Wisdom is not the product of schooling

but the lifelong attempt to acquire it.

- Albert Einstein

Human-Centered Systems:
Information, Interactivity and Intelligence

Gerhard Fischer

Collaborative Design and Learning Class, Feb 10th, 1997

From "Computer-Centered" Design to "Human-Centered" Design
Human-Centered: More Than User Interfaces
"Human Centered" - Some Quotes from the Workshop Position Papers
Question: Making the WWW "Human-Centered"
What is or is not "Human-Centered" in these Slogans?
Cooperative Problem Solving Systems
Dimensions of "Human-Centered Automation"
Saying the "Right" Thing at the "Right" Time in the "Right" Way

From "Computer-Centered"Design to
"Human-Centered" Design

do not postulate a new human ("human error" versus "human nature")

beyond the primacy of technology

augment/empower humans, do not replace them

- AI (Artificial Intelligence) --> IA (Intelligence Augmentation)

- automate --> informate, collaborate, distribute

beyond mimicking (exploit unique properties of computational media)

- spreadsheets

- ...............................

Human-Centered: More Than User Interfaces human-computer interaction is more than user interfaces

Applying the Macintosh style to poorly designed applications and machines is like trying to put Béarnaise sauce on a hot-dog! (A. Kay)

make systems useful and usable

If ease of use was the only valid criterion, people would stick to tricycles and never try bicycles.(D. Engelbart)

support human problem-domain interaction

Interfaces get into the way. I don't want to focus my energies on an interface. I want to focus on the job.(D. Norman)

a broader view of communication and collaboration processes

- Humans have a bounded rationality.(H. Simon)

- the individual human mind is limited ---> organizational memory and organizational learning

"Human-Centered" - Some Quotes from the Workshop Position Papers

the system solves a real human need

the system is well integrated into real practice (i.e.: the human spends too much time adapting to the system, rather than the system fitting into the realities of the context in which it exists.

the user is able to focus on the task (i.e., the interface is the task; support for human problem-domain interaction)

the system should be fun to use

external simplicity with internal complexity ---> human-centered automation is not a call for less technology

people need contextualized information

exceptions are normal in work processes

co-evolution / co-adaptation: "people not only adapt to their systems, they adapt their systems to their needs"

we must break down the walls that separate designers and users.

beyond knowledge acquisition: ----> knowledge construction

"Information must be of a value that is greater than the human cost of obtaining and managing it."

utility = value / effort

approaches/ techniques to increase value

- ...............................................

approaches/ techniques to decrease effort

- ...............................................

Question: Making the WWW "Human-Centered"

use the highly interconnected computing infrastructure to leverage the widely distributed collective expertise

Is one of these Approaches more "Human-Centered"?

Skinner/Taylor		L3D
there is a "scientific," best way to learn and to work (programmed instruction, computer-assisted instruction, production lines, waterfall models)	--->	real problems are ill-defined and wicked; design is argumentative, characterized by a symmetry of ignorance among stakeholders
separation of thinking, doing, and learning	--->	integration of thinking, doing, and learning
task domains can be completely understood	--->	understanding is partial; coverage is impossible
objective ways to decompose problems into standardizable actions	--->	subjective, situated personal interests; need for iterative explorations
all relevant knowledge can be explicitly articulated	--->	much knowledge is tacit and relies on tacit skills
teacher / manager as oracle	--->	teacher / manager as facilitator or coach
operational environment: mass markets, simple products and processes, slow change, certainty	--->	customer orientation, complex products and processes, rapid and substantial change, uncertainty and conflicts

What is or is not "Human-Centered" in these Slogans?

computers by themselves will change how we work, learn and collaborate

information is a scarce resource

the content, value, and quality of information and knowledge is improved just because it is offered in multi-media or over the WWW

"ease of use" is the greatest challenge or the most desirable goal for new technologies

every school child will have access to a Nobel Prize winner

Cooperative Problem Solving Systems

the human is good at:

- setting goals

- constructing intentions

the computer is good at:

- details

- computing

human-centered:

- the human in charge

Dimensions of "Human-Centered Automation"

Saying the "Right" Thing at the "Right" Time in
the "Right" Way

"Right" Thing:

- relevant to the task at hand

- ..................................................

"Right" Time:

- intrusiveness

- ..................................................

"Right" Way:

- multi-media

- ..................................................