Based on the type of projects I see currently happening I see three main responsibilities for an Interaction Designer. As a designer of Human-Computer interaction, one must focus on these three responsibilities:
- How does it work?
How does the process work; what is the flow through the various states of the interface and what scenarios can the user encounter and what exceptions do we have to design for? It's all about having a true understanding of everything related to how the system functions. - How does it feel?
In what way does the system interact with the user, and how does that feel. How much agency does the interface allow the user to have; what is the level of control? To what extent are the inner-workings of a (digital) service communicated and how (intentionally) hard or easy is it to influence the state of the interface? - How can we make it viable?
This responsibility is mainly about stakeholder management; Provide insights in what has the most user or business value and what feature should be considered in scope of the minimum viable product. The goal is to guide the product owner and his stakeholders towards an viable iteration of the application. Advise on priorities, dependencies and alternatives might help to bring the product live!
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