viewing psychological model and realization model from Japanese Input method project

New Year's new atmosphere, our pan-user experience platform online, for the user experience industry and add an enterprise-class sharing and communication platform ~

From this, I would like to just come to an ending of the Japanese Input method project to share some of the experience, today is mainly on the psychological model of the topic and everyone to chat, welcome you to participate in the discussion.
Since ancient times, the input behavior is an indispensable human behavior. Input is also the basic carrier of record and inheritance, the prototype of early input behavior is writing.
Today, people are drifting away from regular ink and paper, instead of keyboards and screens.

Input mode has changed, we have to deal with a variety of documents every day, input editing a wide range of copy and manuscript, and different people with IM chat, write mail ... Communication in a variety of languages, this demand, whether the base or frequency, is undoubtedly considerable.

Back to the development of human input, in a long period of time you can find that the accuracy and efficiency of writing mainly depends on the human brain and the hands, but with the popularization of information and computer, PC and input method tools, handwritten text into a data, structured and consistent text symbols, and relying on technology to make tools become more intelligent and powerful, at the same time, the computer can no longer like paper and pen to let individual free play and control, input method tools need to according to People's writing prototype through the technology map into a set of implementation model, so that the computer to infer the results of the user want to

It is now so many kinds of implementation model, the more difficult for users to learn and cognitive products, so our UCD design and return to how to explore the user's mental model (hereinafter referred to as the psychological model) to reduce the user's learning costs, let it quickly grasp the rules of new products.

In the Japanese market, the more useful Japanese input method software relatively scarce, mainly have Msime (Microsoft's own Japanese Input method) and Atok (Atok or need to charge the input software). And in Japan to provide users with search engine baidu.jp, can provide users with more services. As you know, search engines are inextricably linked to building thesaurus.
After I received the Japanese Input Method design task, the first thing is to think how to design? In particular, the design of a different language, cultural products.
As a kind of computer program, input method needs good coordination and blending models, that is, realization model and mental model.
The two finally form a performance model that is easy to be understood and developed by the user. Implementation of the model in the input method is mainly to achieve feedback on user input behavior and response instructions, such as the input principle of the analysis and research, product logic, including the process of running the program.

This is a meticulous and precise engineering model. The main derivation principle, feasibility and implementation method. The other is the mental model, it is the knowledge, experience, and habits of the concept and behavior of an input method that exist in the user's mind, including the experience of the products they have used, as well as their obvious or potential expectations, such as the use of Msime users to use different input mode of the input method can have congenital obstacles. But if a strong desire is met, it may prompt them to choose a new input model and a product.

Only the design that conforms to the user's mental model can make the user easy to learn and accept, especially we intend to make a product that is different from the existing input method to these users who are used to the old mode. The psychological model is our breakthrough.
So we start with the mental model of the Japanese user. Understand their culture, language structure differences, input process behavior differences, the use of software experience skills and usage scenarios. At the same time, providing a more efficient implementation model than competing goods is also within the scope of thinking.
How to proceed? Through the user interview with Uer students (multiple rounds), hands-on observation use, do a full analysis of the competition, test, get and analyze user feedback. Through these processes, some sensory conclusions and specific behavioral patterns of mental models are obtained. For example, on the input habits of long and short sentences, segmentation of sections, word-breaking, editing options, idioms and even Japanese keyboard differences, shortcut keys to recognize and use frequency, and even Japanese users enter the subtle psychological changes.

At this point, I slowly felt that I was starting to cultivate empathy based on the user, and began to develop empathy among research and development members, fearing that they would discuss, find solutions, and explore their expectations around user expectations and puzzles.
Based on the above conclusions, process design, prototyping (testing and iteration) were started, until one day, Japanese colleagues said "It's perfect" to the flowchart and prototype.
The following is a few details of the design to share with fellow students, on the innovation process of the psychological model and implementation of the model experience.

As discussed earlier, Japanese market most popular and commonly used input method is mainly msime, through many interviews and on-site observation, the Japanese users have some sense of understanding, they are very abide by the order and law, because the lack of security often cautious, behavior conservative, to the habit once formed difficult to change.
among them, to the input method for example, different culture and language structure, different users of the input method of the psychological model is a difference.
For example, interviews have found that Japanese users ' understanding of certain keys is very inconsistent with China. First, this is related to the msime models that have been exported over the years to their mental models. In addition, the Japanese language structure and Chinese also have a very different, Japanese composition of the unit is a pseudonym, Kana sound is consistent, can read and write. In addition, they can be changed into Chinese characters or katakana on behalf of loanwords, so in their mental models, cognition is completely different, and the transformation of Kana has many results and possibilities. This is very different from the habits of Chinese users. After the conclusion of our analysis, we can see that the superiority of our implementation model is obvious to the efficiency improvement. However, when we come up with a demo to test, the power of the mental model emerges. As our demo, although from the level of implementation of the model, for the efficiency of the importation of convenience, we believe that the convenience has brought big problems, the Japanese user error operation of the proportion of the sudden increase, they are always surprised to find, knocking on, everything is gone. And I couldn't go back, so I was terrified, frustrated, and very hard to accept.

This makes our products and developers quite puzzling, obviously is the efficiency of the flow, why they always learn not? At this time, as a UE designer, I and you explain the psychological model, we gradually understand that different audiences of users, psychological models are differences, some specific behavior, it is difficult to change. Especially the deep and firm perception of this group. And the mental model has no strict scientific and logical inference whatsoever. So we improved the prototype. As a result, Japanese users feel more acceptable, but the problem comes again, because the user's habitual behavior, corresponding to our prototype, that is, after the user two knocks, the candidate this column has become a choice of the second candidate word operation, which certainly does not match the user's expectations. So seeing a peculiar phenomenon, they always stop to fall back carefully to the first candidate term. Of course, such a process, in fact, is to interrupt the user's natural input mode, slow down the input efficiency.
So I continue to think about the Japanese language structure of Japanese input psychological model of training, later, we sorted out the psychological model of Japanese user input, at the same time, we have updated the product flowchart and prototype according to the analysis and the user's mental model, and the final implementation model has also adjusted the mental model. In this way always stand on the basis of psychological models to consider the implementation model, the final output of a satisfactory performance model, so that our products interact with the user's mind.

Speaking of which, incidentally, a little innovation, is that we get the user's mental model, can obviously feel a hope, that is, the natural input state, any implementation of the model caused by the interference is the impact of efficiency and experience, such as the Japanese-English state switching, digital and symbolic input interrupts. In particular, it is found that in many cases, the input content exists under mixed input scenarios. In fact, the user mental model only expects to enter these specific content, instead of thinking about these state transitions, I put forward the concept of a crowdsourcing group word bar, which, in the process of composing kana strings, can be compatible with input in English, kana, numbers, and symbols, and all of these are treated as input elements, By our technique we judge the candidate who accords with the expectation separately.
For example, the following picture shows the crowdsourcing column:

Later I also dropped an idea, the Chinese and English input switch really need? Will the birth of a world input method? Haha, digress.
Of course, there are many other considerations about whether a product will succeed. However, the design that does not conform to the mental model is difficult for users to learn and use, and more difficult to achieve success.
Finally, I also welcome you to use Japanese users, can anytime and anywhere to us about Baidu Japanese Input method feedback.

Source: http://www.baiduux.com/blog/2010/01/12/Psychological model and implementation model from Japanese Input method items/