A semiotic engineering approach to user interface design

Designing software involves good perception, good reasoning, and a talent to express oneself effectively through programming and interactive languages. Semiotic theories can help HCI designers increase their power to perceive, reason and communicate. By presenting some of the results we have reached with semiotic engineering over the last few years, we suggest that the main contributions of semiotic theory in supporting HCI design are: to provide designers with new perceptions on the process and product of HCI design; to bind together all the stages of software development and use, giving them a unique homogeneous treatment; and to pose innovative questions that extend the frontiers of HCI investigations.     

A systematic approach for robust repetitive controller design

In this paper, a methodology for the synthesis of repetitive controllers to ensure periodic reference tracking and harmonic disturbance rejection is cast in a robust control framework. Specifically, the Lyapunov–Krasovskii theory is applied to derive LMI-based conditions for designing a state feedback control law with guaranteed stability and performance properties for system parameter variations. Practical experiments in commercial uninterruptible power supplies – UPS are considered to illustrate and discuss some practical implementation aspects of the proposed method.     

Structural approach to design user interface

The analysis of the interactive relations among interface elements using a structuralized method can help user interface designers to satisfy the different requirements of design and improve design efficiency. This study develops a three-stage structured user interface design approach for complex information systems consisting of multiple components. First, the Quality Function Development (QFD) approach is used to confirm the user's design demand and its mapping components. Next, the Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) technique is adopted to construct a clear model of a hierarchical structure. Finally, the Impact Matrix Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) approach is employed to analyze the effect and dependence among the overall design components, and to consider the relationship network graph of distribution of components in the system. The research approach applies the Web mail system as its case study. Through the empirical study of web-based system, interface designers can effectively grasp a user's differentiated demand that changes rapidly and reflect it in the combination of designed components. This study establishes a strategy for creating an information system design pattern with multiple components is by building a hierarchical structure and analyzing the component distribution.     

A systematic topology optimization approach for optimal stiffener design

A systematic topology optimization based approach is proposed to design the optimal stiffener of three-dimensional shell/plate structures for static and eigenvalue problems. Optimal stiffener design involves the determination of the best location and orientation. In this paper, the stiffener location problem is solved by a microstructure-based design domain method and the orientation problem is modelled as an optimization orientation problem of equivalent orthotropic materials, which is solved by a newly developed energy-based method. Examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach.     

Computer interface design: A user-centered approach

Enhancing the way people use computers to perform tasks has become a very important issue in interface design and human-computer interactions. When the concept of human-computer interaction first began to emerge it was commonly understood as the hardware and software through which a human and computer could effectively communicate (Laurel, 1990). This effective communication is also know as user-friendliness. The concept of user friendliness has recently been expanded to include various attributes and cognitive aspects of the user's needs and experiences. Focus should be on the user's experiences, expectations, preferences, and cognitive aspects in developing efficient and effective computer interface designs. It is the basic premise of this paper to emphasize using a user-centered design in developing computer interfaces.     

A systematic approach to design and operation of disassembly lines

This paper presents a systematic approach to the disassembly line (DL) design in meeting the requirement of variant orders for multiple used parts with different due dates. An extended disassembly Petri net model is proposed for the hierarchical modeling in order to derive the disassembly path with the maximal benefit in the presence of some defective components. An algorithm for balancing DLs to maximize the productivity of a disassembly system is presented. The results of simulation runs of the proposed methodology and algorithms applied to a simplified personal computer disassembly are provided. This work lays a foundation for designing efficient industrial automatic and semiautomatic disassembly systems. Note to Practitioners-Disassembly is rapidly growing in importance as manufacturers face increasing pressure to deal with obsolete products in an environmentally responsible and economically sound manner. This process can be performed at a single workstation or on a disassembly line (DL) that is organized as a sequence of workstations, each with one or more machines/operators to handle a certain type of disassembly task. Compared to a single workstation, DL provides higher productivity and greater potential for disassembly automation. However, it still faces serious scheduling and inventory problems because of a high degree of uncertainty in discarded products and disparity between demands for certain parts and their yield from disassembly. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a two-level systematic approach, aiming to maximize system throughput and system revenue by dynamically configuring the disassembly system into many DLs, while considering line balance, different process flows, and meeting different order due dates. The research results can help engineers build better disassembly systems.     

A systematic approach for coupling user satisfaction with product design

A fundamental assumption in this paper is that user satisfaction depends on product design. The approach consists of 5 steps: (1) define user satisfaction, (2) decompose product design elements, (3) conduct experiments, (4) develop relationship models, and (5) analyse critical design features. In order to demonstrate the practicability of this approach, relationship models were developed based on experimental data using a total of 60 subjects (30 American and 30 Korean subjects). In addition, critical design features and their common properties were identified for audio/visual consumer products. Similarities and differences between American and Korean consumers were discussed. The resulting relationship models can be used to predict user satisfaction and provide significant remedies for design change.     

A systematic approach for coupling user satisfaction with product design

A fundamental assumption in this paper is that user satisfaction depends on product design. The approach consists of 5 steps: (1) define user satisfaction, (2) decompose product design elements, (3) conduct experiments, (4) develop relationship models, and (5) analyse critical design features. In order to demonstrate the practicability of this approach, relationship models were developed based on experimental data using a total of 60 subjects (30 American and 30 Korean subjects). In addition, critical design features and their common properties were identified for audio/visual consumer products. Similarities and differences between American and Korean consumers were discussed. The resulting relationship models can be used to predict user satisfaction and provide significant remedies for design change.     

A systematic approach to design the reconfiguration scheme of fault-tolerant systems

A general method is derived to design the reconfiguration scheme of fault-tolerant digital systems. Two tables are established during the design procedure. One is an Error Table which lists all the possible errors which can occur in the system and the other is the Truth Table which is used to assist the design of reconfiguration schemes.     

A systematic approach to the development of research-based web design guidelines for older people

This paper presents a systematic approach to the development of a set of research-based ageing-centred web design guidelines (SilverWeb Guidelines). The approach included an initial extensive literature review in the area of human–computer interaction and ageing, the development of an initial set of guidelines based on the reviewed literature, a card sorting exercise for their classification, an affinity diagramming exercise for the reduction and further finalisation of the guidelines, and finally a set of heuristic evaluations for the validation and test of robustness of the guidelines. The 38 final guidelines are grouped into eleven distinct categories (target design, use of graphics, navigation, browser window features, content layout design, links, user cognitive design, use of colour and background, text design, search engine, user feedback and support).     

A systematic approach for supply chain improvement using design structure matrix

Supply chain is a complex system that involves many system elements from various functional areas. Performance of a supply chain heavily depends on the effectiveness of communication and coordination among these system elements and functional areas. However, a large and complex supply chain usually makes it difficult to coordinate and thus degrades its performance. This paper focuses on the development of a systematic approach with the following objectives: (1) to identify and quantify the interactions among the system elements in a supply chain; (2) to decompose the large interdependent group of system elements into smaller and manageable sub-groups; and thus (3) to improve the structure of the supply chain system. A supply chain system is first decomposed into subsystems and system elements from which the interactions (i.e., independent, dependent and interdependent relationships) are studied and documented by design structure matrix (DSM). Next, the interaction strengths among the related system elements are quantified. Cluster analysis is used to decompose the large interdependent group into smaller ones in order to provide a better supply chain system structure. The effectiveness of this systematic approach is demonstrated by an illustrative example. The result shows that it is able to improve the system structure of a supply chain that will be useful for the supply chain reengineering.     

A systematic approach for the design of post-transaction input error handling

Most of the errors that occur in the input of a program cannot be automatically detected through input validation. As a result, most of such errors made in the input of a database transaction are discovered only after the completion of the transaction. Therefore, the provision of error correction transactions for correcting such error is essential in any database application. Current system development methodologies do not provide much detail for this important design task. The task is left to the designer's experience to carry out in an ad hoc way. This paper formalizes the common design knowledge in designing these transactions. It proposes a novel approach for the systematic design of post-transaction input error handling in a database application.     

Towards a systematic approach to real-time sonification design for surface electromyography

Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a technique for measuring the electrical activity of muscles and is often used as a biofeedback tool. However, challenges associated with the typically visual display of sEMG data have motivated researchers to find non-visual ways of displaying sEMG data, and parameter-mapping sonification has been explored in order to present sEMG data acoustically. Parameter-mapping sonification is a technique that involves mapping values in a data set to acoustic properties of sound. Sonification of EMG data has shown potential for identifying musculoskeletal disease and improving athletic and exercise performance. However, many sonification designs to date have not been systematically evaluated and there have been few quantitative approaches to objective comparisons of sonification paradigms. In this study, we performed a quantitative comparison of different sonification designs in order to test our hypothesis that different sonification designs may be better suited to different tasks. Thirty-six participants (ages 18–31, 14 male) who volunteered to listen to the sEMG sonifications created for this study were asked to identify two different features of the data: muscle activation time and muscle exertion level. Their responses were analyzed in order to determine the effect of sonification design on listener performance. Results indicated that having the sonifications spatialized resulted in the best performance for both tasks. However, different sonification designs resulted in the best performance for the muscle activation time estimation task (Pitch and Loudness mapped redundantly) and the muscle exertion level estimation task (Pitch, Loudness, and Attack mapped redundantly). Further, for the time estimation task, the use of the Attack mapping appeared to reliably inhibit performance. These findings strongly suggest that sonification designs for sEMG need to be designed differently based on the task the user is performing.     

A systematic methodology for privacy impact assessments: a design science approach

For companies that develop and operate IT applications that process the personal data of customers and employees, a major problem is protecting these data and preventing privacy breaches. Failure to adequately address this problem can result in considerable damage to the company’s reputation and finances, as well as negative effects for customers or employees (data subjects). To address this problem, we propose a methodology that systematically considers privacy issues by using a step-by-step privacy impact assessment (PIA). Existing PIA approaches cannot be applied easily because they are improperly structured or imprecise and lengthy. We argue that companies that employ our PIA can achieve ‘privacy-by-design’, which is widely heralded by data protection authorities. In fact, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) ratified the approach we present in this article for the technical field of RFID and published it as a guideline in November 2011. The contribution of the artefacts we created is twofold: First, we provide a formal problem representation structure for the analysis of privacy requirements. Second, we reduce the complexity of the privacy regulation landscape for practitioners who need to make privacy management decisions for their IT applications.     

A systematic approach to data security

The problem of selecting internal controls, or that subset of those controls we call security measures, in a data processing environment yields rather readily to an orderly, systematic approach. Such an approach requires recognition that a control should not be implemented if it costs more than tolerating the problem. Further, no control should be implemented which is more costly or less effective or displaces less potential loss than does some other control. The basic concept and outline of the systematic approach is described and references to supplemental papers for guidance in specific areas is provided through the bibliography.     

A systematic approach to adaptive observer synthesis for nonlinearsystems

Geometric techniques of controller design for nonlinear systems have enjoyed great success. A serious shortcoming, however, has been the need for access to full-state feedback. This paper addresses the issue of state estimation from limited sensor measurements in the presence of parameter uncertainty. An adaptive nonlinear observer is suggested for Lipschitz nonlinear systems, and the stability of this observer is shown to be related to finding solutions to a quadratic inequality involving two variables. A coordinate transformation is used to reformulate this inequality as a linear matrix inequality. A systematic algorithm is presented, which checks for feasibility of a solution to the quadratic inequality and yields an observer whenever the solution is feasible. The state estimation errors then are guaranteed to converge to zero asymptotically. The convergence of the parameters, however, is determined by a persistence-of-excitation-type constraint     

A systematic approach to language constructs for concurrent programs

Several styles and notations for representing concurrent programs are shortly explained and related to each other. It is basically demonstrated how the different language concepts found in concurrent programming conceptually evolve from classical styles of functional and applicative programming.     

A knowledge-based approach to design for manufacturability

In the light of growing global competition, organizations around the world today are constantly under pressure to produce high-quality products at an economical price. The integration of design and manufacturing activities into one common engineering effort has been recognized as a key strategy for survival and growth. Design for manufacturability (DFM) is an approach to design that fosters the simultaneous involvement of product design and process design. The implementation of the DFM approach requires the collaboration of both the design and manufacturing functions within an organization. Many reasons can be cited for the inability to implement the DFM approach effectively, including: lack of interdisciplinary expertise of designers; inflexibility in organizational structure, which hinders interaction between design and manufacturing functions; lack of manufacturing cost information at the design phase; and absence of integrated engineering effort intended to maximize functional and manufacturability objectives. The purpose of this research is to show how expert systems methodology could be used to provide manufacturability expertise during the design phase of a product. An object- and rule-based expert system has been developed that has the capability: (1) to make process selection decisions based on a set of design and production parameters to achieve cost-effective manufacture; and (2) to estimate manufacturing cost based on the identified processes. The expertise for primary process selection is developed for casting and forging processes. The specialized processes considered are die casting, investment casting, sand casting, precision forging, open die forging and conventional die forging. The processes considered for secondary process selection are end milling and drilling. The cost estimation expertise is developed for the die casting process, the milling and drilling operations, and the manual assembly operations. The results obtained from the application of the expert system suggest that the use of expert systems methodology is a feasible method for implementing the DFM approach.     

Product interface design: A participatory approach based on virtual reality

The usability of the user interface is a key aspect for the success of several industrial products. This assumption has led to the introduction of numerous design methodologies addressed to evaluate the user-friendliness of industrial products. Most of these methodologies follow the participatory design approach to involve the user in the design process. Virtual Reality is a valid tool to support Participatory Design, because it facilitates the collaboration among designers and users.The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility and the efficacy of an innovative Participatory Design approach where Virtual Reality plays a ‘double role’: a tool to evaluate the usability of the virtual product interface, and a communication channel that allows users to be directly involved in the design process as co-designers.In order to achieve these goals, we conducted three experiments: the purpose of the first experiment is to determine the influence of the virtual interface on the usability evaluation by comparing “user–real product” interaction and “user–virtual product” interaction. Subsequently, we tested the effectiveness of our approach with two experiments involving users (directly or through their participation in a focus group) in the redesign of a product user interface. The experiments were conducted with two typologies of consumer appliances: a microwave oven and a washing machine.