Interdisciplinary research community - Computer Science & Info Studies

1. The New Science of Universal UsabilityBen Shneiderman ben@cs.umd.eduFounding Director (1983-2000), Human-Computer Interaction LabProfessor, Department of Computer ScienceMember, Institutes for Advanced Computer Studies &Systems ResearchUniversity of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20742

2. Interdisciplinary research community - Computer Science & Info Studies - Psych, Socio, Poli Sci & MITH (www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)

3. Scientific Approach(beyond user friendly) • Specify users and tasks • Predict and measure • time to learn • speed of performance • rate of human errors • human retention over time • Assess subjective satisfaction(Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction) • Accommodate individual differences • Consider social, organizational & cultural context

4. Design Issues • Input devices & strategies • Keyboards, pointing devices, voice • Direct manipulation • Menus, forms, commands • Output devices & formats • Screens, windows, color, sound • Text, tables, graphics • Instructions, messages, help • Collaboration & communities • Manuals, tutorials, training

5. U.S. Library of Congress • Scholars, Journalists, Citizens • Teachers, Students

6. Visible Human Explorer (NLM) • Doctors • Surgeons • Researchers • Students

7. NASA Environmental Data • Scientists • Farmers • Land planners • Students

8. NSF Digital Government Initiative • Find what you need • Understand what you Find Census, NCHS, BLS, EIA, NASS, SSA www.ils.unc.edu/govstat/

9. iSonic: Sonification for Maps • Motivation: improve vision-impaired users’ access to geo-referenced statistical data • Approach: interactive sonification • Data-to-sound mapping: Piano pitch -> value. • User study: 7 blind subjects, 6 hours each • Users can recognize geographical patterns • Users preferred spatial audio map over table www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/audiomap

10. International Children’s Digital Library www.childrenslibrary.org

11. Home Medical Devices • Bathroom scale • Thermometer • Blood pressure • Diabetes: Glucose • Asthma: Breath • Fat monitor • EKG www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/soh/ws_meddevice.htm

12. Electronic Health Records: LifeLines www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/lifelines/

13. Spotfire: DC natality data

15. Treemap: Stock market, industry clustered www.smartmoney.com/marketmap

16. Treemap: Product catalogs www.hivegroup.com

17. Treemap: Newsmap

18. Creativity Support Tools More people, More creative, More often

19. 6th Creativity & Cognition Conference • Washington, DC June 13-15, 2007 • Receptions at Nat’l Academy of Sciences & Corcoran Gallery of Art • Expand community of researchers • Bridge to software developers • Encourage art & science thinking http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/CC2007/ www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/CC2007

20. Leonardo’s Laptop The old computing is about what computers can do, The New Computing is about what people can do mitpress.mit.edu/leonardoslaptop www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/newcomputing

21. Requirements Analysis In a fair society, all individuals would have equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or other such similar factors. -- ACM Code of Ethics

22. Goals of Public Access  • Enable participation by every citizen & visitor Voting Licenses Social security services Passports Registrations Police-fire-emergency Permits Regulations National-local government • Offer services to all Healthcare Housing Education Employment, Shopping Museums Libraries Transportation Recreation Sports TourismEntertainment

23. Universal Usability Challenges • Technology variety • Fast & slow modems, small & large displays • Diverse platforms, multiple versions • User diversity • Novice & expert, old & young • Users with disabilities, poor literacy, or low motivation • Bridge the gap between what users know and what they need to know • Multi-layer interfaces • Help vs. ShowMe! Communications of the ACM, May 2000

24. 1 to 100 range in network bandwidth 9.6K 56K 10,000Kbps 1 to 100 range in processor speeds 486 Pentium Multi-core Device Independence Input: keyboard, speech,... Output: visual, auditory,... Conversion Technology variety 1 to 100 range in screen sizes Palm devices Laptops Large Desktop or Wall Display 80,000 800,000 8,000,000 pixels Software Versions Compatibility File conversion Multiple platforms

25. Skills Computer newbie to hacker Knowledge Domain novice to expert User diversity: Accommodate all users Disabilities Visual, auditory, motoric, cognitiveDisabling conditions Mobility, injury, noise, sunlight Age Young to old Gender Male or Female Income Impoverished to wealthy

26. User diversity: Accommodate all users Race Ethnicity Religion National Origin Culture Western, Eastern, developing... Personality Introvert vs extravert Thinking vs feeling Risk aversion Locus of control Planful vs playful Literacy Fluent to illiterate Multiple languages

27. Gaps in User Knowledge-Strategies Online Learning (evolutionary, phased) Introductory tutorials Getting started manuals, Cue cards Walkthroughs/Demos Minimalist/Active Bridge the gap between what users know and what they need to know Design Multi-Layered Task-oriented Training Fade-able scaffolding Training wheels Minimalist Online help Context sensitive, tables of contents, Indexes, Keyword search, FAQs, answer gardens

28. Gaps in User Knowledge-Strategies Bridge the gap between what users know and what they need to know Customer service Email Phone Help desks Supplements Online manuals, paper Audio, video, Live lecture, peer training, personal trainer Community Newsgroups, online communities Chat rooms

29. Research Agenda for Universal Usability For Desktop, Web, and Mobile Devices: • Evidence-based Guidelines • Automated analysis tools • Improved application generators • Improved user customization tools • Social facilitation • Tested with developers & users Shneiderman & Hocheiser, Behaviour & Info Technology, 2001

30. HCI Challenges • Information Access • Universal Usability • Trusted Voting • Healthcare • Information Visualization • Creativity Support Tools

31. HCI Challenges • Information Access • Universal Usability • Trusted Voting • Healthcare • Information Visualization • Creativity Support Tools • Environmental Sustainability • Emergency/Disaster Response • International Development

32. UN Millennium Development Goals To be achieved by 2015 • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality and empower women • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • Ensure environmental sustainability • Develop a global partnership for development

33. Interdisciplinary Challenges • Modern problems are complex • Solutions require multiple disciplines • Laboratory studies have limited relevance • Natural sciences are not sufficient

34. Historic Transformation • Existing sciences have reached limits: The End of Science: Facing the Limits of Knowledge in the Twilight of the Scientific Age, John Horgan • End of Physics • End of Computer Science • End of History, Francis Fukuyama

35. Science 1.0 • Reductionist • Controlled Experiments • Replicability • Laboratory • Natural World

36. Science 1.0 + Science 2.0 • Reductionist  Integrated • Controlled  Case Experiments Studies • Replicability  Validity • Laboratory  Situated • Natural World  Made World

37. Science 1.0 + Science 2.0 • Reductionist  Integrated • Controlled  Case Experiments Studies • Replicability  Validity • Laboratory  Situated • Natural World  Made World • Hypothesis Testing  Hypothesis Testing • Predictive Theories  Predictive Theories • Replications  Replications

38. Science 2.0 Emerges Interdisciplinary study of the made world Socially embedded Bringing closer together - theory & practice - basic & applied researchNew research directions (Emerson, Dewey, James, Vygotsky, Simon, Suchman, Berners-Lee,… … and many of you!)

39. Science 2.0 Evaluation Methods Ethnographic Observational Situated • Multi-Dimensional • In-depth • Long-term • Case studies

40. Science 2.0 Evaluation Methods Ethnographic Observational Situated • Multi-Dimensional • In-depth • Long-term • Case studies Domain Experts & Communities Doing Their Own Work for Weeks & Months

41. Science 2.0 Evaluation Methods Ethnographic Observational Situated • Multi-Dimensional • In-depth • Long-term • Case studies MILCs Shneiderman & Plaisant, BeLIV workshop, 2006

42. MILC example • Evaluate Hierarchical Clustering Explorer • Focused on rank-by-feature framework • 3 case studies, 4-8 weeks (molecular biologist, statistician, meteorologist) • 57 email surveys • Identified problems early, gave strong positive feedback about benefits of rank-by-feature Seo & Shneiderman, IEEE TVCG 12,3, 2006

43. MILC example • Evaluate SocialAction • Focused on integrating statistics & visualization • 4 case studies, 4-8 weeks (journalist, bibliometrician, terrorist analyst, organizational analyst) • Identified desired features, gave strong positive feedback about benefits of integration Perer & Shneiderman, 2007

44. Case Study Methodology 1) Interview (1 hr) 2) Training (2 hr) 3) Early Use (2-4 weeks) 4) Mature Use (2-4 weeks) 5) Outcome (1 hr)

45. Short Range Goals • Validate benefits of new designs • Collect evidence to support/reject hypothesis - rank-by-feature - integrating statistics & visualization • Rapid refinements of tools • Benefits to users

46. Long Range Goals • Harness Collaboration • Pair-wise • Small Team • Larger Group • Social Creativity

47. Long Range Goals • Harness Collaboration • Pair-wise • Small Team • Larger Group • Social Creativity Thomas Edison: 1% Inspiration, 99% Perspiration

48. Long Range Goals • Harness Collaboration • Pair-wise • Small Team • Larger Group • Social Creativity Thomas Edison 2.0: 1% Inspiration, 99% Collaboration

49. Long Range Goals • Understand dynamics of • Trust • Empathy • Responsibility • Privacy • Etc.

50. Thomas Jefferson I feel... an ardent desire to see knowledge so disseminated through the mass of mankind that it may...reach even the extremes of society: beggars and kings. -- Reply to American Philosophical Society, 1808