Goal, Intention, Action Sequence

Any process we do has a goal, intention, and an action sequence. In design we have to be concerned with these three words. We need to be aware of where the user is starting and their goal and the process they will go through to get to the goal. If we don't design the action sequence right then they can't make it to the goal effectively. We also need to make sure that the actions make sense with getting from start to finish and that they are visible. If we design it and the actions aren't obvious then our design as failed because the user cannot reach their goal.

"The system should provide actions that match intentions." -Donald Norman (Norman,2002)

We talked in class the other day about what these mean and we used the example of the marble and the tracks. The teacher gave the starting track and called it the existing state. He also gave the end track and cup to catch the marble and called it the goal. Three students had to figure out how to get the rest of the tracks to line up so the marble could go from the existing state to the goal. All the tracks in between were the action sequence. The intention was the placement of the tracks so that the marble could travel from start to finish.

Citations:

Norman, Donald A. "User Centered Design." The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic, 2002. N. Page 198