September 25, 2005
Jonathan Grudin: "Crossing the Divide"
Grudin, Jonathan. "Crossing the Divide" in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2004, Pages 1-25.
Grudin comments on the publishing protocols for academia, specifically HCI. The article discusses the three different levels of conferences (workshop, medium, large) and the ways journals work in relation to conference. There's a discussion of different relevant actors (authors, editors, publishers, community, libraries, etc.) and bits about how online access to publications is altering the publishing protocols. Basically, it's a fantastic overview article of academic publishing, the pros and cons and issues that multidisciplinary communities will face.
Posted by zephoria at 4:34 PM | TrackBack (0)
February 20, 2005
Donald Norman - "Why Interfaces Don't Work"
Norman, Donald. "Why Interfaces Don't Work" in The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design. Brenda Laurel (editor). Addision-Wesley. 1992. 209-219.
Notes:
"The real problem with the interface is that it is an interface. Interfaces get in the way. I don't want to focus my energies on an interface. I want to focus on the job" (210).
"What are computers for? The user, that's what - making life easier for the user" (217).
The bulk of this article focuses on how interfaces are problematic and how the computer is a terrible tool because it can be used for so much and doesn't specialize in anything particular. He talks about how game consoles are better for users because of their specialized nature.
Product design priorities (217):
1) The user - what does that person really need to have accomplished?
2) The task - analyze the task. How best can the job be done?, taking into account the whole setting in which it is embedded, including the other tasks to be accomplished, the social setting, the people, and the organization.
3) As much as possible, make the task dominate; make the tools invisible.
4) Then, get the interaction right...
Personal opinion:
Norman and i don't share the same opinion on interfaces. I do believe that they currently get in the way, but not for the same reasons. Our main site of disagreement concerns the task.
The bulk of my computer use is not task-oriented - i spend an absurd amount of time futzing, communicating or surfing. I would argue that i'm not in the minority, particularly of consumer users.
For me, it's great that i use the same device to communicate, surf information and write papers - it allows me to multitask in a meaningful way. I don't _want_ specialized devices for communicating and writing papers - i value the ability to procrastinate my paper by communicating with others (otherwise known as collaboration). What i love the most about the computer is its flexibility and the ability that i have to repurpose it over time and given a particular context.
The computer is not simply a tool that i approach with a task. It is a place AND a space and i enter it for its flexibility, just as i enter a cafe for its flexibility. If i could only go to a cafe to talk to people, i would rarely go. Instead, i go to work and complement my working with social interaction. Fantastic.
That said, i'm not a huge fan of most interface. Then again, i'm not a huge fan of the architecture of most cafes - they're simply not conducive for the diversity of uses i want. But this isn't because i don't want interfaces, bodies or architectures - they're all the site of performativity that allows me to interact with them. And they all affect the kinds of interaction that i want to have.
Interfaces affect the task and that's part of the point. Consider the differences in blogging styles that emerge from people who use Typepad interfaces vs. Blogger vs. LiveJournal - three different textbox styles and three different outcomes - the interface matters - it's not something that can simply go away.
Posted by zephoria at 5:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
