Various Authors
Edited by Thomas Erickson and David W. McDonald; 2008
Chapter 1: "My Vision Isn't My Vision: Making a Career Out of Getting Back to Where I Started
Author talks about this first experience with what could be called a computer. He was a music major and drove to a research plant in Canada to test their new music machine. He ended up using a room size machine that enabled him to crudely put together a piece of music with the music creation machine one note one part at a time. He says this is how he got his start and it was the best example of HCI he had seen.
This chapter was interesting to me just to hear his story. I think its humorous how he only REALLY went on the trip to drive the motorcycle and arrived to see how much he loved using the machine and how much he learned from the experience. I think as much as it could be seen as trivial to have photos in this case they helped to understand a lot of what he was describing.
Chapter 4: Drawing on SketchPad: Reflections on Computer Science and HCI
In this chapter the author talks about one of his favorite computer inventions, the sketchpad. He talks about how he loves this invention, paper and dissertation mainly because of its close relationship with HCI. He covers the different parts and how they each have a very close relationship to what we study in HCI and concludes by naming three main points. 1. There is still a lot of research needed on systems designed to be used as tools. 2. Technology is so great it is easy for one to create a new interface. 3. We must keep HCI in Computer Science
My immediate reaction even to my own analysis is that even though some of the three main points might sound like bad things, they are actually very relevant from the point of HCI. I think the most interesting part about this is that like he says, technology is so great, it is REALLY easy for us to put together new interfaces, and we need to take advantage of this to make programs more understandable. This reminds me of one of my favorite lectures that Dr. Yurttas gave when he talked about advanced properties tabs in Microsoft products. He says that Advanced to COBOL writers means something a lot different than to today's modern user. The problem is exactly that, the modern user has little to no idea what advanced properties are supposed to cover. HCI brings these issues to life and can provide insight into fixing these kinds of problems.
Chapter 5: The Mouse, the Demo, and the Bid Idea
The author talks about how he showed a video of the first (computer) mouse in his HCI class. He later got to see this again at the MIT Media Lab where the mouse inventor (Doug Engelbart) was trying to fruitlessly promote the mouse to the computing community calling it an "augmentation of the user". At first it was not seen as a large help and was cautiously huffed at by the community. As the author claims, the computing community was more interested in AI and office help products. He ends with some quotes and reflections from Engelbart.
This was a neat passage to read about. I again reserve that it would have helped to have a picture of what the first mouse looked like to help give an image as its hard to imagine a strange looking index card box with wires. I think the most interesting part of this is at the end where we have a quote from Engelbart as he looks at his mouse he is using and talks about how it is the best idea for the augmentation of the computer user that has ever been created.
Chapter 6: A Creative Programming Environment
In this chapter the author, Henry Lieberman, talks about the first time he met a researcher named David Canfield Smith. He was working on a new kind of programing environment that he called "Phgmalion: A Creative Programming Environment". This was an environment that was completely done by selecting objects and then giving them different properties to complete a program. Upon seeing this Liberman realized that this was the first real example of what would be known as "Programming by Example". Since this first design which was buggy and crashed trying to do simple math, many more programs have been created that not only teach the user basic programming but also show what the code is creating in live time.
Chapter 7: Fundamentals in HCI
In this chapter the author begins by talking about the Xerox Star. It was a new copy machine for his time and Xerox had just released the new model with a new user interface for assisting with making copies. The instructions came in a 50 page loose-sleeve manual called the "red book". It was the first interface of its kind and the author talks about how the directions were shaky and the design was very primitive. However he also notes that this serves as an important tool for today's design. Essentially, this machine with its guidebook were the first book on principals of interactive computer graphics. These fundamentals that were laid out serve as the basis for many designs today, and they still follow the same principals.
This chapter was a little dry for me, I think it has some very important principals but the story was not as interesting as some of the others. I think it is neat that the first real interactive UI was on a copy machine and that same design is still being used today. Although the screens on copiers have changed a lot and in some cases are not used, the overall idea of interactive user displays is still the same as it was twenty years ago. I think of these every time I go to the supermarket and get groceries. The self check out counter to me is very intuitive probably because I have been using computers my whole life. Perhaps we need to also consider the older generation and how it receives these designs.
Chapter 9: The Disappearing Computer
In this chapter the author talks about the idea of "The Disappearing Computer". Essentially what this means is that they want to design interfaces such that the user forgets they are interacting with a computer and are using completely natural motions and inputs as if they were interacting with a person. The idea is that, computers will be sophisticated enough that we won't see computers the way we see them now, we will simply be interacting in a normal way with a device that will be built into our homes and work. He talks about the idea of changing human-computer interaction into human-information action, and how this kind of research can make this happen. He talks about two ways to make this happen: physical disappearance and mental disappearance. The two are similar yet cover the same idea of getting rid of the computer. He gives some good examples of each at the end of the chapter.
This is one of those strange topics for me because I have heard for years now about how close we are to this kind of technology but you do not see many people putting time into it. I know there are lots of people working in the field and doing small scale designs but I almost wish more academics would put time into this kind of computing. It is like the author says it would be come Human-Information action, and we would be able to more easily deal with our computers and not make them a tool or a burden but just a part of life. I loved the examples at the end of how to do each of these and he gave some really interesting thoughts on the matter.
Chapter 10: It Really is All About Location!
This chapter the author talks about the idea of mobile computing and how similar to real estate, computers are all about location. He talks about how fifteen years ago we did not have the satellites we do today and none of this was possible. He says this spawned a new age in technology that was refereed to as ubiquitous technology, and how its inception spawned a wave of new technologies and devices. In fact the first devices didn't use them either, pagers were simply a way to let someone know you need to call them by sending them your number. He then goes into call forwarding and how this revolutionized a secretaries job. He still points out that there is a lot of problems with these kinds of devices and talks about how it really has come a long way and is improving the more we study it.
I remember the days when you were not able to reach someone at any time of day. It used to be that if the person was not home you essentially could not talk to them. It is amazing how far the technology has come in a short period of time and how much we have been able to do with it. The surprising part for me in this article is how he did not discuss more the fact that battery life in ubiquitous computing is a really big deal and along with research on the computers we need research on batteries as well. I think location aware services are also a good idea. I love being able to type "restaurants near me" into Google and it actually know where I am.
Chapter 18: Observing Collaboration: Group-Centered Design
Here the author reflects on a dissertation done by J. Tang in 1989 that focused on aspects of design done in groups. He noted many things about the processes and broke them down into three main aspects orientation, proximity, and simultaneous access. The author talks about how using these ideas he created a few different systems that enhanced the idea of user centered design. Many of these allowed for ease of use of drawings, gestures and verbal communication. He ends as always by pointing this back to HCI and how design with the user in mind has made these programs more and more successful.
This chapter while very interesting was a little confusing. They talked a lot about the study of the gestures and interactions done in the groups but it seems like a lot of the products described and created based on these do not help as much as they intended. The pictures make these programs seem very primitive and clunky in their use. I don't know if the pictures are maybe just poor quality or if its hard to understand what is going on in black and white but they do not help my understanding much. The system sounds like a good idea and if done well I envision systems like this being built into big tables and used in conference rooms.
Chapter 20: Taking Articulation Work Seriously
In this chapter we are introduced to the idea of "Articulation Work" which is described as mediation and management of activities such as: allocation of tasks, distribution of resources and scheduling. The author talks about how upon reading this he realized his research in process models and work flows that were heavily studied by business professionals. The author talks about how this has made a huge impact for him personally and others in the HCI community as to how to look at organization of tasks and how there are many aspects of cooperative work that needed further study. The author also makes note that this is the field of research that needs to be investigated when looking at ubiquitous computing and the processes involved in automating everyday activities and actions that users of products take.
This chapter doesn't cover a whole lot because it isn't really telling us about applications of articulation work but talking about how when studied branches into many different fields of HCI. The author does make a lot of good points about how this carries over into group centered design and automated computing. I believe that if we do want to automate more and more products for users that we should be aware of how the user is going to perceive the automation and be sure that it is automated in a way that is not inconvenient for the user. I think the use of articulation work and study of how it works will be important in bridging the HCI gap that is left between the user and the computer.
Chapter 23: Video, Toys, and Beyond Being There
In this chapter we learn about the authors mother who upon her granddaughter being born was unable to be with her due to cancer. He talked about how video conferencing and digital photos helped the process but it was on the same as being there. He talks about an area of HCI which is to help enhance the distance that computers represent by making the experiences more emotionally involved and create an experience of what he calls "beyond being there". He talks about one system he used that helped to facilitate group work in his computer science classes but mainly talks about his daughter and enhancements for video conferencing.
The strangest part about this chapter is that there was more story about his daughter and mother than there was on computer programs. In no part of the chapter does he really talk about a program that is trying to really bridge this gap and help to facilitate the idea of "beyond being there". He does talk about how research is needed and how he wants to be a part of it but no real information on products that are working towards it.
Chapter 24: A Simulated Listening Typewriter: John Gould Plays Wizard of Oz
In this chapter the author claims he has a seventy thousand dollar idea. He talks about how the speech recognizer was first researched in the 1970s. At the first inception it could only understand about one hundred words and one had to say them slowly one at a time. As the technology advanced by the Wizard of Oz method which involves a person talking and then another dictating (John Gould's method), This enabled them to teach the computer quicker and more efficiently. The only thing he said was that even today it is used a lot less than keyboard.
I think the interesting part of this chapter was that regardless of how good and affordable speech and text programs are people do not use them. Even with the vast amount of technology that we have we still have not adopted these programs. I guess for me personally it was always the idea that, I can type fast enough and I took a bunch of classes in school so why would I spend money on a program where I still question how well they actually work? Either way it is impressive how far they've come, though I would like the one on my phone to work better.
Chapter 25: Seeing the Hole in Space
This chapter we find out about the work of three computer scientists: Bob Stults, Ranjit Makkuni, and Steve Harrison. They worked with two starving artists (Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz) to work on a project they called "Hole in Space". Essentially what they did was setup video cameras and displays on street corners to various locations around the world and watched how people reacted tot hem. What they found was much more than strange behavior of people, they found that people were interested in the social aspect that this technology enabled and found that people loved the sense of community of being able to see people all around the world.
This is definitely an interesting idea, setting up cameras and seeing what people will do in front of them. It does not surprise me in the least what people WILL do but the idea that people were interested in who these other people were and if they could communicate was interesting. I cant help but think what would happen if these cameras were allowed to run all the time, would people ever leave or would there be a continuous stream of people using them? Would people show up in groups or individually? I think this would be a really cool idea for an ethnography.
Chapter 26: Edward Tufte's 1+1=3
In this chapter we explore Edward Tufte's idea of 1+1=3. Essentially it is the idea that when you have a lot of different objects in a space creates a lot of clutter and in fact you can cut down on a lot of the congestion by simply reducing the clutter. The article gives an example of elevator buttons and how by making the open door button bigger and more understandable, one will not mistake it for the close button in a time of panic, whereas the close button does not need to be improved as people will find it readily.He drives home the point of how in clutter there is a sense of panic and chaos, and a simple redesign of a system or a design can make simple instructions less broad and chaotic for the user.
I think this concept is interested although I do not see how it has practical implications on anything that we're doing. I understand why the article is in the book, this is basic HCI wanting people to intuitively understand what you want them to do. However, this does not lend itself to a lot of what we are doing in other courses. Many of the programs we write have a very small audience and in some cases if we were to design our program a way that seems intuitive, it would get rejected by the grader. Perhaps as I go into the business world this will change but regardless of the cleverness of this article, in academia I have a hard time grasping it.
Chapter 27: Typographic Space: A Fusion of Design and Technology
This chapter we explore the work of Muriel Cooper a woman at MIT who discovered the role that technology could play in the manipulating typographic form. Her and other students in the lab at MIT created a program called Typographic Space which allowed users to create vivid typographical designs in a 3d space. This not only was a revolution in how type could be displayed but also lead to further studies of how people read and perceive different forms of font. They discovered systems such as RSVP ( rapid serial visual presentation) which shows words rapidly in a single place. Studies of RSVP have shown that readers can read much more quickly this way because the eye does not have to move much like it does with static text. This kind of study of kinetic typography is used in many programs today to convey different ideas to the user in a much more intuitive manner.
I have often wondered why we get so many font choices when we use word or other text-based programs. It seemed like for the most part there are two or three that we use and the rest are left by the wayside. Without realizing it I have been choosing fonts that represent my feelings and mood for years now as I have published many things on the web (be them instant messages or articles) and not realized the effect that it really had. It makes these kinds of studies very interesting to me and I wish I could know more about their results as I am curious to see how people perceive different fonts or text colors. However, with a study like this of rather arbitrary responses from people, feelings might change over the years so these studies would need to continue, for example in today's society if I were to type in all caps...DON'T YOU GET THE FEELING THAT I AM YELLING AT YOU?!?
Chapter 28: Making Sense of Sense Making
In this chapter we explore the work of A. Kidd and her studies on sense making. Essentially what this means is a study of how people and computer store information and how the information is organized. She claims that computers are inherently bad at this because there is no organizational system to surround this and people tend to follow the same patterns. Kidd claims that people need to ask for better ways to store information and not better tools to make it more "organized". Kidd breaks her thoughts down into two principles: 1. Memory prosthesis- determine how and why certain patterns of digital memory work better than others 2. support for sense making- managing working information as a perceptual process.
This study really intrigues me as I never really considered that maybe the reason I have such a good memory is not that I can store more things in working memory is HOW I go about storing them. In a sense, the idea of sense making is really very intuitive, if you have a proper method for memorizing something it becomes like any other trivial task and it is simply a challenge of becoming familiar with the skill. I think that this kind of practice can play directly into HCI as having intuitive storage and retrieval systems would enable us to make better interfaces that are more focused on an enhancement of the user rather than a tool to be used.
Chapter 34: Revisiting an Ethnocritical Approach to HCI: Verbal Privilege and Translation
The article talks about how in many ways, the study of ethnography is similar to what we do in the HCI community. The author makes these comparisons based on the work of Arthur Krupat in his studies of ethnography. They take the idea of studying a culture and learning its customs and compares it to talking to customers and learning what they want in a program and then translating it to code. In fact the author claims that like ones culture, code is written based on outside influences of the people around and the people to whom the work is for. He breaks it down into a few main questions that one should ask: What is the analysts location? (culture and location) How should we use the translation as a core process in HCI? (how do we transfer from customer to code) and How can we cut down on second-hand information (which he refers to verbal privilege).
I think the idea of reducing verbal privilege is a good idea but if correct coding standards were observed from the outset of a program then these kinds of things would have been cut down. In fact, it seems to me that this is nothing more than a in-depth study of aspects of Agile or Extreme Programming. These languages have as a core that nearly all instruction should come from the customer as the end product is going to go directly to them. In a sense, this is bringing up very important issues and putting them into terms that are more understandable by computer scientists and engineers.
Chapter 46: The Essential Role of Mental Models in HCI: Card, Moran, and Newell
This chapter discussed the first appearance and revolution of Card, Moran, and Newell on HCI and their major discovery: a type of appealing mental model called GOMS.The GOMS method has four goals for a mental model: Goals, Operators, Methods and Sectional rules. They were able to use this model and collect a lot of data from experienced program users to see what it is they find to be "routine cognitive tasks" and then predict and explain error-free performance. This gives very solid set of qualitative and quantitative foundations and qualified HCI as an applied discipline. The author still believes that his article was one of the most influential bodies of work in HCI and demonstrated how interesting problems can be modeled and broken down to help fit the needs of the user.
The thing that I find odd about this is if this is such an influential work why are we reading about it at the end of the chapter and not at the beginning? It seems like if the book had lead off with this then it wouldn't have to focus so much on why HCI is a good field to study. It is a good idea to study what a users needs are but to be able to apply it as a discipline and make it to where we no longer have computer-human interaction but human-computer interaction or even human-data interaction is going to help us to advance technology much faster. I think that maybe this article would have done better by giving us some more excerpts from Card, Moran, and Newell's paper.
Chapter 47: A Most Fitting Law
In this chapter we learn of a very important researcher in the field of HCI by the name of Paul Fitts. He believed that all design in HCI could be quantified by a mathematical expression he coined "Fitts law" which is MT= a + b log2 (2A/W). Essentially, it means that the time it takes to move a target is a function of the length of the movement and the size of the target. This law has been verified in many situations and they even give many examples as to how it has been implemented and improved how we design interfaces. Pop-up menus, walking menus, expanding items and screed edge constrains have all been a result of Fitts equation and are a part of programs people use everyday. The law itself really does bring home the idea that it is important to use multiple design ideas so the design can reach its maximum potential.
I think this is very interesting, however it seems a little simplistic. I think that the idea of simplifying design into an equation is almost like saying to take the creativity out of it. However as we can see, there is a lot more to it than that in that it actually encourages different design decisions and has some value in that it has provided good working relationships to many of the designs we see today. There is value in it, however I was hoping the author was going to give more details as to how it works. The details given seemed like they were very abbreviated.
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