all. A common challenge for design research teams is the process of organizing qualitative data into meaningful patterns of information. Identifying and pri-oritizing observations, user input and other “raw” content depends on an effective process. But the right tools can streamline these efforts.

Often the biggest challenge is knowing just where to start. For example, consider trying to make sense of the transcriptions from several dozen user interviews—you might have a mix of positive and negative feedback, anecdotes, opinions, and narratives. You could painstakingly sift through all of the conversations, highlighting meaningful terms, or perhaps search for keywords. Or you could leverage software that provides structure to text-based data to help guide your analysis.

One such example is IBM’s Many Eyes (http://services. alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes). While this Web application set

[ 4] Wiklund, M.E., and S. B. Wilcox. “Time-Lapse Video Offers More Information in Less time.” In Designing Usability into Medical Products. Boca Raton, Fla.:CRC Press, 2005.