| Designing Multimedia for Human Needs and Capabilities | | BIBAK | 1-5 | |
| Herre van Oostendorp; Jenny Preece; Albert G. Arnold | |||
| The central tenet of HCI is to ensure that software and hardware design
supports users doing their tasks. Most of the papers in this Special Issue go
one step beyond designing for usability -- they also address design issues
related to supporting human values. As computer usage becomes more diverse both
in terms of the range of users and types of applications, human values such as
democracy will become increasingly important and controversial, especially, as
the number of people coming onto the Internet increases. For example, the issue
of computer haves and have nots is well known, but governments are only just
starting to think through its implications in terms of future policy. In
addition, understanding users' affective responses to systems and how emotions
are conveyed across networks is starting to gain designers' attention. Brenda
Laurel's company, Purple Moon, is a clear example of the perceived need of
designing to support users' emotional needs, in this case, teenage girls. Keywords: Human values; Usability; Multimedia | |||
| The Influence of Structure and Reading-Manipulation on Usability of Hypertexts | | BIBAK | 7-21 | |
| Christof van Nimwegen; Miriam Pouw; Herre van Oostendorp | |||
| This study investigates the influence of structure and reading-manipulation,
and more importantly, the interaction between these two variables on usability
of hypertexts. Four types of hypertexts are distinguished, differing in
structure (hierarchical, or hierarchical with partial linearity) and
reading-manipulation (scrolling or paging). A fifth extra hypertext containing
a hierarchical structure with partial linearity and both paging and scrolling
was also investigated. The information itself, a city guide about Utrecht with
cultural and tourist information, was exactly the same in all hypertexts. Three
aspects of usability were examined: efficiency, ease of learning and
user-satisfaction. These aspects are measured by performance on 24 search tasks
and a task reflecting insight into the structure of the hypertext. Also,
questions about the structure of the hypertext and satisfaction with the system
had to be answered. The results indicated that structure and
reading-manipulation did not interact. There were, however, significant main
effects of structure and reading-manipulation. A purely hierarchical structure
was frequently more usable than a hierarchical structure with partial
linearity, and scrolling appeared to be more useful than paging. The fifth
alternative hypertext seemed slightly more usable than the hypertexts with
linearity, but less usable than purely hierarchical hypertexts. The findings
combined suggest that a purely hierarchical hypertext with scrolling is most
useful, probably because this structure and kind of reading-manipulation both
provide a clear insight into the structure of the hypertext. We assume this
insight to be necessary for adequate performance. Keywords: Hypertext; Usability; Reading manipulation; Structure | |||
| The Validity of Rational Criteria for the Interpretation of User-Hypertext Interaction | | BIBAK | 23-36 | |
| A. Tricot; E. Puigserver; M. Diallo | |||
| This study is about how to interpret users interactions with multimedia
systems, in particular their interaction with hypertext. It is generally
admitted that our knowledge of how to interpret users search paths in
information systems is very limited. Further, there are also controversies
about the validity of the import of rational criteria, such as recall,
precision and economy, from the domain of information retrieval to the
interpretation of users behaviour. The purpose of the present study was to
examine the relevance of these criteria to human behaviour. The results of two
experiments show the rational criteria such as precision and economy seem to be
irrelevant criteria for the interpretation of users search paths in terms of
recall, except when the user's task is simple to achieve and constrained (i.e.
a task where subjects have to find precisely a small number of relevant
information units in a simple system). In the latter case precision and economy
are positively correlated with recall. For less simple and unconstrained tasks,
the performance of subjects seems to be much more influenced by strategic
considerations. Further, it was shown that task constraints lead to more
precise performance. Apparently subjects spend more effort under these
circumstances to search precisely than in conditions without pressure. Keywords: Information retrieval; Hypertext; Interaction design; On-line interaction | |||
| Multimedia Systems in Distance Education: Effects of Usability on Learning | | BIBAK | 37-49 | |
| Oronzo Parlangeli; Enrica Marchigiani; Sebastiano Bagnara | |||
| Multimedia systems are more and more used in distance learning. Since these
systems are often structured as a hypertext, they pose additional problems to
the user due to the complexity of navigable paths. In these cases the user has
to learn both the structure of the hypertext and the provided contents. Three
studies have been conducted to test the hypothesis that the level of usability
of a system can affect the learning performance. The first two studies were
aimed at evaluating the level of usability of a system developed as a
multimedia distance learning course. An experiment was then conducted to
compare the learning performance of students using this system to that of other
students using different educational tools.
Results lend a preliminary support to the hypothesis that a difficult to use hypermedia system can negatively affect learning performance. Keywords: Multimedia systems; Hypertexts; Usability evaluation; Distance education;
Learning | |||
| Bringing the Internet to the Community | | BIBAK | 51-61 | |
| C. Charlton; C. Gittings; P. Leng; J. Little; I. Neilson | |||
| Current developments in browser technology have largely ignored academic
research on interface design in hypermedia systems. This is unlikely to change
in the future. Thus, the needs of an information society must be met by
providing appropriate training in the use of the technology in the community.
To be effective, such training has to identify the difficulties computer-naive
members of the public experience with existing systems and to consider both
software and training based solutions to these problems.
This paper seeks to encourage debate about strategies for facilitating access to Internet technology in the community by reviewing both the success and the difficulties encountered in a public access to the Internet outreach programme, the Internet Express, currently operating at libraries in Merseyside, UK. Keywords: Internet; WWW; Public access; Training; Community | |||
| Empathic Communities: Balancing Emotional and Factual Communication | | BIBAK | 63-77 | |
| Jenny Preece | |||
| The Web empowers a diverse population of users and this is reflected in both
the demography and interests of today's on-line communities. Many of these
communities provide an essential social function by enabling people with
medical or personal problems to discuss their concerns with others. Physicians
can provide the facts, but other patients can tell you what it really feels
like and what to expect next, in a way that only someone with personal
experience can. A study of the messages from an on-line medical support group
shows that empathy is an essential ingredient in participants' discussions.
Better tools are needed to empower patients to help themselves by finding
information and contacting other patients in bulletin board communities.
Suggestions about the nature of these tools are discussed. In particular,
supporting a balance between empathic and factual communication is stressed. Keywords: Bulletin board; EmpathyI; Information exchange; On-line community | |||
| Development Milestones towards a Tool for Working with Guidelines | | BIBAK | 81-118 | |
| J. Vanderdonckt | |||
| Several tools for working with guidelines already exist, both as commercial
products as well as within research and development. As these tools frequently
manipulate guidelines during many development steps of a user interface of an
interactive application, they can overthrow any approach followed to develop
this application. They also raise the fundamental question of to what extent
can we trust these tools. To answer this question, we introduce five
development milestones through which we must pass to produce a high quality
tool for working with guidelines:
1. An initial unstructured but comprehensive set of guidelines is formed by
collecting, gathering, merging, compiling guidelines from all available world-wide ergonomic sources. 2. The initial set is sorted and classified within a single organising framework. 3. A methodology, paying particular attention to finding and applying relevant guidelines is developed for grounding interactive applications on the organised set of guidelines. 4. The structured guidelines and the supporting methodology are given computational representations for manipulation by computer-based tools. 5. The methodology developed in (3) is further modified to optimise the effectiveness of computer-assisted user interface design. In this paper, we define these milestones and their associated goals, specify a general procedure and discuss some problems raised at each milestone. We then deliver an analytic synthesis of various experiences acquired to solve these problems and we discuss the validity of these experiences from the point of view of completeness, consistency and correctness. From these experiences, we finally draw some lessons useful for any future usage and development of a tool for working with guidelines. Keywords: Computer-aided design of user interfaces; Development methodology; Ergonomic
algorithm; Evaluation; Guidelines; Human-computer interaction; Interactive
application; Software development methodologies; Software engineering; Software
ergonomics; Standard; Style guide; Tools for working with guidelines;
Usability; User interface | |||
| User Interface Guidelines and Standards: Progress, Issues, and Prospects | | BIBAK | 119-142 | |
| P. Reed; K. Holdaway; S. Isensee; E. Buie; J. Fox; J. Williams; A. Lund | |||
| This article reviews progress in the development of standards and guidelines
for human-computer interaction, including those developed within international
and US standards bodies. Guidance for incorporating software ergonomics
standards and guidelines into software design and development processes is
discussed. Several different techniques that have been defined for assessing
the conformance of a product to guidelines are reviewed. In addition, the
strategies employed by formally approved standards developed in ISO and ANSI
for determining conformance are discussed. Finally, we discuss the prospects
and challenges for software ergonomics standards and guidelines that must be
addressed as the pace of technological change continues to accelerate. Keywords: Software ergonomics standards; User interface design; User interface
guidelines; Software usability standards; Software ergonomics in design and
development; Usability conformance assessment; Tools for working with
guidelines | |||
| A Taxonomy of Design Guidance for Hypermedia Design | | BIBAK | 143-160 | |
| B. Kemp; K. Buckner | |||
| This paper describes the authors' efforts to codify and organise a wide
range of design guidance, consisting of principles, guidelines, design
methodologies and models. This involved the construction of a taxonomy of
design guidance for hypermedia. The authors describe the procedure used to
create a taxonomy of design guidance, and the taxonomy itself is given. The
problems inherent in the construction procedure are illustrated, and ways in
which the resulting taxonomy might be improved are considered. Keywords: Tools for working with guidelines | |||
| Automatic Cross-Referencing of HCI Guidelines by Statistical Methods | | BIBAK | 161-177 | |
| L. Goffinet; M. Noirhomme-Fraiture | |||
| This paper deals with the problem of automatically generating
cross-reference links when converting existing HCI guidelines to hypertext. A
statistical approach is introduced, based on techniques commonly used in
Information Retrieval. Complementary probabilistic methods are also considered,
so as to benefit from existing information about interesting links (manual
cross-references) in order to create more relevant links than the ones
generated without any knowledge. A semi-automated method is outlined to
generate cross-references, with an application to a design guide containing
guidelines. Keywords: Automatic cross-referencing; Hypertext generation; Semantic links; Tools for
working with guidelines | |||
| Incorporating Standards and Guidelines in an Approach that Balances Usability Concerns for Developers and End Users | | BIBAK | 179-206 | |
| J. Carter | |||
| Human-computer interaction (HCI) guidelines are intended to help developers
create usable systems for end users. However, these guidelines must first be
usable for developers before they can improve the usability for end users.
Unfortunately there is no requirement that HCI guidelines are usable
themselves. The recent proliferation of HCI guidelines has added to the
usability problems of HCI guidelines for developers. In order to get over these
problems, developers need help in integrating the many available guidelines
within their development process in a usable manner. The Usability First
methodology helps the user to identify appropriate sources of guidance
including experimentation, style guides, guidelines and standards. It also
includes a variety of specific guidelines and references to major HCI
standards. Keywords: Guidelines; Human-computer interaction; Software development methodologies;
Software engineering; Standards; Tools for working with guidelines; Usability | |||
| Formalization and Proof of Design Guidelines Within the Scope of Testing Formally Specified Electronic Product Catalogues | | BIBA | 209-223 | |
| H. Fritzsche; T. Michel | |||
| Electronic product catalogues (EPCs) are a class of complex event driven multimedia information systems. A software engineering model was developed in the EPK-fix project to construct and test EPCs on the basis of formal specifications. With reference to the specification a whitebox-based test technology is supported by a test assistant. The dynamic analysis prerequisites the production of an interpretable dynamic model to simulate states and transitions of an EPC discretely. A test agent controls both the model and the EPC. Formal proof techniques are employed to detect violations against formalized design guidelines. Both formulation and formalization of design rules are demonstrated by example. A horn clause interpreter is used to prove the observance of design rules in state configurations of the EPC. Error detection by formal proofs enhances the test process. | |||
| A Methodology and Tools for Applying Context-Specific Usability Guidelines to Interface Design | | BIBAK | 225-243 | |
| S. Henninger | |||
| This paper presents a methodology and an associated technology to create
context-specific usability guidelines. The objective is to transform usability
guidelines into a proactive resource that software developers can employ early
and often in the development process. The methodology ensures conformance with
established guidelines, but has the flexibility to use design experiences to
adapt the guidelines to meet the emergent and diverse requirements of modern
user interface design. Case-based and organizational learning technology is
used to support the methodology and provide valuable resources for software
developers. Keywords: Guidelines; Human-computer interaction; Software development methodologies;
Software engineering; Standards; Tools for working with guidelines; Usability | |||
| A Model Based Approach to Semi-Automated User Interface Generation for Process Control Interactive Applications | | BIBAK | 245-279 | |
| F. Moussa; C. Kolski; M. Riahi | |||
| The purpose of this paper is the description of a model-based approach
(called ERGO-CONCEPTOR) to semi-automated user interface (UI) generation. Its
application field concerns process control interactive applications. From a
database describing the industrial process (for instance a chemical process) to
be supervised, the system is able to generate automatically UI specifications
using guidelines. The specifications contain eventually, design alternatives.
They can be selected by the designer who can then interactively generate the
UI. ERGO-CONCEPTOR is composed of three main modules. The first allows an
interactive process description according to three sub-models (a physical
model, a structural model and a functional model). The second module uses a
knowledge-based approach for the automated generation of the UI specification.
Finally, the third module is used by the designer to interactively generate the
specified UI. Keywords: Automatic generation; Guidelines; Human-computer interaction; Human factors;
Interactive application; Interface design; Model-based approach; Process
control; Software ergonomics; Specification; User interface | |||
| Integrated Support for Working with Guidelines: The Sherlock Guideline Management System | | BIBAK | 281-311 | |
| D. Grammenos; D. Akoumianakis; C. Stephanidis | |||
| For a number of years, the primary medium for propagating human factors
input to interactive system development has been paper-based guideline
reference manuals. However, in the recent past, a number of tools for working
with guidelines have emerged to ease the tasks of: (i) accessing and retrieving
guidelines, (ii) applying recommendations to design prototypes, and (iii)
facilitating a more effective human factors input to the early stages of system
development. This paper presents a new way for working with guidelines and
discusses the functionality, properties, typical use and evaluation of a
supporting tool environment, the Sherlock Guideline Management System. Sherlock
builds upon and extends the results of previous efforts to address state of the
art requirements and problems, as highlighted by recent practice and experience
in the use of the current generation of guideline management systems. In
particular, Sherlock provides an integrated environment for articulating and
depositing guidelines, accessing past experience, propagating
guidelines/recommendations to the user interface development life-cycle, and
facilitating the automatic usability inspection of tentative design. Thus,
Sherlock fosters persistency of organisational knowledge on guidelines and
evolution of the accumulated design wisdom. Keywords: Guideline management system (GMS); Tools for working with guidelines;
Automatic usability inspection; User interface design support | |||
| Special Issue on Intelligent Interface Technology: Editor's Introduction | | BIB | 315-322 | |
| D. R. Benyon; D. M. Murray | |||
| Intelligent Interface Technology: From Theory to Reality? | | BIBAK | 323-336 | |
| M. F. McTear | |||
| The relationship between theory and practice is particularly important in
Intelligent Interface Technology as the ultimate proof of concept here is that
the interface actually works, and that it is acceptable to users. For this
reason practical issues such as performance, reliability and usability would
seem to be more important than theoretical issues such as choice of system
design methodology or specification notations. This article reviews two
important areas of Intelligent Interface Technology, user modelling and spoken
dialogue systems, considering the potential contribution of Artificial
Intelligence research to the 'intelligent' components of this technology and
examining the extent to which theoretical research in Artificial Intelligence
contributes to the commercial deployability of Intelligent Interface
Technology. It is concluded that, while theoretical foundations are necessary
to prevent ad hoc solutions that lack generalisability, practical constraints
of performance and usability will constrain the applicability of theoretical
research in real systems. Keywords: Intelligent interfaces; Commercial deployability; User modelling; Spoken
dialogue; Computational linguistics | |||
| Vanishing Windows Technique for Adaptive Window Management | | BIBAK | 337-355 | |
| T. Miah; J. L. Alty | |||
| Windowing system offer many benefits to users, such as being able to work on
multiple tasks concurrently; or working with a number of windows, each
connected to different remote machines or applications. Unless these windows
are managed efficiently, users can easily become overwhelmed by the number of
windows currently open and begin to lose their way round the desktop. This can
lead to a state where the desktop is cluttered with windows. At this stage
"window thrashing occurs, as users begin to perform window management
operation (move, resize, minimise and etc.) in order to locate relevant pieces
of information contained in one of several open windows.
This article identifies a number of problems experienced by users of any windowing system such as Microsoft Windows, X-Windows or the Apple Macintosh windowing systems. It outlines a technique for reducing screen clutter when using such systems. The technique is known as Vanishing or Fading Windows. One of the features of this technique is that some of the burden of the window management operation is taken over by the system, hence allowing the user to focus more on application domain activities. Keywords: Screen clutter; Vanishing windows; Cognitive overload; Adaptive window
manager | |||
| Assistant Agents for the World Wide Web Intelligent Interface Design Challenges | | BIBAK | 357-381 | |
| R. J. Keeble; R. D. Macredie | |||
| The development of 'intelligent' or 'adaptive' user interfaces has been a
strong research theme in Human-Computer Interaction for many years, with the
terms often used interchangeably. In this article we will argue that seeing
these terms as interchangeable can be misleading and can have implications for
the expectations of systems both from the designer's and user's perspectives.
We will suggest that the emphasis at the interface should be on adaptation,
leaving intelligent behaviour to the user. The article argues that realistic
expectations of available interaction information must be maintained when
specifying the behaviour of an adaptive interface, such as the one containing
agents. This article illustrates the process of the design and implementation
of a set of software agents which act as Web Assistants, aiding the user in
browsing the world wide web (WWW): issues in specifying the agents'
functionality and adaptation characteristics; issues in designing the
adaptation and inference rules required for each agent and implementing and
integrating them within a user interface. The process raises both architectural
and implementation issues which lead to conclusions drawn at the end of the
article, concerning adaptivity versus intelligence and considering specifically
the quality of interaction information available and the need to maintain
realistic expectations on the part of the designers of adaptive systems. Keywords: Intelligent user interfaces; Adaptive user interfaces; Software agents; User
interface design; User modelling; Interface architectures; Web browsing | |||
| Encapsulating Intelligent Interactive Behaviour in Unified User Interface Artefacts | | BIBAK | 383-408 | |
| D. Akoumianakis; A. Savidis; C. Stephanidis | |||
| Intelligence at the level of the user interface is currently being supported
through a number of prevalent strands, including adaptive user interfaces,
model-based user interface development and interface agents. Moreover, the term
intelligent user interface typically implies the notion of dynamically
enhancing the interaction with a single implemented artefact to suit different
usage patterns, user groups, or contexts of use. This article extends this
notion and describes how unified design artefacts can support the development
of accessible and high quality user interfaces exhibiting the characteristics
of multiple metaphor environments. To this effect, the article outlines the
principles of unified user interface development and discusses how it can be
used to advance Intelligent Interface Technology to account for diverse user
requirements and interaction contexts. Keywords: Intelligent user interfaces; Multiple metaphor environment; Unified user
interface development method | |||
| Steps to Take Before Intelligent User Interfaces Become Real | | BIBAK | 409-426 | |
| K. Höök | |||
| Intelligent user interfaces have been proposed as a means to overcome some
of the problems that direct manipulation interfaces cannot handle, such as:
information overflow problems; providing help on how to use complex systems; or
real-time cognitive overload problems. Intelligent user interfaces are also
being proposed as a means to make systems individualised or personalised,
thereby increasing the system's flexibility and appeal. Unfortunately, there
are a number of problems not yet solved that prevent us from creating good
intelligent user interface applications. We do not have efficient methods for
developing them. There are demands on better usability principles for them. We
need a better understanding of the possible ways the interface can utilise
intelligence to improve the interaction. Finally, we need to design better
tools that will enable an intelligent system to survive the full life cycle of
a system (including updates of the database, system support, etc.). We define
these problems further and point out some possible solutions. Keywords: Intelligent user interfaces; User modelling; Usability | |||
| Information Technology Acceptance in a Sample of Government Employees: A Test of the Technology Acceptance Model | | BIBAK | 427-443 | |
| Peter Roberts; Ron Henderson | |||
| The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) [37] model, a derivative of the Theory
of Reasoned Action (TRA) [26], attempts to explain the psychological
determinants of attitudes, and subsequent acceptance behaviour, towards
Information Technology (IT) in the workplace. The present study examined the
efficacy of this psychologically based TAM within two samples of government
workers experienced in the use of computers (N=108). All participants completed
a self-report questionnaire consisting of both previously developed and purpose
derived scales. The study achieved its purpose of replicating and validating a
development of the TAM, although only moderate support for the model was found.
The applied implications of the research and wider theoretical implications of
the study are discussed. Keywords: Information technology; Technology acceptance model; Human-computer
interface | |||
| Distributed Visual Reasoning for Intelligent Information Retrieval on the Web | | BIBAK | 445-467 | |
| C. Lee; Y.-T. Chen | |||
| In this article, we describe a distributed visual reasoning system for
intelligent information retrieval on the Web. The system is an integration of
visual programming, the Web browser, Java applets, inference engine, and
database servers. It provides users with a visual programming interface and
acts as a mediator to coordinate messages passing among the Web clients,
inference engine, and database servers for the information retrieval. A Web
server is used to store the required Web page and to provide the required
configuration functions for the system. Through the Web client a user can
download all required Java classes, information, and the visual programming
interface agent through the HTTP protocol, then activate the functions of Java
applets. By composing visual sentences and providing parameters in the visual
programming interface a user can extract the required information. A
distributed communication model is proposed to give better communication speed
and a more reliable connection. We use a financial diagnosis as one of many
potential applications to illustrate our system. Keywords: World Wide Web; Information retrieval; Visual programming; Java; Financial
diagnosis; Distributed system | |||
| Side Effects of Decision Guidance in Decision Support Systems | | BIBAK | 469-481 | |
| J. J. Jiang; G. Klein | |||
| Ideal Decision Support Systems (DSS) provide aid in the attainment of a
solution to a particular problem of the user. However, during system
interaction, the dialogue design of the DSS has the potential to influence the
outcome of the solution. This side effect may or may not be desirable, but
system designers must be aware of the potential impact. A laboratory study
described in this report examines the significance of the impact. A total of 46
subjects conducted decisions on forecasting methods under two different design
structures for DSS interfaces. An increase in guidance provided by the system
led to a significant change in the decision model selected. This change in
model selected resulted in a number of different solutions to the study's
forecasting problem. In application settings, such impacts need to be evaluated
prior to implementation to avoid the situations where the software influences
the decision process. Keywords: Decision support systems; Decision guidance; User interface design | |||
| Design and Evaluation of the Alignment Stick | | BIBAK | 483-506 | |
| R. Raisamo; K.-J. Raiha | |||
| Object alignment is one of the basic operations in drawing programs. Current
solutions provide mainly three ways for carrying out this operation: either by
issuing an alignment command, or by using direct positioning with the help of
gravity active points, or by making use of constraints. The first technique has
limited functionality, and the other two may be difficult to learn for a
novice. We describe here a new direct manipulation tool for alignment. We show
that while direct manipulation helps to make the normal use of the tool
intuitive, it also offers advanced functionality not found in current
commercial products. We report on an empirical study in which we compared the
ease of use, intuitiveness, learnability, and efficiency of alignment menus,
palettes and the alignment stick. In the study novice users found the basic
operation of the alignment stick natural and easy to learn. The increased
functionality was best appreciated and utilized by the experienced users. Keywords: Drawing programs; Alignment tools; Direct manipulation; Menus; Tool
palettes; Two-handed interaction; Alignment stick; Empirical tests | |||
| Possible Implications of Aging for Interface Designers | | BIBAK | 507-528 | |
| D. Hawthorn | |||
| The populations of the developed countries are becoming older while computer
use is affecting increasingly wide aspects of life. Thus it is increasingly
important that interface designs make software accessible to older adults.
However there is almost no research on what makes an interface usable for older
adults. As a stopgap measure this paper reviews the findings on the effects of
age on relevant abilities and uses this information to provide suggestions to
consider when designing interfaces for older users. The paper concludes with
indications of the needed research in the area of interface design for older
users. Keywords: Computer use; Interface designs; Aging | |||
| Intelligent Graphical User Interface Design Utilizing Multiple Fuzzy Agents | | BIBAK | 529-542 | |
| A. Agah; K. Tanie | |||
| A novel approach for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of
human-computer interactions through an intelligent graphical user interface
(GUI) is presented in this paper. It is demonstrated that through monitoring
the user's actions, the system can determine the intents of the user,
transforming the deduced intentions into system actions. Understanding of the
user's implicit actions can reduce the burden on the user in terms of required
explicit commands. Hence, a human friendlier computer system is built. One
method to assess the effectiveness of the user interface enhancements is by
reduction in the number of operations performed by the user in achieving a
specific goal while using the GUI. The enhanced graphical user interface
described in this paper is a conventional GUI enhanced with an intelligent
control module. The intelligent component is composed of a group of software
agents that cooperate and compete to control the system. A computer mouse is
used as the input device, through which the user performs a number of clicks
and drag-and-drop tasks, while selecting and moving objects on the computer
screen. The intelligent module monitors the movements and states of the mouse
and the cursor, and aids the user based on the multiple agents' determinations
of the user's sub-goals. Experimental results are presented, where human
subjects achieved specific goals using the GUI, with and without the
intelligent control module. Initial experiments have confirmed that the novel
technique is a feasible approach for designing an effective and efficient
intelligent GUI, as it reduces the amount of work required from the human user
who is interacting with the computer. Keywords: Human-computer interaction; Intelligent user interface; Graphical user
interface; Multi-agent technologies; Fuzzy logic control; Human intention
understanding | |||
| Intelligent Interfaces through Interactive Planners | | BIBAK | 545-564 | |
| C. V. Copas; E. Edmonds | |||
| Recent progress in planning has enabled this technique to be applied to some
significant real-world problems, including the construction of intelligent user
interfaces. Previous research in interactive planners has emphasised their
dynamism and maintenance advantages. This paper adopts a user-interaction
perspective, and explores the theme that a paradigm shift in human-computer
interaction is now a prospect: away from the requirement to instruct machines
towards a more declarative, goal-based form of interaction. This initiative
necessarily involves consideration of the design of goal description languages,
and some alternatives are analysed. Some architectural issues associated with
embedding planners within a user interface management system are examined,
together with some practical implementation issues. Planning is discussed in
the context of human-computer interaction specification methods. It is shown
that planning formalisms possess advantages of expressiveness, and that
executable specifications could usefully incorporate some control aspects from
planning. Keywords: Intelligent user interfaces; Model-based systems; User interface management
systems; Formal specifications; Executable specifications; Task analysis;
Planning; Geographic information systems; Petri nets; Declarative interaction;
Goal description languages | |||
| An Analysis of Errors in Interactive Proof Attempts | | BIBAK | 565-586 | |
| S. Aitken; T. Melham | |||
| The practical utility of interactive, user-guided, theorem proving depends
on the design of good interaction environments, the study of which should be
grounded in methods of research into human-computer interaction (HCI). This
paper discusses the relevance of classifications of programming errors
developed by the HCI community to the problem of interactive theorem proving. A
new taxonomy of errors is proposed for interaction with theorem provers and its
adequacy as a usability metric is assessed experimentally. Keywords: Interactive proof attempts; Interaction environments; Human-computer
interaction | |||
| Communication with Users: Insights from Second Language Acquisition | | BIBAK | 587-599 | |
| A. Kukulska-Hulme | |||
| The paper addresses the question of how an English language user interface
will be understood by users from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds
and provides some answers from the study of second language acquisition and the
practice of language teaching and learning. It is accepted that for a number of
reasons, translation of an English interface into other languages is not always
feasible or appropriate. Existing knowledge of language learning problems and
solutions can be applied to the design of English language interfaces so that
they are more accessible to non-native speakers. The present article
categorises language-related problems, gives examples in each category, and
provides a set of guidelines. The conclusion reached is that making word
collocations and co-occurrences visible and available is the key to building in
sufficient verbal context for understanding -- a measure which will also be
helpful to native speakers of English. Keywords: Internationalisation; Culturally diverse users; Word meanings; Verbal
context; Ambiguity; Pronunciation | |||
| How to Replace an Old Email System with a New | | BIBAK | 601-614 | |
| O. Balter | |||
| All organizations that use email face changes in their email systems. While
some of these are only a change of version that has little effect on the
organization, many will replace old email systems with new ones, and this may
have severe consequences. A case study is presented where the replacement of
two old mainframe-based email systems with Lotus Notes failed. Based on this
failure, seven important requirements are defined to reduce problems
organizations face when replacing old email systems with new ones. These
requirements are supported with results from other research. Keywords: Electronic mail; Groupware; Installation; Introduction; User studies | |||
| Gathering Accurate Client Information from World Wide Web Sites | | BIBAK | 615-622 | |
| O. Richardson | |||
| This paper discusses the design and use of a number of simple measurement
methods that are available to the developers of small World Wide Web
(Web)systems. The focus is on how the resulting data can be used to assist with
re-designing the initial system. The author argues that the analysis of viewer
usage patterns, together with the need for ever more sophisticated collection
should form an essential part of the development life cycle of a Web-based
system. The conclusion outlines some desirable features of such tools, based on
development and maintenance experience on a University site. Keywords: Web design; Web maintenance; User statistics; World wide web | |||
| Why Don't Telephones have Off Switches? Understanding the Use of Everyday Technologies | | BIBAK | 623-634 | |
| B. A. T. Brown; M. Perry | |||
| Unlike other technologies, the telephone is unusual in that it cannot be
'turned off'. Almost uniquely, its design does not incorporate an off switch,
or when it does, it tends to be located in an inaccessible position (such as on
the underside of the phone). Rather than arguing that this is a special feature
of telephones, this paper argues that this is an example of designers seeing
rules as generators of action, rather than resources for action. That is, a
rule of phone behaviour is "when a phone rings, answer it". However, rules do
not simply generate action. We can choose when not to follow it. Support for
this case has been neglected by designers, forcing individuals to appropriate
other technologies to support not answering the phone. These rules of use are
implicit in how we conceptualise the use of technology, and in turn, how we
perform design. We suggest that designers can be aided by understanding better
the nature of rule following, allowing them to design technology that supports
'deviant', yet equally valid modes of use. Keywords: Rules; Innovation design; Technology use; User appropriation; Information
appliances | |||
| The Effects of Simulating Human Conversational Style in a Computer-Based Interview | | BIBAK | 635-650 | |
| D. R. Peiris; P. Gregor; N. Alm | |||
| A computer interview involves a program asking questions of the user, who
responds by providing answers directly to the computer. Using a computer
interview has been shown to be an effective method of eliciting information,
and particularly personal information which many people find difficult to
discuss face to face. While the simulation of some of the characteristics of
human-human communication seems to enhance the dialogue, it appears to be the
absence of others, such as being non-judgmental, unshockable, completely
consistent, and unendingly patient, that gives computer interviewing its
particular effectiveness.
The work reported in this paper investigated the effect of simulating in a computer interview two techniques which good human interviewers use: empathy and grouping questions. Thirty nine interviewees answered 40 questions on a computer, in combinations of human-like or computer-like question styles, and presented in either a logical or a random order. They found the use of the human interviewer technique in the wording of questions made the computer interviews more interesting and enjoyable, than when blunt, direct questioning was used, and they answered honestly more often to the human-like style. This investigation has shown that a computer interview can be made more effective by simulating the human interviewer technique of empathising with interviewees and softening those questions which are of a sensitive nature. It seems therefore that it is the combination of the right non-human characteristics with the right human characteristics that can produce a successful computer interview. The question for further research is which are the right characteristics in each case, given the purpose of the interview. Keywords: Computer-based interviewing; Human-computer interaction; Interaction styles;
Information elicitation; Dialogue design; Empathy | |||