| Edit Wear and Read Wear | | BIBAK | PDF | 3-9 | |
| William C. Hill; James D. Hollan; Dave Wroblewski; Tim McCandless | |||
| We describe two applications that illustrate the idea of computational wear
in the domain of document processing. By graphically depicting the history of
author and reader interactions with documents, these applications offer
otherwise unavailable information to guide work. We discuss how their design
accords with a theory of professional work and an informational physics
perspective on interface design. Keywords: Graphical user interfaces, Informational physics, Interface mechanisms,
Professional work, Reflective practitioner | |||
| The Computer Sciences Electronic Magazine: Translating from Paper to Multimedia | | BIBAK | PDF | 11-18 | |
| W. Randall Koons; Anne M. O'Dell; Nancy J. Frishberg; Mark R. Laff | |||
| In this paper, we discuss issues in design and usability of the IBM Computer
Sciences Electronic Magazine (CSEM). The CSEM is an interactive multimedia
translation of a paper magazine. It contains articles describing Computer
Sciences projects at the four IBM Research Labs. Combining aspects from print,
television, and computers, it is a useful vehicle for studying what we see as a
completely new communication medium. We report both our design rationale in
creating the magazine and the results of several user studies which helped us
understand our successes and failures. These studies are a part of an
iterative process through which we have redesigned and improved the CSEM. Keywords: Electronic magazine, Interactive design, Multimedia design, Navigation,
Indexing, Usability, Hypermedia, Metaphor Note: Color plates are on pages 707-708 | |||
| Hypertext or Book: Which is Better for Answering Questions? | | BIBAK | PDF | 19-25 | |
| Barbee T. Mynatt; Laura Marie Leventhal; Keith Instone; John Farhat; Diane S. Rohlman | |||
| An important issue in the evolution of hypertext is the design of such
systems to optimally support user tasks such as asking questions. Few studies
have systematically compared the use of hypertext to books in seeking
information, and those that have been done have not found a consistent
superiority for hypertext. In addition, designers developing hypertext books
have few guidelines. In the present study, users performed information-seeking
tasks and answered a variety of types of questions about Sherlock Holmes
stories using either a conventional paper encyclopedia or a hypertext
encyclopedia. The questions varied on the amount of information needed to
derive an answer (fact or inference), the location of the question's key phrase
in the hypertext (entry title or entry content), and the format of the
information (text or map). Accuracy and time were recorded. The hypertext
group excelled in answering fact questions where the information was embedded
in a text entry. The book group excelled only in answering fact questions
based on maps. In spite of having far more experience using books, the book
group was not significantly faster overall and did not perform as well on an
incidental learning task. Our results suggest that a hypertext book with a
nonlinear structure and including a variety of navigational tools can equal or
surpass conventional books as an information-seeking medium, even with minimal
training. Keywords: Experimental research, Question answering, Usability of hypertext, Hypertext | |||
| Realizing a Video Environment: EuroPARC's RAVE System | | BIBAK | PDF | 27-35 | |
| William Gaver; Thomas Moran; Allan MacLean; Lennart Lovstrand; Paul Dourish; Kathleen Carter; William Buxton | |||
| At EuroPARC, we have been exploring ways to allow physically separated
colleagues to work together effectively and naturally. In this paper, we
briefly discuss several examples of our work in the context of three themes
that have emerged: the need to support the full range of shared work; the
desire to ensure privacy without giving up unobtrusive awareness; and the
possibility of creating systems which blur the boundaries between people,
technologies and the everyday world. Keywords: Group work, Collaboration, Media spaces, Multi-Media, Video | |||
| Evaluating Video as a Technology for Informal Communication | | BIBAK | PDF | 37-48 | |
| Robert S. Fish; Robert E. Kraut; Robert W. Root; Ronald E. Rice | |||
| Collaborations in organizations thrive on communication that is informal
because informal communication is frequent, interactive, and expressive.
Informal communication is crucial for the coordination of work, learning an
organization's culture, the perpetuation of the social relations that underlie
collaboration, and, in general, any situation that requires communication to
resolve ambiguity. Informal communication is traditionally mediated by
physical proximity, but physical proximity cannot mediate in geographically
distributed organizations. The research described here evaluates the adequacy
of a version of a desktop video/audio conferencing system for supporting
informal communication in a research and development laboratory. The
evaluation took place during a trial in which the system was used by summer
employees and their supervisor-mentors. While the system was used frequently,
the most common uses and users' assessments suggest that it was used more like
a telephone or electronic mail than like physically mediated face-to-face
communication. However, some features of its use transcended traditional media
and allowed users to gain awareness of their work environment. The paper
concludes with a discussion of requirements for successful technology to
support informal communication. Keywords: Informal meetings, Evaluation, Video, Desktop videoconferencing, Group work,
Collaboration | |||
| Speech Patterns in Video-Mediated Conversations | | BIBAK | PDF | 49-59 | |
| Abigail J. Sellen | |||
| This paper reports on the first of a series of analyses aimed at comparing
same room and video-mediated conversations for multiparty meetings. This study
compared patterns of spontaneous speech for same room versus two video-mediated
conversations. One video system used a single camera, monitor and speaker, and
a picture-in-a-picture device to display multiple people on one screen. The
other system used multiple cameras, monitors, and speakers in order to support
directional gaze cues and selective listening. Differences were found between
same room and video-mediated conversations in terms of floor control and amount
of simultaneous speech. While no differences were found between the video
systems in terms of objective speech measures, other important differences are
suggested and discussed. Keywords: CSCW, Videoconferencing, Conversation patterns | |||
| Human-Computer Interaction Research at Georgia Institute of Technology | | BIB | PDF | 61-62 | |
| James D. Foley; Christine M. Mitchell; Neff Walker | |||
| The Virginia User Interface Laboratory | | BIB | PDF | 63-64 | |
| Randy Pausch | |||
| System Ergonomics and Human-Computer Interaction at SIEMENS Corporate Research and Development | | BIB | PDF | 65-66 | |
| H. Raffler; M. Schneider-Hufschmidt; T. Kuhme | |||
| Anthropomorphism: From Eliza to Terminator 2 | | BIB | PDF | 67-70 | |
| Abbe Don; Susan Brennan; Brenda Laurel; Ben Shneiderman | |||
| Action Assignable Graphics: A Flexible Human-Computer Interface Design Process | | BIB | PDF | 71-72 | |
| Matthew D. Russell; Howard Xu; Lingtao Wang | |||
| The AT&T Display Construction Set User Interface Management System (UIMS) | | BIB | PDF | 73-74 | |
| Joseph P. Rotella; Amy L. Bowman; Catherine A. Wittman | |||
| An Interface for Interactive Spatial Reasoning and Visualization | | BIBAK | PDF | 75-82 | |
| James R. Osborn; Alice M. Agogino | |||
| An interface for software that creates a natural environment for engineering
graphics students to improve their spatial reasoning and 3D visualization
skills is described. The skills of interest involve spatial transformations
and rotations, specifically those skills that engineers use to reason about 3D
objects based on 2D representations. The software uses an intuitive and
interactive interface allowing direct manipulation of objects. Animation
capability is provided to demonstrate the relationship between arbitrary
positions of an object and standard orthographic views. A second skill of
interest requires visualization of a cutting-plane intersection of an object.
An interface is developed which allows intuitive positioning of the
cutting-plane utilizing the metaphor of a "pool of water" in which the object
is partially submerged. The surface of the water represents the cutting plane.
Adjustment of the pool depth combined with direct manipulation of the object
provides for arbitrary positioning of the cutting-plane. Subjective evaluation
of the software thus far indicates that students enjoy using it and find it
helpful. A formal testing plan to objectively evaluate the software and
interface design is underway. Keywords: Spatial reasoning, Three dimensional visualization, Direct manipulation,
Engineering graphics | |||
| Graphical Fisheye Views of Graphs | | BIBAK | PDF | 83-91 | |
| Manojit Sarkar; Marc H. Brown | |||
| A fisheye lens is a very wide angle lens that shows places nearby in detail
while also showing remote regions in successively less detail. This paper
describes a system for viewing and browsing planar graphs using a software
analog of a fisheye lens. We first show how to implement such a view using
solely geometric transformations. We then describe a more general
transformation that allows hierarchical, structured information about the graph
to modify the views. Our general transformation is a fundamental extension to
the previous research in fisheye views. Keywords: Fisheye views, Information visualization | |||
| A Magnifier Tool for Video Data | | BIBAK | PDF | 93-98 | |
| Michael Mills; Jonathan Cohen; Yin Yin Wong | |||
| We describe an interface prototype, the Hierarchical Video Magnifier, which
allows users to work with a video source at fine-levels of detail while
maintaining an awareness of temporal context. The technique allows the user to
recursively magnify the temporal resolution of a video source while preserving
the levels of magnification in a spatial hierarchy. We discuss how the ability
to inspect and manipulate hierarchical views of temporal magnification affords
a powerful tool for navigating, analyzing and editing video streams. Keywords: Interface metaphors, Time-Varying data, Hierarchical representation,
Multimedia authoring, Information-Retrieval, Video editing, Granularity of
information | |||
| A Research Program to Assess User Perceptions of Group Work Support | | BIBAK | PDF | 99-106 | |
| John Satzinger; Lorne Olfman | |||
| Computer support for group work is a technological innovation receiving
considerable attention from developmental researchers. This paper reports the
preliminary results from two surveys which assessed user perceived needs for
various types of group work support. The instruments, distributed to managers
and professionals in a variety of organizations, described group support
scenarios and associated functions/tools and asked for an assessment of their
usefulness to one of the respondent's organizational work groups. Support for
between meetings group work was perceived to be more useful than support for
either face to face or electronic meetings. Common single user tools were
generally perceived to be more useful than multi-user group tools. Individual
differences and implications are addressed. Keywords: Computer supported cooperative work, CSCW, Groupware, Technology acceptance
model | |||
| Gardeners and Gurus: Patterns of Cooperation among CAD Users | | BIBAK | PDF | 107-117 | |
| Michelle Gantt; Bonnie A. Nardi | |||
| We studied CAD system users to find out how they use the sophisticated
customization and extension facilities offered by many CAD products. We found
that users of varying levels of expertise collaborate to customize their CAD
environments and to create programmatic extensions to their applications.
Within a group of users, there is at least one local expert who provides
support for other users. We call this person a local developer. The local
developer is a fellow domain expert, not a professional programmer, outside
technical consultant or MIS staff member. We found that in some CAD
environments the support role has been formalized so that local developers are
given official recognition, and time and resources to pursue local developer
activities. In general, this formalization of the local developer role appears
successful. We discuss the implications of our findings for work practices and
for software design. Keywords: Cooperative work, CAD, End user programming | |||
| Beyond Being There | | BIBAK | PDF | 119-125 | |
| Jim Hollan; Scott Stornetta | |||
| A belief in the efficacy of imitating face-to-face communication is an
unquestioned presupposition of most current work on supporting communications
in electronic media. In this paper we highlight problems with this
presupposition and present an alternative proposal for grounding and motivating
research and development that frames the issue in terms of needs, media, and
mechanisms. To help elaborate the proposal we sketch a series of example
projects and respond to potential criticisms. Keywords: Telecommunications, CSCW | |||
| Evaluating Two Aspects of Direct Manipulation in Advanced Cockpits | | BIBAK | PDF | 127-134 | |
| James A. Ballas; Constance L. Heitmeyer; Manuel A. Perez | |||
| Increasing use of automation in computer systems, such as advanced cockpits,
presents special challenges in the design of user interfaces. The challenge is
particularly difficult when automation is intermittent because the interface
must support smooth transitions from automated to manual mode. A theory of
direct manipulation predicts that this interface style will smooth the
transition. Interfaces were designed to test the prediction and to evaluate
two aspects of direct manipulation, semantic distance and engagement.
Empirical results supported the theoretical prediction and also showed that
direct engagement can have some adverse effects on another concurrent manual
task. Generalizations of our results to other complex systems are presented. Keywords: Direct manipulation, Interface styles, Interface design, Adaptive
automation, Intermittent automation, Aircraft interfaces, Intelligent cockpit | |||
| Iterative Design of an Interface for Easy 3-D Direct Manipulation | | BIBAK | PDF | 135-142 | |
| Stephanie Houde | |||
| Although computer tools for 3-D design applications are now widely available
for use on personal computers, they are unnecessarily difficult to use.
Conventions for establishing and manipulating views of 3-D objects require
engineering-oriented dialogues that are foreign to most users. This paper
describes the iterative design and testing of a new mechanism for moving 3-D
objects with a mouse-controlled cursor in a space planning application
prototype. Emphasis was placed on developing a design which would make 3-D
interaction more intuitive by preserving users' experiences with moving objects
in the real, physical world. Results of an informal user test of the current
interface prototype are presented and implications for the development of a
more general direct manipulation mechanism are discussed. Keywords: 3-D manipulation, Direct manipulation, Iterative design, Space planning,
Hand gestures, Narrative handles, Bounding box, Handle box | |||
| Computing for Users with Special Needs and Models of Computer-Human Interaction | | BIBAK | PDF | 143-148 | |
| William W. McMillan | |||
| Models of human-computer interaction (HCI) can provide a degree of
theoretical unity for diverse work in computing for users with special needs.
Example adaptations for special users are described in the context of both
implementation-oriented and linguistic models of HCI. It is suggested that the
language of HCI be used to define standards for special adaptations. This
would enhance reusability, modifiability, and compatibility of adaptations,
inspire new innovations, and make it easier for developers of standard
interfaces to incorporate adaptations. The creation of user models for
subgroups of users with special needs would support semantic and conceptual
adaptations. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Models, Handicapped, Special education,
Rehabilitation, Accessibility | |||
| Designing Usable Systems Under Real-World Constraints: A Practitioners Forum | | BIBK | PDF | 149-152 | |
| Robert M. Mulligan; Mary Dieli; Jakob Nielsen; Steven Poltrock; Daniel Rosenberg; Susan Ehrlich Rudman | |||
Keywords: Design process, Organizational issues, Usability, User interface | |||
| Prototyping an Instructible Interface: Moctec | | BIBAK | PDF | 153-154 | |
| David L. Maulsby | |||
| Moctec is a set of interactive mockups of an interface for programming
search and replace tasks by example. The user guides inference by pointing at
relevant features of data. Keywords: Demonstrational interface, Prototyping | |||
| Interface Support for Comet: A Knowledge-Based Software Reuse Environment | | BIB | PDF | 155-156 | |
| Sherman Tyler; Jon Schlossberg | |||
| The Art of Search: A Study of Art Directors | | BIBAK | PDF | 157-163 | |
| Sharon R. Garber; Mitch B. Grunes | |||
| We formulated a model of visual search by conducting a work flow study and
task analysis of art directors as they searched for images to use in an
advertisement. The analysis revealed the presence of artistic and image
concepts, flexible structures which guide the search and are molded by them.
Analysis results were used to build a model-based interface for visual search.
Results from presenting the interface to users indicate that the interface has
the potential to make significant contributions to the visual search task, both
in time savings and as an aid to the creative process. Keywords: User models, Cognitive models, User interface design, Task analysis,
Navigation, Searching, Visual problem solving Note: Color plate is on page 703 | |||
| Browser-Soar: A Computational Model of a Highly Interactive Task | | BIBAK | PDF | 165-172 | |
| Virginia A. Peck; Bonnie E. John | |||
| Browser-Soar models the perceptual, cognitive, and motor operators of a user
searching for information in an on-line help browser. The model accounts for
90% of the browsing behavior observed in ten episodes. This result suggests
that much of browsing behavior is a routine cognitive task, describable by
GOMS, and extends the boundary of tasks to which GOMS applies to include highly
interactive tasks. Further, it also suggests that GOMS analyses can be used to
evaluate browser interfaces, as they have been used to evaluate text-editors
and other computer applications, and to help focus design effort. Keywords: Browsing, Cognitive models, GOMS, Soar | |||
| Towards Task Models for Embedded Information Retrieval | | BIBAK | PDF | 173-180 | |
| H. Ulrich Hoppe; Franz Schiele | |||
| This paper investigates to what extent task-oriented user support based on
plan recognition is feasible in a highly situation-driven domain like
information retrieval (IR) and discusses requirements for appropriate task
models. It argues that information seeking tasks which are embedded in some
higher-level external task context (e.g. travel planning) often exhibit
procedural dependences; that these dependences are mainly due to the external
task; and that they can be exploited for inferring the users' goals and plans.
While there is a clear need for task models in IR to account for situational
determinants of user behaviour, what is required are hybrid models that take
account of both its "planned" and "situated" aspects. Empirical evidence for
the points made is reported from a probabilistic analysis of retrieval sessions
with a fact database and from experience with plan-based and state-based
methods for user support in an experimental travel planning system. Keywords: Task models, Information retrieval, Plan recognition, Planned vs. situated
action | |||
| Knowledge-Based Evaluation as Design Support for Graphical User Interfaces | | BIBAK | PDF | 181-188 | |
| Jonas Lowgren; Tommy Nordqvist | |||
| The motivation for our work is that even though user interface guidelines
and style guides contain much useful knowledge, they are hard for user
interface designers to use. We want to investigate ways of bringing the human
factors knowledge closer to the design process, thus making it more accessible
to designers. To this end, we present a knowledge-based tool, containing
design knowledge drawn from general guideline documents and toolkit-specific
style guides, capable of evaluating a user interface design produced in a UIMS.
Our assessment shows that part of what the designers consider relevant design
knowledge is related to the user's tasks and thus cannot be applied to the
static design representation of the UIMS. The final section of the paper
discusses ways of using this task-related knowledge. Keywords: User interface evaluation, Design support, Guidelines, Style guides | |||
| Controlling User Interface Objects Through Pre- and Postconditions | | BIBAK | PDF | 189-194 | |
| Daniel F. Gieskens; James D. Foley | |||
| We have augmented user interface objects (i.e. windows, menus, buttons,
sliders, etc.) with preconditions that determine their visibility and their
enabled/disabled status and postconditions that are asserted when certain
actions are performed on the object. Postconditions are associated with each
functionally different action on the object. Attaching pre- and postconditions
to interface objects provides several useful features, such as selective
enabling of controls, rapid prototyping, and automatic generation of
explanations and help text. Keywords: User interface tools, Prototyping, Predicates | |||
| Survey on User Interface Programming | | BIBAK | PDF | 195-202 | |
| Brad A. Myers; Mary Beth Rosson | |||
| This paper reports on the results of a survey of user interface programming.
The survey was widely distributed, and we received 74 responses. The results
show that in today's applications, an average of 48% of the code is devoted to
the user interface portion. The average time spent on the user interface
portion is 45% during the design phase, 50% during the implementation phase,
and 37% during the maintenance phase. 34% of the systems were implemented
using a toolkit, 27% used a UIMS, 14% used an interface builder, and 26% used
no tools. The projects using only toolkits spent the largest percentage of the
time and code on the user interface (around 60%) compared to around 45% for
those with no tools. This appears to be because the toolkit systems had more
sophisticated user interfaces. The projects using UIMSs or interface builders
spent the least percent of time and code on the user interface (around 41%)
suggesting that these tools are effective. In general, people were happy with
the tools they used, especially the graphical interface builders. The most
common problems people reported when developing a user interface included
getting users' requirements, writing help text, achieving consistency, learning
how to use the tools, getting acceptable performance, and communicating among
various parts of the program. Keywords: Information interfaces and presentation, User interfaces, Evaluation,
Methodology, User interface management systems, Windowing systems, Software
engineering, Tools and techniques, User interfaces, Design, Human factors, User
interface software, Surveys, User interface tools | |||
| Orderable Dimensions of Visual Texture Useful for Data Display: Orientation, Size, and Contrast | | BIBAK | PDF | 203-209 | |
| Colin Ware; William Knight | |||
| Vision research relating to the human perception of texture is briefly
reviewed with a view to arriving at the principal dimensions of visual texture
useful for data display. The conclusion is that orientation, size (1/spatial
frequency), and contrast (amplitude) are the primary orderable dimensions of
texture. Data displayed using these texture parameters will be subject to
similar distortions to those found when color is used. Textures synthesized
using Gabor function primitives can be modulated along the three primary
dimensions. Some preliminary results from a study using Gabor functions to
modulate luminance are presented which suggest that: perceived texture size
difference are approximately logarithmic, a 5% change in texton size is
detectable 50% of the time, and large perceived size differences are do not
predict small (just noticeable) size differences. Keywords: Scientific visualization, Visual texture, Cartography | |||
| The Perceptual Structure of Multidimensional Input Device Selection | | BIBAK | PDF | 211-218 | |
| Robert J. K. Jacob; Linda E. Sibert | |||
| Concepts such as the logical device, taxonomies, and other descriptive
frameworks have improved understanding of input devices but ignored or else
treated informally their pragmatic qualities, which are fundamental to
selection of input devices for tasks. We seek the greater leverage of a
predictive theoretical framework by basing our investigation of
three-dimensional vs. two-dimensional input devices on Garner's theory of
processing of perceptual structure in multidimensional space. We hypothesize
that perceptual structure provides a key to understanding performance of
multidimensional input devices on multidimensional tasks. Two
three-dimensional tasks may seem equivalent, but if they involve different
types of perceptual spaces, they should be assigned correspondingly different
input devices. Our experiment supports this hypothesis and thus both indicates
when to use three-dimensional input devices and gives credence to our
theoretical basis for this indication. Keywords: Input devices, Interaction techniques, Gesture input, Polhemus tracker,
Perceptual space, Integrality, Separability | |||
| Extending Fitts' Law to Two-Dimensional Tasks | | BIBAK | PDF | 219-226 | |
| I. Scott MacKenzie; William Buxton | |||
| Fitts' law, a one-dimensional model of human movement, is commonly applied
to two-dimensional target acquisition tasks on interactive computing systems.
For rectangular targets, such as words, it is demonstrated that the model can
break down and yield unrealistically low (even negative!) ratings for a task's
index of difficulty (ID). The Shannon formulation is shown to partially
correct this problem, since ID is always >= 0 bits. As well, two alternative
interpretations of "target width" are introduced that accommodate the
two-dimensional nature of tasks. Results of an experiment are presented that
show a significant improvement in the model's performance using the suggested
changes. Keywords: Human performance modeling, Fitts' Law, Input devices, Input tasks | |||
| When TVs are Computers are TVs | | BIBAK | PDF | 227-230 | |
| S. Joy Mountford; Peter Mitchell; Pat O'Hara; Joe Sparks; Max Whitby | |||
| This panel brings together experts from TV production with those in the
computer multimedia business. They will discuss what is likely to happen when
the two media coexist. An exciting opportunity exists in merging the strengths
of both media together synergistically to create pervasive and powerful
Interactive Television. Keywords: Interface design, Multimedia design | |||
| Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus User Interface Designer WorkBench | | BIBAK | PDF | 231-232 | |
| Martha R. Szczur | |||
| TAE Plus was built at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to support the
building of GUI user interfaces for highly interactive applications, such as
realtime processing systems and scientific analysis systems. TAE Plus is
designed as a productivity tool for the user interface designer. Human factor
experts and user interface designers frequently do not want to have to learn
the programming details of the windowing environment before they use a GUI
development tool to prototype and/or develop an application's user interface.
TAE Plus has been developed with this user in mind. TAE Plus is a user
interface management system that supports (1) interactively constructing the
visual layout of an application screen, (2) rehearsing the UI, (3) generating
the application source code to manage the UI, and (4) providing run-time
services to manage the UI during application execution. Keywords: Design tools, User interface, Development tools, Productivity, User
interface management system | |||
| CHIRP: The Computer-Human Interface Rapid Prototyping Toolkit | | BIB | PDF | 233-234 | |
| Bob Remington | |||
| The Art of the Obvious | | BIBAK | PDF | 235-239 | |
| E. Nygren; M. Lind; M. Johnson; B. Sandblad | |||
| In addition to normal reading, knowledge can be gained from a paper document
by pattern recognition and encoding of characteristics of the information
media. There are reasons to believe that this can be done automatically with
very little attentional demand. The knowledge gained is accessible to
consciousness and can be used for task components like orientation, navigation,
detection of changes and as a complement to normal reading. When information
is computerized, and is read from a screen instead of from a paper, the
conditions for automaticity are often radically changed. In most cases the
reader has to gain the corresponding knowledge by effortful cognitive
processes. This means adding to the cognitive load leaving less attentional
capacity for the main task at hand. This problem can be avoided by a careful
analysis of a reading task into its automatic and non-automatic components,
followed by a dedicated user interface design where information relevant for
orientation, navigation etc is presented in a way that the reader can perceive
rather than read. Keywords: User interface design, Task analysis, User models, Reading, Tacit knowledge Note: Color plates are on pages 709-710 | |||
| A Computational Model of Skilled Use of a Graphical User Interface | | BIBAK | PDF | 241-249 | |
| Muneo Kitajima; Peter G. Polson | |||
| This paper describes a computational model of skilled use of a graphical
user interface based on Kintsch's construction-integration theory [4, 8]. The
model uses knowledge of a detailed representation of information on the
display, a user's goals and expectations, knowledge about the interface, and
knowledge about the application domain to compute actions necessary to
accomplish the user's current goal. The model provides a well-motivated
account of one kind of errors, action slips [14], made by skilled users. We
show how information about the intermediate state of a task on the display
plays a critical role in skilled performance, i.e., display-based problem
solving [10]. Keywords: User models, Graphical user interfaces, Display-based problem solving,
Action slips | |||
| A GOMS Analysis of a Graphic, Machine-Paced, Highly Interactive Task | | BIBAK | PDF | 251-258 | |
| Bonnie E. John; Alonso H. Vera | |||
| A GOMS analysis was used to predict the behavior of an expert in a graphic,
machine-paced, highly interactive task. The analysis was implemented in a
computational model using the Soar cognitive architecture. Using only the
information available in an instruction booklet and some simple heuristics for
selecting between operators, the functional-level behavior of the expert proved
to be virtually dictated by the objects visible on the display. At the
keystroke-level, the analysis predicted about 60% of the behavior, in keeping
with similar results in previous GOMS research. We conclude that GOMS is
capable of predicting expert behavior in a broader range of tasks than
previously demonstrated. Keywords: User models, Cognitive models, GOMS, Soar, Video games | |||
| Coupling Application Design and User Interface Design | | BIBAK | PDF | 259-266 | |
| Dennis J. M. J. de Baar; James D. Foley; Kevin E. Mullet | |||
| Building an interactive application involves the design of both a data model
and a graphical user interface (GUI) to present that model to the user. These
two design activities are typically approached as separate tasks and are
frequently undertaken by different individuals or groups. Our approach
eliminates redundant specification work by generating an interface directly
from the data model itself. An inference engine using style rules for
selecting and placing GUI controls (i.e., widgets) is integrated with an
interface design tool to generate a user interface definition. This approach
allows a single data model to be mapped onto multiple GUI's by substituting the
appropriate rule set and thus represents a step toward a GUI-independent
run-time layout facility. Keywords: User interface software, Automatic user interface design, Data models | |||
| Workspaces: An Architecture for Editing Collections of Objects | | BIBAK | PDF | 267-272 | |
| Dan R., Jr. Olsen; Thomas G. McNeill; David C. Mitchell | |||
| Many tools create new user interfaces by compositing them out of smaller
pieces. This usually leads to variations on the dialog box to edit a single
composite object. Workspaces are a model for compositing together various
editors to manipulate sets of objects and their attributes. The workspace
components communicate in terms of a selected set and the attributes possessed
by objects in that set. This model has been implemented as part of the Sushi
UIMS. Keywords: Collection editing, User interface management systems, Editors, Interactive
software | |||
| Selectors: Going Beyond User-Interface Widgets | | BIBAK | PDF | 273-279 | |
| Jeff Johnson | |||
| Most UI toolkits and UIMSs make use of widgets, e.g., buttons, text fields,
sliders, menus. Designers construct user interfaces by choosing and laying out
widgets, then connecting them to application semantics. This approach has four
problems. First, most widgets are too low-level: constructing interfaces from
them takes too much work. Second, working with widgets focuses attention on
appearance and layout issues, rather than on more important semantic design
issues. Third, designers, can easily make poor widget choices, yielding poor
interfaces. Fourth, widgets do not mesh well with application semantics; they
know nothing about the variables they control. We are developing an
application construction environment in which designers and implementers work
with semantic-based controls called Selectors rather than with widgets.
Selectors are classified according to their interface semantics (e.g.,
mutually-exclusive choice), rather than their appearance. Each type of
Selector can be presented in a variety of ways; this may be chosen
semi-automatically. Selectors mesh well with application semantics: their
values are application data-types and their views determine how to present
valid values automatically. Keywords: User-interface toolkit, UIMS, Widgets | |||
| HUSAT - 21 Years of HCI: The Human Sciences & Advanced Technology Research Institute | | BIB | PDF | 281-282 | |
| Brian Shackel | |||
| The Human-Computer Technology Group at Bellcore | | BIBK | PDF | 283-284 | |
| Rita M. Bush | |||
Keywords: Technology transfer, User-centered design, Graphical user interfaces, User
modeling | |||
| The Human Factors Group at Compaq Computer Corporation | | BIB | PDF | 285-286 | |
| Interfaces for Consumer Products: "How to Camouflage the Computer?" | | BIB | PDF | 287-290 | |
| Maddy D. Brouwer-Janse; Raymond W. Bennett; Takaya Endo; Floris L. van Nes; Hugo J. Strubbe; Donald R. Gentner | |||
| A Window System with Leafing Through Mode: BookWindow | | BIBA | PDF | 291-292 | |
| Kyoichi Arai; Teruo Yokoyama; Yutaka Matsushita | |||
| This paper describes "BookWindow" that we implemented, a window system based on the "book" metaphor, that displays information not by scrolling but by using the animation of paging through. The BookWindow system equips some bookmarks, tabs, etc, by which we can access to an expected page through our requirements. BookWindow can support our work environment which navigates us through information space flexibly, because human beings are quite familiar with "books". | |||
| Value Bars: An Information Visualization and Navigation Tool for Multi-Attribute Listings | | BIB | PDF | 293-294 | |
| Richard Chimera | |||
| A Performance Model of System Delay and User Strategy Selection | | BIBAK | PDF | 295-305 | |
| Steven L. Teal; Alexander I. Rudnicky | |||
| This study lays the ground work for a predictive, zero-parameter engineering
model that characterizes the relationship between system delay and user
performance. This study specifically investigates how system delays affects a
user's selection of task strategy. Strategy selection is hypothesized to be
based on a cost function combining two factors: (1) the effort required to
synchronize input with system availability and (2) the accuracy level afforded.
Results indicate that users, seeking to minimize effort and maximize accuracy,
choose among three strategies -- automatic performance, pacing, and monitoring.
These findings provide a systematic account of the influence of system delay on
user performance, based on adaptive strategy choice drive by cost. Keywords: System response time, Strategy selection, Interface design, Human factors | |||
| The Precis of Project Ernestine, or, An Overview of a Validation of GOMS | | BIBK | PDF | 307-312 | |
| Wayne D. Gray; Bonnie E. John; Michael E. Atwood | |||
Keywords: GOMS, Analysis methods, Empirical studies, User models, Cognitive models,
Methods for analysis/assessment, Prototyping, Protocol analysis, Theory in HCI | |||
| Method Engineering: From Data to Model to Practice | | BIBAK | PDF | 313-320 | |
| Erik Nilsen; HeeSen Jong; Judith S. Olson; Peter G. Polson | |||
| This paper explores the behavior of experts choosing among various methods
to accomplish tasks. Given the results showing that methods are not chosen
solely on the basis of keystroke efficiency, we recommend a technique to help
designers assess whether they should offer multiple methods for some tasks, and
if they should, how to make them so that they are chosen appropriately. Keywords: User-interface design issues, Design techniques, Models of the user | |||
| The Decoupled Simulation Model for Virtual Reality Systems | | BIBAK | PDF | 321-328 | |
| Chris Shaw; Jiandong Liang; Mark Green; Yunqi Sun | |||
| The Virtual Reality user interface style allows the user to manipulate
virtual objects in a 3D environment using 3D input devices. This style is best
suited to application areas where traditional two dimensional styles fall
short, but the current programming effort required to produce a VR application
is somewhat large. We have built a toolkit called MR, which facilities the
development of VR applications. The toolkit provides support for distributed
computing, head-mounted displays, room geometry, performance monitoring, hand
input devices, and sound feedback. In this paper, the architecture of the
toolkit is outlined, the programmer's view is described, and two simple
applications are described. Keywords: User interface software, Virtual reality, Interactive 3D graphics | |||
| Interactive Simulation in a Multi-Person Virtual World | | BIBAK | PDF | 329-334 | |
| Christopher Codella; Reza Jalili; Lawrence Koved; J. Bryan Lewis; Daniel T. Ling; James S. Lipscomb; David A. Rabenhorst; Chu P. Wang; Alan Norton; Paula Sweeney; Greg Turk | |||
| A multi-user Virtual World has been implemented combining a flexible-object
simulator with a multisensory user interface, including hand motion and
gestures, speech input and output, sound output, and 3-D stereoscopic graphics
with head-motion parallax. The implementation is based on a distributed
client/server architecture with a centralized Dialogue Manager. The simulator
is inserted into the Virtual World as a server. A discipline for writing
interaction dialogues provides a clear conceptual hierarchy and the
encapsulation of state. This hierarchy facilitates the creation of alternative
interaction scenarios and shared multiuser environments. Keywords: User interface management system, Dialog manager, Virtual worlds, Virtual
reality, Interactive simulation | |||
| The Abstraction-Link-View Paradigm: Using Constraints to Connect User Interfaces to Applications | | BIBAK | PDF | 335-342 | |
| Ralph D. Hill | |||
| The goal of the RENDEZVOUS project is to build interactive systems that are
used by multiple users from multiple workstations, simultaneously. This goal
caused us to choose an architecture that requires a clean run-time separation
of user interfaces from applications. Such a separation has long been a stated
goal of UIMS researchers, but it is difficult to achieve. A key technical
reason for the difficulty is that modern direct manipulation interfaces require
extensive communication between the user interface and the application to
provide semantic feedback. We discuss several communications mechanisms that
have been used in the past, and present our approach -- the
Abstraction-Link-View paradigm. Links are objects whose sole responsibility is
to facilitate communication between the abstraction objects (application) and
the view objects (user interfaces). The Abstraction-Link-View paradigm relies
on concurrency and a fast but powerful constraint system. Keywords: Information interfaces and presentation, User interfaces, User interface
management systems, Information interfaces and presentation, Group and
organization interfaces, Synchronous interaction, Dialog independence,
Constraints | |||
| Grace Meets the "Real World": Tutoring COBOL as a Second Language | | BIBAK | PDF | 343-350 | |
| Bob Radlinski; Jean McKendree | |||
| Grace is an intelligent tutoring system for COBOL which has been used to
teach both novice and experienced programmers. While the tutor was quite
effective in several classes and was designed with cognitive and interface
principles in mind, we discuss a number of interesting issues that we have
discovered when novice and experienced programmers used the tutor. Most of
these problems are related to incompatibilities between the tutor interactions
and the students' expectations in two areas: (1) the interactions with the
tutor versus the interactions in their usual work environment and (2) the way
in which experienced programmers solve problems. We describe these issues
along with our solutions in the revised version of the tutor. Keywords: Intelligent tutoring systems, Expert/novice differences, Skill acquisition,
Task analysis, User-centered design, Situated learning | |||
| Evocative Agents and Multi-Media Interface Design | | BIBAK | PDF | 351-356 | |
| Beth Adelson | |||
| This paper describes research which focuses on the issue of possible roles
for computerized agents within multi-media educational software. Keywords: Computerized agents, Multi-media software, Educational software, Foreign
language learning Note: Color plates are on pages 699-701 | |||
| Graphic StoryWriter: An Interactive Environment for Emergent Storytelling | | BIBAK | PDF | 357-364 | |
| Karl E. Steiner; Thomas G. Moher | |||
| The Graphic StoryWriter (GSW) is an interactive system that enables its
users to create structurally complete stories through the manipulation of
graphic objects in a simulated storybook. A rule-based story engine manages
character and prop interaction, guides story development, and generates text.
Through the simple interface and story writing engine, the Graphic StoryWriter
provides an environment for early readers to learn about story structures, to
experience the relationship between pictures and text, and to experiment with
causal effects. This paper describes the motivation for and design of the
Graphic StoryWriter, and reports on an empirical comparison of childrens'
stories generated orally and using the GSW. Keywords: User interaction, Story grammars, Educational software | |||
| Toward a More Humane Keyboard | | BIB | PDF | 365-368 | |
| William Hargreaves; David Rempel; Nachman (Manny) Halpern; Robert Markison; Karl Kroemer; Jack Litewka | |||