Design Principles Research

Goals for the Design Principles

They are explicitly related to Watson.
Designers use them.
Designers remember them.

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Principle 1 (as-is)

Give the user a set of cognitive training wheels.
Introduce cognitive computing to first-time users and continue to provide unobtrusive support as needed.

• Clarify Watson’s capabilities with hierarchy, copy, and interactions to help set appropriate user expectations.
• Educate the user throughout the experience without interrupting his or her workflow. Integrate additional explanation into the visual hierarchy as a secondary focus so that it doesn’t get in the way of more experienced users.
• Reinforce cognitive behaviors with intelligent defaults and positive feedback in order to gradually adjust the user’s habits.

Principle 2 (as-is)

Sophisticated technology, ready for a novice driver.
Make it easy for a user to perform desired tasks and use Watson to discover valuable insights.

• Present insights as quickly as possible, with an indication of accuracy or obscurity.
• Demonstrate Watson’s heavy lifting with visual metaphors and indications of the actions Watson takes. Increase transparency when it helps the user trust the accuracy of the insights Watson returns.
• Display Watson’s insights as the user needs them, so that interfaces aren’t cluttered or overwhelming. This technique, known as progressive disclosure, improves usability by displaying only the relevant information needed to complete a given task.

Principle 3 (as-is)

Let the user choose to take the highways or byways.
Enable the user to maintain control when it's wanted. Watson experiences should naturally adapt to amplify the user's abilities and expertise.

• Denote a clear best path through the experience, while accommodating alternatives and seamless undos if the user wants to try something else.
• Support users with visual design and copy that indicate collaboration or a conversation. Demonstrate that users learn from Watson, and at the same time, Watson learns from them.
• Provide personalization options that are both manual (performed by the user) and automatic (performed by Watson). Gather user information and preferences to apply to the experience, as well as enabling a cycle of continuous feedback between Watson and the user.

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Headings based on the "[6 Universal Experiences]"

1. Get Started
2. Everyday Use
3. Get Support (option A) | Adaptive Control (option B)

Mildly Cheesy (But Memorable!) Transportation-Themed Taglines

1. Give the user a set of cognitive training wheels.
2. Sophisticated technology, ready for a novice driver.
3. Let the user choose to take the highways or byways.

Short Headings (verb-oriented)

1. Introduce Cognitive
2. Inform Interactions
3. Offer Control (option A) | Personalize Experiences (option B)

Short Headings (noun-oriented)

1. Cognitive Onboarding
2. Easy-to-Use Complexity (option A) | Worth-it-to-Learn Complexity (option B)
3. "You" Experiences

Less Memorable (But Descriptive) Taglines

1. Make it simple for users to start, without getting in their way.
2. Explain what Watson is doing when it helps the user.
3. Offer up control when the user wants it.
   [6 Universal Experiences]:http://www.ibm.com/design/language/framework/experience.shtml

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Synthesis from User Testing

VISUALS

• work on legibility & consistency (e.g. color, device size, where text is displayed)
• level of abstraction is good
• make sure to clearly call out/emphasize the key part of the visual example
• good job on making visuals feel relatable to multiple products
• good job on showing copy in the context of a UI

MEMORABILITY

• mediocre
• it might help to make each principle feel more like a unit
• there's a lot to look at – play with hierarchy

COPY

• short headings are the clear winner
• work on hierarchy
• don't use italics on the sub-heading
• some typos and minor wording tweaks

OTHER IDEAS (for later)

• show examples of the principles in actual products
• interactivity could help make the principles clearer