Designing interfaces for the organization

Multiuser systems force interface designers to consider a web of interacting users. Our challenge is to design interfaces that help users understand not only how the application program works, but also how work within the organization itself is done. Future organizational applications thus demand that interface design goes well beyond graphical representations and interactive dialogues. We must design interfaces that make relevant organizational resources comprehensible and accessible to users     

Designing reality-based interfaces for experiential bio-design

Reality-based interfaces (RBIs) such as tabletop and tangible user interfaces draw upon ideas from embodied cognition to offer a more natural, intuitive, and accessible form of interaction that reduces the mental effort required to learn and operate computational systems. However, to date, little research has been devoted to investigating the strengths and limitations of applying reality-based interaction for promoting learning of complex scientific concepts at the college level. We propose that RBIs offer unique opportunities for enhancing college-level science education. This paper presents three main contributions: (1) design considerations and participatory design process for enhancing college-level science education through reality-based interaction, (2) reflections on the design, implementation, and validation of two case studies—RBIs for learning synthetic biology, and (3) discussion of opportunities and challenges for advancing learning of college-level sciences through next-generation interfaces.     

Designing smarter touch-based interfaces for educational contexts

In next-generation classrooms and educational environments, interactive technologies such as surface computing, natural gesture interfaces, and mobile devices will enable new means of motivating and engaging students in active learning. Our foundational studies provide a corpus of over 10,000 touch interactions and nearly 7,000 gestures collected from nearly 70 adults and children aged 7 years and above, which can help us understand the characteristics of children’s interactions in these modalities and how they differ from adults. Based on these data, we identify key design and implementation challenges of supporting children’s touch and gesture interactions, and we suggest ways to address them. For example, we find children have more trouble successfully acquiring onscreen targets and having their gestures recognized than do adults, especially the youngest age group (7–10 years old). The contributions of this work provide a foundation that will enable touch-based interactive educational apps that increase student success.     

Designing maintainable, reusable interfaces

A conceptual framework, the Interaction Management Network (IMN), that captures the essential structure of any interface from task-oriented specification to object-oriented implementation is presented. IMN is essentially a task-oriented specification scheme based on a semantic network. For each element, as well as for the complete network, there is a direct representation suitable for object-oriented implementation. By capturing task relationships in the interface specification and explicitly representing constraints, designers can create interfaces that meet the often elusive user requirements. The application of IMN to creating an interface system for laying out floors is described     

New roles for programmers

This article will consider the dramatic effect that the gradual movement to end user computing and fourth generation methodologies will have on traditional data processing departments. The major changes in working methods that will occur within such departments and the likely effect of these changes on the computer programmer will be considered.     

New techniques for COBOL programmers

Structured programming has become one of the most widely discussed topics among DP professionals. Despite this, however, COBOL programmers, responsible for the majority of ‘bread and butter jobs’, have been left mostly on their own. The article attempts to review the history of programming and list the areas essential for any future improvement and advancement of the programming profession, inclusive of systems analysis, education and training, and programming methodology. An alternative approach to structured programming in COBOL using decision tables is outlined and confronted with the concept of the so-called functional programming.     

Problem programmers

Tolerating even one problem programmer hurts the morale and productivity of good developers. Problem programmers are often viewed as having “low productivity”, but both software research and software experience suggest that such an assessment is too optimistic. Next time you need to improve productivity, don't look for what you can add, look for what you can take away     

Designing user interfaces for applications based on the hint architecture

As part of the ESPRIT Projects HINT, a method for designing user interfaces, tailored for applications based on the HINT architecture, has been developed. The method consists of a set of steps, each with well defined objectives and results, and associated guidelines.     

Designing consumer interfaces for experiential tasks: an empirical investigation

In the early adoption phase of business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce, the tasks that proved most conducive to online consumer interaction typically were goal-directed, being clear in sequence and structure. A key challenge in ecommerce is the ability to design interfaces that support experiential tasks in addition to goal-directed tasks. Most of the ecommerce research on interface design, however, has focused on goal-directed tasks and has not addressed experiential tasks. Based on the literature from interface metaphors and mental models, this paper explores the use of tangible attributes derived from the physical business domain as a technique for designing an interface that effectively supports experiential tasks. A laboratory experiment was designed and conducted to test the impact of two types of interfaces and business domain familiarity when completing an experiential task. Because consumers need to retain and recall information to evaluate products/services or to make brand associations, retention/recall of information was measured on both the day of the treatment and after a 2-day lag. Results revealed that the interface based upon the business domain metaphor stimulated higher levels of retention and recall of information and thus provided the desired support for experiential tasks. Further, users with weaker domain familiarity showed the greatest improvement in retention and recall, particularly after a 2-day lag, when using the interface with the business domain metaphor design.     

Wanted: programmers for handheld devices

The pace of change in computer technology can be breathtaking. Frequently, this makes it difficult for programmers to maintain skills that are in demand. Nowhere is this more apparent than in one of the newest and most dynamic segments of the computer industry: handheld devices and wireless technology. The use of handheld devices is growing rapidly, as is the demand for applications that run on smart phones and personal digital assistants. However, programming for these devices, which have limited processing power and memory, as well as tiny screens, is different than developing applications for PCs or servers. Very few programmers have much experience with these devices, particularly in the US, where handheld technology adoption has been slower than in Europe. This is creating a challenge for vendors looking for developers to write mobile applications. Companies must work hard and be creative to find programmers who can become productive quickly in the handheld environment. And in some cases, developers are carefully selecting projects to most efficiently allocate their limited programming resources     

Designing for augmented attention: Towards a framework for attentive user interfaces

Attentive user interfaces are user interfaces that aim to support the user’s attentional capacities. By sensing the users’ attention for objects and people in their everyday environment, and by treating user attention as a limited resource, these interfaces avoid today’s ubiquitous patterns of interruption. Focusing upon attention as a central interaction channel allows development of more sociable methods of communication and repair with ubiquitous devices. Our methods are analogous to human turn taking in group communication. Turn taking improves the user’s ability to conduct foreground processing of conversations. Attentive user interfaces bridge the gap between the foreground and periphery of user activity in a similar fashion, allowing users to move smoothly in between.We present a framework for augmenting user attention through attentive user interfaces. We propose five key properties of attentive systems: (i) to sense attention; (ii) to reason about attention; (iii) to regulate interactions; (iv) to communicate attention and (v) to augment attention.     

Object-oriented programming for structured procedural programmers

Object orientation is attracting much attention these days but may still be unfamiliar to some. This tutorial illustrates the differences between the object-oriented and structured-procedural programming (SPP) paradigms using working programs. It also shows how to migrate from the SPP methodology to object technology     

Designing effective human-automation-plant interfaces: a control-theoretic perspective

In this article, we propose the application of a control-theoretic framework to human-automation interaction. The framework consists of a set of conceptual distinctions that should be respected in automation research and design. We demonstrate how existing automation interface designs in some nuclear plants fail to recognize these distinctions. We further show the value of the approach by applying it to modes of automation. The design guidelines that have been proposed in the automation literature are evaluated from the perspective of the framework. This comparison shows that the framework reveals insights that are frequently overlooked in this literature. A new set of design guidelines is introduced that builds upon the contributions of previous research and draws complementary insights from the control-theoretic framework. The result is a coherent and systematic approach to the design of human-automation-plant interfaces that will yield more concrete design criteria and a broader set of design tools. Applications of this research include improving the effectiveness of human-automation interaction design and the relevance of human-automation interaction research.     

Interactive computer graphics for assisting human programmers

A theory exists that a graphic ‘transfer function’ of humans may be characterizable. A computer graphic terminal trained with an understanding of this function may be capable of identifying with a human and appreciably raising the potential quality of human/computer graphic dialog. An Interactive Computer Graphic Assisted Programming (ICGAP) system is described which uses computer graphics to aid in the construction of computer graphic programs, conveniencing interactive computer graphic experiments.The rich, relatively untapped fields of art and psychology deserve computer graphic science's attention. An example of one area is the psychologist's model of the process of representationalism.     

Designing for uncertain,asymmetric control: Interaction design for brain–computer interfaces

Designing user interfaces which can cope with unconventional control properties is challenging, and conventional interface design techniques are of little help. This paper examines how interactions can be designed to explicitly take into account the uncertainty and dynamics of control inputs. In particular, the asymmetry of feedback and control channels is highlighted as a key design constraint, which is especially obvious in current non-invasive brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). Brain–computer interfaces are systems capable of decoding neural activity in real time, thereby allowing a computer application to be directly controlled by thought. BCIs, however, have totally different signal properties than most conventional interaction devices. Bandwidth is very limited and there are comparatively long and unpredictable delays. Such interfaces cannot simply be treated as unwieldy mice. In this respect they are an example of a growing field of sensor-based interfaces which have unorthodox control properties. As a concrete example, we present the text entry application “Hex-O-Spell”, controlled via motor-imagery based electroencephalography (EEG). The system utilizes the high visual display bandwidth to help compensate for the limited control signals, where the timing of the state changes encodes most of the information. We present results showing the comparatively high performance of this interface, with entry rates exceeding seven characters per minute.     

Designing for flexible interaction between humans and automation: delegation interfaces for supervisory control

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method enabling human-like, flexible supervisory control via delegation to automation. BACKGROUND: Real-time supervisory relationships with automation are rarely as flexible as human task delegation to other humans. Flexibility in human-adaptable automation can provide important benefits, including improved situation awareness, more accurate automation usage, more balanced mental workload, increased user acceptance, and improved overall performance. METHOD: We review problems with static and adaptive (as opposed to "adaptable") automation; contrast these approaches with human-human task delegation, which can mitigate many of the problems; and revise the concept of a "level of automation" as a pattern of task-based roles and authorizations. We argue that delegation requires a shared hierarchical task model between supervisor and subordinates, used to delegate tasks at various levels, and offer instruction on performing them. A prototype implementation called Playbook is described. RESULTS: On the basis of these analyses, we propose methods for supporting human-machine delegation interactions that parallel human-human delegation in important respects. We develop an architecture for machine-based delegation systems based on the metaphor of a sports team's "playbook." Finally, we describe a prototype implementation of this architecture, with an accompanying user interface and usage scenario, for mission planning for uninhabited air vehicles. CONCLUSION: Delegation offers a viable method for flexible, multilevel human-automation interaction to enhance system performance while maintaining user workload at a manageable level. APPLICATION: Most applications of adaptive automation (aviation, air traffic control, robotics, process control, etc.) are potential avenues for the adaptable, delegation approach we advocate. We present an extended example for uninhabited air vehicle mission planning.     

Real programmers do use Delphi

The author describes a career-journey that began with the maintenance of obsolete, poorly structured programs that came with almost no documentation. But he survived and moved on to work with and observe “real” programming practices in several companies. He describes how the “real” programming profession evolved and expanded into the mainstream of the software industry. E. Post's article “Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal” (Datamation, 1983) sent the overriding message that, despite the efforts of that day's quiche-eating programmers, real programming took real talent and, if done correctly, led to fun, wealth, and job security. Borland recently released a new, object-oriented version of Pascal called Delphi. It's far removed from the simplistic language Niklaus Wirth conceived; it's a pleasure to use, and it commands good contracting rates