The inability of standard cognitive science, the information-processing approach, to provide theoretical underpinnings for designing usable computer-based systems has already been noted in the literature. It has further been noted, with varying degrees of clarity, that the breakdown of standard cognitive science in this respect is not an independent event, but that it rather is coupled with the spreading of computer use, that is, the appearance of personal computers, which brought into plain view the incommensurability of humans and present-day computers, and the difficulty in "interfacing" them to each other. In this work, the insufficiency of standard cognitive science is investigated towards demonstrating that it lies in the fallacious assumption and reliance on mental representations as formally defined physical entities on which mental operations are performed. It is further argued that, if the formal approach within cognitive science is seriously taken, then cognitive science cannot account for some important cognitive processes, namely abstraction and interpretation. In its empirical part, this study is related to a concrete development project. With respect to a possible application within it, some newer cognitive theories are reviewed and discussed, namely those that take into account environment, society, situation, and artefacts. Based on these considerations and the theoretical findings regarding standard cognitive science, a method for designing user interface is proposed and applied. Inspired by phenomenology and bearing similarities with nondirective counselling, it is referred to as "user-directed" method. Possible approaches to assessment of its validity are discussed.

This study focuses on creating an instrument for terminologists to use when working with terminology in different fields of work that require structured documentation. When evaluating the prototype of the instrument the test-participants won’t be terminologists. The methods used to create the instrument are sketching and prototyping a wireframe. The evaluation of the prototype is done with ‘think aloud-protocol’ and heuristic evaluation. The results are presented as annotated pictures of the prototype.

[pt] O processo de design envolve investigar a situação atual para definir um problema de design, elaborar uma proposta de intervenção na forma de uma solução e avaliar se ela é satisfatória (Lawson, 2006). Schön (1983) investiga a epistemologia da prática de design como um processo de reflexão em ação. Nesse contexto, exploramos conceitos de raciocínio baseado em casos (Kolodner e Leake, 1996) para indexar e recuperar casos de design de IHC. Um caso de design de IHC pode ser compreendido como uma definição do problema e da solução de IHC registrada em representações e modelos durante a atividade design. Schön argumenta que um designer pode enriquecer seu processo de reflexão em ação quando identifica similaridades e diferenças do caso de design atual em relação a outros casos que já conhece. Esta tese apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa qualitativa sobre os efeitos da consulta a casos de design no processo de reflexão em ação de alunos de graduação e pós-graduação em Informática durante atividades de design de IHC. Em particular, consideramos uma base de casos com contribuições de terceiros, ou seja, aqueles que consultaram os casos não participaram da definição do problema, nem da solução. Nas sessões de design observadas, a consulta a casos de design existentes enriqueceu o processo de reflexão dos participantes através de uma conversa com artefatos de design. Esse resultado estende os resultados de Schön porque trata da consulta a vários casos de design vivenciados por terceiros. Além disso, percebemos que as diferenças e semelhanças entre as soluções de IHC propostas e as consultadas dependem do julgamento dos participantes sobre os casos de design consultados, podendo variar em diferentes momentos do mesmo processo de design realizado pela mesma pessoa. / [en] The design process involves investigating the current situation to define a design problem, to propose an intervention in form of a solution and to evaluate whether it is satisfactory (Lawson, 2006). Schön (1983) investigates the design practice epistemology as a process of reflection in action. In this context, we explore case-based reasoning concepts (Kolodner e Leake, 1996) to index and recover HCI design cases. An HCI design case can be understood as an HCI problem and solution definition recorded in representations and models during the design activity. Schön (1983) argues that a designer can enrich his reflection in action process when he/she identifies similarities and differences between the current case and other cases he/she already knows. This thesis presents the results of a qualitative research study about the effects of consulting design cases in the reflection in action process of undergraduate and graduate Computer Science students during HCI design activities. In particular, we consider a base of cases with contributions of third parties, that is, those who consulted the cases did not participate in the definition of the problem nor of the solution. In the observed sessions, consulting existing design cases enriches the participants’ reflection in action process through conversation with design artifacts. This result extends Schön’s result considering the consultation of several design cases experienced by third parties. Furthermore, we realized that differences and similarities between the proposed HCI solutions and those consulted depend on the participants’ judgment on the consulted design cases. This judgment may vary at different moments of a design process conducted by the same person.

This thesis reports on a study conducted to investigate the design, development and implementation of a learning website as part of a distance education course comprising a combination of media and technology. The website functions as a tool for teaching distance education postgraduate adult learners mostly from previously disadvantaged communities whatever knowledge of nutrition they need to manage the symptoms and general health of people living with human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Before ascertaining such factors, the limitations and concerns associated with the teaching and learning of the learners in question had to be established. The research problem is narrowed down to eight sub-questions in order to establish possible solutions. These sub-questions can be categorised as follows: · Pressures on South African distance higher education institutions, and Internet and computer technology as a solution · Interface design · Web usability · Utilization of a combination of media and technology The study addresses each sub-question by means of an analysis of the published literature, by analysing how the findings of the project shed light on each research sub-question, and how each sub-question illuminated (in a wider sense) the remaining sub-questions, and the research question in general. The answers to the research sub-questions will permit the researcher to determine how the teaching of adult learners from previously disadvantaged communities in the field of nutrition and HIV and AIDS could be made more effective by utilizing a distance education course that comprises a combination of media and technologies. This will then in turn lead to the formulation of strategies and guidelines for the design, development and implementation of e-learning as part a combination of media and technology in order to offer effective postgraduate distance education courses for developing countries. The results of the study could lead to the following possible applications: · A post-graduate distance education course comprising a combination of media and technology · A flexible, self-paced distance education course · An interactive learning website · Instant access to learning content · Offering authentic and reliable information · An alternative medium of offering content / Thesis (DPhil (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Information Science / unrestricted

L’évolution des technologies et la mutation du rôle attribué aux opérateurs de l’industrie suscitent un essor de la littérature concernant l’assistance aux procédés de fabrication. Cette thèse de psychologie s’inscrit dans cette littérature. Son objectif est de concevoir un assistant de contrôle aux procédés de fabrication, le compagnon virtuel, qui permette de maintenir à la fois les performances et les compétences des opérateurs. Le système étudié, une usine aéronautique, nécessite le recours à la simulation de processus physiques dynamiques. Deux champs de la littérature sont mobilisés : les cadres théoriques autour de la conception d’interfaces pour les environnements dynamiques et ceux sur le développement des compétences. Une méthodologie en trois parties est utilisée : (1) analyse de l’activité des opérateurs dans l’atelier réel, (2) validation d’un micromonde et (3) test d’un compagnon virtuel dans le micromonde. Les résultats montrent que les opérateurs de l’atelier réel mobilisent un schème trompeur lors de leur activité. Ce schème trompeur est également présent chez des participants tout-venants et il a un effet sur les performances des participants entrainés dans le micromonde. Enfin, le compagnon virtuel, conçu selon les principes de l’EID, ne permet pas de faire disparaitre le schème trompeur. Cependant, il permet aux participants qui n’utilisent pas le schème trompeur d’obtenir de bonnes performances. Les résultats obtenus étayent l’idée qu’il est pertinent de vérifier si des opérateurs ne mobilisent pas des schèmes trompeurs qui pourraient être un frein à l’utilisation des interfaces proposées pour les assister. / The evolution of technology and the shift in the role devoted to operators in industry, from simple task execution to complex system control, provoke a development of the literature concerning assistance to fabrication process. This thesis of psychology joins this literature. It aims at designing an assistant to fabrication process, called the virtual companion, which would both support performances and maintain or improve competences. In particular, the virtual companion would be addressed to operators in an aeronautical factory. The case study requires in line simulation of dynamic physical processes. Two fields of the literature were used: frameworks concerning interface design for dynamic situations and those concerning competences. A three-parts methodology was used: (1) activity analysis of the operators in the real factory, (2) conception and validation of a microworld, and (3) design and test of a virtual companion in the microworld. Results show that the operators of the factory use a misleading scheme during their activity. This misleading scheme is also used by random participants. Moreover, this misleading scheme has an effect on the performances of random participants trained in the microworld. Finally, the virtual companion, whose interface is design based on EID principles, does not eliminate the misleading scheme. However, the participants who did not use the misleading scheme performed better after using the virtual companion. This results leads to the conclusion that studying the operators’ use of misleading schemes seems accurate as such schemes may impair the use of interfaces designed to support their activity

Coleções digitais de mídias, tanto pessoais como online, crescem rapidamente. Para que grandes quantidades de músicas sejam acessíveis à usuários, serviços populares como iTunes, Last.fm e Pandora oferecem recomendações. Essa abordagem livra usuários de lembrarem de músicas, e permite a descoberta de canções novas ou esquecidas. Mas recomendações apresentam problemas com usuários, como credibilidade e falta de controle. A motivação deste trabalho é melhorar a experiência de usuários com recomendações de música através do uso de explicações. Ao usar um sistema de recomendação, a satisfação e aprovação de usuários não depende só da eficácia do algoritmo, mas também de explicações. Pesquisas mostram que estas podem beneficiar sistemas de recomendação, aumentando a credibilidade e satisfação de usuários, ao oferecer mais transparência e formas de correção. O objetivo deste trabalho é projetar e desenvolver uma nova forma de visualização de tags, e testar sua viabilidade para explicar e filtrar recomendações de músicas. Mais precisamente, investigamos se esta visualização pode favorecer as metas de inspeção (scrutability), eficiência, eficácia e satisfação. A partir da pesquisa em necessidades de usuários para recomendações e música, a visualização Tag Strings foi projetada e desenvolvida. Tag Strings inclui tanto a interface da visualização, quanto o processo de coleta e cálculo de relevância de tags e músicas. Para a avaliação da visualização Tag Strings, dois tipos de experimentos foram construídos: a comparação entre uma lista de recomendações com Tag Strings, e a comparação entre o design de referência (baseado nos serviços Last.fm e Pandora) e Tag Strings. A construção desses dois experimentos permitiu a avaliação de Tag Strings como uma forma de explicação para recomendações de música. Os resultados dos experimentos evidenciam que a nova forma de visualização Tag Strings favorece as metas de inspeção (scrutability), eficiência, eficácia e satisfação, melhorando a usabilidade e experiência de usuários com recomendações de música. / Digital media collections, both personal and online, grow rapidly. To make large music collections available to users, popular services such as iTunes, Last.fm and Pandora offer recommendations. This approach frees users from searching for music, and allows for the discovery of new or forgotten items. But recommendations present issues such as user trust and lack of control. The motivation for this project is to improve user experience with music recommendations through explanations. While using a recommendation system, user acceptance and satisfaction depends not only on the algorithm effectiveness, but also on explanations. Research shows that recommendations benefit from explanations, increasing user trust and satisfaction by offering more transparency and scrutability. The goal of this project is to design and develop a new form of tag visualization, and test its feasibility to explain and filter music recommendations. We specifically investigate if the visualization can support the aims of scrutability, efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction. Based on the user research and needs for music recommendation, the visualization Tag Strings was designed and developed. Tag Strings includes both the visualization interface and the process of collecting and calculation of tag and track relevancy. To evaluate the visualization Tag String, we designed two types of experiments: comparing Tag Strings with a recommendation list, and comparing Tag Strings with a design reference (based on the services Last.fm and Pandora). The design of these two experiments allowed the evaluation of Tag Strings as a form of explanation to music recommendation. The experiment results highlight that the new visualization Tag Strings favors the aims of scrutability, efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction, improving the user experience with music recommendations.

The diploma thesis focuses on describing the potential modifications of the ECCAIRS system, using the Taxonomy Design Tools toolkit, and creating a proposal to use the toolkit to simplify the user experience of the ECCAIRS system on a national level. The theoretical part includes a description of the legislation related to the aviation accidents and incidents reporting, covered by the Regulation (EU) No 376/2014, followed by the procedure of aviation occurrence reporting in the Czech Republic and the description of the ECCAIRS system, its tools, features and modification options. The practical part of the thesis contains the proposal of using the specified toolkit to optimize the ECCAIRS system usage efficiency, including a detailed description of the steps taken to achieve that goal.

This thesis investigates how principles of game design can be applied to a PC game settings menudesign to make the interaction fun and enhance the user satisfaction of interaction and navigation.Through exploring the question “How can principles of game design be applied to UI design inorder to enhance the user satisfaction of interacting with an interface?” it might be possible to addto the experience of using UI without removing any of the usability goals that is customary today.This is determined through user testing of a common design pattern of game settings menusrecognized in World of Warcraft (2004) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) Stardew Valley (2016)and a game settings menu designed through game design principles where the respondentsevaluated their experience in an SUS form (Brooke, 1996) and a form created for this study basedon Swink’s (2009) Game Feel. The results revealed that the common menu design generatedhigher scores in usability than the interface designed through game design principles but therewas no significant difference in game feel between the prototypes. However, when dividing gamefeel into questions regarding usability and aesthetics a clear difference between the twoprototypes could be determined where the prototype designed through game design principlesdisplays a trend to score higher in aesthetics than the traditional UI. This could be strengthenedthrough optional comments from the participants where 6 used the word “fun” to describe thegame design prototype while the traditional UI design were described with words such as“functional” “intuitive” “straightforward” “easy to use” and “felt more like a chore”.

No description available.

As the digitisation of healthcare progresses, there are still problems in terms of usability. With the goal of exploring solutions to these, an email inspired design for an electronic health record system was implemented using modern web technologies. The implementation was then evaluated in a series of usability tests conducted with five orthopaedic surgeons. Participants were asked to perform small tasks on a mocked data set, and the sessions were concluded with debriefing interviews. The focus was on the areas that are new in this design. The results suggest that the general design works, and no critical flaws were identified at this stage. Most of the issues that were found are likely to be solved with more training and experience, but there is still room for improvement. Participants had positive reactions overall, and plenty of feedback was collected regarding areas of improvement and feature suggestions. Due to the limitations of the test, the findings mostly relate to the intuitiveness of the design. To draw stronger conclusions regarding the viability of the design in a real environment, further testing with more data, realistic test tasks and more prerequisite training is necessary. / Digitiseringen inom sjukvården ökar, men det finns fortfarande problem när det kommer till användbarheten av de digitala system som finns på marknaden. Med målet att utforska lösningar på dessa problem implementerades i detta arbete en e-post-inspirerad gränssnittsdesign för ett digitalt journalsystem med hjälp av moderna webb-teknologier. Implementationen utvärderades genom användartester där fem ortopediska kirurger deltog. Deltagarna ombads använda gränssnittet för att utföra små testuppgifter med påhittad patientdata, och sessionerna avslutades med intervjufrågor. Fokuset var på de delar som är nya i den här designen jämfört med redan existerande system. Resultatet visar att det generella upplägget fungerar, och inga kritiska brister upptäcktes i detta stadie. De flesta av problemen som uppdagades kan troligen lösas genom att användarna ges möjlighet till mer träning och får mer erfarenhet, men det finns fortfarande förbättringutrymme. Deltagarna hade positiva reaktioner i allmänhet, och många förslag kring förbättringsområden och önskemål kring utökad funktionalitet samlades upp. På grund av användartestets begränsningar belyser resultaten i detta test mest vilka delar av gränssnittet som är intuitiva eller ej, medan det som är mer intressant för den här typen av dagligen använda system egentligen är huruvida de är effektiva att använda i det dagliga arbetet. För att kunna dra säkrare slutsatser kring om den här designen skulle fungera i riktiga arbetssituationer behövs mer testning med större mängder patientdata, mer realistiska testuppgifter och mer tid för deltagarna att lära sig systemet i förväg.