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Using Web Simulations
- 1. How to create web-based simulations and interactive data visualizations Tuesday April 20, 3:40 PM Michael Bean, President Forio Business Simulations
- 2. Thousands of valuable models and analyses are trapped.
- 3. Organizations and individuals could benefit from these models and analyses if they were shared.
- 4. Putting your material online is not enough.
- 5. Sharing requires aSharing requires a contributor andcontributor and an audience.an audience.
- 6. %ofTwitterUsers Number of Followers Per Twitter User On the web, audience size is not distributed evenly.
- 7. Web simulations and data visualizations follow the same usage pattern as other web content.
- 8. In order to get widely used, simulations should be easily Understandable, Convenient to access, and Enjoyable to use
- 9. easily understandable convenient to access enjoyable to use
- 10. easily understandable This is not a simulation.
- 11. A simulation is the combination of a model and a user interface. easily understandable
- 12. easily understandable Users have expectations about how rich internet applications should work.
- 13. IgnoringIgnoring these design principles canthese design principles can frustrate usersfrustrate users.. easily understandable
- 14. easily understandable There are only four common tools that you need to create basic web simulations. Quantitative Output User Decisions Qualitative Output Actions and Navigation
- 16. Quantitative Output User Decisions Actions and Navigation easily understandable Chart Tools FusionCharts www.fusioncharts.com Forio Simulate UI Builder forio.com/simulate Chart Selector http://www.flickr.com/photos/amit-agarwal/3196386402 Table Tools Stephen Few, Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten http://www.amazon.com/Show-Me-Numbers-Designing-Enlig
- 17. Qualitative Output Basic qualitative output from web simulations can be created from text, images, and video. easily understandable
- 18. easily understandable Where is the qualitative output on user interface?
- 21. Qualitative Output easily understandable http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk Sasquatch Music Festival video to explain diffusion qualitatively.
- 22. easily understandable User Decisions Basic user decisions can be created using Radio Buttons, ºÝºÝߣrs, Text Boxes, and Check Boxes.
- 23. easily understandable Actions and Navigation Basic actions and navigation Buttons, Link, Tab Navigation, Hit Area, and Drop Down List.
- 24. easily understandable Basic tab navigation
- 25. easily understandable Basic tab navigation
- 26. easily understandable Basic tab navigation
- 27. easily understandable convenient to access enjoyable to use
- 28. Web browsing tools are becoming increasingly diverse. convenient to access
- 29. convenient to access 96%96% of all displays are atof all displays are at 1024 x 768 pixels1024 x 768 pixels or higher.or higher. 1024 x 768 Source: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
- 30. convenient to access Web simulations operate on a variety of operating systems and browsers. Source: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
- 31. In the United States, Excel is installed on about 75% of all computers… convenient to access …which implies Excel-only results will lose 25% of your audience. Source: http://www.webmasterpro.de/portal/news/2010/02/05/international-openoffice-market-shares.html
- 32. convenient to access Every screen size, plug-in, browser or application limitation reduces the number of potential users. All users Windows users with Firefox and Excel Windows users with Firefox Windows users
- 33. In uncontrolledIn uncontrolled environments usersenvironments users can getcan get distracteddistracted…… ……therefore web simulationstherefore web simulations need to beneed to be interruptibleinterruptible.. convenient to access
- 34. convenient to access ExperimentExperiment We made half our usersWe made half our users enter an emailenter an email addressaddress before using abefore using a simulation,simulation, the other half could use thethe other half could use the simulation without an email.simulation without an email. What happened?What happened?
- 35. convenient to access When required to enter an email address, 50% drop out.
- 36. convenient to access HTML 5 is the next major revision of HTML and may eliminate the need for Flex/Flash.
- 37. convenient to access HTML 5 support across all popular browsers is years away. Source: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
- 38. convenient to access Forio recommends: 1024 x 768 minimum screen size HTML with javascript and/or Flex/Flash Testing on both Windows and Mac Testing on IE7, IE8, IE9, Firefox, Chrome, Safari
- 39. convenient to access Forio discourages: Client-side Java Video without using Flash/Flex Browser-specific designs HTML 5 reliant web pages Relying on desktop applications
- 40. easily understandable convenient to access enjoyable to use
- 41. Games and simulations are converging. enjoyable to use
- 42. enjoyable to use When people talk about computerWhen people talk about computer games, they often meangames, they often mean console gamesconsole games for the Wii, Playstation, or Xbox.for the Wii, Playstation, or Xbox.
- 43. The problem is, most modeling and simulation projects have smaller budgets than console game projects. enjoyable to use Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Video_game_development_costs
- 44. More practical ideas for game dynamics come from casual games. enjoyable to use
- 45. Game dynamics include intermittent rewards, leveling up, and player communication. enjoyable to use
- 46. Monopoly provides an example of how to apply intermittent rewards. enjoyable to use
- 47. enjoyable to use Attempts at automating Monopoly have been largely unsuccessful.
- 48. The implication for simulations is to allow for player experimentation, failure, and repeated play. enjoyable to use
- 49. Leveling upLeveling up meansmeans start easystart easy and graduallyand gradually add complexityadd complexity after playersafter players have masteredhave mastered the basics.the basics. enjoyable to use
- 50. Make simulations easy to use at first but then progressively more sophisticated. enjoyable to use
- 51. Without player communication,Without player communication, the MITthe MIT beer gamebeer game can becan be drydry,, complicatedcomplicated andand frustratingfrustrating.. enjoyable to use
- 52. With playerWith player communication,communication, the beer gamethe beer game can becan be funfun.. enjoyable to use
- 53. Providing leader boards encourages competition and increases learning. enjoyable to use
- 54. Creating a user interface is a different skill than creating a model. Writers, animators, directors, and voice actors all overlap. Writers, animators, directors, and voice actors are specialized. < 5 minutes per episode. 20 minutes per episode. Inexpensive to produce. Expensive to produce.
- 55. Although creating user interfaces is a different skill than creating models, the same principles apply. complexity != sophistication simplicity improves comprehension
- 57. Like XKCD, if the content is good, a simple design can be effective.
- 58. For questions, contact me: Michael Bean mbean@forio.com You can try building your own web simulation for free on Forio’s website at: www.forio.com/simulate
Editor's Notes
- #6: Sharing involves more than just the contributor. Sharing requires a contributor and an
- #7: It’s more complicated than just making a simulation available.
- #13: Some authors that I’ve worked with have made the mistake that they are designing a simulation inside another application.
- #30: 20% are at 1024 x 768
- #31: Feb 2010 data
- #42: A simulation is simply a game about something real.
- #43: Heavy Rain for Playstation
- #56: If you find you need to take the Looney Tunes approach, keep in mind that…