| Importance of Failure Analysis for Human-Computer Interface Design | | BIB | 3-8 | |
| Thomas T. Hewett | |||
| Direct Manipulation Interaction Tasks: A Macintosh-Based Analysis | | BIBAK | 9-26 | |
| C. H. E. Phillips; M. D. Apperley | |||
| Direct manipulation interfaces cover a range of interactions involving a
variety of styles. An important first step in developing techniques for
describing and implementing asynchronous interactive dialogues of the type
found in direct manipulation environments is an understanding of the underlying
interaction tasks viewed from a user perspective. This paper reviews previous
attempts to classify interaction tasks, examines them in the context of the
Macintosh environment and proposes a taxonomy of tasks. Particular attention
is devoted to tasks involving repeated actions. It is shown that all tasks
reduce to selection sub-tasks, which has implications for the types of tools
and techniques needed to describe and implement direct manipulation interfaces.
In particular it is suggested that the meneme model of Lean Cuisine (Apperley
and Spence, 1989) which was developed in the context of menu systems, and is
based on selectable representations of objects, could be extended to handle the
other interactions of a direct manipulation interface. Keywords: Direct manipulation, Interaction tasks, Macintosh interface, Design
notations | |||
| Adaptive Predictive Text Generation and the Reactive Keyboard | | BIBAK | 27-50 | |
| John J. Darragh; Ian H. Witten | |||
| The paper explores the application of predictive text generation to the
human-computer interface. Predictive techniques exploit the statistical
redundancy of language to accelerate and amplify user inputs. Acceleration is
achieved by making more likely language elements faster to select, while
amplification is accomplished by selection of concatenated elements. The
language models used are created adaptively, decoupling the prediction
mechanism from the application domain and user's vocabulary, and conforming
automatically to whatever kind of text is entered.
A device called the 'reactive keyboard' is described along with two user interface implementations, one for keyboard entry and the other for a mouse/window environment. A clear separation is made between the system's user interface and the underlying model it employs, and the two versions share the same prediction technique and adaptive modelling mechanism. The basic idea is to order context-conditioned candidate strings, which are predicted by the model, according to frequency and display them for selection. Keywords: Communication aid, Predictive text generation, Adaptive modelling, Disabled
users, Typing aid, Human-computer interface, Command-line editing | |||
| Rapid Prototyping in Human-Computer Interface Development | | BIBAK | 51-91 | |
| H. Rex Hartson; Eric C. Smith | |||
| Some conventional approaches to interactive system development tend to force
commitment to design detail without a means for visualizing the result until it
is too late to make significant changes. Rapid prototyping and iterative
system refinement, especially for the human interface, allow early observation
of system behaviour and opportunities for refinement in response to user
feedback. The role of rapid prototyping for evaluation of interface designs is
set in the system development life-cycle. Advantages and pitfalls are weighed,
and detailed examples are used to show the application of rapid prototyping in
a real development project. Kinds of prototypes are classified according to
how they can be used in the development process, and system development issues
are presented. The future of rapid prototyping depends on solutions to
technical problems that presently limit effectiveness of the technique in the
context of present day software development environments. Keywords: Rapid prototyping, Human-computer interaction, Prototyping, User interface,
Development environment, Development methodology, Evaluation, Life-cycle,
Software tools, User interface management | |||
| Teaching the Practitioners: Developing a Distance Learning Postgraduate HCI Course | | BIBAK | 92-118 | |
| Jenny Preece; Laurie Keller | |||
| This paper reports on HCI education and on issues in HCI needing resolution
when developing a course in human-computer interaction.
We also look at how HCI can be taught, particularly to professional engineers, scientists and managers, using distance teaching and predicated on students using their industrial base as a classroom and laboratory. The paper also draws a comparison between the practices of user-centred iterative software design and the way that our course was developed. Keywords: Curriculum development, Multidisciplinary, Theory, Practice, Knowledge,
Tools, Terminology, Distance learning, User-centred course development | |||
| Rogerian Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction | | BIBAK | 119-128 | |
| H. W. Killam | |||
| Psychology is an important part of human-computer interface design, and many
schools of psychology have contributed to our understanding in this area.
Humanistic psychology, particularly the work of Carl Rogers and his
client-centred approach to therapy, is one area of psychology that has not been
directly applied to human-computer interaction, yet it is being applied
unknowingly. The paper presents an overview of the development of Rogerian
psychology and attempts to show how its principles are currently being
addressed in human-computer interface design. It is hoped that an
understanding of the humanistic perspective will provide insight into why
certain guidelines and applications elicit user acceptance while others do not.
Particular areas of computer use and specific applications where this knowledge
can be applied are discussed. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Psychology, Human factors | |||
| IMAGES: A User Interface Development System | | BIBAK | 131-154 | |
| J. Alves Marques; Nuno Guimaraes; L. Pinto Simoes | |||
| The paper describes the user interface (UI) environment developed for the
SOMIW (Secure Open Multimedia Integrated Workstation) project. The basic goals
of the project were the definition of a comprehensive architecture handling all
relevant UI concepts and the implementation of an interface generator
integrated in the programming environment. Other goals were related to the
specific requirements of a multimedia workstation (image, voice synthesis and
recognition), distribution and integration with the operating system.
The architecture of the user interface management system is based on a conceptual virtual environment defined by an object-oriented computational model, and visualization and input models. This environment is described in the initial sections, followed by an outline of the specification and generation tools. We conclude by describing the internal details of IMAGES, the implementation techniques in development and the target machines. Keywords: User interface management systems, Object-oriented programming | |||
| Users, A Software Usability Model and Product Evaluation | | BIBAK | 155-166 | |
| Richard Holcomb; Alan L. Tharp | |||
| The paper advances an amalgamated model of software usability in conjunction
with a method for improving the usability of commercial software products. The
model organises the substantial amount of prior research on software usability
into seven basic principles, their underlying attributes, and associated
relative weights. This model of software usability for human-computer
interaction has two primary goals: first, to allow software designers to make
quantitative decisions about which usability attributes should be included in a
design; and second, to provide a usability metric by which software designs can
be consistently rated and compared. The paper focuses on the second goal.
Since it is ultimately the users of a software system who decide its usability, the method proposed suggests that the users be made an integral part of the software design and development process. It recommends that the users of current and future software products be asked, through questionnaires, how well a product meets the principles and underlying attributes of usability as defined by the model. Only if the ultimate users of a product are pleased is a product likely to succeed. The paper reviews the model and its evaluation. It then illustrates the method by describing its use in evaluating a particular word-processing product, WordPerfect. In that evaluation, 988 questionnaires were sent to users of the product. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Usability, Software design, WordPerfect | |||
| Interactive Modelling in Decision Support Systems | | BIBAK | 167-186 | |
| Matthew R. Jones | |||
| In the past, the use of computer models in decision support has involved the
interpretation of written reports derived from the output of the model. In
recent years, however, the development of microcomputers and distributed
computing systems has made it possible for decision-makers to be provided, not
with a written report, but with a copy of the model itself. The new
relationship between the user and the model, which this development
establishes, has important implications for the way in which decision support
systems (DSSs) are designed and used. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Decision support systems, Interfaces | |||
| Visual Simulation as an Aid to Understanding Computer Functions | | BIBAK | 187-203 | |
| Inger V. Eriksson; Annika E. Finnas; Pekka Reijonen | |||
| A help system with a visual simulation model is presented and evaluated.
The simulation model allows the user to follow the transactions in a storage
department on different hierarchical levels of detail; transaction flows
between departments and units, detailed manipulation on the section level, and
step-by-step progress of computer functions. The time dimension is taken into
consideration, and the transactions can be followed forwards but may also be
traced backwards. The backward trace is accomplished by two history files
concerning data and actions taken. The model is designed to be used in two
modes: simulation controlled by the system and simulation controlled by the
user, controlled and interactive simulation, respectively. A prototype version
of controlled simulation is presented as an example. Performed experiments
show that the simulation model is useful as an aid in learning to understand
computer functions. Keywords: Simulation, Visualization, Help-system, Information system, End-user
knowledge, Learning | |||
| Observations and Inventions: New Approaches to the Study of Human-Computer Interaction | | BIBAK | 204-216 | |
| Andrew F. Monk; P. C. Wright | |||
| Dissatisfaction with the traditional model of HCI research borrowed from
experimental psychology has lead to a number of interesting new approaches.
One is the so-called 'hermeneutic approach' based on field research methods.
Another is to apply existing theory from cognitive psychology. This paper is
mainly concerned with a third discernible approach based around a study of the
artifacts or inventions built to facilitate human-computer interaction. The
effectiveness of different system features is explained by reference to the
user's task. The investigation of 'observation-invention pairs' is suggested
as a way of providing generalisations about user behaviour consistent with this
approach. The observation part is a statement about the behaviour of users
with some specific generality. The invention serves to illustrate the
observation's implications for design and provides a heuristic for further
inventions. The paper relates observation-invention pairs to other analyses of
artifacts and concludes that they have a place as general statements of
knowledge for HCI design. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, User behaviour, Observation-invention pairs | |||
| Visual Guidance for Information Navigation: A Computer-Human Interface Design Principle Derived from Cognitive Neuroscience | | BIBAK | 217-231 | |
| Gary W. Strong; Karen E. O'Neill Strong | |||
| Cognitive neuroscience describes the important function of the 'where'
cortical processing system in directing attention to locations in space at
which the 'what' cortical processing system identifies information. Spatial
information detected by the 'where' system therefore indexes content
information. Studies have shown that such spatial indexing can occur in recall
as well as in the direction of perception within a stimulus array. Application
of spatial indexing, as understood in cognitive neuroscience, to the design of
computer interfaces would more closely couple computer applications to human
information processing capabilities. A principle of computer-human interface
design is offered which takes spatial indexing into account at both the screen
and application levels. The principle states that designers should communicate
via a spatial code in the range of possible behaviours available from each
location within the application. In other words, the designer must define an
information space and present it to users from each location-relative point of
view as they navigate through the space rather than from an absolute,
location-independent point of view as if they are looking down from above. The
goal of this paper is to get computer-human interface designers to recognize
that people are actually highly skilled navigators within three-dimensional
space and that interfaces would improve if designers would take such skills
into account. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Interface design, Spatial indexing | |||
| Report on the INTERACT'90 Workshop on Education in HCI: Transcending Disciplinary and National Boundaries | | BIB | 232-240 | |
| Marilyn Mantei; Thomas Hewett; Ken Eason; Jenny Preece | |||
| Context and its Representation | | BIBAK | 243-252 | |
| Geoff Cooper | |||
| Recent work in HCI has argued that an adequate account of computer use and
the user's understandings should pay attention to the contexts in which
interactions take place. The paper reaffirms this claim and distinguishes some
variants of it, but simultaneously argues that the specification of what is to
count as 'context' is more problematic than is often supposed. Some empirical
data in the form of a transcribed videotape of one interaction is discussed to
illustrate the argument. Finally, some implications for HCI are briefly
considered. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Context, Ethnomethodology, Practical reasoning,
Representation | |||
| Improving Touchscreen Keyboards: Design Issues and a Comparison with Other Devices | | BIBAK | 253-269 | |
| Andrew Sears | |||
| The study explored touchscreen keyboards using high precision touchscreen
strategies. Phase one evaluated three possible monitor positions: 30°,
45°, and 75° from horizontal. Results indicate that the 75° angle,
approximately the standard monitor position, resulted in more fatigue and lower
preference ratings. Phase two collected touch bias and key size data for the
30° angle. Subjects consistently touched below targets, and touched to the
left of targets on either side of the screen. Using these data, a touchscreen
keyboard was designed. Phase three compared this keyboard with a
mouse-activated keyboard, and the standard QWERTY keyboard for typing
relatively short strings of 6, 19, and 44 characters. Results indicate that
users can type approximately 25 words/minute (wpm) with the touchscreen
keyboard, compared to 17 wpm using the mouse, and 58 wpm when using the
keyboard. Possible improvements to touchscreen keyboards are suggested. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Interaction devices, Touchscreens | |||
| Cognitive Assessment of Alternatives | | BIBAK | 270-282 | |
| Robert Spence; Maureen Parr | |||
| To support a wide range of cognitive tasks involving the relative assessment
of alternative choices, the authors advocate consideration of the simultaneous
presentation of those choices, each choice being represented by a
multidimensional icon (a 'portrayal') whose features encode the attribute
values of a particular choice. An experiment is reported which focused on the
relative merits, for a decision-making task, of textual and graphical (iconic)
descriptions of alternative choices. Significant effects of representation and
choice population on time taken to reach a solution were found. Keywords: Cognition, Decision-making, Choice-representation | |||
| The Challenge of Interface Design for Communication Theory: From Interaction Metaphor to Contexts of Discovery | | BIBAK | 283-301 | |
| Mary A. Keeler; Susan M. Denning | |||
| Those who study interface design still have not resolved the issue of
whether the computer is a passive medium or a communicative participant with
which we can hope to 'engage in conversation'. The authors think that this
controversy reflects an inadequate philosophy of interface design, which cannot
account for what purpose a medium serves in a human communication. In a short
history of human-computer interface research, we trace the development of this
philosophy through three generations of computer interface technology and find
that its failure lies in the conceptual limitations of its driving concept of
interaction.
Just as the concept of interaction provided the transition from the past (command-line interface) to the present (desktop metaphor interface), perhaps, the concept of engagement can provide the transition from our present understanding of the 'interactive desktop' interface to multimedia's 'contexts of discovery'. The development of multimedia gives interface designers the ultimate challenge to develop interface technology that will simulate human-to-human communication. Should human communication theory be able to treat the conceptual deficiencies of interface design philosophy? The authors find fundamental challenges here and briefly indicate what Charles S. Peirce's semiotic might offer as an age-old remedy. Keywords: Human-computer interaction, Interface design, Multimedia | |||
| Visual Development of Database Applications | | BIBAK | 302-318 | |
| Levent V. Orman | |||
| An exclusively visual approach to the development of database applications
is introduced. Graphical tools and techniques are designed to represent all
components of an application system, and all phases of the development process.
Data, constraints, queries, transactions and programs are all expressed
graphically. Analysis, design, maintenance, and even inference are carried out
using graphical techniques. The visual approach is expected to be most
appropriate for end users, and it is likely to encourage end-user participation
in application development. Keywords: Visual development, Database application, Application development, Visual
language, Visual design | |||
| A Survey of CSCW Systems | | BIBAK | 319-353 | |
| Tom Rodden | |||
| Over the last decade, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) has emerged
as an identifiable research area that focuses on the role of the computer in
group work. CSCW is a generic term which combines the understanding of the
nature of group working with the enabling technologies of computer networking,
systems support and applications. The paper examines the classes of system
which have emerged to support cooperative working. A framework for
characterising and describing CSCW systems is presented and four major classes
of cooperative system identified. Each of these classes of cooperative system
are examined highlighting their general characteristics and applicability to
CSCW. Keywords: Computer supported cooperative work, Message systems, Conference systems,
Authoring systems | |||