Labs/ConceptSeries/StudentOutreach/2011/Topics

Student Outreach - Collaboration Topics 2011

1. Mobile - Intersections between potential user needs and evolving technologies.
2. Tablet - Multi-touch interaction, gestural interface design for controlling web activities.
3. Apps - Apps for mobile is a well-known way to interact with the Web; anything bigger than that?
4. HomeDash - Are people buried among all tabs, pages, histories and notifications? How a browser can help people manage that?
5. Do It For Me - Make your favorite web activity easy to do, across all websites!

Topic 1 Mobile: the future of the web - today!

In collaboration with: Mozilla Mobile - Contact: Thomas Arend, Principal Product Manager

Here are some guiding thoughts (read more here). Let's identify current needs, go wild with our future vision and ideas, and then use this as inspiration for the best user-centered designs:

• Users First! - When, where and how do people use mobile devices today? Or rather: how do we live our online lives and manage social interactions - anywhere we go? Which different user types (personas) can we identify? What are use cases that represent their pain-points, unmet needs, wish lists and alternative/substitute choices?
• The Future - Today - How would people like to use mobile in the future? What future scenarios can we envision? How are paradigms and user scenarios going to shift? Considering the user context (bus stop, cinemas, family reunion, etc) and nature for mobile, it is portable, people can just plug it into any devices, displays, etc. What future mobile scenarios we can thinking of that is valuable and meaningful to users? Which new mobile scenarios can we discover?
• New Technologies - New Use Cases? - Considering the evolving technologies, 3D, sensors, cloud, storage, etc. What future mobile scenarios we can thinking of that is valuable and meaningful to users? Think: mobile wallet and payment options, new level of social interactions, how to be offline gracefully
• Back from the Future - How can these innovative ideas and use cases be translated into actual product features and user-centered designs? (personas, use cases, ideas, concepts, storyboards, floor-plans, wire frames, prototypes, no limitation, no technical boundaries)
• Scaling user-centered ideas - How can those ideas scale, more into a platform or cloud service, maybe hardware-independent (think: embedded systems)?

Topic 2: Tablet

<In collaboration with: Rainbow - Mozilla Labs>

• With the multi-touch screen, or a embedded camera, what the future would look like when people interact with the web?

• For two purposes: web page manipulation(e.g. navigation, activation, history, bookmark...etc.) and online media control, what would be a fun and meaningful way to interact without a keyboard and a mouse?
• If we use gestural interfaces via camera, what would be meaningful controls?
• If we use multi-touch screen, what would be the meaningful interactions?
• What value would these interactions add to users?
• Transfer these ideas to prototypes or concepts

Topic 3: Web Apps

<In collaboration with: Appetizer- Mozilla Labs>

Apps are quickly becoming a significant way for users to interact with the Web on mobiles and tablets. How might we bring apps to the browser and the Open Web?

• Why people use apps on Mobile and tablets, please identify user value or pain-points through use cases.
• What's great about apps to the browser and what's great about the Web to apps? What would be new features and interactions that can convey the value you identified?
• If we see both mobile/tablets and desktop/laptop together as a whole for people to build their daily online activities, how does that ecosystem would look like?
• What would be the value points we can add to end users, in what formats?
• Transfer these ideas to prototypes or concepts

Topic 4: HomeDash - Organize My Browsing Activity

<In collaboration with: Prospector - Mozilla Labs>

HomeDash Introduction - video

• How do people get back to their history, tabs, bookmarks, any pain points currently? How people use tabs as currently?
• What other use cases on organizing browsing activity?

• What values that extensions would add to users when organizing their web activities (as alternative of a browser function)?
• Try out Mozilla Labs' HomeDash, is it useful or meaningful to people in use cases you identified?
• Translate your ideas, findings to a design ideas, prototypes

Topic 5: Do It For Me

<In collaboration with: Browser-mediated services - Mozilla Labs>

With the browser being the central broker of our online interactions we have the unique opportunity to simplify the users' life by automating interactions. Under the umbrella of "Do it for Me" we explore interactions which delight the user and find the balance between automation and direct user control.

• What web activity people do that they would like to make it more easier for them? What use cases we can identify that address their needs or pain points?
• Some areas that might be worthy to look into, they across all website, as inspirations, but not limited to: Web Single Sign-On, Link Sharing, Contact List Management, Profile Access and Management, Application Notification, Payment Processing, Photo Collection Management, Media Preference Management, etc.

• Translate these identified needs or pain points into ideas, concepts and prototypes.