Usability in Pervasive Computing Environment

1. Usability in Pervasive Computing Environment Advance Usability October 18, 2004 Anuj A. Nanavati

2. Agenda • Introduction • Usability in pervasive computing • Pervasive Computing (PVC) lab at IBM Austin • Lab overview • Our work • Discussion issues

3. Introduction • "Things that think want to link", Nicholas Negraponte of MIT Media Labs • Nomadic/Amorphous/Ubiquitous computing • User centered not machine or function centered • Environment of connected computing devices • Not personal computers but embedded or mobile devices • General purpose devices • Communicating through interconnected network • Remote access through internet

4. Introduction • Major players • PARC – origin of ubiquitous computing research • IBM – PVC Lab • Microsoft – Easy Living • MIT – Project Oxygen • NIST – Smart Space • CMU – Project Aura

5. Usability in Pervasive Computing • Why usability testing? • Understanding user interface • User interaction with devices • Challenges in usability testing • New environment for users • No predefined user tasks • Remotely moderated testing • Wide range of devices – LCD on oven to PDA • Tasks in multiple sessions and on multiple devices • Testing tool should be independent of the device being monitored

6. PVC Lab at IBM AustinLab overview • “Proof of concept” of networked areas • Living room – TV, CD player, etc. • Kitchen – oven, ScreenFridge, iron, etc. • Garage – car • Exercise room • Devices • Devices common in above areas • Control devices • Wireless touch control Web pad • Connected through a service gateway • Physical Web site • Every device has a URL

7. PVC lab overview

8. PVC lab overview • Technology • Wireless technology • Radio Frequency tags – RFID • Intelligent sensors • Embedded devices

9. Our WorkGoals and Concepts – Dr. Bias • Goals • Identify and fix usability problems in current UI • Identify gaps in current usability testing methods • Concepts • Remote migratory transactions • Start on one device complete on another • Device independent UI • Start on PDA complete on ScreenFridge • Task oriented UI compared to function guided • Supports the users in completion of their tasks • Task categorization - taskonomy

10. Usability Testing • User interface for testing • Engaged areas • Engaged devices • Recording options • Remote views • Other options - data logging, data analyses etc. • Sam’s Mock up: http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~sburns/pervasive/# • Data collection requirements • Observational data – Audio/video • Biometric data

11. Usability TestingData Collection Requirements • Biometric data • Eye Tracking • Galvanic Skin Responses • Heart Rate • Blood Volume • Stress Parameters • Blood Flow

12. Data Collection RequirementsBiometric data • Ubiquitous physiological monitoring • Dr. Emil Jovanov from The University of Alabama at Huntsville • Prototype for Wireless Body Area Network (BAN) of intelligent sensors (WISE) • Personal medical monitoring • Body sensors for brain, heart, movements etc. • Sensors (WISE clients) controlled by a single server (WISE server)  connected to internet through a gateway

13. Data Collection RequirementsBiometric data

14. Taskonomy • Modeling user behavior in pervasive computing environment • Categorize current user tasks into predefined categories to facilitate UI design and usability testing methods: • Assign future tasks to a category • Assign devices to a category • Task categories • User initiated vs. system initiated • Single session vs. multiple sessions • Single device vs. multiple devices • Same vs. different device • Single user vs. multiple users • Task scenarios • Data downloading/uploading • Heating food • Setting up the temperature • Many more….

15. Taskonomy • Structured representation of user tasks • Task driven computing (2000), Zenyu Wang and David Garlan, CMU • Relieving Users from the Distractions of Ubiquity: Task-Centered Architectural Framework (2002),  João Pedro Sousa, CMU • Task Description language (TDL) • Three step approach • Based on Object Modeling

16. D1 D2 D3 D5 D4 Taskonomy • Three step approach • Identification • Devices • Task categories • Task scenarios • Connection • Device  device • Device  task category • Device  scenario • Modeling • Scenario X for task category Y • Problems • Defining scenarios • Defining sub scenarios (actions) Links between devices show sub scenarios (actions) for a particular scenario of a task category

17. PDA PDA WORK WORK OVEN GAME Taskonomy - Example • Scenario-1 (S1): Heat up the food kept in oven using your PDA through your work computer. • Task category-1 (T1): • User initiated • Ending on different device • Apply UI Design techniques (UID1) and Usability testing (UT1) methods to S1 and T1 • Imagine in future similar scenario (S115) with same task category (T1) comes up. • Apply UID1 and UT1 to S115 S1 and T1 S115 and T1

18. Discussion Issues • Usability beyond traditional methods • UI beyond traditional UI • Modeling user behavior in pervasive computing environment • Concerns • Privacy • Security

19. References • IBM’s PVC Lab Candace A. York, Senior software engineer, IBM http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/wireless/library/wi-pvc/ • Ubiquitous and pervasive computing resources http://www.iturls.com/English/TechHotspot/TH_77.asp • Stress monitoring using a distributed wireless intelligent sensor system 2003, Emil Jovanov, IEEE • Task driven computing 2000, Zenyu Wang and David Garlan, CMU • Relieving Users from the Distractions of Ubiquity: Task-Centered Architectural Framework 2002,  João Pedro Sousa, CMU

20. Thank You