Stephen A. R. Scrivener

Meaning, the central issue in cross-cultural HCI design

In this paper, we focus on the design of systems intended to be shared by culturally heterogeneous users (e.g., users of Computer-Supported Co-operative Work (CSCW) and Internet applications). We discuss the limitations of current approaches to designing interfaces for culturally diverse users - such as intemationalisation and localisation - before describing a study conducted to elicit and understand culturally determined usability problems, in which a World-Wide Web (WWW) system was evaluated. It is concluded that culturally determined usability problems converge in the understanding of representations the meanings of which are rooted in culturally specific contexts. We explain why existing approaches are inadequate for dealing with this issue. In conclusion, we outline an HCI approach, called Meaning in Mediated Action (MMA), designed to tackle this problem. 0 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Structure in idea sketching behaviour

Abstract This paper describes a study designed to investigate the structure of idea sketches, here defined as the initial free-hand drawn externalisations produced by a designer of envisioned or partially envisioned entities. In the study, participants were asked to sketch freely from memory a number of chairs and to design a chair. The results obtained from analyzing the drawing process provide clear evidence for structure in idea sketching behaviour which is largely explained by reference to either volumetrical or functional cognitive models of the recalled or designed objects. This suggests that there is an intimate relationship between the cognitive and perceptual processes that are brought to bear on the recall and design tasks and idea sketching. It is concluded that the detailed study of sketching behaviour may provide a fruitful approach to understanding the relationship between cognition, the sketch, and sketching.

Uncertainty and sketching behaviour.

Abstract Evidence suggests that sketches of seen objects exhibit a structure consistent with the volumetric parts of the recalled objects. Occasionally, sketching structure does not match volumetric part structure. Top-down cognitive factors, perception, or a combination of both could trigger switching of drawing behaviour. From the evidence, it is concluded that uncertainty is the primary factor triggering change in drawing structure. Nevertheless, the data indicate that sketches can engender uncertainty by revealing errors in recollection, through recognition failures or by promoting reasoning about depicted objects, and can facilitate the resolution of uncertainty by stimulating recall.

Applying and testing an approach to design for culturally diverse user groups

Abstract This paper intends to illustrate how user interface designers can apply the Meaning in Mediated Action (MIMA) approach (P. Bourges-Waldegg, A.R. Scrivener, Meaning; the central issue is cross-cultural HCI design, Interacting with Computers, 9 (3) (1998) 287–310, special issue on “Shared Values and Shared Interfaces”) to design for culturally diverse user groups. After outlining its theoretical foundation, we describe how the MIMA stages—observation, evaluation, analysis and design—were carried out to redesign a WWW system. Finally, we assess the efficacy of this approach by comparing the results of the evaluation of the original and the redesigned interfaces.

Designing at a distance via real-time designer-to-designer interaction

This paper describes an experiment in which teams of two designers used a shared computer ‘sketchpad’ to generate design concepts for products while geographically separated by a distance of over 16 300km. The aim of the large separation, which included a large time-zone difference, was to examine critically the capability of the sketchpad to provide useful support for real design work. It was also used to examine potential problems due to the extreme geographic separation of team members and to uncover others which may not have been apparent from localized laboratory studies. The results indicate that the tool is usable and useful for design work at a distance. The paper concludes by pointing to issues that will need to be addressed in developing computer supported co-operative design (CSCD) systems for the whole design process.

Developing practice with theory in HCI: applying models of spatial cognition for the design of pictorial databases

Abstract The design and development of large pictorial databases represents a considerable challenge to the design of effective interfaces and query mechanisms. This paper reviews a project concerned with the development of theories of spatial cognition and their application to the design of pictorial databases. The aim is to investigate the feasibility of developing query methods based upon visuo-spatial methods, and to consider the implications of this for design. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the joint enterprise of psychological experimentation and system development and to consider the impact upon each discipline of the shared aim of the project. Three main conclusions are drawn: (a) useful theories of spatial memory can be developed of general utility in the design of pictorial databases; (b) however, the analysis of tasks in which pictorial databases might be used reveals a complex picture in which the specificity of task domain and visual material is more likely to dictate issues of design than is any generic theory of visual cognition. In other words, the utility of visuo-spatial methods of database encoding and query cannot be taken for granted in pictorial databases; and finally (c) projects such as this, in which psychological knowledge is used as a motivation for design innovation, appear to represent high-risk, high-return strategies of design development.

Designing interfaces for culturally diverse users

Cultural diversity is a phenomenon of increasing interest to HCI designers given the development of global markets and multi-user applications, such as Internet and CSCW. However, current HCI methods provide little specific guidance on how to design systems that are usable by a culturally heterogeneous user group. It is argued that the internalisation-localisation process, here called culturalisation, is inappropriate for shared applications because it deals with design for a specific, culturally homogeneous user group. This paper describes a study designed to examine the nature of Internet application usability problems due to cultural diversity. It is concluded that the main issue is centred in the relation between representation and meaning. Finally, a HCI design method that considers issues of cultural diversity, called Non-specific Representations Method (NSRM), is outlined.

The rich picture of design activity

This paper describes the development of a scheme for representing design activity, called a Rich Picture, designed to assist inductive analysis. This Rich Picture combines different transcription schemes that capture both verbal and non-verbal aspects of the design activity. The transcriptions produced using these schemes are linked together and back to the design activity raw data, such as drawings, video and audio recordings, and workspace resources. In producing the Rich Picture the aim is not to prove that design activity is one thing or another, nor are the schemes intended as measures, nor are they intended as a means of reducing data to a manageable form (although they do enable selective review). Essentially, the transcriptions augment the design activity and together with this raw data comprise the Rich Picture which, it is argued, provides a powerful resource for interpretation and analysis.

The impact of functional knowledge on sketching

Previous research investigating sketching processes during object visualisation and design has indicated that drawing occurs in a primarily part-by-part manner, whereby the component structures of objects appear to dominate the organisation of ongoing activity. Some non-part-by-part sketching does arise, however, and appears to be closely linked with those parts of objects that possess multiple functionality. The present experiment aimed to provide further evidence to support the influence of functional knowledge on sketching. Overall, the results indicate that functional understanding is an important element of visual reasoning and sketch production in design-related tasks. We propose that functional knowledge serves simultaneously to promote certain aspects of representational accuracy (e.g., in terms of functional properties of parts) whilst, paradoxically, engendering other aspects of representational inaccuracy (e.g., in terms of the precise geometric structure of parts).

The LookingGlass distributed shared workspace

This paper describes a shared workspace system known as the LookingGlass. The system allows pairs of geographically distributed designers to work together in real-time via a computer-based shared drawing surface, a video link and an audio link. The system integrates many of the features found in previous shared drawing surface systems and additionally provides eye-to-eye contact between the users; awareness of oneas partners direction of gaze in relation to oneself and the worksurface; and the ability to communicate using gestures in relation to the worksurface.These features are achieved in the LookingGlass system using a technique referred to as ‘video-overlay’ which combines a full screen video image of a remote partner with a full screen shared drawing surface. Various configurations of video-overlay have been explored and the results of these studies are presented. The results of trials into the suitability of the LookingGlass for various types of design work are also presented and described.