Errors and theory in human-computer interaction

Knowledge elicitation in design : a case study of page layout design

The central aim of this paper is to address the question of how best to consider the errors that occur during interaction. A distinction is drawn between human errors and user‐system errors, where the first is an error within one cognitive system and the other an error between two cognitive systems. A further distinction is then made between different types of user‐system error: mapping mismatches, and incongruity mismatches. Following this, a classification scheme (an Evaluative Classification of Mismatch, or ECM) for analyzing user‐system errors is defined, and a study into its usability is reported. The study was conducted at Hewlett Packard's Office Product Division, at Pinewood, Wokingham, UK, and involved trailing the scheme with a design team. The results of the study suggest that the ECM scheme is usable, with 98.5% of problems being classified, and designers reporting positive views on the scheme. Moreover, there was a high level of agreement between the different members of the design team as to...

Identifying and interpreting design errors

This paper elaborates on the use of usability studies as a foundation in developing adaptive human-computer interaction (HCI) systems. The concepts of user-centered design that gravitate around user models and models of the user are applied. We demonstrate how a usability study outcome can be incorporated into the close-loop software life cycle design and analysis.

Software Usability as a Foundation for Human-Computer Interaction Design

Intent inferring systems constitute a class of computer-based problem solving/decision making support software known as expert systems. These systems are conceptualized, and designed for specialized domain applications. They are inherently populated with well defined and articulated goals, and their reasoning strategies are formulated around intentions of the human experts. Like their human counter parts, they can “err”. This paper takes the first step to summarize the sources of errors in these systems.

Sources of Errors in Intent Inferring Systems

Within many of the large IT companies, systems are being developed iteratively. This iterative development is often guided by the results of usability trials, where systems are tested with user in 'usability laboratories'. Much of the analysis of these trials is concentrated upon a qualitative assessment of the errors that occur during interaction. There is, however, no generally accepted means by which errors are analysed. Consequently, an evaluative scheme for classifying user-system errors has been developed, and is outlined in this paper. The results of an initial limited study of the use of the scheme are described, together with some example recommendations for changing the system that was analysed during the study.

Paul A. Booth

Papers

Using errors to direct design