DTUI Booksite Assignment 3: Interface Evaluations [Assignment 2] [Assignments Menu] [Assignment 4]

Goals:

to expose you to some of the strong opinions of leaders in the field of HCI and allow you to respond to them, and

to have you critically evaluate interfaces.

An HCI professional would be required to know the leaders and digest their opinions, as well as be able to discover relevant research, and be able to keep "current" with that work. They would also be expected to evaluate interfaces
from an HCI point of view.

Part A:

Some people are seen by the HCI field as "pioneers" or "gurus". You will read four short papers by such individuals, and compare and contrast these readings by answering the questions given below.

"Interdisciplinary Cooperation", Scott Kim, Look Twice, Inc.

While perhaps not as distinguished as the folks below, Kim has worked on computing for visual thinkers, including work on font design.

"User Interface: A Personal View", Alan Kay, Apple Fellow, Apple Computer, Inc.

Kay is known as the "father of the personal computer", and conceived of the laptop computer (the dynabook) in early '70s.

"Why Interfaces Don't Work", Donald A. Norman, ex-Director, Institute for Cognitive Science, University of California, San Diego. He is now an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, where he directs the User Experience Architecture Group.

Norman has written many very influential books, including "The Design of Everyday Things". See also the ACM Interactions interview.

"The Right Way to Think About Software Design", Theodor Holm Nelson, Distinguished Fellow, Autodesk, Inc.

Nelson coined the terms Hypertext and Hypermedia in the early '60s.

Hand in answers to the following two questions, for each paper. Keep answers clear, but brief. A2 should easily fit on 2 pages.

In your own words, describe three points from this paper that
made the most impact on you.

Categorize the viewpoint of the author. Are they looking at interfaces
from the point of view of technology, art, design, theory, society,
psychology, or some other aspect?

In addition:

• Which paper made you think the most?
• Why, and about what?

Part B:

Select three devices (i.e., hardware) with electric/electronic interfaces (examples: a VCR; a calculator; an electric stove; a telephone; a stereo system).

Pick:

• one that you use daily;
• one that you use infrequently, but have been using for at least 1 year;
• one that you are just learning or have recently learned.

What you hand in for B2 should fit on about 3 pages.

1. Briefly describe each device and its interface.
2. List three aspects you like about each interface. Why?
3. List three aspects you do not like about each interface. Why?
4. Are there any features common to more than one of these interfaces to which you gave a consistently positive, or negative, evaluation? Please describe what they have in common.
5. Are there any features common to any two of these interfaces to which you gave a positive evaluation for one device and a negative evaluation for another? Please explain what and why.
6. Did the frequency of use for a device affect your evaluation of it?

Please send comments and suggestions to the Booksite Director Last Updated: 14 June 2002