| Docile Avatars: Aesthetics, Experience, and Sexual Interaction in Second Life | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 1 | |
| Shaowen Bardzell; Jeffrey Bardzell | |||
| Second Life, a participant-created multi-user virtual environment (MUVE),
gained sudden media acclaim in 2006. Prior to that, the world was developing
many of the characteristics that have come into their own today, such as
virtual fashion lines, a thriving virtual economy, scripted interactive
furniture, vehicles, and toys. Perhaps not surprisingly, much of the early
content was adult in nature, from cyberstrip clubs to kinky lingerie, sex
animations, and interactive virtual genitalia.
More surprising was the visibility and prevalence of the BDSM (bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism) subculture. In this paper, we report results from a two-year study of the BDSM subculture in Second Life, combining virtual ethnography and artifact analysis with recent HCI theories of experience design to understand how and why this complex phenomenon emerged from Second Life users. We contend that the participant-created world enables the construction of powerful aesthetic experiences, and that these experiences are made possible by the interweaving of visual, literary, and interaction aesthetics. | |||
| Encouraging Witting Participation and Performance in Digital Live Art | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 2 | |
| Jennifer G. Sheridan; Nick Bryan-Kinns; Alice Bayliss | |||
| We describe a framework for characterizing people's behavior with Digital
Live Art. Our framework considers people's wittingness, technical skill, and
interpretive abilities in relation to the performance frame.
Three key categories of behavior with respect to the performance frame are proposed: performing, participating, and spectating. We exemplify the use of our framework by characterizing people's interaction with a DLA -- iPoi. This DLA is based on the ancient Maori art form of poi and employs a wireless, peer-to-peer exertion interface. The design goal of iPoi is to draw people into the performance frame and support transitions from audience to participant and on to performer. We reflect on iPoi in a public performance and outline its key design features. | |||
| Creativity Support: Insights from the Practices of Digital-Atomic Artists | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 3 | |
| R. T. Jim Eales; Dharami Perera | |||
| The support of human creativity by information and communication technology is an important and interesting area for research. To advance our research in this complex area our approach has been to go back to first principles and study examples of creativity in action. In this paper, we describe in some detail the creative practices of two artists. Their work is particularly interesting to us because of the way it straddles the digital-atomic border. Their creative practices involve not only manipulating paint atoms but also manipulating digital bits. From these studies we identify a number of interesting creativity support areas that suggest further investigation. | |||
| Usability is the Best Policy: Public Policy and the Lived Experience of Transport Systems in London | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 4 | |
| Philip Inglesant; M. Angela Sasse | |||
| This paper explores the relations between public policy and usability in
lived experience, drawing on 3 case studies in one important area of urban
policy, transport. For these studies, discourse from interviews and focus
groups with a total of 120 participants, and a written corpus of over 80
documents, were collected and analyzed, together with interviews with 25 key
staff and observations of user interactions both in the laboratory and in situ.
The resulting rich dataset presents a new perspective on e-government systems in use. The results show that usability must be prioritised at the policy design stage; it cannot be left to implementation. Failure to do so is experienced by users in systems which fail to work together to meet their needs. Negative experiences, in turn, may lead to loss of trust and legitimacy, and detract from public value and community well-being. These findings, therefore, provide lessons from HCI insights for both public policy-makers and implementers of e-government systems. The paper concludes by suggesting some HCI methods for pre-venting usability problems in e-government systems, by involving users in design in order to understand their lived experiences around the ecology of the systems. | |||
| A Card-Sorting Probe of E-Banking Trust Perceptions | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 5 | |
| Tim French; Kecheng Liu; Mark Springett | |||
| This paper investigates the issue of trust mediation in e-Banking. The card
sorting technique was used to probe factors influencing subjects' attitudes to
alternative e-banking homepage designs. The subjects also provided their trust
perceptions for the same sites.
These were cross-referenced with constructs generated in the card-sort to investigate the relationship between tangible and intangible trust mediators, including the interplay between site design and usability. The study findings suggest that the degree of effectiveness of tangible factors, such as security policy and trust seals, may be subtly influenced by design phenomena related to usability. The findings are articulated using Gambetta's theory of trust within an e-banking context. These are mapped to the layers of a semiotic trust ladder. | |||
| Multiple Carets, Multiple Screens and Multi-Tasking: New Behaviours with Multiple Computers | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 6 | |
| Russell Beale; William Edmondson | |||
| This study presents interview based case studies of users who work with multiple computers as well as multiple displays. Such users have not been studied before. The behaviour is discussed in terms of both technical and cognitive dimensions, and we identify the importance of having multiple carets and the complexity of multi-tasking and how it can be supported across multiple machines in a way not possible on a single system. | |||
| eKISS: Sharing Experiences in Families Through a Picture Blog | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 7 | |
| Thomas Daslgaard; Mikael B. Skov; Bo Ramsdahl Thomassen | |||
| Contemporary family life can be very stressful and many families are often
busy and separated by time or distance. Physical separation makes it difficult
to maintain an awareness of each other and the feeling of intimacy. But lack of
such intimacy can result in insecure and troubled children.
This paper outlines eKISS, a picture weblog for mediating intimacy between children and parents. eKISS supports asynchronous sharing of experiences from the children to their parents while being physically separated. Communication is based on pictures and text sent through mobile technology and shared on a weblog available to the family. A longitudinal field evaluation revealed that eKISS was able to support acts of intimacy by providing insight, new communication channel, and the possibility to easily share experiences. It also revealed that eKISS was most useful when the family was separated for longer periods of time. | |||
| "The Devil You Know Knows Best": How Online Recommendations can Benefit from Social Networking | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 8 | |
| Philip Bonhard; M. Angela Sassa; Clare Harries | |||
| The defining characteristic of the Internet today is an abundance of
information and choice. Recommender Systems (RS), designed to alleviate this
problem, have so far not been very successful, and recent research suggests
that this is due to the lack of the social context and inter-personal trust.
We simulated an online film RS with 60 participants, where recommender information was added to the recommendations, and a subset of these were attributed to friends of the participants. Participants overwhelmingly preferred recommendations from familiar recommenders with whom they shared interests and a high rating overlap. When recommenders were familiar, rating overlap was the most important decision factor, whereas when they were unfamiliar, the combination of profile similarity and rating overlap was important. We recommend that RS and social networking functionality should be integrated, and show how RS functionality can be added to an existing social networking system by visualising profile similarity. | |||
| Investigating Microphone Efficacy for Facilitation of Mobile Speech-Based Data Entry | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 9 | |
| Joanna Lumsden; Irina Kondratova; Scott Durling | |||
| Despite being nominated as a key potential interaction technique for
supporting today's mobile technology user, the widespread commercialisation of
speech-based input is currently being impeded by unacceptable recognition error
rates.
Developing effective speech-based solutions for use in mobile contexts, given the varying extent of background noise, is challenging. The research presented in this paper is part of an ongoing investigation into how best to incorporate speech-based input within mobile data collection applications. Specifically, this paper reports on a comparison of three different commercially available microphones in terms of their efficacy to facilitate mobile, speech-based data entry. We describe, in detail, our novel evaluation design as well as the results we obtained. | |||
| A Technique for Incorporating Dynamic Paths in Lab-Based Mobile Evaluations | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 10 | |
| Murray Crease; Jo Lumsden; Bob Longworth | |||
| Increasingly, lab evaluations of mobile applications are incorporating
mobility. The inclusion of mobility alone, however, is insufficient to generate
a realistic evaluation context since real-life users will typically be required
to monitor their environment while moving through it.
While field evaluations represent a more realistic evaluation context, such evaluations pose difficulties, including data capture and environmental control, which mean that a lab-based evaluation is often a more practical choice. This paper describes a novel evaluation technique that mimics a realistic mobile usage context in a lab setting. The technique requires that participants monitor their environment and change the route they are walking to avoid dynamically changing hazards (much as real-life users would be required to do). Two studies that employed this technique are described, and the results (which indicate the technique is useful) are discussed. | |||
| Exploring Potential Usability Gaps when Switching Mobile Phones: An Empirical Study | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 11 | |
| Aiko Fallas Yamashita; Wolmet Barendregt; Morten Fjeld | |||
| The present study explores potential usability gaps when users switch from a
familiar to an unfamiliar mobile phone interface. A within-subject experiment
was performed in which nine users familiar with Sony-Ericsson T630 and nine
familiar with Nokia 7250 performed tasks on both phones.
On average, test subjects spent more time on finishing tasks with an unfamiliar phone than with a familiar one. For two of the four tasks, there was a significant difference in completion time between the first-time Nokia users and the first-time Sony-Ericsson users. The tasks of adding a contact to the address book and sending an SMS to a contact in the address book were performed more quickly by new Nokia users than by new Sony-Ericsson users. The subjective difficulty ranking also showed that first-time Nokia users found the new phone easier to use than first-time Sony-Ericsson users did. Hierarchical Task Analysis is used as a potential explanation, and three other theories that relate to these findings are presented: mental models, habit errors, and emotional attachment. | |||
| Indentifying Web Usability Problems from Eye-Tracking Data | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 12 | |
| Claudia Ehmke; Stephanie Wilson | |||
| Eye-tracking research is increasingly used to supplement usability tests in
both commercial and academic practice. However, while there has been research
into links between eyetracking metrics and usability problems, this has so far
fallen short of establishing a general correlation scheme between the two.
Consequently, practitioners are left to make subjective judgements when interpreting eye-tracking data. We address the lack of general guidance by proposing an initial correlation scheme based on data from an exploratory study which aimed to find a wide range of possible correlations between usability problems and eye-tracking patterns. User testing of two websites was conducted and a set of diverse usability problems was extracted from the data; these were then analysed and some were correlated with users' eye-tracking patterns. In addition to this initial correlation scheme, a further finding from this study is that usability problems are connected to not just a single eyetracking pattern, but to a specific sequence of patterns. This sequence of patterns seems to arise from different coping strategies that users develop when a problem is experienced. | |||
| Cueing Retrospective Verbal Reports in Usability Testing Through Eye-Movement Replay | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 13 | |
| Nicola Eger; Linden J. Ball; Robert Stevens; Jon Dodd | |||
| An experimental validation is presented of a novel method for usability
testing that entails the playback of dynamic eyetracking data to cue the
elicitation of retrospective verbal reports. Participants in our study
produced: (1) think-aloud reports during an online search task, and (2)
retrospective reports during another online search task, with reports being
cued by the playback of either the screen capture of events or the
participant's own eye-movements. Task-completion times and response rates were
recorded for all reporting methods.
Fewer participants completed the search task whilst thinking aloud, indicating the reactivity of this technique. Verbal transcripts were coded for instances of usability problems. The eye-cued method identified more usability problems than the think-aloud or screen-cued methods. A significant interaction between search engine type and retrospective cue type suggests that the value of the eye-cue method for eliciting usability problems may be greatest with more complex search environments. Our results demonstrate that when cued appropriately, retrospective reports may be less reactive and more informative than other verbalisation techniques. | |||
| Experiences with Structured Interviewing of Children During Usability Tests | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 14 | |
| Arnold Vermeeren; Mathilde M. Bekker; Ilse E. H. van Kesteren; Huib de Ridder | |||
| In this paper we describe an exploratory study on the use of a structured
interviewing evaluation technique with 6 to 8 year old children. The study
examines whether children are able to answer the post-task questions referring
to the various interaction stages (planning, translation and assessment), and
whether the technique does not lead to adverse effects such as finding a
different set of interaction difficulties.
The results show that children overall are fairly good at answering the questions, but have most trouble answering the planning question. Furthermore, the negative side-effects of applying the technique on the outcome of the usability test are minor. Overall, we advise practitioners to apply such a technique to uncover extra data about possible causes for interaction difficulties and to optimize the effort by only asking detailed questions about those parts of the design that need extra attention. | |||
| ExpECT: An Expanded Error Categorisation Method for Text Input | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 15 | |
| Akiyo Kano; Janet C. Read; Alan Dix; I. Scott MacKenzie | |||
| This paper describes an empirical study on typing errors made by children
during a text copy exercise. The literature on text input errors is first
examined, focussing on studies of errors that occur during keyboard typing. A
study of errors made by children during typing is described and the results
from this study are analysed using visual inspection and already published
error categorisation methods.
These methods are compared with respect to the types and number of errors categorised and uncategorised. We identify and define new kinds of typing errors and use these, together with previously defined error types, to outline an expanded and more detailed method (ExpECT) for the classification of typing errors. ExpECT is compared with the previously examined categorisation methods and is shown to be a more thorough and broader method for the analysis of typing errors. | |||
| Using Formal Models to Design User Interfaces: A Case Study | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 16 | |
| Judy Bowen; Steve Reeves | |||
| The use of formal models for user interface design can provide a number of
benefits. It can help to ensure consistency across designs for multiple
platforms, prove properties such as reachability and completeness and, perhaps
most importantly, can help incorporate the user interface design process into a
larger, formally-based, software development process.
Often, descriptions of such models and examples are presented in isolation from real-world practice in order to focus on particular benefits, small focused examples or the general methodology. This paper presents a case study of developing the user interface to a new software application using a particular pair of formal models, presentation models and presentation interaction models. The aim of this study was to practically apply the use of formal models to the design process of a UI for a new software application. We wanted to determine how easy it would be to integrate such models into our usual development process and to find out what the benefits, and difficulties, of using such models were. We will show how we used the formal models within a user-centred design process, discuss what effect they had on this process and explain what benefits we perceived from their use. | |||
| Agile Human-Centered Software Engineering | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 17 | |
| Thomas Memmel; Fredrik Gundelsweiler; Harald Reiterer | |||
| We seek to close the gap between software engineering (SE) and
human-computer interaction (HCI) by indicating interdisciplinary interfaces
throughout the different phases of SE and HCI lifecycles. As agile
representatives of SE, Extreme Programming (XP) and Agile Modeling (AM)
contribute helpful principles and practices for a common engineering approach.
We present a cross-discipline user interface design lifecycle that integrates SE and HCI under the umbrella of agile development. Melting IT budgets, pressure of time and the demand to build better software in less time must be supported by traveling as light as possible. We did, therefore, choose not just to mediate both disciplines. Following our surveys, a rather radical approach best fits the demands of engineering organizations. | |||
| A Case Study of How User Interface Sketches, Scenarios and Computer Prototypes Structure Stakeholder Meetings | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 18 | |
| Maria Johansson; Mattias Arvola | |||
| In stakeholder meetings during an interaction design project, prototypes are
commonly used for creating shared representations of design ideas. It can,
however, be difficult for designers and meeting facilitators to know which
prototyping technique to use. In this case study we compare user interface
sketches, scenarios, and computer prototypes, and analyse video material from
six stakeholder meetings.
The scenario did not facilitate a focus on aesthetic or ethical perspectives, nor did it facilitate operational or perceptual issues. The prototype did not facilitate discussions on the overarching concept of the design, to the same extent as the sketches did, but it did facilitate operational issues. The sketches gave the broadest discussion. The groups also approached the design differently; for example, the system developers constantly returned to a constructional perspective. This means that the choice of prototyping technique should be made based on the composition of the group and the desired focus of the meeting. | |||
| A Survey on Common Practice in Designing Audio in the User Interface | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 19 | |
| Christopher Frauenberger; Tony Stockman; Marie-Luce Bourget | |||
| The current practice of designing the auditory mode in the user interface is
poorly understood. In this survey, we aim at revealing the common understanding
of the role of audio in human-computer interaction and how designers approach
design tasks involving audio. We investigate which guidelines and principles
participants use in their designs and which guidance is needed to improve the
quality of auditory design.
The responses are analysed and interpreted by quantitative and qualitative methods. The 86 participants enabled us to draw a relatively accurate picture of how the field is perceived and helped to identify problems in the design of efficient audio in the user interface. The results of the survey are subsequently developed into requirements for a methodological design framework, with the aim to provide easily accessible guidance for designers to integrate audio in the user interface. | |||
| HCI... not as it should be: Inferential Statistics in HCI Research | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 20 | |
| Paul Cairns | |||
| This paper surveys the use of inferential statistics over the last two BCS HCI conferences and the last year (2006) of two leading HCI journals. Of the 80 papers covered, 41 used some form of inferential statistics. However, all but one had some form of problem of reporting or analysis that undermined the value or the validity of the statistical testing and hence the research findings. This paper discusses the implications of such widespread issues for HCI research and considers approaches for improving the use of statistics in HCI. | |||
| A Toolkit Approach to Sketched Diagram Recognition | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 21 | |
| Beryl Plimmer; Isaac Freeman | |||
| Sketch-based tools provide a more human centered design environment than
traditional widget-based computer design software. A number of sketch tools
exist that support specific design tasks: however wider exploration of computer
supported sketching is being hampered by the effort required to build the
sketching software. Here we present a sketch tool framework, its implementation
and evaluation.
The implementation, InkKit, provides context free design spaces and a powerful, trainable and extensible modeless writing/drawing recognition engine. It reduces the development effort for a specific diagram type from thousands of lines of code to a few hundred. We evaluated our toolkit by asking fourth year computer science students to use InkKit to develop a diagram specific recognizer. | |||
| Using Hierarchies to Support Non-Visual Access to Relational Diagrams | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 22 | |
| Oussama Metatla; Nick Bryan-Kinns; Tony Stockman | |||
| This paper describes an approach to support non-visual exploration of
graphically represented information. We used a hierarchical structure to
organize the information encoded in a relational diagram and designed two
alternative audio-only interfaces for presenting the hierarchy, each employing
different levels of verbosity. We report on an experimental study that assessed
the viability of our proposed approach as well as the efficiency and
learnability of each interface.
Our results show that the relational information encoded in a diagram could be non-visually navigated and explored through a hierarchy, and that substituting verbal descriptions of parts of such information with nonverbal sounds significantly improve performance without compromising comprehension. | |||
| Inspiring Design: The Use of Photo Elicitation and Lomography in Gaining the Child's Perspective | | BIBA | PDF | Full-Text | 23 | |
| Lynne Hall; Susan Jones; Marc Hall; Joanne Richardson; John Hodgson | |||
| This paper reports on a case study of a participatory technique that focuses on gathering contextual information from users to assist the analysis and design process. It presents a participatory methodology based upon a photo-elicitation approach combined with Lomo photography practices and group-centric analysis aimed at children and teenagers in order to draw together design requirements specifically for them. The paper discusses the use of this approach for designing a multimedia learning application on water safety aimed at 11-13 year olds, with results highlighting the benefits of this approach for creating appropriate designs. | |||