This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. and Shaap, D. (1996) Expertise and the perception of structure in discourse. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47(10), 786-788. Abstract: Ability to navigate an information space may be influenced by the presence or absence of certain embedded cues that users have learned to recognize. Experimental results are presented which indicate that experienced readers of certain academic journals are more capable than inexperienced readers in locating themselves in an information space in the absence of explicit structural cues.

doi:10.1016/j.intcom.2004.04.008 / This paper addresses issues raised by the ever-expanding role of email as a multi-faceted application that combines communication, collaboration, and task management. Individual differences analysis was used to contrast two email user interfaces in terms of their demands on users. The results of this analysis were then interpreted in terms of their implications for designing more inclusive interfaces that meet the needs of users with widely ranging abilities. The specific target of this research is the development of a new type of email message representation that makes pending tasks more visible. We describe a study that compared a new way of representing tasks in an email inbox, with a more standard representation (the Microsoft Outlook inbox). The study consisted of an experiment that examined how people with different levels of three specific cognitive capabilities (flexibility of closure, visual memory, and working memory) perform when using these representations. We then identified combinations of representation and task that are disadvantageous for people with low levels of the measured capabilities.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. (1988) The role of usability labs in systems design. In: E. Megaw (ed.) Contemporary Ergonomics 88. London: Taylor and Francis, 69-73. Abstract: The issue of usability is a central concern for contemporary system designers and a major focus of research in the domain of HCI. In an attempt to evaluate the usability of products some companies have invested heavily in the the development of so-called "usability labs". Consisting of sophisticated video recording equipment and observation facilities, these laboratories may well be expected to provide insight into the process of interaction that would otherwise remain hidden. Is this in fact the case? Are usability labs the universal panacea for the problems of evaluation? The present paper outlines the advantages and details the limitations of such facilities and argues that the problems lie less with the laboratory and more with the evaluator.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Morris, M. and Dillon, A. (1996) The role of usability in the organizational standards setting process. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 45(2), 243-258. ABSTRACT: The rapid introduction of microcomputers into organizations throughout the last decade gave new importance to the analysis of how technology impacts organizations. In particular, research on usability has sought to become central to the design and selection of technology for large organizations. However, definitions and methods are not yet standardized. Data gathered from semi-structured interviews of three MIS managers and 125 end-users in three organizations suggest that differences in emphasis on, and definition of usability can exist between these two groups. Usability was not a central concern to managers when evaluating end-user software packages considered for adoption as the organizational standard, though it appeared to be so for end-users. Moreover, managers tended to consider and evaluate usability based only on features contained in the user interface, whereas end-users often cited contextual factors such as task and environmental considerations. Implications for technology assessment and future research into organizational impact of I.T. are presented.

Objectives: To carry out a usability evaluation of the recently launched South London and Maudsley NHS Trust library website. Methods: A variety of standard methodologies were employed; content and design evaluation of selected comparable sites; focus groups; a questionnaire survey of library and Web development staff; heuristic evaluation; observation testing; card sorting/cluster analysis, and label intuitiveness/category membership testing. All participants were staff of or providers of services to the trust. Demographic information was recorded for each participant. Results: Test participants' overall responses to the site were enthusiastic and favourable, indicating the scope and and content of the site to be broadly appropriate to the user group. Testers made numerous suggestions for new content. Usability problems were discovered in two main areas: in the organisation of the site, and in the terminology used to refer to information services and sources. Based on test results, proposals for a revised menu structure, improved accessibility, and changes to the terminology used within the site are presented. Conclusion: Usability evaluation methods, appropriately scaled, can be advantageously applied to NHS library web sites by an individual web editor working alone.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A., Sweeney, M. and Maguire, M. (1993) A survey of usability evaluation practices and requirements in the European IT industry. In. J. Alty, S. Guest and D. Diaper (eds.) HCI'93. People and Computers VII. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Abstract: The present paper reports on a survey of current practices in usability engineering and requirements for support within European I.T. organisations. Responses were obtained from 84 individuals working in nine European countries. The data were analysed in terms of four themes: respondents' background, their interpretation and appreciation of the concept of usability, current practice with regard to usability evaluation, problems and requirements for support in conducting usability evaluation. Results suggest widespread awareness but only superficial application of Human Factors methods in Industry.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: McKnight, C., Dillon, A., and Richardson, J. (1990) A comparison of linear and hypertext formats in information retrieval. In R. McAleese and C. Green, Hypertext: state of the art, Oxford: Intellect, 10-19. Abstract An exploratory study is described in which the same text was presented to subjects in one of four formats, of which two were hypertext (TIES and Hypercard) and two were linear (Word Processor and paper). Subjects were required to use the text to answer 12 questions. Measurement was made of their time and accuracy and their movement through the document was recorded, in addition to a variety of subjective data being collected. Although there was no significant difference between conditions for task completion time, subjects performed more accurately with linear formats. The implications of these findings and the other data collected are discussed.

Prepared for EAD@10: A Symposium Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Encoded Archival Description.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A., Sweeney, M., Herring, V., John, P. and Fallon, E. (1988) The psychology of designer style. The Alvey Conference 1988. DTI/IED Publications, 323-327. 1. INTRODUCTION: Underlying the notion of style is a basic premise that all designers are not the same and that the manner in which any designer tackles a problem and proposes a solution may be qualitatively different from other designers. If this is shown to be the case and the concept of designer style can be meaningfully discussed then any model of the process of design should allow for such variation at the level of the group or individual. This basically describes the starting point of the HUSAT team's investigation of the concept.

This work describes a software engine which works with textual documents containing historical information. The purpose of this work three-fold: firstly to show the validity of the developed engine to correctly identify and label the entities of the universe of discourse with a labelled-combined XTM-DITA model. Secondly to analyze the improvements achieved in the interaction between people (users) and computers with a practical application of the designed methodology to a real-world problem in the semantic web area and thirdly to plan its future integration into a traceability system.