Robert Spence

Tolerance design of electronic circuits

The problem concepts and representations tolerance analysis the Monte Carlo method tolerance sensitivity an overview of tolerance design simple methods using performance calculations methods using yield gradients the use of sensitivity analysis questions and answers.

Data base navigation: an office environment for the professional

Abstract The potential of the computer to assist in the everyday information handling activities of professional people has received little attention. This paper proposes a number of novel facilities to produce, for this purpose, an office environment in which a needed item of information can rapidly be sought and identified. It involves a new display technique which overcomes the classical “windowing” problem, and the use of natural dialogues utilizing simple actions such as pointing, gesturing, touching and spoken commands. The simple dialogue makes the scheme well suited to the professional person, who is most likely unwilling to learn complex command languages. Little disturbances to the appearance of the office need be involved.

A framework for navigation

A new schematic framework for navigation is presented which is relevant to physical, abstract and social environments. Navigation is defined as the creation and interpretation of an internal (mental) model, and its component activities are browsing, modelling, interpretation and the formulation of browsing strategy. The design of externalizations and interactions to support these activities, and navigation as a whole, is discussed.

Rapid, serial and visual: a presentation technique with potential

This commentary addresses the recently exploited presentation technique called Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, or RSVP, and identifies a number of applications. It describes a number of different RSVP modes, discusses potentially attractive features and reports the results of experimental investigations. Some of the many issues requiring further research are identified.

The Attribute Explorer: information synthesis via exploration

Abstract The Attribute Explorer is a visualization tool in which the graphical and interactive presentation of data supports the human acquisition of insight into that data. The underlying concept employed is that of interactive linked histograms. The advantage of the Attribute Explorer derives from its ability to support both qualitative exploration and quantitative design decisions, as well as a smooth transition between these two activities.

RSVP Browser: Web Browsing on Small Screen Devices

Abstract: In this paper, we illustrate the use of space-time trade-offs for information presentation on small screens. We propose the use of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) to provide a rich set of navigational information for Web browsing. The principle of RSVP browsing is applied to the development of a Web browser for small screen devices, the RSVP browser. The results of an experiment in which Web browsing with the RSVP browser is compared with that of a typical WAP browser suggests that RSVP browsing may indeed offer alternative to other forms of Web browsing on small screen devices.

The effect of System Response Time on interactive computer aided problem solving

The effects of System Response Time, SRT, on interactive graphical problem solving were investigated for fixed SRTs of 0.16, 0.72 and 1.49 seconds. The object was to demonstrate the importance or otherwise of even small SRT values for interactive graphical problem solving of a type which often occurs in Computer Aided Design. A SRT of 1.49 sec was found to degrade performance by about 50%, measured by problem solution time, compared with that found for 0.16 and 0.72 seconds.

A New Framework for Theory-Based Interaction Design Applied to Serendipitous Information Retrieval

The activities of opportunistic and involuntary browsing offer the potential for many of a users latent problems to be resolved serendipitously, with negligible cognitive effort. In this article, we demonstrate how the design of two novel artifacts to support such behavior was based on a set of Design Actions which were derived from a model of browsing behavior in combination with a cognitive model of human visual information processing. We propose the concept of Design Actions as a way of avoiding the need for an interaction designer associated with these and similar artifacts to understand the cognitive theories underlying them.

Serendipity within a Ubiquitous Computing Environment: A Case for Opportunistic Browsing

We investigate an important interaction that can take place in a ubiquitous computing environment, that of opportunistic browsing, a form of information gathering on the fly. Opportunistic browsing is characterised by being ubiquitous, unintentional and effortless. In this paper, we clarify the concept of opportunistic browsing and place it within a cognitive framework. We further discuss the nature of the interactions that can be triggered by the serendipitous discovery of information through opportunistic browsing and the importance of context-awareness, and we identify important research issues.

Lean cuisine: a low fat notation for menus

Abstract The specification, design, implementation and control of highly interactive direct manipulation dialogues is of increasing interest. However, existing techniques fall well short of the goal of isolating the design of the dialogue from the detail of its implementation. This paper closely analyses the structural characteristics of menu systems, a major component of such dialogues, and arising from this analysis proposes a new diagrammatic approach to their description. This approach is shown to be able to completely specify the details and behaviour of a system of menus from an external point of view. The parallels between this notation and the recently defined class of automata, Event-Response Systems, are discussed, demonstrating the potential for a direct implementation of an interface from this description. Further, it is suggested that the notation could be extended to cover all aspects of direct manipulation interaction.