| A Software Model and Specification Language for Non-WIMP User Interfaces | | BIBAK | PDF | 1-46 | |
| Robert J. K. Jacob; Leonidas Deligiannidis; Stephen Morrison | |||
| We present a software model and language for describing and programming the
fine-grained aspects of interaction in a non-WIMP user interface, such as a
virtual environment. Our approach is based on our view that the essence of a
non-WIMP dialogue is a set of continuous elationships -- most of which are
temporary. The model combines a data-flow or constraint-like component for the
continuous relationships with an event-based component for discrete
interactions, which can enable or disable individual continuous relationships.
To demonstrate our approach, we present the PMIW user interface management
system for non-WIMP interactions, a set of examples running under it, a visual
editor for our user interface description language, and a discussion of our
implementation and our restricted use of constraints for a performance-driven
interactive situation. Our goal is to provide a model and language that
captures the formal structure of non-WIMP interactions in the way that various
previous techniques have captured command-based, textual, and event-based
styles and to suggest that using it need not compromise real-time performance. Keywords: D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools and Techniques User interfaces;
H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems -- Human factors; H.5.2
[Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces; I.3.7 [Computer
Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism -- Virtual reality; F.3.1
[Logics and Meanings of Programs]: Specifying and Verifying and Reasoning about
Programs -- Specification techniques; Design, Human Factors, Languages;
Interaction techniques, non-WIMP interface, PMIW, specification language, state
transition diagram, user interface management system (UIMS) | |||
| A Partial Test of the Task-Medium Fit Proposition in a Group Support System Environment | | BIBAK | PDF | 47-66 | |
| Bernard C. Y. Tan; Kwok-kee Wei; Choon-Ling Sia; Krishnamurthy S. Raman | |||
| A laboratory experiment was carried out to partially test the task-medium
fit proposition in a GSS environment. Communication medium was varied using a
face-to-face GSS and a dispersed GSS setting. Task type was varied using an
intellective and a preference task. Group decision outcome variables of
interest were (actual and perceived) decision quality, decision time, decision
satisfaction, and decision process satisfaction. With the intellective task,
there were no significant differences between face-to-face GSS and dispersed
GSS groups for all group decision outcome variables. With the preference task,
face-to-face GSS groups performed significantly better than dispersed GSS
groups for all group decision outcome variables. These findings suggest that
group decision outcomes in a GSS environment tend to be adversely affected when
the communication medium is too lean for the task but not when the
communication medium is too rich for the task. Consequences of providing groups
with too rich and too lean a communication medium for their task are discussed.
Implications of these findings, and other related results, for practice and for
future revisions of media richness theory are explored. Keywords: H.5.3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Group and Organization
Interfaces -- Evaluation/methodology; Synchronous interaction; Theory and
models; Experimentation, Human Factors, Theory; Group support systems, media
richness, task type | |||
| Constructing, Organizing, and Visualizing Collections of Topically Related Web Resources | | BIBAK | PDF | 67-94 | |
| Loren Terveen; Will Hill; Brian Amento | |||
| For many purposes, the Web page is too small a unit of interaction and
analysis. Web sites are structured multimedia documents consisting of many
pages, and users often are interested in obtaining and evaluating entire
collections of topically related sites. Once such a collection is obtained,
users face the challenge of exploring, comprehending, and organizing the items.
We report four innovations that address these user needs: (1) we replaced the
Web page with the Web site as the basic unit of interaction and analysis; (2)
we defined a new information structure, the clan graph, that groups together
sets of related sites; (3) we augment the representation of a site with a site
profile, information about site structure and content that helps inform user
evaluation of a site; and (4) we invented a new graph visualization, the
auditorium visualization, that reveals important structural and content
properties of sites within a clan graph. Detailed analysis and user studies
document the utility of this approach. The clan graph construction algorithm
tends to filter out irrelevant sites and discover additional relevant items.
The auditorium visualization, augmented with drill-down capabilities to explore
site profile data, helps users to find high-quality sites as well as sites that
serve a particular function. Keywords: H.5.1 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Multimedia Information
Systems -- hypertext navigation and maps; H.3.3 [Information Storage and
Retrieval]: Information Search and Retrieval -- retrieval models; Human
Factors; Cocitation analysis, collaborative filtering, computer-supported
cooperative work, information visualization, social filtering, social network
analysis | |||
| Flexible Collaboration Transparency: Supporting Worker Independence in Replicated Application-Sharing Systems | | BIBAK | PDF | 95-132 | |
| James Begole; Mary Beth Rosson; Clifford A. Shaffer | |||
| This article presents a critique of conventional collaboration transparency
systems, also called "application-sharing" systems, which provide the real-time
shared use of legacy single-user applications. We find that conventional
collaboration transparency systems are inefficient in their use of network
resources and lack support for key groupware principles: concurrent work,
relaxed WYSIWIS, and group awareness. Next, we present an alternative approach
to implementing collaboration transparency that provides many features
previously seen only in collaboration-aware applications. Our approach is based
on a replicated architecture where selected single-user interface components
are dynamically replaced by multiuser versions. The replacement occurs at
run-time and is transparent to the single-user application and its developers.
As an instance of this approach, we describe its incorporation into a
Java-based collaboration transparency system for serializable, Swing-based Java
applications, called Flexible JAMM (Java Applets Made Multiuser). To validate
that the flexible collaboration transparency system is truly an improvement
over conventional systems, we conducted an empirical study of collaborators
performing both tightly and loosely coupled tasks using Flexible JAMM versus a
representative conventional collaboration transparency system, Microsoft
NetMeeting. Completion times were significantly faster in the loosely coupled
task using Flexible JAMM and were not adversely affected in the tightly coupled
task. Accuracy was equivalent for both systems. Participants greatly preferred
Flexible JAMM. Keywords: C.2.4 [Computer-Communication Networks]: Distributed Systems -- Distributed
applications; D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools and Techniques -- User
interfaces; H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems -- Human
factors; H.5.3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Group and
Organization Interfaces -- Collaborative computing; Design, Human Factors;
Application sharing, collaboration transparency, computer-supported cooperative
work, Flexible JAMM, groupware, Java, usability | |||
| Presto: An Experimental Architecture for Fluid Interactive Document Spaces | | BIBAK | PDF | 133-161 | |
| Paul Dourish; W. Keith Edwards; Anthony LaMarca; Michael Salisbury | |||
| Traditional document systems use hierarchical filing structures as the basis
for organizing, storing and retrieving documents. However, this structure is
very limited in comparison with the rich and varied forms of document
interaction and category management in everyday document use. Presto is a
prototype document management system providing rich interaction with documents
through meaningful, user-level document attributes, such as "Word file,"
"published paper," "shared with Jim," "about Presto", or "currently in
progress." Document attributes capture the multiple different roles that a
single document might play, and they allow users to rapidly reorganize their
document space for the task at hand. They also provide a basis for novel
document systems design and new approaches to document management and
interaction. In this article, we outline the motivations behind this approach,
describe the principal components of our implementation, discuss architectural
consequences, and show how these support new forms of interaction with large
personal document spaces. Keywords: D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools and Techniques -- User
interfaces; H.3.2 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Information Storage --
File organization; H.3.3 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Information
Search and Retrieval; H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User
Interfaces -- Interaction styles; Human Factors; Attribute/value systems,
direct manipulation, document management | |||
| Rotating Virtual Objects with Real Handles | | BIBAK | PDF | 162-180 | |
| Colin Ware; Jeff Rose | |||
| Times for virtual object rotations reported in the literature are of the
order of 10 seconds or more and this is far longer than it takes to manually
orient a "real" object, such as a cup. This is a report of a series of
experiments designed to investigate the reasons for this difference and to help
design interfaces for object manipulation. The results suggest that two major
factors are important. Having the hand physically in the same location as the
virtual object being manipulated is one. The other is based on whether the
object is being rotated to a new, randomly determined orientation, or is always
rotated to the same position. Making the object held in the hand have the same
physical shape as the object being visually manipulated was not found to be a
significant factor. The results are discussed in the context of interactive
virtual environments. Keywords: H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems -- Human factors; I.3.6
[Computer Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques -- Interaction techniques;
Experimentation, Human Factors; 3D object manipulation, 3D rotation, direct
manipulation, input devices, two-handed input, virtual reality | |||
| Why are Some Diagrams Easier to Work With? Effects of Diagrammatic Representation on the Cognitive Intergration Process of Systems Analysis and Design | | BIBAK | PDF | 181-213 | |
| Jungpil Hahn; Jinwoo Kim | |||
| Various diagrams have been used heavily in systems analysis and design
without proper verification of their usability. However, different diagrammatic
representations of the same information may vary in the computational
efficiency of working with these diagrams. The objective of this research was
to explore the effects of diagrammatic representations on the task of
integrating multiple diagrams. The domain of systems analysis and design was
used to generate examples and test the theory. A cognitive model of diagram
integration was proposed, and an experimental study was conducted, both to
explore the effects of representational features of diagrams on the cognitive
process of diagram integration. Results of the experiment show that the
representational features of the diagrams acted as the criteria for selecting
among various methods for analyzing and designing the integrated diagram. In
addition, the difference in the selected methods resulted in different task
performances in terms of analysis and design errors. This article concludes
with the implications of the results for the development of cognitively
compelling diagrams. Keywords: D.2.1 [Software Engineering]: Requirements/Specifications -- Methodologies
(e.g., object-oriented, structured); Representation; H.1.2 [Models and
Principles]: User/Machine Systems -- Human information processing; H.5.2
[Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces -- Interaction
styles; Design, Human Factors; Diagrammatic representation, diagrammatic
manipulation, GOMS, visual grammar | |||
| The Relative Contributions of Stereo, Lighting, and Background Scenes in Promoting 3D Depth Visualization | | BIBAK | PDF | 214-242 | |
| Geoffrey S. Hubona; Philip N. Wheeler; Gregory W. Shirah; Matthew Brandt | |||
| More powerful contemporary computer hardware has enabled the development and
exploration of a wide variety of techniques to depict spatial characteristics
of computer-generated objects in three-dimensional (3D) space. Particularly,
the role of stereoscopic viewing and the use of object motion to reflect the
position and size of objects in 3D space have been extensively studied.
However, the effective use of computer-rendered object shadows to provide
spatial information about the relative position and size of objects in virtual
space has not. Subjects perform two tasks with 3D geometric patterns of objects
presented on a computer screen: (1) positioning the object to complete a
symmetrical geometric figure and (2) resizing the object to match the size of
other objects. Performance accuracy and speed are recorded under the following
conditions: (1) objects casting shadows on and off, (2) shadows from one or two
light sources (nested within the shadows-on condition), (3) stereoscopic and
monoscopic viewing, and (4) different scene backgrounds: flat plane (i.e.,
floor), "stair-step" floor with no walls, and floor with walls (i.e., room).
The use of object shadows as depth cues enhances the accuracy (but not the
speed) of object positioning, but does not enhance either the accuracy or the
speed of object resizing. Moreover, the object shadows are not as effective as
stereoscopic viewing in facilitating both positioning-task and resizing-task
performances. Furthermore, task performances degrade with the stair-step scene
background and when the number of shadowing light sources increases from one to
two. Keywords: H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems; H.5.2 [Information
Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces; I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]:
Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism; Experimentation, Human Factors; 3D user
interfaces, cue theory, depth perception, shadows, stereoscopic viewing | |||
| The Effects of Workspace Awareness Support on the Usability of Real-Time Distributed Groupware | | BIBAK | PDF | 243-281 | |
| Carl Gutwin; Saul Greenberg | |||
| Real-time collaboration in current distributed groupware workspaces is often
an awkward and clumsy process. We hypothesize that better support for workspace
awareness -- the understanding of who is in the workspace, where they are
working, and what they are doing -- can improve the usability of these shared
computational workspaces. We conducted an experiment that compared people's
performance on two versions of a groupware interface. The interfaces used
workspace miniatures to provide different levels of support for workspace
awareness. The basic miniature showed information only about the local user,
and the enhanced miniature showed the location and activity of other people in
the workspace as well. We examined five aspects of groupware usability: task
completion times, communication efficiency, the participants' perceived-effort,
overall preference, and strategy use. In two of three task types tested,
completion times were lower in the awareness-enhanced system, and in one task
type, communication was more efficient. The additional awareness information
also allowed people to use different and more effective strategies to complete
the tasks. Participants greatly preferred the awareness-enhanced system. The
study provides empirical evidence that support for workspace awareness improves
the usability of groupware, and uncovers some of the reasons underlying this
improvement. Keywords: D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools and Techniques -- User
interfaces; D.2.8 [Software Engineering]: Metrics -- Performance measures;
H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces --
Evaluation/methodology; H.5.3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Group
and Organization Interfaces -- Synchronous interaction; I.3.6 [Computer
Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques -- Interaction techniques | |||
| At Home with the Technology: An Ethnographic Study of a Set-Top-Box Trial | | BIBAK | PDF | 282-308 | |
| Jon O'Brien; Tom Rodden; Mark Rouncefield; John Hughes | |||
| The rapid growth and development of the Internet and the resulting growth in
interest in access to network facilities highlight an increasing prominence of
computer technology in the home. In this article we report on a study of the
social organization of a number of domestic environments in the northwest of
England and consider the ways in which an understanding of the nature of the
home is of interest to the developers of future interactive technology. Thus,
in the first half of the article we consider the everyday nature of home life,
and in the second half we report on an ethnographically based evaluation of a
prototype set top box for the provision of digital services to the home. In
addition to reflecting on the nature of activities in the home we conclude by
considering the design implications that can be drawn from an examination of
these activities. Keywords: H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems; H.5.3 [Information
Interfaces and Presentation]: Group and Organization Interfaces -- Synchronous
interaction; Theory and models; K.4.0 [Computers and Society]: General; H.5.2
[Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces --
Evaluation/methodology; Design, Human Factors; Coordination and collaboration,
domestic environment, ethnography, evaluation, interactive devices | |||
| Introduction to the Special Issue on Interface Issues and Designs for Safety-Critical Interactive Systems: When There is No Room for User Error | | BIB | PDF | 309-310 | |
| Wayne D. Gray; Philippe Palanque; Fabio Paterno | |||
| Is Paper Safer? The Role of Paper Flight Strips in Air Traffic Control | | BIBAK | PDF | 311-340 | |
| Wendy E. Mackay | |||
| Air traffic control is a complex, safety-critical activity, with
well-established and successful work practices. Yet many attempts to automate
the existing system have failed because controllers remain attached to a key
work artifact: the paper flight strip. This article describes a four-month
intensive study of a team of Paris en-route controllers in order to understand
their use of paper flight strips. The article also describes a comparison study
of eight different control rooms in France and the Netherlands. Our
observations have convinced us that we do not know enough to simply get rid of
paper strips, nor can we easily replace the physical interaction between
controllers and paper strips. These observations highlight the benefits of
strips, including qualities difficult to quantify and replicate in new computer
systems. Current thinking offers two basic alternatives: maintaining the
existing strips without computer support and bearing the financial cost of
limiting the air traffic, or replacing the strips with automated versions,
which offer potential benefits in terms of increased efficiency through
automation, but unknown risks through radical change of work practices. We
conclude with a suggestion for a third alternative: to maintain the physical
strips, but turn them into the interface to the computer. This would allow
controllers to build directly upon their existing, safe work practices with
paper strips, while offering them a gradual path for incorporating new
computer-based functions. Augmented paper flight strips allow us to take
advantage of uniquely human skills in the physical world, and allows us to
leave the user interface and its subsequent evolution in the hands of the
people most responsible, the air traffic controllers themselves. Keywords: H.1.2 [Information Systems]: User/Machine Systems -- Human factors; Human
information processing; Human Factors; Activity theory, affordances, air
traffic control, annotation, ethnographic study, paper flight strips,
peripheral awareness, safety factors | |||
| An Impact Analysis Method for Safety-Critical User Interface Design | | BIBAK | PDF | 341-369 | |
| Julia Galliers; Alistair Sutcliffe; Shailey Minocha | |||
| We describe a method of assessing the implications for human error on user
interface design of safety-critical systems. In previous work we have proposed
a taxonomy of influencing factors that contribute to error. In this article,
components of the taxonomy are combined into a mathematical and causal model
for error, represented as a Bayesian Belief Net (BBN). The BBN quantifies error
influences arising from user knowledge, ability, and the task environment,
combined with factors describing the complexity of user action and user
interface quality. The BBN model predicts probabilities of different types of
error -- slips and mistakes -- for each component action of a task involving
user-system interaction. We propose an Impact Analysis Method that involves
running test scenarios against this causal model of error in order to determine
user interactions that are prone to different types of error. Applying the
proposed method will enable the designer to determine the combinations of
influencing factors and their interactions that are most likely to influence
human error. Finally we show how such scenario-based causal analysis can be
useful as a means of focusing on relevant guidelines for safe user interface
design. The proposed method is demonstrated through a case study of an operator
performing a task using the control system for a laser spectrophotometer. Keywords: D.2.1 [Software Engineering]: Requirements/Specifications -- Methodologies
(e.g., object-oriented, structured); D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools
and Techniques -- User interfaces; G.3 [Mathematics of Computing]: Probability
and Statistics; H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems -- Human
factors; Design, Human Factors, Reliability; Bayesian Belief Networks, human
error, safety-critical, scenario-based causal analysis | |||
| Comparing Design Options for Allocating Communication Media in Cooperative Safety-Critical Contexts: A Method and a Case Study | | BIBAK | PDF | 370-398 | |
| Robert Fields; Fabio Paterno; Carmen Santoro; Sophie Tahmassebi | |||
| In this article we present a method for evaluating and comparing design
options for allocating communication media. The method pays particular
attention to how such options support cooperation in an interactive
safety-critical system. The comparison is performed using three sets of
criteria based on task performance, analysis of user deviations and consequent
hazards, and coordination. The explicit emphasis on hazards and communication
issues, using actual tasks to guide the evaluation, ensures that designers --
attention is focused on the interactions where problems are likely to occur. We
describe an application of the method to the design of access to new
communication technology in an air traffic control environment. Keywords: H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces --
Evaluation/methodology; Input devices and strategies; Interaction styles; H.5.1
[Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Multimedia Information Systems --
Audio input/output; D.2.2 [Software Engineering]: Design Tools and Techniques
-- User interfaces; Design, Human Factors, Reliability; Air traffic control,
tasks, usability and safety | |||