As large displays become more affordable, researchers investigate their productivity impacts and try to develop techniques for making the large display user experience more effective. Studies show that large displays enable users to create and manage more windows and engage in more complex multitasking behavior. Although recent work demonstrates significant productivity benefits of large shared displays, it shows numerous usability issues because current software design is not scaling well. Therefore, we took steps towards developing two user interface design guidelines for large shared displays. Specifically, empirical studies have been conducted to compare the effects of large shared display and personal display use. When each of them is used as a secondary display, large shared displays impose increased interruption and comprehension. Empirical and qualitative studies are designed to develop two user interface design guidelines for large shared displays. We designed a system called SuperTrack that uses a large shared display and the proposed guidelines to further enhance team efficiency and productivity in collaborative software development environments. Finally, an in-situ evaluation assesses the benefits of SuperTrack. Results show that exposing software development team members to a large shared display through SuperTrack leads to more communication among the members and improved group awareness — leading to increased productivity and efficiency. / Master of Science

High-dimensional data appear in all domains and it is challenging to explore. As the number of dimensions in datasets increases, the harder it becomes to discover patterns and develop insights. Data analysis and exploration is an important skill given the amount of data collection in every field of work. However, learning this skill without an understanding of high-dimensional data is challenging. Users naturally tend to characterize data in simplistic one-dimensional terms using metrics such as mean, median, mode. Real-world data is more complex. To gain the most insight from data, users need to recognize and create high-dimensional arguments. Data exploration methods can encourage thinking beyond traditional one-dimensional insights. Dimension reduction algorithms, such as multidimensional scaling, support data explorations by reducing datasets to two dimensions for visualization. Because these algorithms rely on underlying parameterizations, they may be manipulated to assess the data from multiple perspectives. Manipulating can be difficult for users without a strong knowledge of the underlying algorithms. Visual analytics tools that afford object-level interaction (OLI) allow for generation of more complex insights, despite inexperience with multivariate data or the underlying algorithm. The goal of this research is to develop and test variations on types of interactions for interactive visual analytic systems that enable users to tweak model parameters directly or indirectly so that they may explore high-dimensional data. To study interactive data analysis, we present an interface, Andromeda, that enables non-experts of statistical models to explore domain-specific, high-dimensional data. This application implements interactive weighted multidimensional scaling (WMDS) and allows for both parametric and observation-level interaction to provide in-depth data exploration. We performed multiple user studies to answer how parametric and object-level interaction aid in data analysis. With each study, we found usability issues and then designed solutions for the next study. With each critique we uncovered design principles of effective, interactive, visual analytic tools. The final part of this research presents these principles supported by the results of our multiple informal and formal usability studies. The established design principles focus on human-centered usability for developing interactive visual analytic systems that enable users to analyze high-dimensional data through object-level interaction. / Ph. D.

Wearable computers allow users the freedom to work in any environment including hazardous environments that may require protective clothing. Past research has shown that protective clothing interferes with manual materials handling tasks, medical tasks, and manual dexterity tasks. However, little information exists regarding how protective clothing affects task performance with wearable input devices. As a result, a study was conducted to address this issue and offer recommendations to enhance the compatibility of chemical protective clothing and wearable input devices. Sixteen active-duty soldiers performed a text-entry task with a wearable mouse and touch pad, while bare handed, wearing 7-mil, 14-mil, and 25-mil chemical protective gloves, wearing a respirator alone, and wearing the respirator and each of three gloves. Upon completion of the experiment, participants rated task difficulty, confidence using the input device, and input device preference. Task completion times were 9% slower with the 25-mil glove than the 7-mil glove. Text entry was not perceived as difficult when bare handed, or wearing the 7-mil and 14-mil gloves, suggesting that thin chemical protective gloves (i.e. 7-mil and 14-mil) are more suitable than thicker gloves for use with wearable input devices. When using the touch pad, task completion times were 17% faster than when using the mouse. Subjective ratings of difficulty, confidence, and preference provide strong support for the use of a touch pad input device rather than a mouse. / Master of Science

The strengthening of community care and the development of co-managed telehealth systems are vital components in addressing growing critical healthcare issues encountered worldwide. The global COVID pandemic highlights the challenges in providing appropriate co-managed home-based care in a systemic and financially viable way at scale. To develop practical and sustainable solutions it is important to understand the individual, institutional, and socio-technical opportunities and barriers potentially encountered when attempting to design and implement telehealth systems as part of a broader social healthcare network. In this thesis, I describe my work assessing the feasibility of deploying telehealth systems within the context of home based physical rehabilitation. I conducted an online survey and in-depth interviews with occupational and physical therapists to determine the issues impacting their current practices and the likelihood that a telehealth rehabilitation system might support or hinder their practice. Findings from this qualitative work highlighted the importance of maintaining the patient/therapist relationship, the need to empower the caregiver, and the potential for telehealth systems to provide quantitative and qualitative proof of care and patient progress. Building on these insights, I designed an interactive tablet application to assist therapists with the efficient and seamless installation and calibration of a telehealth system for stroke rehabilitation in the home. The application was evaluated in two studies with non-expert and expert users. The results from these studies indicate the efficiency of the application resulting from this design approach and the rich potential for integration of the system into clinical practice. / Master of Science / The movement away from traditional medical establishments and the development of virtual health systems designed to be placed in the home are vital components in addressing growing critical healthcare issues encountered worldwide. The global COVID-19 pandemic highlights the challenges in providing appropriate home-based care in a scaleable and financially viable way. To develop practical and sustainable solutions, it is important to understand the individual, institutional, and socio-technical opportunities and barriers potentially encountered when attempting to design and implement them. In this thesis, I describe my work assessing the feasibility of deploying home-based health systems designed to assist stroke patients with physical rehabilitation. I conducted an online survey and in-depth interviews with occupational and physical therapists to determine the issues impacting them and the likelihood that a home-based rehabilitation system might support or hinder their work. Findings from this qualitative work highlighted the importance of maintaining the patient/therapist relationship, the need to support the caregiver, and the potential for home-based systems to provide proof of patient improvement. Building on these insights, I designed a tablet application to assist therapists with the efficient and seamless set up and calibration of a home-based system for stroke rehabilitation. The application was evaluated in two studies with non-expert and expert users. The results from these studies indicate the effectiveness of the application resulting from this design approach and the potential for integration of the system into the lives of therapists.

The goal of this research was to compare the learning outcomes of three methods of instruction: a text-based instructional system and two multimedia systems. The two multimedia systems used different interface designs. The first multimedia system used a topic-oriented interface which is somewhat standard in multimedia design. The second multimedia system presented a problem solving context and simulated an industrial setting where the user played the role of an industrial engineer. All three methods presented analogous information about Time Study Analysis, a work measurement technique used by industrial engineers. A between subjects experimental design with two independent measures examined two domains of learning: verbal information and intellectual skills. This design was used for two sessions to examine original learning and retention components of learning. Original learning was measured immediately following the instructional treatment. Retention was measured two weeks after treatment. Thirty subjects of similar backgrounds (undergraduates in Industrial and Systems Engineering) participated in the experiment’s two sessions. Post-tests were used to measure verbal information and intellectual skills domains of learning during each session. A combined score for both domains was calculated. The scores were analyzed using ANOVA (analysis of variance). No significant differences were found between the three instructional methods for the two domains or the combined score during either the original learning session or the retention session of the experiment. / Master of Science

A Case Study Using Scenario-based Design Tools and Techniques in the Formative Evaluation Stage of Instructional Design: Prototype Evaluation and Redesign of a Web-Enhanced Course Interface. The main purpose of this study was to augment the formative evaluation process of instructional design through the incorporation of scenario-based design tools and strategies that focus on interface design. The test population was students from undergraduate "human development" courses at Virginia Tech, approximately 250 students. One prototype of a course web interface was tested and revised based on data collected during the formative evaluation process. The scenario data provided rationale for redesign considerations. / Ph. D.

This study explores the motivations, challenges, and design opportunities associated with using ChatGPT. The research employs an user-centred design approach to understand user interactions with ChatGPT and propose design concepts. Key motivations for using ChatGPT include its practical utility, ability to provide personalized answers, assistive capabilities, and role as an idea-sparring partner. However, users face challenges such as navigating large amounts of text, understanding how to prompt effectively, and dealing with ChatGPT’s lack of nuanced understanding. Consequently, this project proposes a redesign incorporating interactive features and Graphical User Interface changes to tackle these challenges. The findings suggest that the proposed concepts could significantly improve navigation and glanceability and facilitate the overviewing of past interactions. This research contributes to the field of interaction design by providing insights into the use of conversational generative AI and suggesting improvements for future applications.

This research began by addressing the question: can effective interface design guidelines be produced for use in the design of future consumer product technologies (CPT)? A literature review explored published studies evaluating existing Human- Computer Interaction guidelines to establish their effectiveness in relation to CPT. Through this review, effectiveness was found to be limited but potentially could be improved using user-centred design methods. In response, six short studies were undertaken to produce user-centred CPT guidelines and to evaluate them using two sets of effectiveness criteria: specificity and applicability. These studies supported findings from the HCI literature. Despite improving the specificity and applicability of the CPT guidelines, passive, non-bespoke design guidelines have still been shown to have little impact on interaction design activity. Other links between research and practice needed to be identified. Two further field investigations indicated that, whilst the use of ergonomics methods was limited in commercial design consultancies, certain types of participative methods considering 'situated design in context' might be helpful. A second literature review was conducted to explore the importance of context-based design activity. As an outcome, design tools were proposed using participative design techniques involving games and role playing. Through a second series of five laboratory and field studies, the proposed design tools were developed and iteratively evaluated. It was demonstrated that the design tools could affect interaction design activity, but further work is still required on improving one of the applicability criteria - 'organisational survival'. These findings demonstrated that interaction designers can effectively produce their own design data using the design tools provided that this design activity is situated within the context of an interaction design problem. It has also been shown that if interaction design tools are to be effective they should satisfy all specificity and applicability criteria established in this inquiry.

Kuriant sistemą, kuri turės sąsają internete, reikia turėti metodiką, kuria būtų galima vadovautis projektuojant šią sąsają. Objektinio projektavimo metoduose ir unifikuotame kūrimo procese RUP (angl. Rational Unified Process) nėra aprašytų specialių procesų interneto sąsajai kurti. Nors šia tema rašė nemažai autorių, tačiau sunku rasti vientisą metodiką, kuria galėtų vadovautis interneto sąsajos ir ja paremtos sistemos kūrėjas. Šiame darbe tiriami esami interneto sistemų sąsajos projektavimo metodai, šablonai bei įvairios kūrimo technologijos, siekiant juos sukonkretizuoti, apibendrinti ir sukurti metodinę medžiagą, kurią būtų galima taikyti interneto sistemas projektuojančioje organizacijoje, mokymo procese ar pateikti kaip gidą, bet kuriam interneto sąsajos projektuotojui. Šiais laikais kompiuteriai dalyvauja daugelyje sričių, ir bendravimas tarp žmogaus ir kompiuterio neišvengiamas. Kad vartotojas galėtų valdyti sistemą, šis bendravimas vyktų sklandžiai, reikalinga sąsaja. Esamos sistemos turi sąsają, tačiau susistemintos metodikos, kaip reikėtų kurti tą sąsają, nėra daug, ji išsklaidyta atskiruose literatūros šaltiniuose ar interneto puslapiuose. Dažnai ši metodika slypi projektuotojų mintyse, bet ji taip ir lieka neaprašyta ir pats sąsajos projektavimas būna intuityvus. / Nowadays, information system creation process consists of several different actions, one of those actions – web interface design. Web interface design process requires a good methodology, to make web interface process better, quicker, flexible and satisfy other web interface design criterions. RUP (Rational Unified Process) don’t present any special creation process of internet web interface. Frequently web interface design process lies in the head of it’s designers. There are no full methodology of web interface design process in one place, only some web interface advices or articles about one or other web interface process steps could be found. The goal of this work is to make a methodology of web interface design and implement it for internet service provider system. Methodology also would be useful for companies which participate in web interface design process, also in school or university study process, or like a guide for any web interface designer. The developed methodology for web interface design was used for implementing internet service provider system web interface, system design process and redesign above-mentioned system web interface for measuring process times. Methodology of web interface design, reduce web interface design process time, help to make web interface design process easier, more flexible and understandable for web interface designer, also certain better web interface appearance independence from system functional part, with possibility to... [to full text]

Jag kommer i denna uppsats beskriva den designprocess som pågått vid skapandet av en webbaserad informationsplattform från koncept till slutprodukt. Mitt uppdrag har varit att effektivisera en webbyrås nuvarande sätt att hantera och sprida information på, som bestod av en blandning mellan digital och analog information, och skapa en ny webbaserad informationsplattform. Den nya webbaserade informationsplattformen ska kunna samla all information på en plats och skapa ett effektivare informationsutbyte mellan de anställda på företaget. Jag har använt mig av två teoretiska ramverk; Nielsens tio heuristics samt Krugs visuella design hierarki. Jag har arbetat nära beställaren för att kunna skräddarsy webbplatsen till deras behov. Resultatet efter ett omfattande arbete med designmallar och front-end kodning blev grunden för webbyråns webbaserade informationsplattform, utvecklad för att effektivisera spridningen av information på företaget. / In this essay I will describe the design process during the creation of a web-based information platform, from concept to final product. My assignment has been to take a web agency’s current way of managing and distributing information, which consisted of a mix between digital and analog information, and create a new web-based information platform. The new web-based information-platforms purpose is to gather all information in one place for easier exchange of information between employees at the company and make it more efficient. I used two theoretical frameworks as a theoretical base working on the project; Nielsen's ten heuristics and Krugs visual design hierarchy. I have worked closely with the client to customize the platform to their needs. The result after extensive work with design templates and front-end coding became the foundation for the web agency’s web-based platform, developed to distribute information more efficiently within the agency.