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2014 | Buch

Introducing User-Centered Systems Design Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems

What System Designers Need to Know about People

verfasst von: Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill

Verlag: Springer London

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

Interactive technologies pervade every aspect of modern life. Web sites, mobile devices, household gadgets, automotive controls, aircraft flight decks; everywhere you look, people are interacting with technologies. These interactions are governed by a combination of: the users’ capabilities; the things the users are trying to do; and the context in which they are trying to do them. All of these factors have to be appropriately considered during design if you want your technology to provide your users with a good experience.

Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems introduces the fundamental human capabilities and characteristics that influence how people use interactive technologies. Organized into four main areas—anthropometrics, behaviour, cognition and social factors—it covers basic research and considers the practical implications of that research on system design. Applying what you learn from this book will help you to design interactive systems that are more usable, more useful and more effective.

The authors have deliberately developed Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems to appeal to system designers and developers, as well as to students who are taking courses in system design and HCI. The book reflects the authors’ backgrounds in computer science, cognitive science, psychology and human factors. The material in the book is based on their collective experience which adds up to almost 90 years of working in academia and both with, and within, industry; covering domains that include aviation, consumer Internet, defense, eCommerce, enterprise system design, health care, and industrial process control.

“The lack of accessible and comprehensive material on human factors for software engineers has been an important barrier to more widespread acceptance of a human-centred approach to systems design. This book has broken down that barrier and I can thoroughly recommend it to all engineers.”

Ian Sommerville, University of St Andrews, UK

“As a chief architect for large programmes, this book has given me access to a variety of new techniques and an extended vocabulary that I look forward to introducing my design teams to.”

Richard Hopkins, IBM, UK

“Even if only a proportion of designers and users read this book we will be so much better off. If it gets the circulation it deserves it could change our world – and that very much for the better.”

Peter Hancock, University of Central Florida, USA

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Introduction: Aims, Motivations, and Introduction to Human-Centered Design

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introducing User-Centered Systems Design
Abstract
If designers and developers want to design better technologies that are intended for human use they need to have a good understanding of the people who are or who will be using their systems. Understanding people, their characteristics, capabilities, commonalities, and differences allows designers to create more effective, safer, efficient, and enjoyable systems. This book provides readers with resources for thinking about people—commonly called “users”—their tasks and the context in which they perform those tasks. Our intention is to enable you to make more informed decisions when designing complex interactive systems. This chapter thus introduces this argument through example design problems. We then present the benefits and costs associated with understanding the user. Two approaches for understanding users are introduced. The first is a framework called the ABCS for understanding, in broad strokes, different aspects of users. The second is user knowledge and action simulation for developing and testing how users approach tasks in more detail. After reading this chapter you should be able to appreciate why it is important to understand users, and the associated benefits and costs of doing so.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 2. User-Centered Systems Design: A Brief History
Abstract
The intention of this book is to help you think about design from a user-centered perspective. Our aim is to help you understand what questions to ask when designing a technology or a system or when you are evaluating a design that already exists. We focus on physiological, cognitive, and social aspects of the human user, aspects that will affect how someone will use what you design. This chapter introduces some historical background to the field of User Centered System Design, and introduces current themes.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill

Design Relevant User Characteristics: The ABCS

Frontmatter
Chapter 3. Anthropometrics: Important Aspects of Users’ Bodies
Abstract
This chapter addresses factors that arise from basic characteristics of the human body. While bodies vary in their size, shape, capabilities, and limitations, there are some common factors that are shared and some general guidance that we can apply to design better interfaces and systems. This is a broad topic: the influence of bodies on usability applies to all systems, and is illustrated with examples from desktop, laptop, mobile, and handheld systems. After briefly providing an overview of the issues involved, this chapter covers the importance of the physical setup for computers. We also introduce and discuss the importance of touch and tactile feedback, better known as haptic perception. Haptic perception has become increasingly important with the widespread uptake of touch screen devices and gaming interfaces. We illustrate the importance of haptic perception by considering how people interact with a wide range of devices and systems. The chapter concludes with some implications of the need to consider anthropometric factors when designing interactive systems.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 4. Behavior: Basic Psychology of the User
Abstract
This chapter examines what are described as user behavioral characteristics. These are characteristics that are related to perception in broad terms. The chapter starts by defining some behavioral terms and concepts that are used in this and subsequent chapters. We then describe in detail several aspects of the two main perceptual systems that are involved in interacting with computer-based systems: vision and hearing. For each of these aspects we consider some of the implications they have for system design. We finish by introducing the topic of motivation to help explain why individual users may behave in a particular way when carrying out a task.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 5. Cognition: Memory, Attention, and Learning
Abstract
Memory, attention, learning are intertwined in the user’s cognitive processing. These are the basic mechanisms of the user’s cognitive architecture and thus provide the basis for cognition. Users have several types of memory that are important for computer use. Attention can be seen as the set of items being processed at the same time and how they are being processed. If there are more items stored in memory or the items in memory are better organized these effects will improve performance and provide the appearance of more attention. Users also learn constantly. The effects of learning lead to more items being stored in memory and allow the user to attend to more aspects of a task.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 6. Cognition: Mental Representations, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Abstract
There are several higher level structures built upon the basic structures of memory, attention, and learning in the user’s cognitive architecture. These representations and behaviors include mental models, problem solving, and decision making. These structures and processes form the basics of higher level cognition when interacting with technology, and describe some of the ways that users represent systems and interfaces, and how users interact with and use systems. Mental models are used to understand systems and to interact with systems. When the user’s mental models are inaccurate, systems are hard to use. Problem solving is used when it is not clear what to do next. Problem solving uses mental models, forms a basis for learning, and can be supported in a variety of ways. Decision making is a more punctuated form of problem solving, made about and with systems. It is not always as clear or accurate as one would like (or expect), and there are ways to support and improve it. There are some surprises in each of these areas where folk psychology concepts and theories are inaccurate.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 7. Cognition: Human–Computer Communication
Abstract
This chapter addresses even higher level processes than the previous chapter. It discusses ways that users communicate with computers and other technological systems. The chapter starts by considering the role of language in communication and how the ideas can be applied to interface design. It then looks at factors that affect how users read both offline and online, and discusses the task of reading of menus. After considering the topic of information seeking behavior and the more general concept of how content is structured, this chapter looks at the broader implications for designing an interface that appropriately supports human–computer communication.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 8. Social: Social Cognition and Teamwork
Abstract
Most work is carried out by people working as part of a team. Even where work is carried out by one person it is likely to be in connection if not in collaboration with other people. This could be in a formal organization that has standard operating procedures or as part of a larger system, or it could be part of an informal group of loosely organized collaborators. Social processes—how people interact with each other—are important; they affect how systems interfaces are used. Any system that supports more than one person needs to take these phenomena into account along with the various factors that define the social context in which users especially user working in teams will make decisions take actions including extrinsic intrinsic motivation. In this chapter we introduce some concepts that have proven to be important for system adoption use.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 9. Social: Theories and Models
Abstract
In the previous chapter we introduced concepts related to teams and teamwork. This chapter provides concepts for analyzing, interpreting, and modeling how teams work. We turn to models of social communication and coordination that have gained prominence as we think about people in technical and social networks and at higher levels of organization. This chapter introduces some of the many concepts, theories, and results related to social processes that can influence system design, and also notes how to model social processes for use as theories and for applications.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 10. Errors: An Inherent Part of Human-System Performance
Abstract
In this chapter we consider how errors contribute to accidents, large and small, and what we can do about them. We discuss the problem of post-hoc analyses, the types of human error that can occur, and how to design systems in such a way that the errors can be appropriately managed. The examples illustrate how user’s characteristics in terms of psycho-physiology, fatigue, cognitive processing, and social situations can all contribute to failures. We especially note the importance of Norman’s (and others’) main guideline about needing to design for error.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill

Methods

Frontmatter
Chapter 11. Methodology I: Task Analysis
Abstract
Task analysis (TA) is a useful tool for describing and understanding how people perform particular tasks. Task analyses can be used for several purposes ranging from describing behavior to helping decide how to allocate tasks to a team. There are several methods of TA that can be used to describe the user’s tasks at different levels of abstraction. We describe some of the most commonly used methods and illustrate the use of TA with some example applications of TA. TA is widely used but when using TA there are considerations to keep in mind such as the fact that many approaches require an initial interface or specification, and that many do not include context multiple users or ranges of users. These considerations help describe where and when TA can be successfully applied and where TA will be extended in the future.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 12. Methodology II: Cognitive Dimensions and the Gulfs
Abstract
This chapter introduces two useful high-level approaches that summarize a wide range of aspects of users: how users interact with artifacts and how users perform tasks. A type of analysis, Cognitive Dimension/dimensions, provides a way to represent common and important aspects of interface design. The dimensions are used to describe and then evaluate interfaces. Norman has a similar description of user behavior based on how hard it is to understand the state of the interface (the Gulf of Understanding) and how hard it is to perform an action in an interface (the Gulf of Execution). Both approaches are useful techniques for thinking about, planning, and performing interface design.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Chapter 13. Methodology III: Empirical Evaluation
Abstract
Evaluation is an essential part of development. There are several good reasons for carrying out user testing in particular. A successful evaluation requires careful planning. Here we describe the issues that you need to take into account and discuss several effective methods that can be used to collect data. User testing reduces the risk that you will deliver a system to your users that is unusable and is therefore ineffective. We also touch briefly on the need make sure that any evaluation that you carry out is conducted according to appropriate ethical guidelines.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill

Summary

Frontmatter
Chapter 14. Summary: Putting It All Together
Abstract
This chapter recaps some of the many things that you have learned about users in terms of their anthropometric, behavioral, cognitive, and social aspects. You have been provided with a lot of information, so we describe a number of different possible ways you can organize it. One way to organize and apply the information is with user models. These models span the range from implicit descriptive models, such as guidelines, through to explicit information processing models, which can be executed to produce behavior and predict performance. Another way is to organize the information based on how to use it. So we finish by looking at one system development process model—the Risk-Driven Incremental Commitment Model—as an example of how you can integrate knowledge about users into the system development life cycle. Failure to consider the users and their tasks during development leads to increased system development risk.
Frank E. Ritter, Gordon D. Baxter, Elizabeth F. Churchill
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems
verfasst von
Frank E. Ritter
Gordon D. Baxter
Elizabeth F. Churchill
Copyright-Jahr
2014
Verlag
Springer London
Electronic ISBN
978-1-4471-5134-0
Print ISBN
978-1-4471-5133-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5134-0

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