Re: [IxDA Discuss] Usability = Predictability

[Jim Hoekema]

I think of a usable interface as one that meets user expectations.  Some 
expectations are pre-existing -- hence predictability. Others are 
learned through interacting with the interface -- they might be 
unpredictable at first, but if the interface is consistent, they soon 
become predictable.


- Jim Hoekema

HDE . www.hoekema.com <http://www.hoekema.com> . (845) 401-7466 . 
www.linkedin.com/in/hoekema <http://www.linkedin.com/in/hoekema>



Jared Spool wrote:


On May 30, 2008, at 12:37 PM, Robert Hoekman Jr wrote:


That said, I'm now wondering if the statement that started this thread
really implies exclusivity. As in, yes there are times when something 
that

is unpredictable is still quite usable, but that doesn't nullify the
equation. Predictable interactions are, it seems, still usable 
interactions.


Frankly, I think we've just proven that (a) the terms are orthogonal 
and (b) nobody really knows what they mean when others use them.


If you're trying to assert that predictability is a predeterminate of 
usability, I think we've showed that you can have usable, 
non-predictable instances. There are times when something that's 
perceived as predictable will be perceived as more usable than 
something that isn't predictable. However, there are also times when 
the opposite is true. So, I think they are truly orthogonal attributes.


Jared

Jared M. Spool
User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] p: +1 978 327 5561
http://uie.com  Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Ok, more twitter articles in the mainstream press, now from C|Net

[Jim Hoekema]

Are moving to SMS?  How nice - it would be nice to catch up with Europe 
as it was 15 years ago!



David Malouf wrote:

Even our future president (G-d! I'd love to be able to aggregate--and I bet
there is a tool to do it--all those tweets that start, "When Obama is
President ...") is on Twitter.

http://www.news.com/8301-13953_3-9946737-80.html?tag=nefd.top

The article is about how Twitter will go mainstream as we move generationaly
away from email and towards SMS. (Let's see ya SMS in IRC, eh?)

-- dave

  



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[IxDA Discuss] Best company 'Careers' sites

[Jim Hoekema]

I'm looking for "best practices" in the Careers sections of large 
international company websites.
I like Philips best of those I've inspected closely (GE, Sony, Samsung, 
Apple).
Does anyone have any standouts to recommend?

  - Jim


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] History of Interaction?

[Jim Hoekema]

Jeff,

You've had some great suggestions here - I particularly agree with Andre 
H's recommendation of Paul Heckel's "Elements of Software Design," a 
forgotten classic that draws comparisons with other disciplines.

Still, it seems almost all the examples are histories (sort of) of 
interactive TECHNOLOGIES, and what would be really nice is a history of 
INTERACTION DESIGN in a more technology-agnostic way.

I remember hearing about a project sponsored by IBM at the Museum of 
Modern Art, in which they did a kind of Wizard of Oz deal where audience 
member asked questions of a sculptor -- I think it was Noguchi, but 
maybe not -- and behind the scenes they looked for passages in hours of 
film or videotape that might appear to answer the question. When they 
found a match, they read out the question, then ran the film.

That's the kind of stuff I'd like to hear more about!

I'd also like to find a place to tell the story of my first project, a 
kind of flash-card game for learning to recognized Impressionist 
painters, done back near the dawn of time.

- Jim Hoekema

HDE . www.hoekema.com <http://www.hoekema.com> . (845) 401-7466 . 
www.linkedin.com/in/hoekema <http://www.linkedin.com/in/hoekema>

Jeff Hendy wrote:
> Hi Everybody,
>
> I'm looking for a history book on interaction.  Something that starts
> with what would be considered the first UI (punch cards, maybe?) and
> moves up through command line interfaces, console based menu
> interfaces, introduction of GUIs and WIMP interaction, and closing
> with current trends.  Ideally, this book would cover key design
> decisions at each step, including what was gained and lost, and why
> the losses were considered acceptable.
>
> Does such a thing exist?  If not, does anybody have suggestions on how
> to find this information other than digging up old CHI papers and
> following references until I get to the beginning of (UI) time?
> 
>   


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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Usability is more than...

[Jim Hoekema]

Charles B. Kreitzberg wrote:
> Here is how I think of it, Jeff.
>
> Usability is a dimension of design. I like the construct of useful, usable
> and desirable which you can think of as three dimensions that a good design
> requires.
>   
Very well put -- and with apedigree going back to Vitrivius' desired 
qualities in a building: Firmness, Commodity, and Delight

 - Jim

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[IxDA Discuss] handwriting capture with digitizer vs. Tablet PC

[Jim Hoekema]

I'm working on a proposal that involves capturing handwriting -- not 
recognizing it, just capturing it -- in a clinical trial setting, where 
the doctor is "facing" a patient via video conference. (There would be 
forms with check boxes as well.) The team is debating how to do this. On 
the one hand, we don't need a tablet PC, because it's not a portable 
environment, so a plain digitizing tablet connected to a bigger PC seems 
better. But this would mean giving up the unified 
presentation-input-feedback arrangement, forcing doctors (of all people) 
to write while looking at a monitor to see what they're writing. This 
scenario worries me. (Another factor is that the examiner is meant to 
maintain eye contact with the subject.)

Is there any research on non-artists using digitizing tablets for 
handwritten input combined with forms in this type of setting? Any 
strong opinions on the matter?

Thanks much,
Jim Hoekema
BusinessEdge Solutions


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