Ubiquitous service access through adapted user interfaces on multiple devices

The Ubiquitous Interactor (UBI) addresses the problems of design and development that arise from services that need to be accessed from many different devices. In the UBI, a service can present itself with different user interfaces on different devices. This is done by a separation of the user–service interaction and presentation. The interaction is kept the same for all devices, and different presentation information is provided for different devices. This way, tailored user interfaces for many different devices can be created without multiplying the development and maintenance work. In this paper, we describe the design of the UBI, the system implementation, and two services implemented for the system: a calendar service and a stockbroker service.

Model-based development of distributable user interfaces

Universal Access in the Information Society - The price drop of digital displays during the last decade has promoted the use of coupled-display ecosystems. This paper proposes a model-based...     

Towards end-user development of distributed user interfaces

Universal Access in the Information Society - Over the last decade, we have seen an increasing number of solutions for distributed user interfaces (DUIs). This paper provides a detailed overview of...     

Toward accessible self-service kiosks through intelligent user interfaces

Public self-service kiosks provide key services such as ticket sales, airport check-in and general information. Such kiosks must be universally designed to be used by society at large, irrespective of the individual users’ physical and cognitive abilities, level of education and familiarity with the system. The noble goal of universal accessibility is hard to achieve. This study reports experiences with a universally designed kiosk prototype based on a multimodal intelligent user interface that adapts to the user’s physical characteristics. The user interacts with the system via a tall rectangular touch-sensitive display where the interaction area is adjusted to fit the user’s height. A digital camera is used to measure the user’s approximate reading distance from the display such that the text size can be adjusted accordingly. The user’s touch target accuracy is measured, and the target sizes are increased for users with motor difficulties. A Byzantine visualization technique is employed to exploit unused and unreachable screen real estate to provide the user with additional visual cues. The techniques explored in this study have potential for most public self-service kiosks.     

Conference review Simulation in the development of user interfaces

The motivation for this paper is to review the status of Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) as a general framework for examining tasks, including those for which cognitive task analysis methods might be assumed to be necessary. HTA is treated as a strategy for examining tasks, aimed at refining performance criteria, focusing on constituent skills, understanding task contexts and generating useful hypotheses for overcoming performance problems. A neutral and principled perspective avoids bias and enables the analyst to justify using different analytical methods and develop hypotheses as information is gained about the task. It is argued that these considerations are equally valid when examining tasks that are assumed to contain substantial cognitive elements. Moreover, examining cognition within the context of a broader task helps to situate cognition within the network of actions and decisions that it must support, as well as helping to establish where effort in cognitive task analysis is really justified.     

Effects of query complexity and learning on novice user query performance with conceptual and logical database interfaces

Users see the database interface as the database system. A good interface enables them to formulate queries better. The semantics communicated through the interface can be classified according to abstraction levels, such as the conceptual and logical levels. With the conceptual interface, interaction is in terms of real-world concepts such as entities, objects and relationships. Current user-database interaction is mainly based on the logical interface, where interaction is in terms of abstract database concepts such as relations and joins. Many researchers argue that end users will perform better with the conceptual interface. This research tested this claim, as well as the effects of query complexity and learning, on the visual query performance of users. The experiment involved three tests: an initial test, a retention test and a relearning test. The results showed that, for complex queries, conceptual interface users achieved higher accuracy, were more confident in their answers, and spent less time on the queries. This is persistent across retention and relearning tests.     

Design and evaluation of distributed user interfaces between tangible tabletops

Universal Access in the Information Society - The advantage of tangible interaction is that it allows people to interact naturally. Tabletops are a collective support which can be used by several...     

A logical theory of interfaces and objects

This paper motivates and describes a logic-based approach to specifying and reasoning about interfaces and objects that focuses on separation of concerns issues. The approach is based on the abstract design view (ADV), a software design model for object-oriented systems. The model was originally introduced to characterize, in an informal and practical setting, a clear separation between objects, which we called abstract design objects and their interfaces (ADVs). The objects capture the basic concern, while the interfaces capture special concerns such as user interface, control, timing, and distribution. First, we analyze the ADV design model in order to precisely characterize the interfaces, their associated objects, and the relationship between them. Then, we present one possible approach to formalizing interfaces, objects, and the "views-a" relationship. The central mathematical tools used for this purpose are temporal logic and some tools from the category theory. The formal approach is illustrated by examples that show how the interface and related objects and the views-a relationship can be used in object-oriented specifications. We also show how the theory enables the designer to perform relevant analysis activities while modeling with separation of concerns in mind. The theory can be used to derive dynamic and structural properties of the interface objects and the views-a relationship. In particular, we can use the theory to derive global properties of interfaces that capture special concerns from the local properties of their related objects     

Adapting paper prototyping for designing user interfaces for multiple display environments

A multiple display environment (MDE) networks personal and shared devices to form a virtual workspace, and designers are just beginning to grapple with the challenges of developing interfaces tailored for these environments. To develop effective interfaces for MDEs, designers must employ methods that allow them to rapidly generate and test alternative designs early in the design process. Paper prototyping offers one promising method, but needs to be adapted to effectively simulate the use of multiple displays and allow testing with groups of users. In this paper, we share experiences from two projects in which paper prototyping was utilized to explore interfaces for MDEs. We identify problems encountered when applying the traditional method, describe how these problems were overcome, and distill our experiences into recommendations that others can draw upon. By following our recommendations, designers need only make minor modifications to the existing method to better realize benefits of paper prototyping for MDEs.     

Visual terminals and user interfaces

The evolution of computer and communication technologies enables man-to-machine interfaces through graphics. This paper describes the state of the art in visual terminals such as telewriting, facsimile and videotex in Japan. User interfaces through visual terminals facilitate the input and the understanding of information, and thus stimulate wider dissemination of computers and non-voice communication, even to the private sector.     

Distributed orchestration of user interfaces

Workflow management systems focus on the coordination of people and work items, service composition approaches on the coordination of service invocations, and, recently, web mashups have started focusing on the integration and coordination of pieces of user interfaces (UIs), e.g., a Google map, inside simple web pages. While these three approaches have evolved in a rather isolated fashion – although they can be seen as evolution of the componentization and coordination idea from people to services to UIs – in this paper we describe a component-based development paradigm that conciliates the core strengths of these three approaches inside a single model and language. We call this new paradigm distributed UI orchestration, so as to reflect the mashup-like and process-based nature of our target applications. In order to aid developers in implementing UI orchestrations, we equip the described model and language with suitable design, deployment, and runtime instruments, covering the whole life cycle of distributed UI orchestrations.     

Object-oriented specification of user interfaces

This paper presents an object-oriented approach for the specification of graphical user interfaces. Specification starts with the analysis of the end user's operations. The user interface is then designed on the basis of this analysis. Operation analysis is followed by structure and component specification which presents the dialogue structure of the application and the contents of each dialogue. Visualization produces the final screen layouts, and task specification documents the usage of the user interface for the purpose of creating user's guides. The method presented in this paper makes it easier for a designer to take the end user's needs into account. Still, it does not automatically guarantee good quality user interfaces. The top-down nature of the method allows the designer to concentrate on the most important aspects of the user interface and split the design procedure into manageable pieces. Also, the visibility of the process allows the designer to communicate with other people while specifying the user interface. This paper connects the method with the object-oriented specification of entire applications. It briefly explains the connections with object-oriented analysis and design, and demonstrates how to implement the specified user interface in an object oriented fashion. The approach presented in this paper is being applied in the development of a large network management system with about two million lines of C++ code running in the XII environment. Still, the method does not require the specification being implemented with any specific windowing system. The only requirement is that the user interface is based on graphical elements, such as dialogues, push-buttons and text fields.     

Energy-aware user interfaces and energy-adaptive displays

This paper identifies, quantifies, and analyzes potential mismatch opportunities in workload, user needs, and current display properties. Across different usage classes, we consistently find that users typically do not stress the display's full properties, and they often associate screen usage with content that can be displayed with significantly lower energy consumption. We propose new display subsystems that use energy adaptivity in hardware and energy awareness in software to obtain dramatic display power savings - with typical improvements ranging from factors of 2 to 10 without compromising user acceptance. We show that user interfaces must be designed with energy in mind, and that such energy-aware interfaces can actually provide a good combination of energy benefits and greater ease of use by leveraging features that improve usability instead of simply providing a tradeoff.     

Customization of user interfaces to reduce errors and enhance user acceptance

Customization is assumed to reduce error and increase user acceptance in the human–machine relation. Reconfiguration gives the operator the option to customize a user interface according to his or her own preferences. An experimental study with 72 computer science students using a simulated process control task was conducted. The reconfiguration group (RG) interactively reconfigured their user interfaces and used the reconfigured user interface in the subsequent test whereas the control group (CG) used a default user interface. Results showed significantly lower error rates and higher acceptance of the RG compared to the CG while there were no significant differences between the groups regarding situation awareness and mental workload. Reconfiguration seems to be promising and therefore warrants further exploration.     

Benefits and costs of adaptive user interfaces

The paper examines the positive and the possible adverse effects of adaptive user interfaces (AUIs) in the context of an in-vehicle telematic system as a function of four factors: (1) four different levels of adaptivity (ranging from manual to fully adaptive with intermediate levels); (2) different tasks; (3) routine (familiar) and non-routine (unfamiliar) situations; and (4) different user age groups. Both experiments included three sessions during which participants drove a simple driving simulator and performed tasks with the telematic system at one of the adaptivity levels. We measured task performance times and lane position variance. Adaptivity was not always equally beneficial, and its benefits depended on a number of factors, including the frequency in which the tasks were performed, the user’s age, the difficulty of the task and the user's involvement in the task. In familiar, routine situations, a fully adaptive system was beneficial for all participants, particularly older ones. In unfamiliar situations, to which the AUI was not adjusted, cognitive workload increased substantially, adversely affecting performance. Intermediate levels of adaptivity keep users involved in the task and help them become more proficient when performing both routine and non-routine tasks. However, intermediate levels of adaptivity should also be implemented with care, because they may also have adverse effects when users encounter non-routine situations.     

The promise of zoomable user interfaces

Zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) have received a significant amount of attention in the 18 years since they were introduced. They have enjoyed some success, and elements of ZUIs are widely used in computers today, although the grand vision of a zoomable desktop has not materialised. This paper describes the premise and promise of ZUIs along with their challenges. It describes design guidelines, and offers a cautionary tale about research and innovation.