8 research outputs found
DESIGNING CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF DIALOGS: A CASE FOR DIALOG CHARTS
The conceptual design of user interfaces focuses on the specification
of the structure of the dialog, independent of any particular
implementation approach. While there is common agreement with
respect to the importance of this activity, adequate methods and tools
to support it are generally unavailable. The Dialog Charts (DCs)
presented in this paper address this problem -- they support the
conceptual design of dialog control structures. The DCs combine visual
modeling (i.e., diagraming) with widely accepted design principles and
an explicit model of dialog structures.
As no clear evaluation criteria exist in this evolving area of dialog
design, the preliminary assessment of the DCs takes the form of
contrasting them with representative alternative design tools based on
Augmented Transition Networks or Backus-Naur Form grammars.
The DCs overcome some of the problems that seem to limit the
usefulness of comparable approaches. An empirical investigation of the
usable power of the DCs is currently underway at New York
University, and a summary of this research activity concludes the
paper.Information Systems Working Papers Serie
DESIGNING INTERACTIVE USER INTERFACES: DIALOG CHARTS AND AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR USE IN SPECIFYING CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF DIALOGS
The conceptual design of user interfaces focuses on arriving at a specification
of the structure of the dialog, independent of any particular implementation
approach. There is common agreement as to the importance of this activity to
both IS professionals and end-users, but few -- if any -- modeling methods
were developed to specifically support the process of conceptual design, and
the usefulness of such methods has not been adequately addressed. This
paper introduces the Dialog Charts (DCs), and documents a preliminary
examination of their perceived usefulness by designers of user/system
interaction who actually used them. The DCs yield high level dialog schemas
that are abstract enough to support the conceptual design of dialog control
structures. In a uniform diagramming framework they combine the concept of
dialog independence, distinguish between the dialog parties, provide for
hierarchical decomposition and enforce a structured control flow. The
usefulness of the DCs has been studied empirically in a qualitative inquiry.
Recalled experiences of designers were captured and analyzed to ascertain
the concept of usability, as well as assess the usability of the DCs. Usability
has emerged from this study as a set of 38 concerns that operationalizes the
broader aspects of purpose of use, design stage, impact on product structure,
impact on design process, and attitudinal patterns. In general, the Dialog
Charts were found by these dialog designers to be a useful, exhibiting the
essential attributes of tools for conceptual modeling.Information Systems Working Papers Serie
AN EXAMINATION OF THE USE OF DIALOG CHARTS IN SPECIFYING CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF DIALOGS
The conceptual design of user interfaces focuses on the specification of the structure
of the dialog, independent of any particular implementation approach. While there is
common agreement with respect to the importance of this activity, adequate methods
and tools to support it are generally unavailable. The Dialog Charts (DCs) yield high
level dialog schemas that are abstract enough to support the conceptual design of
dialog control structures. They combine dialog concepts with widely accepted design
principles, in a uniform diagramming framework. Specifically, the DCs distinguish
between the dialog parties, provide for hierarchical decomposition and enforce a
structured control flow.
A clear set of guiding principles for the conceptual design of dialogs has yet to
emerge. In this paper we have elected to focus on the notions of descriptive power and
usable power, as they apply to conceptual dialog modeling tools. The conceptual
descriptive power of the DCs is informally examined by applying them in a varied set
of examples and relating them to their lower level counterparts, namely
implementation dialog models like augmented transition networks or context-free
grammars. The usable power of the DCs has been examined empirically through a
qualitative study of their actual use by system designers. The Dialog Chart models
were found by dialog designers to be a useful conceptual design tool, which exhibit the
essential attributes identified for conceptual models.Information Systems Working Papers Serie
The historical development and basis of human factors guidelines for automated systems in aeronautical operations
In order to derive general design guidelines for automated systems a study was conducted on the utilization and acceptance of existing automated systems as currently employed in several commercial fields. Four principal study area were investigated by means of structured interviews, and in some cases questionnaires. The study areas were aviation, a both scheduled airline and general commercial aviation; process control and factory applications; office automation; and automation in the power industry. The results of over eighty structured interviews were analyzed and responses categoried as various human factors issues for use by both designers and users of automated equipment. These guidelines address such items as general physical features of automated equipment; personnel orientation, acceptance, and training; and both personnel and system reliability
Common-cause analysis in human-software interaction: system design, error control mechanism, and prevention
This study involves an experiment in the human aspects of systems design in the area of software development. Its overall objectives are to develop a cognitive paradigm including a new model of common cause human-domain error and a common cause error function to define internal common cause human-domain errors and also to determine how to control and prevent common cause errors according to human-software information processing, knowledge-based engineering, and intelligent design in human-software interaction;A laboratory study was performed to analyze the common causes of human error in software development and to identify software design factors contributing to the common cause effects in common cause failure redundancy. Three pilot projects with 46 subjects representing three skill levels were used to establish the design for a cognitive experiment. Following this study, a main experiment using ten programming experts was conducted in order to define a new cognitive paradigm, in the aspects of identification, pattern recognition, and behavior domain for internal human domain common-cause errors, using FORTRAN and C. Software development for optimizing the sequence of machine replacement and for optimal inventory management were used as application problem examples;The results and analytical procedures developed in this research can be applied to reliability improvement and cost reduction in software development for many applications. Results are also expected to provide guidelines for user-friendly software development and for more effective design of common software packages
AN EXAMINATION OF THE USE OF DIALOG CHARTS IN SPECIFYING CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF DIALOGS
The conceptual design of user interfaces focuses on the specification of the structure
of the dialog, independent of any particular implementation approach. While there is
common agreement with respect to the importance of this activity, adequate methods
and tools to support it are generally unavailable. The Dialog Charts (DCs) yield high
level dialog schemas that are abstract enough to support the conceptual design of
dialog control structures. They combine dialog concepts with widely accepted design
principles, in a uniform diagramming framework. Specifically, the DCs distinguish
between the dialog parties, provide for hierarchical decomposition and enforce a
structured control flow.
A clear set of guiding principles for the conceptual design of dialogs has yet to
emerge. In this paper we have elected to focus on the notions of descriptive power and
usable power, as they apply to conceptual dialog modeling tools. The conceptual
descriptive power of the DCs is informally examined by applying them in a varied set
of examples and relating them to their lower level counterparts, namely
implementation dialog models like augmented transition networks or context-free
grammars. The usable power of the DCs has been examined empirically through a
qualitative study of their actual use by system designers. The Dialog Chart models
were found by dialog designers to be a useful conceptual design tool, which exhibit the
essential attributes identified for conceptual models.Information Systems Working Papers Serie