A New Agenda for
Computing Professionals
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
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
Interdisciplinary research community
- Computer Science & Psychology
- Information Studies & Education
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil
Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly)
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Specify users and tasks
Predict and measure (theory-driven, hypothesis-testing)
time to learn
 speed of performance
 rate of human errors
 human retention over time
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Assess subjective satisfaction
(Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction)
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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
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Output devices & formats
Screens, windows, color, sound
 Text, tables, graphics
 Instructions, messages, help
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Collaboration & communities
Manuals, tutorials, training
www.awl.com/DTUI
usableweb.com
hcibib.org
useit.com
U.S. Library of Congress
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Scholars, Journalists, Citizens
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Teachers, Students
Visible Human Explorer (NLM)
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Doctors
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Surgeons
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Researchers
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Students
NASA Environmental Data
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Scientists
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Farmers
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Land planners
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Students
U.S. Bureau of Census
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Economists, Policy
makers, Journalists
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Teachers, Students
Treemap - Stock market, clustered by industry
Four challenges
1) Prevent future terror
2) Strengthen communities
- increase vigilance
- enable rapid response
- support communities in coping
3) Broaden participation & universal usability
4) Reduce inequities by international development
http://www.hcibib.org/preventterror/
/communities/
/participation/
/development/
Preventing future terror
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National ID systems: authenticate, monitor, deter
Monitor selected email, financial transactions, and
travel patterns
Improve transportation security: air, train, ships, roads
Protect public utilities: nuclear, water, electric
Attack terrorist sources
Eliminate “root causes of terror”
Study the process of terror
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Recruitment
Training
Decision-making strategies
Choice of targets
Travel plans
Border crossing
Gaining identity
Local preparations
Implementation
10 Questions for ID System Developers
How do you
 collect, verify and update the data? what data?
(signature, photo, thumbprint, eyescan)
 validate new applications and lost cards?
(are expired cards destroyed?)
 conducts verifications?
(you need terminals everywhere)
 respond when a false ID is detected?
10 Questions for ID System Developers
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verify security (prevent hacker destruction),
privacy (keep data in control) &
reliability (limit & cope with software
/hardware/network/power failures?)
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hire, train, and manage employees
to continually improve quality
10 Questions for ID System Developers
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handle inquiries from police, immigration,
intelligence, and other government agencies?
ensure appropriate management and judicial
oversight?
measure costs, benefits, effectiveness?
Special classes of users
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frequent travelers who agree to closer
monitoring of their behavior in exchange for
faster processing
non-citizen visitors whose background is
checked more carefully
airline/airport/trucking/port personnel
Opportunities to increase rights
Should citizens be able to view
 their records to verify contents
 the log of usage
 government inquiries
What form of citizen or judicial oversight?
Cautions for ID system proponents
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Are identification systems a good investment?
Are other approaches more effective?
How easy are they to compromise?
What are the worst case risks?
Do they generate a false sense of security
Four challenges
1) Prevent future terror
2) Strengthen communities
- increase vigilance
- enable rapid response
- support communities in coping
3) Broaden participation & universal usability
4) Reduce inequities by international development
http://www.hcibib.org/preventterror/
/communities/
/participation/
/development/
Social Support: Concepts
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Online communities
E-commerce customer service & consumer conversations
 Medical support groups & information exchange
 Educational discussions & teamwork
 Neighborhood forums & political organizing
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Technologies
Synchronous text: Instant messaging, chat rooms
 Asynchronous text: Listservs, bulletin boards, newsgroups
 Audio,video, virtual realities
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Social Support: Goals
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Supporting Sociability
People: Target a population
 Purposes: Clearly state focus
 Policies: Make expectations explicit
 behavior, privacy, moderation, joining rules
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Designing Usability
Users: Know the users
 Tasks: Understand frequencies and sequences
 Systems: Choose seamless combinations of tools
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Online Communities: Supporting Sociability, Designing Usability
Jenny Preece, John Wiley & Sons, June 2000
Social Support: Trust
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Invite participation by ensuring trust
Disclose patterns of past performance
 Provide references from past and current users
 Get certifications from third parties
 Make policies for privacy & security easy to find & read
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Accelerate action by clarifying responsibility
Clarify each participant's responsibilities
 Provide clear guarantees with compensation
 Describe dispute resolution and mediation services
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Communications of the ACM, Dec. 2000, Special Issue on Trust
Restore social capital
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Decline in community groups since 1965
Less volunteerism, reciprocity, honesty, trust, philantropy
 More commuting, women working, TV watching,
solitary activities
 Generational change
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Potential remedies
Youth and school projects
 Workplace changes
 Urban and metropolitan design
 Religion
 Arts & culture
 Politics & government
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Bowling Alone Robert Putnam, 2000
Four challenges
1) Prevent future terror
2) Strengthen communities
- increase vigilance
- enable rapid response
- support communities in coping
3) Broaden participation & universal usability
4) Reduce inequities by international development
http://www.hcibib.org/preventterror/
/communities/
/participation/
/development/
Broad participation
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Universal usability increases participation
Involvement and contribution generate pride
Responsibility and participation increase
protectiveness
Universal Usability
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Technology variety:
Support broad range of hardware, software,
and network access
User diversity:
Accommodate users with different skills, knowledge,
age, gender, literacy, culture, income, disabilities,
disabling conditions (mobility, injury, noise, light)...
Gaps in user knowledge:
Bridge the gap between what users know and
what they need to know
Communications of the ACM, May 2000
Technology variety: Support broad range of
hardware, software, and network access
1 to 100 range in processor speeds
286 486
Pentium
1 to 100 range in screen sizes
Palm
devices
30,000
Device Independence
Input: keyboard, speech,...
Output: visual, auditory,...
Conversion: Text-speech
Speech-text,...
Software Versions
Laptops
480,000
Large Desktop or Wall Display
3,840,000 pixels
1 to 100 range in network bandwidth
9.6K 56K
10,000Kbps
Compatibility
File conversion
Multiple platforms
User diversity: Accommodate different users
Language & Culture
Western, Eastern, developing...
Personality
Introvert vs extravert
Thinking vs feeling
Risk aversion
Locus of control
Planful vs playful
Skills
Computer newbie to hacker
Knowledge
Domain novice to expert
Disabilities
Visual, auditory, motoric, cognitive
Disabling conditions
Mobility, injury, noise, sunlight
Age
Young to old
Gender
Male or Female
Income
Impoverished to wealthy
Gaps in User Knowledge
Bridge the gap between what users know and
what they need to know Online Learning
Design
Layered
Level-structured
Task-oriented
(evolutionary, phased)
Introductory tutorials
Getting started manuals,
Cue cards
Walkthroughs/Demos
Minimalist/Active
Training
Fade-able scaffolding
Training wheels
Minimalist
Online help
Context sensitive, tables of contents,
Indexes, Keyword search,
FAQs, Newsgroups, Chat rooms
Online communities
Customer service
Email
Phone
Help desks
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.
Four challenges
1) Prevent future terror
2) Strengthen communities
- increase vigilance
- enable rapid response
- support communities in coping
3) Broaden participation & universal usability
4) Reduce inequities by international development
http://www.hcibib.org/preventterror/
/communities/
/participation/
/development/
Information Technology & Development
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Support development agencies
Disaster relief
 Agricultural specialists & farm workers
 Hospitals, clinics, doctors
 Roads, irrigation, water, sewage, electricity,…
 Education & training
 Entrepreneurship & business development
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Promote democratic principles
Civil rights, voting & judicial processes
 Free press & open markets
 Competent & responsive governments
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Rodrigo Baggio in Brazil
Thomas Jefferson
I feel... an ardent desire to see
knowledge so disseminated through
the mass of mankind that it
may...reach even the extremes of
society: beggars and kings.
-- Reply to American
Philosophical Society, 1808
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
19th Annual Symposium
May 30-31, 2002
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil