This was my first HCI class, so before this class, I thought this would be structurally similar to a lot of the other CS classes here at Stanford. I thought it would involve a lot more lectures, p-sets, and quizzes. I think I was thoroughly surprised and thrilled to learn it was definitely more project-based, and all the lectures in class came with a lot more in-class discussions, projects, and activities, which are more engaging and a good change of pace from the other Stanford core classes.
And so I really loved the activities that we did as a group throughout this class. I think it was awesome to be put with a cool group and get to know them throughout the quarter. I also really found the guest lectures engaging and amusing. As I begin a professional career, I think some of the tools I will definitely implement at some point because I found them very helpful in helping us design our final prototype, specifically the system maps, the user storyboards, and the wireframes. I think all the diagrams, tools, and visuals that we made throughout the quarter before starting on the final prototype were a little bit overwhelming, but it definitely did make the final prototype a lot simpler. I feel like by the time I was actually coding out the final prototype, all of the decisions and design features and the user experience were already so thoroughly thought out that it just felt super natural to actually build out the app.
I’m satisfied with the overall state of our final product. I think it did incorporate all of the major features that we talked about. We also did hammer out a lot of the secondary components and secondary features that were just kind of an add-on, but really I think made the app a lot better than some of the existing messenger apps out there. I think one thing I didn’t entirely like, felt was complete, was maybe some of the studies, like the intervention study or the assumption tests. I think this is natural given the short time frame that we had to operate in, but it was a pure observational study with a sample size of two or three. I think if the course is longer, if I had more time, or if this was like an actual industry or a professional project that I was working on, I think this would have probably been the area that I put a lot more time into. I probably would have made it a full experimental study to isolate out compounding variables and have a larger sample size, but I guess, given the class format, this was a very good basic understanding of how a study like this would go.
One of the assignments that I routinely did not like as much was the sketchnote assignment that we do every Tuesday. I think every learner is different, and I don’t think I’m the most artistic or visual learner. To me, I think the sketching assignment did not help me retain as much knowledge as it would for others. I think maybe some more time spent on tying the stuff we did read for our sketch notes into maybe some design features would also have been helpful to learn throughout the quarter. I think we spent some time at the beginning of class discussing our reading, but I think a more substance on how to actually translate those readings into existing practices or designs that we see in the real world would have also been helpful.
In terms of the ethical considerations, one of the mechanisms that our app uses to ensure that users reply are nudges, which can be both automatic and manual. Automatic nudges are set by the user themselves, and our own system will remind them to respond to certain people if they wish to set the settings that way. Manual nudges are sent by the friends they are texting if the user has not responded to their messages for a long period of time. Are you why, with its warm color palette and the cute penguin avatars, I think make this nudging practice as least intrusive as possible. In respect for the user’s privacy, they can set their own quiet hours, and they can also mute or block other people on the platform, which gives them a way out of any unwanted social interactions from this platform. In that sense, we’re relying on privacy where the user has full autonomy and choice over what they are exposed to, what they see, and exactly how they socially interact with our system. Another form of, I guess, manipulation would be the use of the animations of the avatars themselves. If you have not replied to someone a long time, they start waving at you, and then, if you do reply, they have this little heart animation that plays. In this way, we kind of weaponize guilt as an incentive to encourage people to reply. I think this form of manipulation is acceptable given that it’s purely a non-profit messaging app. We’re not trying to monetize anything. The only thing we’re trying to do is to just encourage people to reply. People can just choose not to download the app, block their friends, or just add a select number of people.
