Correcting menu usability problems with sound

Future human-computer interfaces will use more than just graphical output to display information. In this paper we suggest that sound and graphics together can be used to improve interaction. We describe an experiment to improve the usability of standard graphical menus by the addition of sound. One common difficulty is slipping off a menu item by mistake when trying to select it. One of the causes of this is insufficient feedback. We designed and experimentally evaluated a new set of menus with much more salient audio feedback to solve this problem. The results from the experiment showed a significant reduction in the subjective effort required to use the new sonically-enhanced menus along with significantly reduced error recovery times. A significantly larger number of errors were also corrected with sound

Source-to-Output Repositories – Phase Two Summative Evaluation Final Report

This document presents the final results of the phase two summative evaluation of the UKDA-StORe project’s portal repository system. After the completion of the regular funding phase of StORe under the JISC Digital Repositories programme in 2007 the project was granted an extension until mid-2008 to further refine the portal under the name UKDA-StORe. For the regular project a phase one summative evaluation assessed “the technical structure, functionality, design and quality of the demonstrator system, and the appropriateness of the ‘common model’ approach, using workshops to test the system with representative repository users”. It was agreed to conduct a phase two summative evaluation to further assess the development of UKDA-StORe and to complement the findings of the first evaluation phase. The phase two summative evaluation is based on a series of five expert user interviews to evaluate the StORe system in use. In the phase one evaluation it is stated, that “it is probable that a second complementary evaluation phase will be conducted in the future also based on the approach introduced here”. This endeavour could be realised in general, but under other specifications: As the UKDA-StORe extension did not consist of a user base for the evaluator to draw on the approach had to be modified – from user evaluation workshops to qualitative evaluation interviews with domain experts – with the task to evaluate the system in regard to barriers and facilitators to use and usability issues unchanged

Oficina de Relatório: concepção e desenvolvimento de um software com a participação do usuário

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção.Este trabalho se propõe a apresentar o envolvimento do aluno num processo de concepção e desenvolvimento de um produto, especificamente o software Oficina de Relatório, uma ferramenta de apoio à elaboração de relatório de estágio curricular, e a apontar pressupostos básicos para a concepção de software ergonômico e pedagógico. O referencial teórico aborda conceitos, comentários e revisões da ergonomia, desde a ergonomia cognitiva, com considerações sobre a semiótica e o design, ao projeto centrado no usuário e à ergonomia do software, com a análise ergonômica do trabalho, a interação homem-computador, e princípios ergonômicos para a concepção de software. Foi nesse contexto dado ênfase à participação do aluno na concepção e desenvolvimento do software Oficina de Relatório, envolvendo-o no processo desde a análise ergonômica do trabalho e técnicas aplicadas para a interface à avaliação do protótipo durante o seu desenvolvimento. A metodologia aplicada na concepção e no desenvolvimento do software, assim como a descrição do software Oficina de Relatório complementam este relatório e comprovam o valor da participação do aluno para o process

Cognitive Foundations for Visual Analytics

In this report, we provide an overview of scientific/technical literature on information visualization and VA. Topics discussed include an update and overview of the extensive literature search conducted for this study, the nature and purpose of the field, major research thrusts, and scientific foundations. We review methodologies for evaluating and measuring the impact of VA technologies as well as taxonomies that have been proposed for various purposes to support the VA community. A cognitive science perspective underlies each of these discussions