Human-computer interface design and implementation details

The paper presents a model of how the availability of implementation details affects performance in designing a human-computer interface. Two experiments have been used to test the validity of this model. The experiments involved varying the amount of implementation detail presented to interface designers and having the designers perform an interface design task. The amount of work performed and the quality of the resulting human-computer interface design are analysed.

The results presented in this paper show that the quality of a human-computer interface design improves if the designer is presented with some information about implementation details. However, presenting a designer with all implementation details of the system functions results in a lower quality design. The relevance of these results to human-computer interface design and future directions for research are discussed.     

WISDOM: A website design method based on reusing design and software solutions

ContextWebsites are increasingly important for advertising and announcing information and they have become virtual business operations support tools. Thus, website designers have to take an increasing number of criteria (cost, delay, quality, security, maintenance) into account during design process to satisfy the needs.ObjectiveThe objective of this paper was to present our WISDOM method that: guides the designer through the website design process, proposes design solutions based on already existing solutions for online website design, facilitates the choice of software components to implement specific services, and speeds up website construction.MethodThe originality of our method is that it links the design process to formalized experience and a software component characterization that allows both functional and non-functional aspects to be considered.ResultsThis method relies on the state-of-the-art strengths in the website design process, modeling dimensions, Model-Driven Engineering and the patterns approach. We propose an implementation of our method as a dedicated website which helps website design and provides a website analysis catalog and a software component analysis catalog.ConclusionOur analysis of the method’s use highlights that formalizing the steps of the design process helps designers, especially novice designers, to design a website; our analysis of the tool’s use highlights its efficiency for rapid website development and its use of the “website family” concept. The results are so very encouraging for both method and tool; both facilitate website design by reusing existing solutions and components.     

User interface development processes and methodologies

The way in which designers choose between alternatives in user interface design can affect both the design process and also the quality of the outcome, i.e., the user interface. However, little is known about the knowledge drawn on during, or the processes that guide, the choice between design alternatives. This paper presents the results of an empirical study aimed at modelling 'trade-off decision making' in user interface design. It is argued that a single abstract vocabulary can capture important aspects of the rich knowledge drawn on during design problem solving. It is also argued that designers' reasoning during 'choice episodes' is not sophisticated. In choosing between alternatives in design, designers invariably limit the range, or nature, of the alternatives considered. The implications of this finding are discussed.     

Enhancing industrial performance: experiences of integrating the human factor

Abstract

Enhancing Industrial Performance refers to the case book that focuses on the effective implementation of sociotechnical innovation, describing real experiences with the management of the human-computer interface. It argues for an ergonomic approach to systems design and evaluation; human factors audits in systems prototyping; user participation in the design process; human-centred organizational design; and matching human resources with technological investment. In the paper, four case studies out of 15 are briefly described. It is stressed that the human-oriented design approach should be integrated in a company-wide manufacturing excellence programme. Finally, industry as well as universities need case studies.     

Hypermedia and engineering design

Abstract

Building Services Engineering (bse) is an applied discipline within the construction industry. It is concerned with the design, installation, operation and maintenance of all mechanical and electrical systems in buildings. Design software developed for the bse industry is typically structured on sets of well-established rules and building codes. Anecdotal evidence indicates that junior designers, who may lack experience and confidence, frequently adopt a ‘black box’ approach when applying design software. This may be contrasted with the more experienced designer who typically questions the assumptions and algorithms adopted before applying the programs. However, this is not always possible even for the experienced designer, particularly where ‘conventional’ computer-languages have been used to develop die software. It is therefore argued within the paper that for some applications design software based on hypermedia may be more appropriate. This is demonstrated through the development of a prototype ‘fire sprinkler layout design’ model using HyperCard. The paper also indicates that by constructing strategic relations between objects the effectiveness of the design model can be enhanced. In this way the designer is better able to control the process of navigation within die model.     

The social shaping of technology: the case of a CNC lathe

Abstract

The design of most automated equipment is guided primarily by technical and economic considerations. The social science aspects of the system, if considered at all, are usually confined to the important questions of work organization, or man-machine interface design, or both. Social scientists are rarely given the opportunity to participate in the design of the often complex details of the actual technology that lies behind the man-machine interface. This paper gives consideration to the social shaping of computer numerically controlled lathe technology, which implies that social, technical and economic considerations are used in the design of the technology. The characteristics of a decision support system, which was designed jointly by engineers and social scientists with the aim of allowing the existing skills of machinists to evolve into new skills in relation to the changed technology, are described. The implications for the role and values of system designers that this system implies are also discussed.     

Human factors in electronic mail system design

Abstract

The current paper analyses how human factors aspects and system design aspects may co-operate in the design of a particular application, i.e. electronic mail systems. A review of research on the experience of electronic mail systems is presented, as well as a pilot study covering the experience of mail systems in different user groups. The users were found to differ mainly in terms of the tasks they performed and wanted to perform. It is therefore suggested that a task analysis is essential in system design. Current practice on task analysis is presented, which shows that a more detailed task analysis is needed to be useful. In order to achieve flexibility, the subtasks found should be designed in a modular way. Here the system designer will need different supports. To facilitate co-operation between end-users and system designers some kind of communication support is also suggested.     

Machine learning: A tool to support usability?

One problem facing designers of interactive systems is catering to the wide range of users who will use a particular application. Understanding the user is critical to designing a usable interface. There are a number of ways of addressing this problem, including improved design methodologies using ''intuitive'' interface styles, adaptive interfaces, and better training and user support materials. In this article, we argue that each of these solutions involves pattern recognition in one form or another and that machine learning can therefore aid designers of interactive systems in these areas. We report on experiments that demonstrate the potential of machine learning to user modeling that has application to two of these areas in particular: adaptive systems and design methodologies.     

The role of domain knowledge in software design

Abstract

If effective knowledge-based support is to be provided for software designers, the process of software design, and the classes of knowledge used by designers must be understood more clearly. It has been shown that a software designer's experience of designing software in the current application domain has a significant effect on the production of a quality design. However, in gaining experience of designing software, a designer gains knowledge in various distinct areas, including software design and the application domain. It is currently unclear which elements of this experience are important. In particular, the role of application domain knowledge that is independent of software design is of great significance for builders of intelligent software design support systems, since the overheads involved in providing application domain knowledge for a variety of application domains in such systems would be huge. This paper reports on a study that has been carried out to gain insights into this question, based around the structured techniques of DeMarco (1979) and Yourdon and Constantine (1979). From this preliminary investigation it would appear that a designer's general knowledge of the application domain does not affect the quality of a design produced for a system in this domain; this runs contrary to current popular beliefs.     

A design-oriented method to build correct hypermedia documents

Over the years, different approaches to identify temporal and spatial conflicts in hypermedia applications has been proposed. Most of them are based on formal verification techniques and impose to the designers to follow a formal model or language to ensure application’s functional correctness. Furthermore, the error diagnose is hard to be interpreted by a non-specialist in this domain. In this paper, we present an approach which supports formal verification for documents written in markup languages. We proposed a method and built a verification toolchain that helps designers to verify time and spatial constraints in hypermedia applications. The input language is the designer language. Its translation towards the input of toolchain is automatic and transparent for the application designer. The errors scenarios provided by the verification tool are presented in a timeline way, easily understandable by the designer. The method and toolchain support different markup languages translated in the same intermediary language in order to facilitate the use of different verification tools in the same environment.

     

A hypernetwork-based context-aware approach for design lesson-learned knowledge proactive feedback in design for manufacturing

Design lesson-learned knowledge (DLK) clearly describes various design quality problems exposed in past manufacturing stages, solutions and preventive measures. If knowledge management system could proactively feed DLK back into design process, many previous quality problems would be avoided, thus helping designers better implement design for manufacturing (DFM) in a smarter manner. However, since design quality problems are not pointed out in design process, problem-relevant information extracted from design contexts might be inaccurate. In this situation, traditional context-aware approach is prone to acquire design quality problems that designers do not need. Facing these challenges, a hypernetwork-based context-aware DLK proactive feedback approach is proposed to construct hypernetwork-based DLK representation model and predict possible design quality problems in the design process, thus providing corresponding DLK and helping designers reduce the reoccurrence of previous quality problems in DFM. Specifically, hypernetwork-based DLK representation model is first constructed, which consists of designer context network, task context network and DLK network. Based on this model, a context-aware collaborative reason strategy is constructed to predict possible design quality problems according to complex design contexts. To validate the proposed approach, a practical product development case on the shipbuilding design is implemented, and some comparative experiments are conducted. Experiment results show the proposed approach is effective and has a positive performance in DFM. It is anticipated this work opens up a promising way to help designers reuse DLK for reducing the reoccurrence of previous design quality problems in a smarter manner, thus better implementation of DFM.     

The development of computer‐based tools to support ergonomics in design education and practice

Abstract

Ergonomics is not always used effectively by practising designers, and is still seen as limiting their creativity. Reasons for this include: ergonomics information is not presented in a readily assimilated form to designers during their design education and later design activities; design decisions relating to ergonomics issues are not addressed and discussed systematically by all members of the design team during concept design; the user centred approach that ergonomics encourages in design is not always included as part of the education of future designers.

With computers being used more widely in design and design education, they could be used to deliver ergonomics information and help structure discussion of ergonomics issues amongst the design team from the earliest stages of design. This paper describes findings relating to the use of ergonomics in automotive design, and proposes two tools which could enhance the use of ergonomics in design education and in current and future design practice.     

Improving interface quality: an investigation of human-computer interaction task learning

Abstract

User learning is of critical importance in evaluating interface usability (and in turn interface quality). The focus of this research in on interface leamability, where a stochastic model represents the learning process required for successful completion of human-computer interaction tasks. The parameter used to quantify learning is a learning rale. Of interest here is the validation of learning rate as a measure of interface quality. Learning rate was validated against two traditional measures of interface quality: task completion time, and error frequency. SuperCard(tm), a Macintosh project utility, provided an empirical learning environment in which 32 participants learned 16 fundamental SuperCard tasks. Results of correlation analyses suggested the usefulness of learning rate as an indicator of interfacequality. Our learning rate analysis identified four tasks presenting learning difficulties. (Analysis of task completion times identified two of these four tasks, and error frequency analysis identified one). Learning rate data captured all of the information available from the two traditional interface quality measures and identified two tasks disregarded by them. Incorporating learning rates in the interface evaluation process precludes time-intensive video tape analysis typically required by more traditional interface quality measures.     

Determinants for Successful Agile Collaboration between UX Designers and Software Developers in a Complex Organisation

ABSTRACT

Agile and User-centered design processes have been reported to frequently putting contradictory demands on people working within these methodological frameworks. The current research addresses this point by focussing on the crucial relationship between software developer and designer. An online survey, a contextual inquiry, and a diary study were employed with 107 developers and designers in a large media organization to determine the factors for success in agile development cycles. The results from the survey show that while developers and designers have similar levels of satisfaction with agile processes, there are differences in the factors predicting those ratings. Developers are happier with the wider teamwork but want more access to and close collaboration with designers, while the latters’ concern was the quality of the wider teamwork. Additional contextual inquiries and a diary study with pairs of designers and developers reflected the survey findings that close cooperation (and proximity) was essential for improving communication, reducing inefficiencies, and avoiding suboptimal products being released. However, organizational processes, the setup of the work environment, and managerial traditions meant that this close collaboration and localized decision-making was found difficult to maintain. Results from the survey, the contextual inquiry, and the diary study found six factors for success from collaborations emerged.     

Planning and knowledge about strategies: Their relationship to work characteristics in software design

This paper describes an empirical study of software design processes in which both cognitive i.e. planning the work process, knowledge about strategies and organizational i.e. work characteristics factors were examined. Thirty-five software designers with an average professional experience of 6.6 years worked on a software design task in a laboratory setting. Thinking-aloud protocols were analysed, and additional interview and questionnaire data were gathered. It was found that software designers do very little explicit planning but have a broad knowledge of useful strategies. Results of regression analyses indicated that the amount of explicit planning and knowledge of strategies is predicted by the amount of design work to accomplish, communication and cooperation requirements, and control at work.     

Combining natural language with direct manipulation: the conceptual framework for a hybrid human-computer interface

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a conceptual model of an interaction system for future human-computer interaction. It is suggested that an integrated system is the most promising solution for diverse users and tasks. A ‘ hybrid interaction system’ is considered, which tries to efficiently direct manipulation, menu selection, and natural language. The mechanism of the natural language interface module is described in more detail. Finally, the allocation of functionalities for generalized tasks on the conceptual model is considered from the taxonomic approach.     

A visual tool for user-interface development

VITUID is a visual tool for user interface development. It aims to help user-interface designers, who may be non-programmers, to specify and create interactive, graphical user interfaces through graphical interaction. VITUID lets designers specify the user command set and the human-computer dialogs by building a tree and specifying the behavior of each dialog via a dialog-control word, adopting the object-oriented approach. The main strategy of VITUID is to separate a user interface into an application-dependent part and an application-independent part and then let the designer specify only the application-dependent part.     

Interaction Unit Analysis: A New Interaction Design Framework

ABSTRACT

A pragmatic approach to interaction modeling is presented by which a designer can describe how the user gets tasks done with a newly developing system. The notation proposed allows an interaction designer to make explicit both how user actions cause visible or noticeable changes in the state of the machine and how the user is expected to use this feedback to generate the next action. Interaction Unit (IU) scenarios are constructed where each IU specifies one step in the cycle of interaction. Each IU specifies the visible system state that leads the user to take some action. In addition, the IU makes explicit the state of the goal stack at the start and end of the unit and the mental processes (recall, recognition, or affordance) required. In this way one can describe the intimate connection between goal, action, and the environment in user–machine interaction.

To demonstrate the completeness of IU scenario analysis, IU models are presented for some well-known problems in interaction design: hidden and partially hidden modes leading to unexpected system effects, insufficient cues for subgoal construction, insufficient cues for subgoal elimination, and inappropriate affordances for action. These scenarios are accompanied by procedures that designers can use to detect similar problems in putative interaction designs.

To demonstrate the feasibility of using IU scenario analysis in design, 4 graduate students were taught to use IU scenario analysis in a 3-hr session. They then worked as a group to evaluate a prototype handheld warehouse application. A comparable group was taught and then applied Cognitive Walkthrough. Both groups successfully completed the task and detected several problems rated as being of high severity by the designers of the prototype. Analysis of the problems detected by each group suggests that the two techniques are complimentary. IU scenario analysis may be most cost-effective for devices using new interaction paradigms, whereas Cognitive Walkthrough may be most cost-effective for designs using established interaction paradigms.     

The design of conceptual language interfaces to open computer network application and management systems

Abstract

The justification for standardization of human-computer and control interfaces is discussed. Various approaches are explored. Special emphasis is placed on the functionality of user interfaces in network environments of interconnected, heterogeneous, open computer systems. Finally, a linguistic and functional model of the user interface is proposed as a basis for further research