Gender HCI Issues in End-User Software Engineering Environments

Although gender differences in a technological world are receiving significant research attention, much of the research and practice has aimed at how society and education can impact the successes and retention of female computer science professionals. The possibility of gender issues within software, however, has received almost no attention. We hypothesize that factors within software have a strong impact on how well female problem solvers can make use of the software. Evidence from other fields and investigations of our own have revealed evidence supporting this hypothesis

Usability dimensions in collaborative GIS

Collaborative GIS requires careful consideration of the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability aspects, given the variety of users that are expected to use these systems, and the need to ensure that users will find the system effective, efficient, and enjoyable. The chapter explains the link between collaborative GIS and usability engineering/HCI studies. The integration of usability considerations into collaborative GIS is demonstrated in two case studies of Web-based GIS implementation. In the first, the process of digitising an area on Web-based GIS is improved to enhance the user's experience, and to allow interaction over narrowband Internet connections. In the second, server-side rendering of 3D scenes allows users who are not equipped with powerful computers to request sophisticated visualisation without the need to download complex software. The chapter concludes by emphasising the need to understand the users' context and conditions within any collaborative GIS project. © 2006, Idea Group Inc

Gender-Inclusive Requirements Engineering

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)Gender inclusion is fundamental to a prosperous society, but inequality and exclusion persist in various sectors of it. One of them is the ICT field, which is still struggling to represent the diversity of those it serves. The lack of diversity and power imbalance in software development affects the produced systems, that, instead of advancing gender inclusion, create new barriers in achieving it. Although considered neutral, software does not equally serve everyone who depends on it, favoring characteristics that are statistically more observed in those that are represented during development. As software development teams are predominantly male, it is not surprising that existing systems favor characteristics that are statistically more observed in men over characteristics observed in other genders. As technologies rapidly evolve and revolutionize the way we live, addressing this problem becomes urgent to ensure that these systems benefit everyone, regardless of their gender. As a first step towards this goal, we performed a systematic mapping study on gender issues in software engineering whose results indicated that gender impacts development and systems, but there are limited approaches for addressing it in Requirements Engineering. This study served as the foundation for proposing a conceptual model for gender-inclusive requirements. Its main objective is to facilitate discussion and analysis of gender and related concepts in the elicitation process to include them in the specification of requirements. In this paper, we extend this work by illustrating the concepts with an example, by presenting a process for using the knowledge of the model and a prototype tool that implements it, and by discussing an evaluation with 31 participants of the conceptual model's usefulness, difficulty of understanding, strengths and weaknesses, use and recommendation, and finally, its components. The results were positive as both novices and experts in conceptual modeling considered the model useful, provided comprehensive feedback on its strengths but also suggestions for improvement, and most answered positively to the questions about whether they would use and recommend it.publishersversionpublishe

Effective Affective User Interface Design in Games

It is proposed that games, which are designed to generate positive affect, are most successful when they facilitate flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1992). Flow is a state of concentration, deep enjoyment, and total absorption in an activity. The study of games, and a resulting understanding of flow in games can inform the design of nonleisure software for positive affect. The paper considers the ways in which computer games contravene Nielsen’s guidelines for heuristic evaluation (Nielsen and Molich 1990) and how these contraventions impact on flow. The paper also explores the implications for research that stem from the differences between games played on a personal computer and games played on a dedicated console. This research takes important initial steps towards defining how flow in computer games can inform affective design

Gender-Inclusive HCI Research and Design: A Conceptual Review

Previous research has investigated gender and its implications for HCI. We consider inclusive design of technology whatever the gender of its users of particular importance. This conceptual review provides an overview of the motivations that have driven research in gender and inclusive HCI design. We review the empirical evidence for the impact of gender in thinking and behavior which underlies HCI research and design. We then present how HCI design might inadvertently embed and perpetuate gender stereotypes. We then present current HCI design approaches to tackle gender stereotypes and to produce gender-inclusive designs. We conclude by discussing possible future directions in this area

AMCIS 2002 Panels and Workshops I: Human-Computer Interaction Research in the MIS Discipline

Human Computer Interaction (HCI)or Human Factors studies in MIS are concerned with the ways humans interact with information, technologies, and tasks, especially in business, managerial, organizational, and cultural contexts. This article describes the existence and importance of HCI research in the MIS discipline, its historical development, some of its characteristics, publication opportunities, and future research directions. It is believed that HCI is the subject of a strong research stream in MIS, and will continue to be strong in the foreseeable future. It is hoped that HCI studies can provide the evolution of the human centered technology development that enhances our work/job, our various needs, our organizations, our societies, and ourselves