Designing and Assessing Interactive Systems Using Task Models (2015)

International audienceThis two-part course takes a practical approach to introduce the principles, methods and tools in task modelling. Part 1: A non-technical introduction demonstrates that task models support successful design of interactive systems. Part 2: A more technical interactive hands-on exercise of how to "do it right", such as: How to go from task analysis to task models? How to assess (through analysis and simulation) that a task model is correct? How to identify complexity of user tasks

Études de cas et benchmarks pour la modélisation des tâches

International audienceLes modèles de tâches occupent une place croissante en conception centrée utilisateur car ils permettent de représenter de façon détaillée les activités que les opérateurs doivent mettre en oeuvre pour atteindre leurs buts. Ces concepts étant de nos jours matures, la question de la comparaison des approches, de leur enseignement et de leur diffusion dans le tissu industriel correspond aux activités du groupe de travail modèles de tâches de l'AFIHM. http://gtmdt.afihm.or

Fine Grain Modeling of Task Deviations for Assessing Qualitatively the Impact of Both System Failures and Human Error on Operator Performance

International audienceOperators of critical interactive systems are trained and qualified before being allowed to operate critical systems in “real” contexts. However, during operation, things might happen differently from during training sessions as system failures may occur and operators may make errors when interacting with the system. Both events may also be cross-related as a misunderstanding of a system failure can lead to an erroneous subsequent operation.The proposed approach focuses on assessing the impact that potential failures and/or human errors may have on human performance. This analysis targets the design and development phases of the system, when user tasks are analyzed in order to build the right system (i.e. corresponding to the users’ needs and activities they have to perform on the system). We use a task modeling notation for describing precisely operators’ activities as well as information, knowledge and objects required for performing these activities. These task models are then augmented into several variants through integration of potential system failure patterns (with associated recovery tasks) and human error patterns. The produced deviated task models are used to assess the impact of the task deviation on the operators’ performance

HAMSTERS : un environnement d’édition et de simulation de modèles de tâches

National audienceCet article décrit une démonstration concernant l’outil logiciel HAMSTERS (Human-centered Assessment and Modeling to Support Task Engineering for Resilient Systems). HAMSTERS est un outil logiciel de modélisation permettant d’éditer, de simuler et d’analyser des modèles de tâches basés sur la notation éponyme. HAMSTERS a été conçu et développé pour les besoins de projets de recherche industriels principalement dans les domaines de l’aéronautique et de l’espace

A generic framework for executable gestural interaction models

National audienceIntegrating new input devices and their associated interaction techniques into interactive applications has always been challenging and time-consuming, due to the learning curve and technical complexity involved. Modeling devices, interactions and applications helps reducing the accidental complexity. Visual modeling languages can hide an important part of the technical aspects involved in the development process, thus allowing a faster and less error-prone development process. However, even with the help of modeling, a gap remains to be bridged in order to go from models to the actual implementation of the interactive application. In this paper we use ICO, a visual formalism based on high-level Petri nets, to develop a generic layered framework for specifying executable models of interaction using gestural input devices. By way of the CASE tool Petshop we demonstrate the framework's feasibility to handle the Kinect and gesture-based interaction techniques. We validate the approach through two case studies that illustrate how to use executable, reusable and extensible ICO models to develop gesture-based applications

PetriNect: A tool for executable modeling of gestural interaction

International audienceIn this showpiece we demonstrate PetriNect, an instance of a generic layered framework that we have developed for the specification and use of executable models of gestural interaction with virtual objects. The framework is built on top of Petshop and uses ICO models, a variant of high-level Petri nets. PetriNect uses the Kinect as input device for allowing the user to interact gesturally with virtual objects. We present two simple proof-of-concept prototype applications that have been developed for the purpose of this showpiece: a simple Pong game, and the interaction with a virtual bookshelf

Enhanced Task Modelling for Systematic Identification and Explicit Representation of Human Errors

International audienceTask models produced from task analysis, are a very important element of UCD approaches as they provide support for describing users goals and users activities, allowing human factors specialists to ensure and assess the effectiveness of interactive applications. As user errors are not part of a user goal they are usually omitted from tasks descriptions. However, in the field of Human Reliability Assessment, task descriptions (including task models) are central artefacts for the analysis of human errors. Several methods (such as HET, CREAM and HERT) require task models in order to systematically analyze all the potential errors and deviations that may occur. However, during this systematic analysis, potential human errors are gathered and recorded separately and not connected to the task models. Such non integration brings issues such as completeness (i.e. ensuring that all the potential human errors have been identified) or combined errors identification (i.e. identifying deviations resulting from a combination of errors). We argue that representing human errors explicitly and systematically within task models contributes to the design and evaluation of error-tolerant interactive system. However, as demonstrated in the paper, existing task modeling notations, even those used in the methods mentioned above, do not have a sufficient expressive power to allow systematic and precise description of potential human errors. Based on the analysis of existing human error classifications, we propose several extensions to existing task modelling techniques to represent explicitly all the types of human error and to support their systematic task-based identification. These extensions are integrated within the tool-supported notation called HAMSTERS and are illustrated on a case study from the avionics domain

A multi-formalism approach for model-based dynamic distribution of user interfaces of critical interactive systems.

International audienceEvolution in the context of use requires evolutions in the user interfaces even when they are currently used by operators. User Centered Development promotes reactive answers to this kind of evolutions either by software evolutions through iterative development approaches or at runtime by providing additional information to the operators such as contextual help for instance. This paper proposes a model-based approach to support proactive management of context of use evolutions. By proactive management we mean mechanisms in place to plan and implement evolutions and adaptations of the entire user interface (including behaviour) in a generic way. The approach proposed handles both concentration and distribution of user interfaces requiring both fusion of information into a single UI or fission of information into several ones. This generic model-based approach is exemplified on a safety critical system from space domain. It presents how the new user interfaces can be generated at runtime to provide a new user interface gathering in a single place all the information required to perform the task. These user interfaces have to be generated at runtime as new procedures (i.e. sequences of operations to be executed in a semi-autonomous way) can be defined by operators at any time in order to react to adverse events and to keep the space system in operation. Such contextual, activity-related user interfaces complement the original user interfaces designed for operating the command and control system. The resulting user interface thus corresponds to a distribution of user interfaces in a focus+context way improving usability by increasing both efficiency and effectiveness

Improving modularity of interactive software with the MDPC Architecture

International audienceThe "Model - Display view - Picking view - Controller" model is a refinement of the MVC architecture. It introduces the "Picking View" component, which offloads the need from the controller to analytically compute the picked element. We describe how using the MPDC architecture leads to benefits in terms of modularity and descriptive ability when implementing interactive components. We report on the use of the MDPC architecture in a real application : we effectively measured gains in controller code, which is simpler and more focused

DREAMER : a Design Rationale Environment for Argumentation, Modeling and Engineering Requirements

International audienceRequirements engineering for interactive systems remains a cumbersome task still under-supported by notations, development processes and tools. Indeed, in the field of HCI, the most common practice is to perform user testing to assess the compatibility between the designed system and its intended user. Other approaches such as scenario-based design promote a design process based on the analysis of the actual use of a technology in and activities. Some of them also support a critical element in the development of interactive systems: creativity]. However, these approaches do not provide any support for a) the definition of a set of requirements that have to be fulfilled by the system under design and b) as a consequence for assessing which of these requirements are actually embedded in the system and which ones have been discarded (traceability and coverage aspects). This paper proposes a tool-supported notation for addressing these problems of traceability and coverage of both requirements and design options during the development process of interactive systems. These elements are additionally integrated within a more global approach aiming at providing notations and tools for supporting a rationalized design of interactive systems following a model-based approach. Our approach combines and extends previous work on rational design and requirements engineering. The current contribution, DREAMER, makes possible to relate design options with both functional and non functional requirements. The approach is illustrated by real size case study from large civil aircraft cockpit applications