Prof. Dr. Andreas Riener

Course Description

Lab-based usability studies have a huge role to play in HCI research. The controlled environments of usability labs are wonderful for removing undesired external influences, but they do not provide a very realistic picture of how people really work. Computer use generally takes place at homes or offices that have distractions, competing

concerns demanding attention, and the stress of multitasking in the hopes of meeting competing deadlines. As these factors do not arise in controlled usability labs, observations made in the lab might not generalize to “real-world” behavior.

As every individual who uses computing tools does so in a unique context, with specific goals, backgrounds, and abilities, every use of a computer interface is, in some sense, an HCI case study. Close examination of these contextual factors can give researchers a rich, detailed understanding of the factors that influence system requirements and determine the success or failure of proposed designs.

In the second wave or second generation of HCI, focus was  on  groups  working  with  a collection of applications. Theory focused on work settings and   interaction   within   well-established   communities   of practice.  Situated action, distributed  cognition  and  activity theory  were important sources of theoretical reflection, and concepts  like  context  came  into  focus  of  analysis  and  design  of  human-computer  interaction.  Rigid  guidelines,  for-mal  methods,  and  systematic  testing  were  mostly  abandoned for proactive  methods  such as a  variety of participatory design workshops, prototyping and contextual inquiries (contextual inquiry [10] as well as a number of other qualitative approaches to studying use as it happens).

In their classic 1981 text Human Inquiry, Reason and Rowan drew upon these and other ideas to advocate what they called a ‘new paradigm’ for psychology. Similarly, in their 1985 book, Lincoln and Guba called for a ‘naturalistic’paradigm based upon the search for detailed description, which aimed to represent reality through the eyes of research participants and attend to the complexities of behaviour and meaning in context.

As part of the course the students will learn to identify the meaning of interactions using hermeneutics and design for different contexts of use applying semiotics. The students will be asked to apply HCI methods to empathize with the users and their cultures and identify context of use including contextual inquiries. Contextual inquiry interviews are in-depth interviews involving demonstrations of how participants complete key tasks is a widely used technique for developing a deeper understanding of how work is done. Ethnographic techniques, including observation and participation in a group or workplace can provide still richer insights. Both contextual inquiry and ethnographic techniques have been used extensively by HCI researchers. Finally, the students will be able to communicate their designs in context using Storyboarding and Offline Rapid Prototyping Techniques.