ITEC 4130 HCI
Fall 2011
Midterm
Dr. Jim Rowan
Prepared by:
Your Name Here
Rules for the take home midterm.
Submit your midterm by attaching the MSWord document to an email and emailing
it to me before Friday midnight.
You are allowed to use any reference material you deem necessary or worthwhile.
You are not allowed to discuss the questions on this midterm with your classmates
while taking the midterm.
Below each question use the amount of space you deem necessary.
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Knowledge in the head and knowledge in the world:
For the questions in this section consider the system image that a computer
presents to the user: the physical hardware along with the desktop (e.g., a Mac and
the Finder or a PC and Windows) Be sure to describe what the computer
configuration is whether it is a laptop, desktop, handheld, touch pad or something
else.
1) Give an example of a way in which the system requires knowledge in the head
rather than in the world. Describe it in a way that makes your example clear to the
reader (that’d be me). If needed include images or diagrams…
2) Why do you think the designer made this decision?
3) Give an example of a way in which the system requires knowledge in the world
rather than in the head. Describe it in a way that makes your example clear to the
reader (that’d be me). If needed include images or diagrams…
4) Why do you think the designer made this decision?
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Constraints:
5) Define physical, semantic, cultural and logical constraints.
6) Give an example of a constraint of provided by the system.
Is it physical, semantic, cultural, or a logical constraint? Describe it in a way that
makes it clear to the reader (that’d be me) what type it is and why it is of that type.
7) Other than the trash can (the garbage, the wastebasket) give an example of a way
in which the system prevents errors or helps the user to recover from errors.
8) Find and describe examples of the three other constraints of a type NOT
described above. Describe them in a way that makes it clear to the reader (that’d be
me) what type they are and why they are of that type. If needed include images or
diagrams…
Mappings:
8) Don Norman talks about natural mappings and how they associate the available
controls to the possible actions. Find, photograph and include (below) two
examples; one example of a particularly bad mapping and one example of a good
mapping. These examples should be found in your world, not from the Internet or
the texts and they should not be examples seen in class this semester. Describe each
in a way that makes your example clear to the reader (that’d be me) through images,
diagrams, descriptive text and what ever else you deem necessary. In your
description be sure to tell me where these examples were found.
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Affordances:
9) The highway department is considering constructing a partially enclosed shelter
in which vending machines will be placed. These shelters will be located along the
highway at unmanned rest stops every 20 miles or so. While the support structure
and the roofing are already contracted, various materials for the sidewalls are being
considered. One is heavy tempered glass, another is a wood panel product similar to
plywood and the third is a heavy polycarbonate (clear plastic sheeting). What are
the affordances of each of these that relate to their intended use that might affect
this choice? Make sure to include the context of use and user profile in your
discussion.
10) What are the affordances of each of these that do not relate to their intended use
(remember that humans are opportunistic and creative) that might affect this
choice? Make sure to include the context of use and user profile in your discussion.
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Slips and Mistakes:
11) Giving an example of each (but not an example found in DOET,) describe how
slips and mistakes differ.
12) Don Norman describes 6 different types of slips.
Describe these in a way that makes the differences clear to the reader (that’d be me)
and provide an example of each (but not an example found in DOET).
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Human cognition:
13) With practice cognitive activities can become automated. This has performance
advantages in that responses are fast and require little or no conscious attention.
There are, however, a number of disadvantages that are associated with these
automated cognitive processes that can lead to error. Describe 1 of these, providing
an example.
14) Giving an example of each what is the difference between declarative and
procedural knowledge?