INTERACTION DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR INTERACTIVE ...

Principle: Maximize agency
(a) (b)
5.5 TiVo User Control Functionalities (a) and (b)
Along with giving users increased control, the digital medium allows users to gain
increasing agency, or “the satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results
of our decisions and choices,” over their television viewing experiences (Murray, 1997).
Another approach to agency, a concept that relates well to the participatory property of
the digital medium, is the model of the viewer as an active player within the program or
activity. The Discovery Channel’s Extreme Rides application, as seen in Figure 5.6, has a
“build-your-own-coaster” feature, where roller coaster fans select segments of other
coasters to make their own thrill rides.
After users create their own roller coasters, the selections are compiled into a
Quicktime movie that lets them experience the virtual thrill of the ride. This interactive
application is particularly effective because it takes on a constructionist approach to
agency, or the notion that people learn best when they are actively engaged in creating
artifacts that are personally meaningful to them: “this happens especially felicitously in a
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