Leonardo’s Laptop:
Human Needs and the
New Computing Technologies
Ben Shneiderman
ben@cs.umd.edu
Founding Director (1983-2000), Human-Computer Interaction Lab
Professor, Department of Computer Science
Member, Institutes for Advanced Computer Studies &
Systems Research
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Interdisciplinary research community
- Computer Science & Psychology
- Information Studies & Education
(www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)
Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly)
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•
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•
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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
Design Issues
•
•
•
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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
www.awl.com/DTUI
hcibib.org
useit.com
U.S. Library of Congress
• Scholars, Journalists, Citizens
• Teachers, Students
Visible Human Explorer (NLM)
• Doctors
• Surgeons
• Researchers
• Students
NASA Environmental Data
• Scientists
• Farmers
• Land planners
• Students
Bureau of the Census
• Economists, Policy
makers, Journalists
• Teachers, Students
NSF Digital Government Initiative
• Find what you need
• Understand what you Find
Census,
NCHS,
BLS, EIA,
NASS, SSA
www.ils.unc.edu/govstat/
International Children’s Digital Libary
Zooming User Interfaces
www.cs.umd.edu/jazz
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/datelens
Zooming User Interfaces: DateLens
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/datelens
Information Visualization
The eye…
the window of the soul,
is the principal means
by which the central sense
can most completely and
abundantly appreciate
the infinite works of nature.
Leonardo da Vinci
(1452 - 1519)
Treemap: Stock market, industry clustered
Treemap: Newsmap
Treemap: Product catalogs
www.hivegroup.com
Treemap: Gene Ontology
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemap/
LifeLines
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/lifelines/
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
An Inspirational Muse:
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Renaissance Man
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•
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Combined
science & art
Integrated
engineering & esthetics
Balanced
technology advances
& human values
Merged
visionary & practical
Goals for The New Computing
1) Usable: Reliable
& comprehensible
2) Universal: Diverse users
& varied equipment
3) Useful: In harmony with
human needs
1) Usable: Ending User Frustration
• Goal: make computer usage less frustrating
• Identify top ten frustrations
• Measure severity & frequency in lost time
• Determine if the situation is improving
1) Time diary study
Self reports & observations (111 students)
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•
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Pre-session survey:
• demographic information
• computer experience and attitudes
• level of computer anxiety, mood
Users spend 2.5 hours (average)
Report their frustrating experiences
Post-session survey:
• assess mood after the session
• overall frustration level
• loss of time
1) Frequent Frustrations (out of 373)
Internet
Applications
Operating System
timed out/dropped/
refused connections (32)
error messages
(35)
crashes (16)
long download time (23)
freezes (24)
wrong response (10)
web page/site
not found (17)
missing/ hard to
find features (23)
slow response (8)
email (15)
crashes (13)
unexpected message
boxes (6)
1) Minutes lost (111 subjects) – 46%
Minutes lost: 7902
1196
1230 2081
Email
OS
Total minutes: 17,453
3395
Web Other minutes
browsing
lost
Productive minutes
2) Universal: Digital Divide Remains Troubling
Percent of Internet Use by Educational Attainment
100
90
Sept. 2001
80
Aug. 2000
P e rc e nt
70
D ec. 1998
60
O ct. 1997
50
40
30
20
10
0
Less Than
High School
High School D iploma / G ED
Some C ollege
Bachelors
Beyond
D egree
Bachelors
D egree
U.S. Department of Commerce
www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/
2) Universal: Diverse Users & Varied Equipment
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User diversity:
Accommodate users with different skills,
knowledge, age, gender, disabilities,
disabling conditions
(mobility, injury, noise, sunlight),
literacy, culture, income, etc.
Technology variety:
Support broad range of hardware,
software, and network access
Gaps in user knowledge:
Bridge the gap between what users know
and what they need to know
Communications of the ACM, May 2000
2) Universal Usability in Practice
www.otal.umd.edu/uupractice/
3) Useful: Generative Theories
Beneficial theories:
- Descriptive
- Explanatory
- Predictive
- Prescriptive
but the big step forward will be
- Generative Theories
to guide our invention of new technologies
3) Theories of Human Needs
• Jefferson: Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness
• Roosevelt: Freedom of speech & expression, religion,
from want, from fear
• Maslow: Hierarchy of human needs
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Physiological
Safety
Love
Esteem
Self-Actualization
• Covey: Living, Loving, Learning & Leaving a legacy
Human Needs for Relationships
Relationships
• Self: working on your own
• Family & Friends: 2-50 close intimates
• Colleagues & Neighbors: 50-5000 acquaintances
• Citizens & Markets: 5000 and more
Human Needs for Activities
Activities
• Collect: Information
• Relate: Communication
• Create: Innovation
• Donate: Dissemination
Activities and Relationship Table (ART)
Activities
Relationships
Collect
Relate
Create
Donate
Self
Family & Friends
Colleagues & Neighbors
Citizenry & Markets
Skeptics corner
- Are relationships more complex?
- Are these useful activities?
Activities and Relationship Table (ART)
Activities
Relationships
Self
Family & Friends
Colleagues & Neighbors
Citizenry & Markets
Collect
Relate
Identicam
Donate
PhotoDiary
PhotoFinder
PhotoMesa
Album
sharing
PhotoFinder
Kiosk
PhotoWall
PhotoFinder
Webstarter
Create
StoryStarter
Family
photo
history
PhotoQuilt
Photo
sharing
PhotoFinder
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/photolib
PhotoMesa
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/photomesa
Activities and Relationship Table (ART)
Activities
Relationships
Self
Collect
Medical log
InfoDoors
Citizenry & Markets
Create
Donate
Diary
Find-aFriend
Family & Friends
Colleagues & Neighbors
Relate
MusicLists
Family
vacation
history
Medical
diagnosis
Tourist
sharing
Send-a-Link
GatherEmail
WebBushes
WorldWide
Med
Million
person
communities
Future Directions
• E-learning: The new education
• E-business: The new commerce
• E-healthcare: The new medicine
• E-government: The new politics
• Mega-creativity
• Grander Goals & The Next Leonardo
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/newcomputing
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Three lessons
1) Usable: Reliable
& comprehensible
2) Universal: Diverse users
& varied equipment
3) Useful: In harmony with
human needs
The old computing is about
what computers can do,
The New Computing is about
what people can do
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil
22nd Annual Symposium
June 2-3, 2005
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil
Getting to the Golden Age of Usability
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Action Items
• Developers: Apply usability guidelines
& testing methods
• Web producers: Develop UU statements
• Managers: Provide responsible leadership
• Journalists: Raise public expectations
• Policy makers: Raise & clarify requirements
• Funders: Expand research on usability
• Educators: Disseminate scientific results
• Researchers: Explore bold new visions
ACM Code of Ethics
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.