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Home > Meetings > May 2000 > Notes from CHI 2000

Notes from CHI 2000

Bob Wilson, Intel

From CHI 2000 Review, May 11, 2000
CHI 2000 Review

Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · April 1-6, 2000 · The Hague, The Netherlands

The SIGCHI organization and conference serves as an international forum for the exchange of the latest research and ideas among computer scientists, human factors scientists, psychologists, social scientists, systems designers, and end users. The specific scope of SIGCHI consists of the study of the human-computer interaction process with a focus on how people communicate and interact with a broadly defined range of computer systems.

Opening Plenary-John Thackara, Director, Doors of Perception

Challenging Human Factors

We shouldn't be using the term "user." "User" describes a person from the vantage point of a system and makes the person a subset of its goals and functionality. The term "user" focuses on the object you are selling rather than people and their needs. Mr. Thackara suggests using the term "actor." Actors play a role, have scripted scenarios that are written or designed by a scriptwriter, and they perform an active role in developing the finished product. We should be designing with people, not for them. Don't consider ourselves as the best expert.

Usability is not the ultimate goal. "Useful" is more important than usable. Helping people be successful at their work is more important than their being successful with the product. With this in mind, hiding complexity is not necessarily a good thing and often leads us away from useful toward usable.

Don't treat humans as a "factor" in some bigger picture. Our perspective is too often upside down. Computers are a "factor" in our social and environmental experience. When designing, focus on the social and environmental conditions first and technology second. By this he means to understand the nature of the people and their work before focusing on technology and technical solutions.

Forget "time to market" focus on "time in market."

Panel-Non-Contractual Trust, Design, and Human Computer Interactions

Trust is becoming a significant challenge as technology takes a larger and larger role in everyday life. Today we interact with, negotiate with, and exchange with many systems that have the potential to harm us if not trustworthy (Amazon.com, E-bay.com, stock sites, e-business, banking, etc.). Trust is "accepted vulnerability to another's possible, but not expected ill will toward one. Lack of trust is a significant barrier to adopting a system.

Developing Trust

  1. Build a history of interactions where trustworthiness can be demonstrated
    · Honest mistakes can be tolerated
    · Incompetence or malice will not be tolerated
  2. Be accurate-By definition error cannot be trusted.
  3. Be consistent
  4. Be reliable
  5. Be confidential-This is related to safety. Make sure that my information is protected.
  6. Be available-A company that only has a web presence with no phone number, address, etc. compromises its trustedness by potential customers.
  7. Be safe-Make sure that I'm protected. That nothing bad will happen to me because of my involvement with the system.
  8. Triangulate-References and other contacts that can validate trustworthiness.

Paper-Emotions and Values

Hedonic and Ergonomic Quality-Looking at "Fun of Use" rather than just "Ease of Use." If fun increases acceptance, it increases usability. Ergonomic Quality relates to a product's orientation to the task, its usability and utility. Hedonic Quality relates to the affective enjoyment a user has with a product or system.

Study showed that Ergonomic Quality and Hedonic Quality are independently perceived although users often did not mention HQ as an important contributor.

Bob's Observation-When dealing with this issue, people in our field get confused. Much of the data supporting the "Fun" factor suggests that people want fun things to be challenging, and not too easy. I believe that in a work environment, where productivity is a major goal, that making people efficient, making the task go quickly, making difficult things easy, is fun, enjoyable, motivating, pleasing, etc.

Paper-WWW Navigation Aids

Peripheral Information-Information (state, status, help, and alerts) that may not be central to a person's task, but allow a person the opportunity to learn more, do a better job, or keep track of less important information or tasks. Usually these use various implementations of text, icons, graphics, animations, pop-ups, balloons, and tickers.

Tickers

Study compared various styles of tickers (slow-scrolling, start & stop, text replacing) in a users periphery view while performing other primary tasks. The study measured comprehension of ticker display and performance and errors made in primary task.

Slow-scrolling Tickers-This was a continuous scrolling ticker that scrolled either horizontally or vertically at a constant rate.

Start & Stop Tickers-Text scrolls quickly to the center of the display and stops for some period before scrolling off the display.

Text Replacing Tickers-Text does not scroll at all, but is displayed in a constant position with each update replacing the last text with new text.

Findings

  1. There was no significant difference in comprehension of the text presented in the various tickers
  2. Scrolling direction made no difference.
  3. Start & Stop tickers are less intrusive and distract users far less under dual-task demands and disrupt primary task performance far less than the other tickers. These tickers do the best job of balancing motion and feedback in displaying peripheral information.

Organizational Overview-IDEO

Design Principles and Examples
  1. Use a broad range of disciplines. Diversity is a key.
     
  2. Test the boundaries of a user population. They're never as extreme as you think.

    Example: IDEO needed to understand users' needs beyond the home computer. They wanted to find out how much of the Internet people need and use? They found Mary and Rick who live at the end of a dirt road in the mountains outside Durango, Colorado. They can't get radio or TV reception so their computer and Internet connection are their only news and entertainment. They get newspapers, MP3s, radio, chat, and games all through the Internet. Their use of the Internet is heavier and more varied, than anyone they met in the Bay Area.
     
  3. Ask why they do what they do

    Example: A client asked us to redesign the battery compartment to prevent batteries being inserted the wrong way. They received a lot of repairs due to broken battery connectors. It was assumed that this was due to accidental incorrect battery insertion. At one observation we found that the whole collection of devices had the batteries inserted the wrong way. The answer to the 'why' question completely redefined the design problem. There was no on/off switch so they put the batteries in the wrong way until the device was needed.
     
  4. Ask why you would do what they did.

    Example: A lady went into the bank each month to be able to actually see her money. After understanding what she had been through during the war it was easy to imagine that we might do the same thing.
     
  5. Achieve empathy with users. Giving designers the opportunity to share in the users' experience is one of IDEO's most powerful design tools.

    Example: IDEO had to design a support and intervention system that would be used by people who used pacemakers. How do you achieve empathy with people who have pacemakers? IDEO gave members of the team a pager and a camera. They said they would page them at random times during the weekend. When paged, they were to stop and read the following: You've just been shocked by your ICD, take three pictures of your surroundings and answer the following questions: Are you safe? What are your surroundings? Who can help you? Can you get medical help?