Emerging from the MIST: A Connector Tool for Supporting Programming by Non-programmers

Software development is an iterative process. As user re-quirements emerge software applications must be extended to support the new requirements. Typically, a programmer will add new code to an existing code base of an application to provide a new functionality. Previous research has shown that such extensions are easier when application logic is clearly separated from the user interface logic. Assuming that a programmer is already familiar with the existing code base, the task of writing the new code can be considered to be split into two sub-tasks: writing code for the application logic; that is, the actual functionality of the application; and writing code for the user interface that will expose the functionality to the end user. The goal of this research is to reduce the effort required to create a user interface once the application logic has been created, toward supporting scientists with minimal pro-gramming knowledge to be able to create and modify pro-grams. Using a Model View Controller based architecture, various model components which contain the application logic can be built and extended. The process of creating and extending the views (user interfaces) on these model components is simplified through the use of our Malleable Interactive Software Toolkit (MIST), a tool set an infrastructure intended to simplify the design and extension of dynamically reconfigurable interfaces. This paper focuses on one tool in the MIST suite, a connec-tor tool that enables the programmer to evolve the user interface as the application logic evolves by connecting related pieces of code together; either through simple drag-and-drop interactions or through the authoring of Python code. The connector tool exemplifies the types of tools in the MIST suite, which we expect will encourage collabora-tive development of applications by allowing users to inte-grate various components and minimizing the cost of de-veloping new user interfaces for the combined compo-nents

Collaborating on Affinity Diagrams Using Large Displays

Gathering and understanding user requirements is an essential part of design. Techniques like affinity diagramming are useful for gathering and understanding user data but have shortcomings such as the difficulty to preserve the diagram after its creation, problems during the process such as searching for notes, and loss of shared awareness. We propose an early prototype that solves problems in the process of creating an affinity diagram and enhances it using a large screen display in combination with individual PDAs

Designing Attention-Centric Notification Systems: Five HCI Challenges

Through an examination of the emerging domain of cognitive systems, with a focus on attention-centric cognitive systems used for notification, this document explores the human-computer interaction challenges that must be addressed for successful interface design. This document asserts that with compatible tools and methods, user notification requirements and interface usability can be abstracted, expressed, and compared with critical parameter ratings; that is, even novice designers can assess attention cost factors to determine target parameter levels for new system development. With a general understanding of the user tasks supported by the notification system, a designer can access the repository of design knowledge for appropriate information and interaction design techniques (e.g., use of color, audio features, animation, screen size, transition of states, etc), which have analytically and empirically derived ratings. Furthermore, usability evaluation methods, provided to designers as part of the integrated system, are adaptable to specific combinations of targeted parameter levels. User testing results can be conveniently added back into the design knowledge repository and compared to target parameter levels to determine design success and build reusable HCI knowledge. This approach is discussed in greater detail as we describe five HCI challenges relating to cognitive system development: (1) convenient access to basic research and guidelines, (2) requirements engineering methods for notification interfaces, (3) better and more usable predictive modeling for pre-attentive and dual-task interfaces, (4) standard empirical evaluation procedures for notification systems, and (5) conceptual frameworks for organizing reusable design and software components. This document also describes our initial work toward building infrastructure to overcome these five challenges, focused on notification system development. We described LINK-UP, a design environment grounded on years of theory and method development within HCI, providing a mechanism to integrate interdisciplinary expertise from the cognitive systems research community. Claims allow convenient access to basic research and guidelines, while modules parallel a lifecycle development iteration and provide a process for requirements engineering guided by this basic research. The activities carried out through LINK-UP provide access to and interaction with reusable design components organized based on our framework. We think that this approach may provide the scientific basis necessary for exciting interdisciplinary advancement through many fields of design, with notification systems serving as an initial model. A version of this document will appear as chapter 3 in the book Cognitive Systems: Human Cognitive Models in Systems Design edited by Chris Forsythe, Michael Bernard, and Timothy Goldsmith resulting from a workshop led by the editors in summer 2003. The authors are grateful for the input of the workshop organizers and conference attendees in the preparation of this document

Education and Design: Using Human-Computer Interaction Case Studies to Learn

Computers are essentially an ever-present tool that can be used in almost any discipline to make work faster and easier. Creating these programs, however, such that they fulfill the needs of the customer is a challenging process given the uniqueness of the discipline and circumstance. Thus, the use of a programming design methodology can enable the computer program designer to create a better system that meets the needs of the customer. Teaching this process, or in essence how to design, is the focus of this work. In this paper we present how using case studies in Human-Computer Interaction, and more specifically displaying the evolution of a case study, increases a designer’s ability to learn and then apply this knowledge. We investigate how to use this design evolution within case studies and the effects it had on application, while also exploring how case studies can be used in educating computer scientists

Claims Reuse for Notification Systems Design: LINK-UP Vision and IRC Equations

Extending previous work on the concept of claims reuse, an approach for cataloging and reusing design knowledge in human-computer interaction, we introduce a vision for a system, LINK-UP. The system is intended to parallel a usability engineering process that involves claims analysis. While we initially target notification system design support, we believe that the general method is extensible to other design concerns. A key aspect of the LINK-UP system is its iterative assessment of critical parameters---essential target values that describe anticipated user goals. In notification systems design, three critical parameters are interruption, reaction, and comprehension, referred to as IRC. While the parameter values represent abstract concepts, a pivotal challenge in the development of LINK-UP is determining methods for consistent and accurate parameter specification. To this end, we introduce equations for calculating user's model IRC parameters, either from analytical or empirical data. Presented here are details of variable justification and equation behavior. Future work will assess consistency and accuracy of artifact classifications using the equations

Scientists in the MIST: Simplifying Interface Design for End Users

We are building a Malleable Interactive Software Toolkit (MIST), a tool set and infrastructure to simplify the design and construction of dynamically-reconfigurable (malleable) interactive software. Malleable software offers the end-user powerful tools to reshape their interactive environment on the fly. We aim to make the construction of such software straightforward, and to make reconfiguration of the resulting systems approachable and manageable to an educated, but non-specialist, user. To do so, we draw on a diverse body of existing research on alternative approaches to user interface (UI) and interactive software construction, including declarative UI languages, constraint-based programming and UI management, reflection and data-driven programming, and visual programming techniques

Knowledge Reuse Through Categorical Breakdown Analysis: A Method for Collaborative Systems Evaluation

Designing Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems that support the widely varying needs of targeted users is difficult. There is no silver bullet technology that enables users to effectively collaborate with one another in different contexts. We propose a method of collaborative systems evaluation that enables novice evaluators to make insightful observations about the systems they evaluate at a level comparable to experts in certain situations. These observations come in the form of a categorical breakdown analysis of a laboratory study. The quantity and type of breakdowns can then be connected to recommended CSCW tools and features developed and described in the related literature. We conducted a study to explore the results generated when the method was applied by both experts and novices in the field of CSCW. We observed that experts found the method to be usable, and that novices capitalized on the knowledge embodied in the breakdown categories to make categorizations similar to those of experts

Online Enlightenment: A Phidget Notification System for Online Status

This paper describes a physical device that presents online presence information in a semi-public space. The device uses a map metaphor to represent a set of connected labs, showing online instant messenger status for members of the community. Device users can combine information from the device with information from the physical environment to identify unfamiliar lab members, determine human-to-human interaction strategies, and plan meetings. The paper reports on design decisions that were considered in creating the device, supplying rationale for decisions that were made. In particular, we focus on how people integrate physical information from the world and virtual information from this (and similar) devices in the environment, reflecting on ways in which this type of device can improve communication and enhance community. We describe four envisioned usage scenarios for the device, with early feedback from people who work in the space and whose information is displayed on the device