Evaluating complex digital resources

Squires (1999) discussed the gap between HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and the educational computing communities in their very different approaches to evaluating educational software. This paper revisits that issue in the context of evaluating digital resources, focusing on two approaches to evaluation: an HCI and an educational perspective. Squires and Preece's HCI evaluation model is a predictive model ‐ it helps teachers decide whether or not to use educational software ‐ whilst our own concern is in evaluating the use of learning technologies. It is suggested that in part the different approaches of the two communities relate to the different focus that each takes: in HCI the focus is typically on development and hence usability, whilst in education the concern is with the learner and teacher use

A Methodological Approach: Formal Specification Of Quality Attributes Modeling Approcahes In The Waterfall Process Model

The fields like Software Engineering (SE) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) are considered dissimilar.. SE based process model mostly discuss modeling of functional requirement while the HCI based approaches are mostly concerned with the modeling of quality attributes. The quality attributes are mostly discussed during late phases of software development. The non-functional requirements as quality attributes can be integrated in software products by considering quality or non-functional modeling approaches during all of the phases of software engineering process model. The separation of SE and HCI concerns restricts formal specification of quality attributes during all of the phases of SE process model. The software systems or products are generally less user centered because SE process models can’t address formal specification of quality attributes in SE process models. In this research a methodology for the formal specification of approaches that model functional requirements and quality attribute during SE process model is proposed. The proposed methodology is based on waterfall SE process model. It can be utilized in design and development of users centered software products. Our proposed methodology also bridges gap between SE and HCI fields

Context-Neutral E-Learning Objects: a tale of Two Projects

We discuss two European projects: eDILEMA, which ended in September 2003 and REPLIKA, which started in October 2003. The primary focus of both projects is e-learning objects. eDILEMA, led by colleagues at Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic, focused on developing a multi-lingual repository for reusable learning objects, and included initial work on a pattern language to capture good practice in the design and use of learning objects. REPLIKA, led by Trans HEurope, starts with a repository, and focuses on the development of content, particularly in the areas of multimedia and entrepreneurship. We will explore possible HCI learning objects that might be included, such as model or interface simulations, case studies or process models. The project will also explore the use of patterns as a way of capturing our knowledge of successful examples of learning objects in HCI and other areas

User-Interface Modelling for Blind Users

The design of a user interface usable by blind people sets specific usability requirements that are unnecessary for sighted users. These requirements focus on task adequacy, dimensional trade-off, behaviour equivalence, semantic loss avoidance and device-independency. Consequently, the development of human-computer interfaces (HCI) that are based on task, domain, dialog, presentation, platform and user models has to be modified to take into account these requirements. This paper presents a user interface model for blind people, which incorporates these usability requirements into the above HCI models. A frame-work implementing the model has been developed and implemented in an electronic speaking bilingual software environment for blind or visually impaired people and in an educational system for children with special educational needs

Towards an HCI model for eudaimonic growth - A phenomenological inquiry into travelers' serious leisure pursuits and cultivation of character strengths

Many people strive for a life characterized by self-growth and meaning, considered to be innate needs, by actualizing their authentic potentials during their lifespans. Positive psychology (PP) has termed this self-development process as eudaimonia—to live a virtuous life. From this perspective, such a life can be attained by individuals through cultivating key character strengths. On the other hand, the fields of leisure and tourism regard eudaimonia as the sustained pursuit of leisure activities that involve specific skills, knowledge, and experience. This study combines these two bodies of knowledge to propose a human-computer interaction (HCI) model that can facilitate individual eudaimonic growth through the serious pursuit of leisure activities applicable to the eTourism platform. By integrating concepts reported in the current literature with the results of our phenomenological investigation, we highlight three key findings to support the development of this model: 1. Individual eudaimonic development can be appreciated from both cross- sectional and developmental perspectives; 2. In addition to performance seeking behavior, individual satisfaction and fulfillment can emerge from the process of exercising one’s character strengths; 3. Goal formation and introspection are specific aspects that contribute to the meaning of an experience. The proposed HCI model comprises two interrelated components: a strength-based recommender system and personal reflective journaling informatics. The HCI model assumes that eudaimonic growth can occur when both systems are in action

Human Activity Modelling in the Specification of Operational Requirements: Work in Progress

This paper describes our experience of integrating HCI concepts and techniques into a concurrent requirements engineering process called RESCUE. We focus on the use of a model of current human activity to inform specification of a future system. We show how human activity descriptions, written using a specially designed template, can facilitate the authoring of use case descriptions to be used in the elicitation of requirements for complex socio-technical systems. We describe our experience of using descriptions of human activity, written using the template, to support specification of operational requirements for DMAN, a system to support air traffic controllers in managing the departure of aircraft from airports. We end with a discussion of lessons learnt from our experience and present some ideas for future development of work in this area

Designers' models of the human-computer interface

Understanding design models of the human-computer interface (HCI) may produce two types of benefits. First, interface development often requires input from two different types of experts: human factors specialists and software developers. Given the differences in their backgrounds and roles, human factors specialists and software developers may have different cognitive models of the HCI. Yet, they have to communicate about the interface as part of the design process. If they have different models, their interactions are likely to involve a certain amount of miscommunication. Second, the design process in general is likely to be guided by designers' cognitive models of the HCI, as well as by their knowledge of the user, tasks, and system. Designers do not start with a blank slate; rather they begin with a general model of the object they are designing. The author's approach to a design model of the HCI was to have three groups make judgments of categorical similarity about the components of an interface: human factors specialists with HCI design experience, software developers with HCI design experience, and a baseline group of computer users with no experience in HCI design. The components of the user interface included both display components such as windows, text, and graphics, and user interaction concepts, such as command language, editing, and help. The judgments of the three groups were analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis and Pathfinder. These methods indicated, respectively, how the groups categorized the concepts, and network representations of the concepts for each group. The Pathfinder analysis provides greater information about local, pairwise relations among concepts, whereas the cluster analysis shows global, categorical relations to a greater extent

Location, Location, Location: Challenges of Outsourced Usability Evaluation

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND This position paper presents some of the challenges experienced in relation to an outsourced usability evaluation of commercial collaboration product, which we would like to raise in the Improving the Interplay between Usability Evaluation and User Interface Design workshop. The paper describes the context of the outsourced evaluation, three challenges of location, how the evaluation was carried out and reported. Finally, we outline some of the lessons learned. The product is being developed within a multi-national software product company based in the United States. Typical of this type of company, the product company has a multitude of existing and new products under development in various programs under aggressive time and resource constraints. The company has a strong commitment to being focused on the needs of customers in relation to their products and services. As such, the company has strong human computer interaction (HCI) skills supporting the development of user interfaces that are easy to use. However, the number of these resources is limited in relation to the number of projects and amount of HCI work required. As with many companies throughout the world, this product company is investigating an outsourcing model to support HCI requirements and in particular usability evaluation

A structured management approach to implementation of health promotion interventions in Head Start.

Improving the health and health literacy of low-income families is a national public health priority in the United States. The federal Head Start program provides a national infrastructure for implementation of health promotion interventions for young children and their families. The Health Care Institute (HCI) at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, developed a structured approach to health promotion training for Head Start grantees using business management principles. This article describes the HCI approach and provides examples of implemented programs and selected outcomes, including knowledge and behavior changes among Head Start staff and families. This prevention-focused training platform has reached 60,000 Head Start families in the United States since its inception in 2001. HCI has demonstrated consistent outcomes in diverse settings and cultures, suggesting both scalability and sustainability

Exploring Cultural Differences in HCI Education

The discipline of human-computer interaction has become a subject taught across universities around the world, outside of the cultures where it originated. However, the intercultural implication of its assimilation into the\ud syllabus of courses offered by universities around the world remains underresearched. The purpose of this ongoing research project is to provide insights for these implications in terms of the student and teacher experience of HCI. How this subject is socially represented across the different universities studied is a key question. In order to develop intercultural awareness of these questions\ud universities from UK, Namibia, Mexico and China are collaborating in a multiple case study involving students and lecturers engaged in evaluation and design tasks. Findings will then be used to propose an international HCI curriculum more supportive of local perspectives. This paper describes the initial steps of this study and some preliminary findings from Namibia, India and Mexico about cognitive styles and cultural attitudes