Data Gathering.

Data Gathering is used to identify user needs, establish requirements and for evaluation purposes. Not only in mobile interface design but also in any discipline data gathering is  important as it helps to understand the the real world user needs and it helps to map real world user needs with system/ application requirements. this helps developers and designers to understand the real world user needs and to design and develop the product or services accordingly. Therefore if the data gathering was not done properly to capture user requirements in the first place, the product/service may go wrong and will not be able to satisfy the user.  there are few different techniques those can be used for data gathering.

Why do we need data gathering?

To find answers  to following questions.


Who is this system for?
What do these people want to do?
Why are they doing it?
Where and When do they will they need to do it?

But if the correct information is not captured for the above questions, the 

requirements will be inaccurate  and then it will lead to a less useful design that will result a poor user satisfaction with the final product.

Usability and user Experience

What is usability?

Usability means making products and systems easier to use, and matching them more closely to user needs and requirements.

The international standard, ISO 9241-11, provides guidance on usability and defines it as:

The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.

Usability is about:

• Effectiveness - can users complete tasks, achieve goals with the product, i.e. do what they want to do?
• Efficiency - how much effort do users require to do this? (Often measured in time)
• Satisfaction – what do users think about the products ease of use?
• ….which are affected by:
• The users - who is using the product? e.g. are they highly trained and experienced users, or novices?
• Their goals - what are the users trying to do with the product - does it support what they want to do with it?
• The usage situation (or 'context of use') - where and how is the product being used?

Usability should not be confused with 'functionality', however, as this is purely concerned with the functions and features of the product and has no bearing on whether users are able to use them or not. Increased functionality does not mean improved usability.

Major concepts in Mobile Interaction Design.

Interaction Design (ID)

Interaction design aims to define and facilitate interaction between human beings by means of a product or a service. It focuses on the possibilities to create and encourage behavior facilitating an exchange between people.

Interaction design is the task of enabling interaction between systems and humans to exchange  information, expressions and ideas with each other. Interaction design is the template that will enable the the input, exchange and the output of data.So Interaction Design facilitate the interaction of humans through a  product or service. 

Evolution of Mobile Technology.

In early 2000 the growth of internet was rapidly developing and use of mobile devices have increased during the last decade as mobile is more portable and accessible compared other devices. The mobile technology has gone through significant improvements such as GPS, Social networking, weather updates, access to internet at anytime from anywhere  with personalized content and customization. Therefore the growth of the usage has increased in 90% with in the decade compared to 1990's. 

Reasons why mobile devices are commonly used today.

1. Tablets and mobile devices are more user friendly with compact screen and enhanced interfaces those which are easy to navigate. .

2. Voice recognition software which a keyboard is not essential and saves time for typing text.

3. Touch-screens that brings the technology on finger tips more quick and attractive..

4. Cloud-based storage and software that avoids data loss and automatic backup to photos, documents and other personal data with personalized views.  

5. Mobile devices are only going to get more powerful with less weight and smaller size.

Therefore it is fairly predictable that mobile is the future of technology with devices that are more powerful yet compact and portable. But the smaller it becomes harder to design the interfaces as the user interfaces needs to be user friendly and easy to navigate yet attractively present the content which is one of the major arguments, whether usability or attractiveness?