Evolving practices of end user articulation in software co-design

The work is focused on new techniques and practices that support end user to get involved in software co-design. Social networks, variations of self-documentation and new interactive technologies enable new forms of user involvement in software development projects. The potential of new practices and also the issues that come with these methods will be reflected.Die Arbeit thematisiert neue Technologien und Praktiken zur Unterstützung der Nutzereinbindung im Software Co-Design. Soziale Netzwerke, Variationen der Selbstdokumentation und neue interaktive Technologien ermöglichen neue Formen der Beteiligung an Software Entwicklungsprojekten. Das Potential neuer Praktiken und auch die Herausforderungen bei der Anwendung solcher Methoden werden reflektiert

User interface design guidelines for digital television virtual remote controls

The remote control is a pivotal component in households worldwide. It helps users enjoy leisurely television (TV) viewing. The remote control has various user interfaces that people interact with. For example, the physical user interface includes the shape of the remote and the physical buttons; the logical user interface refers to how the information is laid out; and the graphical user interface refers to the colours and aesthetic features of the remote control. All of the user interfaces together with the context of use, cultural factors, social factors, and prior experiences of the user influences the ways people interact with their remote control and ultimately has an effect on their user experiences. Advances in the broadcasting sector and transformations of the TV physical remote control have compounded the simple remote control into a multifaceted, indispensable device, overcrowded with buttons. The usability and ultimately the user experience of physical remote controls (PRCs) have been affected by the overloaded functionality and small button sizes. The usability issues with current PRCs, the evolution of mobile phones into touchscreen smartphones, and the trend of global companies moving towards virtual remote controls (VRCs) have prompted this research to discover what user interface design features will contribute towards an enhanced user experience for digital TV VRCs. This research used the design science research process model (DSRP), which comprised six steps, to investigate this topic area further. A review of the domain literature pertaining to mobile user experiences (MUX) and all the encompassing factors, mobile human computer interaction (MHCI) and the physical, logical, graphical and natural user interfaces was completed, as well as a review of the literature regarding the usability issues of PRCs and VRCs. A contextual task analysis (CTA) of a single South African digital TV PRC was used to identify how users utilise PRCs to perform tasks, and the usability issues they encountered during the tasks. Brainstorming focus groups were used to understand how to represent certain user interface elements and attempted to source ideas from users about what potential functionality digital TV VRCs should contain. Together with all the other results gathered from the previous chapters amalgamated into a set of user interface design guidelines for digital TV VRCs. The proposed user interface guidelines were used to instantiate a digital TV VRC prototype that underwent usability testing in order to validate the proposed user interface design guidelines. The results of the usability testing revealed that the user interface design guidelines for digital TV VRCs were successful, with the addition of one guideline that was discovered during the usability testing

Artifacts and languages of interaction with contemporary digital systems : the adjustable interactive rings for interactive digital television

Orientador: Maria Cecília Calani BaranauskasTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ComputaçãoResumo: A digitalização da transmissão da televisão terrestre no Brasil e, consequentemente, a possibilidade de oferta de interatividade na televisão estabelece um novo paradigma de interação do telespectador com essa mídia com extremo potencial de impacto social, especialmente para a população brasileira. Entretanto, a existência de artefatos digitais comumente utilizados para a interação com o sistema de televisão hoje praticado não garante que esses dispositivos sejam os mais adequados aos avanços propostos com a Televisão Digital Interativa (TVDI). Além disso, a convivência de um número cada vez maior de equipamentos que fazem uso de controle remoto leva a interfaces mais complexas considerando os problemas existentes com o controle remoto já discutido na literatura por vários autores. O foco desta pesquisa de doutorado foi, portanto, investigar o design da interação nessa nova mídia com o objetivo de propor, desenvolver e validar novas formas de interação entre os usuários e a TVDI. Com base no entendimento de que uma interação mais direta com a TVDI passa pela necessidade de fazer com que o foco da interação se dirija mais à interface das aplicações interativas do que ao artefato físico de interação, chegamos a alguns resultados desta pesquisa. A tecnologia resultante desta pesquisa de doutorado saiu do plano das ideias, passando pelo seu projeto conceitual, de forma participativa, até sua implementação e validação junto a representantes do público-alvo. Podemos destacar algumas contribuições decorrentes da realização desta pesquisa no contexto dos artefatos físicos de interação com a TVDI: i) taxonomia para os artefatos físicos de interação; ii) recomendações de uso dos artefatos físicos de interação conhecidos na literatura; iii) análise sócio-técnica do domínio/contexto de novos artefatos físicos de interação; iv) diretrizes para novos artefatos físicos de interação; v) modelo de interação baseado em gestos via artefato físico de interação; vi) guidelines de design para novos artefatos físicos de interação; vii) especificações do design do produto e da linguagem de interação de um novo artefato digital para a TVDI; viii) implementações de protótipos de hardware e software do novo artefato digital para a TVDI; e ix) validação das especificações e dos protótipos do novo artefato digital para a TVDI junto ao público-alvo.Abstract: The digitalization of terrestrial television broadcasting in Brazil and consequently the possibility of offering interactivity on television establish a new paradigm of interaction for the spectator with the media that has great potential to make a social impact, especially for the Brazilian population. However, the existence of digital artifacts commonly used to interact with current television system does not guarantee that those devices are adequate to the developments with the Interactive Digital Television (iDTV). Moreover, the coexistence of an increasing number of devices that make use of the remote control could result in more complex interfaces, considering the problems with remote control already discussed in the literature by several authors. The objective of this Ph.D. research was to investigate the interaction design in the iDTV with the purpose of proposing, developing and validating new ways of interaction with this new media. The research results are grounded in the understanding that a more direct interaction with iDTV involves making the focus of the interaction more on the interface of the interactive applications than on the physical artifact of interaction itself. The technology resulting from this research involved since its conceptual design, with a participatory approach, to its implementation and validation with real users from the target audience. Some contributions of this research in the context of physical artifacts of interaction with the iDTV can be highlighted: i) taxonomy for the physical artifacts of interaction; ii) use recommendations of physical artifacts of interaction known in the literature; iii) socio-technical analysis of the domain/context of new physical artifacts of interaction; iv) guidelines for new physical artifacts of interaction; v) gesture based interaction model via physical artifact of interaction; vi) design guidelines for new physical artifacts of interaction; vii) product design and interaction language specifications for new digital artifact for iDTV; viii) implementations of hardware and software prototypes for the new digital artifact for iDTV; and ix) validation of the specifications and prototypes of the new digital artifact for iDTV with the target audience.DoutoradoInteração Humano-ComputadorDoutor em Ciência da Computaçã