An Interactive Environment for Dialogue Development: Its Design, Use and Evaluation

The Author's Interactive Didogue Environment (AIDE) of the Dialogue Management System is an integrated set of direct manipulation tools used by a dialogue author to design and implement human-computer interfaces without writing source code. This paper presents the conceptua! dialogue transaction model upon which AIDE is based, describes AIDE, and illustrates how a dialope author develops an interface using AIDE. A preliminary empirical evaluation of the use of AIDE versus the use of a programming language to implement an interface shows very encouraging results

Building Bridges and Interfaces: Toward the Next Generation of UIMS

User interface management systems (UIMS) have established themselves in both research and commercial arenas. We present several generations in UIMS evolution and discuss some problems of the early generations. In particular, we discuss the problems of a gap between methods used by behavioral scientists and computer scientists during the process of building interfaces. We present an empirical approach to begin bridging this gap and results of our preliminary observations: a human-computer interface development life cycle and recording techniques for interface development, as well as UIMS needed to support them. We conclude with future directions for the evolution of UIMS

UIMS: Toward the Next Generation

First generation User Interface Management Systems (UIMS) have established themselves in both research and commercial areas. This paper discusses improved usability and extension of UIMS to include a broader whole system development life cycle as the basis for evolution of a second generation of UIMS. Problems of first generation UIMS, some informal empirical work that is leading toward an interface development life cycle and UIMS to directions for the anticipated evolution are presented

An Evaluation Procedure for Human-Computer Interface Development Tools

Human-computer interface development tools--often called user interface management systems or UIMS--are interactive systems that support production and execution of the human-computer interface. Despite their proliferation, no method exists for their systematic evaluation or comparison. We have developed an evaluation procedure that uses a standardized technique to produce quantifiable criteria for evaluating and comparing human-computer interface development tools. The procedure produces ratings along two dimensions: functionality and usability. Specification/implementation techniques used by the tool are also quantitatively rated. An empirical study indicates that the procedure produces reliable results. The procedure is already being used in one commercial environment

Procedure for Evaluating Human-Computer Interface Development Tools

Human-computer interface development tools are interactive systems that support production and execution of the human-computer interface. With their recent proliferation, evaluations and comparisons are constantly done, but without a formal, structured approach. Addressing these problems is difficult, largely because of the relative newness of such tools, because of the many different kinds of systems that are called UIMS, and because of their inherent complexity. These tools are complex because human-computer interfaces, which produce tools, are complex

A Procedure for Evaluation Human-Computer Interface Development

An evaluation procedure that uses a standardized technique to produce quantifiable criteria for evaluating and comparing human-computer interface development tools is described in this paper. An empirical validation study to determine the consistency of ratings produced by this procedure is also presented. These ratings could be used, for example, as important data for the task of choosing a tool for a particular human-computer interface development environment

Quality characteristics of beef patties containing corn germ protein

Call number: LD2668 .T4 FN 1989 H59Master of ScienceHuman Nutritio

Query Composition: Why Does It Have to Be So Hard?

Project Envision, a large research effort at Virginia Tech, focuses on developing a user centered multimedia database from the computer science literature with full-text searching and full-content retrieval capabilities. User interviews indicate that people have trouble composing queries. Widely available boolean retrieval systems present problems with both syntax and logic. Natural language queries for vector space retrieval systems are easier to compose but users complain that they do not understand the matching principles used; users also complain that they have too little control over the search and fear being overwhelmed by an enormous retrieval set. We describe the Envision query window which has as a usability goal making query composition easy while increasing user control. Results of formative usability evaluation and subsequent redesign are discussed

Interactive Tools: Making UIMS Usable

The earliest UIMS provided primarily run-time facilities for interface management and a set of programming tools for the development of application from the implementation requirements with which many tool designers have approached UIMS design, there are also methodological requirements that have been seriously neglected. One reason is that interface design methodology is poorly understood and rarely axiomatic. Nevertheless, it is important that we formulate methodological theories and provide UIMS with tools that support them. This paper proposes a storyboard metaphor for the conceptual design of human-computer interfaces

Notational Techniques for Accommodating User Intention Shifts

Good user interface designs allow for user intention shifts. The asynchronous nature of direct maniulation interfaces inherently demands consideration of user intention shifts during the performance of a task. Maintaining a focus on the primary function of a task while at the same time accommodating user intention shifts is difficult for interface designers when both these aspects are represented at the same design level. The User Action Notation (UAN), a technique for representing asynchronous interfaces, contains a mechanism for specifying points in a task where user intention shifts may occur. A complementary technique, Task Transition Diagrams (TTDs), is used to specify tasks that users can perform to interrupt their current task. The Task Transition Diagram is a notation that allows a designer to map out the set of tasks and intentions of users without having to be concerned with the minutiae of how a user accomplishes those tasks