Susanne Maass

The designer as user: building requirements for design tools from design practice

Software tools that support the design and development of interactive computing systems are an exciting possibility. The potential pay-off is great: user interface management systems, for example, promise not only to speed the process of specifying, implementing and maintaining user interface code, but also to guide the content of the user interfaces they support. As for any tool intended for human use, however, the success of software design tools will hinge on a thorough understanding of the problems they seek to address—design as it is practiced in the real world.

A view of human—machine communication and co-operation

Abstract Nowadays computers are increasingly used for communication purposes and less for mere calculation. Userfriendly dialog design for non-computer professicial users is becoming an important research issue. The discussion has already shown that human-machine systems have to be studied as a whole: apart from the machine and its users they include the designers and those persons responsible for the systems application, as well. Computers just play a special role as one element in a highly complex communication network with several human agents linked in space and time. In order to characterize communication between humans and machines the concept of formal communication is introduced and related to natural communication. Communicating behaviour and its determining factors are represented by a model which is based on psycholinguistic concepts of communication and which uses high-level Petri net interpretations. Formal communication can be observed among humans as well as with machines; of ten it is caused by delegation. Programming of computer systems can be conceived as a special form of delegation. The view of computer systems as communication media with formal communicating behaviour permits an explanation of problems arising from computer applications, especially at the human-machine interface, and shows directions for future research.

Adaptation of Virtual Man-Computer Interfaces to User Requirements in Dialogs

The user.- User-friendliness.- Special aspects of user behaviour.- to Part II.- Man-computer dialog.- Dialog contents and dialog state.- The three levels of abstraction.- Dialog types.- to Part III.- System objectives.- Conceptual recommendations for man-computer interfaces.

Programmieren, Mathe und ein bisschen Hardware ... Wen lockt dies Bild der Informatik?

ZusammenfassungSeit den 1990er-Jahren tragen die Informatik-Fachbereiche eine grosse Überlast. Mit den Studierendenzahlen stieg auch die Abbruchquote im Grundstudium an. Erwarten die Studienanfänger/innen das Richtige vom Informatik-Studium?Zwei Befragungen von Schüler/innen und Studienanfänger/innen in Bremen deuten auf ein sehr eingeschränktes öffentliches Bild der Informatik hin. Die Vielfalt in den Voraussetzungen der Studienanfänger/innen ist zwar gross, doch die Anforderungen des Studiums sind für fast alle unerwartet. Programmierkenntnisse spielen dabei eine mehrdeutige Rolle.Wir plädieren für eine sorgfältig abgewogene, veränderte Selbstdarstellung des Faches.

Gender research and IT construction : Concepts for a challenging partnership

This Declaration of Principles for Information Society was made during the UN World Summit of the Information Society in Geneva 20031.

Uncovering the Invisible: Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Call Center Work and Software

New telecommunication and information technology has enabled a new, booming field of work: customer care in call centers. What are the working conditions of call center employees and does call center technology improve these conditions? To answer these questions, we will combine insights from Applied Computer Science49, more specifically from the field of participatory design, with insights from social sciences, specifically Gender Studies.