Leonardo’s Laptop:Human Needs and the

New Computing TechnologiesBen Shneiderman ben@cs.umd.edu

Founding Director (1983-2000), Human-Computer Interaction LabProfessor, Department of Computer Science

Member, Institutes for Advanced Computer Studies &Systems Research

University of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20742

Interdisciplinary research community - Computer Science & Psychology - Information Studies & Education (www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)

Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly)

• Specify users and tasks• Predict and measure

• time to learn• speed of performance• rate of human errors• human retention over time

• Assess subjective satisfaction (Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction)

• Accommodate individual differences• Consider social, organizational & cultural context

Design Issues

• Input devices & strategies• Keyboards, pointing devices, voice• Direct manipulation• Menus, forms, commands

• Output devices & formats• Screens, windows, color, sound• Text, tables, graphics• Instructions, messages, help

• Collaboration & communities• Manuals, tutorials, training www.awl.com/DTUI

hcibib.org useit.com

U.S. Library of Congress

• Scholars, Journalists, Citizens

• Teachers, Students

Visible Human Explorer (NLM)

• Doctors

• Surgeons

• Researchers

• Students

NASA Environmental Data

• Scientists

• Farmers

• Land planners

• Students

Bureau of the Census

• Economists, Policy makers, Journalists

• Teachers, Students

NSF Digital Government Initiative

• Find what you need• Understand what you Find

www.ils.unc.edu/govstat/

Census,NCHS, BLS, EIA,NASS, SSA

International Children’s Digital Libary

Zooming User Interfaces

www.cs.umd.edu/jazz www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/datelens

Zooming User Interfaces: DateLens

www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/datelens

Information Visualization

The eye…the window of the soul,is the principal means by which the central sensecan most completely andabundantly appreciate the infinite works of nature.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

Treemap: Stock market, industry clustered

Treemap: Newsmap

www.hivegroup.com

Treemap: Product catalogs

Treemap: Gene Ontology

www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemap/

LifeLines

www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/lifelines/

Leonardo’s Laptop

The old computing is about what computers can do,

The New Computing is about what people can do

mitpress.mit.edu/leonardoslaptop

www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/newcomputing

An Inspirational Muse: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Renaissance Man• Combined

science & art• Integrated

engineering & esthetics• Balanced

technology advances & human values

• Merged visionary & practical

Goals for The New Computing

1) Usable: Reliable& comprehensible

2) Universal: Diverse users & varied equipment

3) Useful: In harmony with human needs

1) Usable: Ending User Frustration

• Goal: make computer usage less frustrating• Identify top ten frustrations • Measure severity & frequency in lost time• Determine if the situation is improving

1) Time diary study

Self reports & observations (111 students)• Pre-session survey:

• demographic information• computer experience and attitudes• level of computer anxiety, mood

• Users spend 2.5 hours (average) • Report their frustrating experiences• Post-session survey:

• assess mood after the session• overall frustration level• loss of time

1) Frequent Frustrations (out of 373)

Internet Applications Operating System

timed out/dropped/refused connections (32)

error messages (35)

crashes (16)

long download time (23) freezes (24) wrong response (10)

web page/site not found (17)

missing/ hard to

find features (23)

slow response (8)

email (15) crashes (13) unexpected message boxes (6)

1) Minutes lost (111 subjects) – 46%

Email OS Web browsing

Other minutes

lost

Productive minutes

Total minutes: 17,453Minutes lost: 7902

20811196 1230 3395

2) Universal: Digital Divide Remains Troubling

 

U.S. Department of Commercewww.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/

0102030405060708090

100

Less ThanHigh School

High SchoolDiploma / GED

Some College BachelorsDegree

BeyondBachelors

Degree

Perc

ent

Sept. 2001

Aug. 2000

Dec. 1998

Oct. 1997

Percent of Internet Use by Educational Attainment

• User diversity: Accommodate users with different skills, knowledge, age, gender, disabilities, disabling conditions (mobility, injury, noise, sunlight), literacy, culture, income, etc.

• Technology variety: Support broad range of hardware, software, and network access

• Gaps in user knowledge: Bridge the gap between what users know and what they need to know

Communications of the ACM, May 2000

2) Universal: Diverse Users & Varied Equipment2) Universal: Diverse Users & Varied Equipment

2) Universal Usability in Practice

www.otal.umd.edu/uupractice/

3) Useful: Generative Theories

Beneficial theories:- Descriptive- Explanatory - Predictive - Prescriptive

but the big step forward will be

- Generative Theoriesto guide our invention of new technologies

• Jefferson: Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness

• Roosevelt: Freedom of speech & expression, religion, from want, from fear

• Maslow: Hierarchy of human needs• Physiological• Safety• Love• Esteem• Self-Actualization

• Covey: Living, Loving, Learning & Leaving a legacy

3) Theories of Human Needs

Relationships• Self: working on your own

• Family & Friends: 2-50 close intimates • Colleagues & Neighbors: 50-5000 acquaintances • Citizens & Markets: 5000 and more

 

Human Needs for Relationships

Activities

• Collect: Information

• Relate: Communication

• Create: Innovation

• Donate: Dissemination

Human Needs for Activities

Activities and Relationship Table (ART)

Relationships

Self

Family & Friends 

Colleagues & Neighbors  

Citizenry & Markets

 

Activities

Collect Relate Create Donate

Skeptics corner - Are relationships more complex? - Are these useful activities?

Activities and Relationship Table (ART)

Relationships

Self

Family & Friends 

Colleagues & Neighbors  

Citizenry & Markets

 

Activities

Collect Relate Create Donate Identicam PhotoDiary

PhotoFinderPhotoMesa

Album sharing

StoryStarter Family photo history

PhotoFinder Kiosk

PhotoWall

PhotoFinder Webstarter

PhotoQuilt Photo sharing

PhotoFinder www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/photolib

PhotoMesa www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/photomesa

Activities and Relationship Table (ART)

Activities Collect Relate Create Donate

Medical log Diary

Find-a- Friend

MusicLists Family vacation history

InfoDoorsGatherEmail

Send-a-Link

WebBushesWorldWide Med

Million person communities

Medical diagnosis

Tourist sharing

Relationships

Self

Family & Friends 

Colleagues & Neighbors  

Citizenry & Markets

 

Future Directions

• E-learning: The new education

• E-business: The new commerce

• E-healthcare: The new medicine

• E-government: The new politics

• Mega-creativity

• Grander Goals & The Next Leonardo

www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/newcomputing

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Three lessons 1) Usable: Reliable

& comprehensible

2) Universal: Diverse users & varied equipment

3) Useful: In harmony with human needs

Human-Computer Interaction Laboratorywww.cs.umd.edu/hcil

The old computing is about what computers can do,

The New Computing is about what people can do

Human-Computer Interaction Laboratorywww.cs.umd.edu/hcil

22nd Annual Symposium June 2-3, 2005

• Action Items• Developers: Apply usability guidelines

& testing methods• Web producers: Develop UU statements• Managers: Provide responsible leadership• Journalists: Raise public expectations• Policy makers: Raise & clarify requirements• Funders: Expand research on usability• Educators: Disseminate scientific results • Researchers: Explore bold new visions

Getting to the Golden Age of Usability

ACM Code of EthicsIn a fair society, all individuals would have

equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or other such similar factors.