Broadening%20Access%20to%20Statistical%20Data%20by%20Improving%20User%20Interfaces%20%20Ben%20Shneiderman%20Founding%20Director,%20Human-Computer%20Interaction%20Laboratory%20%20Professor,%20Department%20of%20Computer%20Science%20Member,%20Institutes%20for%20Advanced%20Computer%20Studies%20

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Broadening Access to Statistical Data by
Improving User InterfacesBen Shneiderman
Founding Director, Human-Computer Interaction
Laboratory Professor, Department of Computer
ScienceMember, Institutes for Advanced Computer
Studies Systems ResearchUniversity of
Maryland, College Park(ben_at_cs.umd.edu)
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Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
Interdisciplinary research community -
Computer Science Psychology - Information
Studies Education
(www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)
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Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly)

• Specify users and tasks
• Predict and measure (theory-driven,
  hypothesis-testing)
• 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

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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 usableweb.com hcibib.org
useit.com
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Library of Congress

• Scholars, Journalists, Citizens
• Teachers, Students

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Visible Human Explorer (NLM)

• Doctors
• Surgeons
• Researchers
• Students

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NASA Environmental Data

• Scientists
• Farmers
• Land planners
• Students

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LifeLines
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Children as Our Design Partners
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Zoomable User Interfaces (ZUIs)
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Bureau of Census

• Economists, Policy makers, Journalists
• Teachers, Students

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Snap-Together Visualization

• Allow coordination designers to create novel
  layouts that combine existing visualizations
• Allow users to navigate large datasets
  conveniently

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Census Statistics with Maps
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Treemap - Stock market, clustered by industry
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Universal Usability

• Problem Confusion, frustration, and remorse
  dominate user experiences
• Survey of 6000 users finds 5.1 hours/week wasted
• Incompatible files, interfaces, networks,
  hardware
• Poorly designed websites lacking accessibility
  policy
• Solutions
• Raise user expectations
• Conduct research
• Provide practical tools methods

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Universal Usability

• Problem Confusion, frustration, and remorse
  dominate user experiences
• Survey of 6000 users finds 5.1 hours/week wasted
• Incompatible files, interfaces, networks,
  hardware
• Poorly designed websites lacking accessibility
  policy
• Solutions
• Raise user expectations
• Conduct research
• Provide practical tools methods

Skeptics corner - Dumbing down - Lowest
common denominator
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ACM Code of Ethics

• In 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.

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Internet Use by Education - 1998

• Percent of U.S. Households Using the Internet
  Total U.S., Rural, Urban, and Central City Areas

Falling Through the Net Defining the Digital
Divide www.ntia.doc.gov
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Internet Use by Income - 1998

• Percent of U.S. Households Using the Internet
  Total U.S., Rural, Urban, and Central City Areas

Falling Through the Net Defining the Digital
Divide www.ntia.doc.gov
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• Technology variety Support broad range of
  hardware, software, and network access

Device Independence Input keyboard,
speech,... Output visual, auditory,...
Conversion Text-speech Speech-text,...
1 to 100 range in processor speeds 286 486
Pentium
1 to 100 range in screen sizes Palm
devices Laptops Large Desktop or Wall
Display 30,000 480,000
3,840,000 pixels
Software Versions Compatibility File
conversion Multiple platforms
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• User diversity Accommodate different users

Language Culture Western, Eastern,
developing... Personality Introvert vs
extravert Thinking vs feeling Risk aversion
Locus of control Planful vs playful
Disabilities Visual, auditory, motoric,
cognitiveDisabling conditions Mobility,
injury, noise, sunlight
Age Young to old Gender Male or
Female Income Impoverished to wealthy
Skills Computer newbie to hacker Knowledge
Domain novice to expert
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Gaps in User Knowledge - Strategies

• Bridge the gap between what users know and what
  they need to know

Online Learning (evolutionary, phased)
Introductory tutorials Getting started manuals,
Cue cards Walkthroughs/Demos
Minimalist/Active
Design Layered Level-structured
Task-oriented
Training Fade-able scaffolding Training
wheels Minimalist
Online help Context sensitive, tables of
contents, Indexes, Keyword search, FAQs,
Newsgroups, Chat rooms Online communities
Customer service Email Phone Help desks
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ACM Conference on Universal Usability
Washington, DC November
16-17, 2000 www.acm.org/sigchi/cuu
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Broadening Access to Census Data

• Dynamaps
• Speeds exploration of geographic data
• Facilitates comparisons visibility of extremes
• Query Previews
• Speeds exploration of statistical data
• Facilitates study of distributions of data
• Table browser
• Speeds exploration of tabular data
• Facilitates understanding of data patterns

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Dynamap
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Dynamap
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Dynamap
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Broadening Access to Census Data

• Dynamaps
• Speeds exploration of geographic data
• Facilitates comparisons visibility of extremes
• Query Previews
• Speeds exploration of statistical data
• Facilitates study of distributions of data
• Table browser
• Speeds exploration of tabular data
• Facilitates understanding of data patterns

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Problems with Browsing Large Online Tables
Universal Relation gtgt 1000 Tuples
Hard to see overview, gaps, and clusters or find
answers to questions without many zero or mega
hit queries and large unnecessary downloads
e.g. 1997 US Economic Census Data, for
Counties more than 3000 Tuples
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Conclusions

• Visual presentation of data
• Visual manipulation of data
• Continuous immediate feedback on actions
• Easily reversible actions
• Error prevention instead of error correction
• Better network performance
• No zero/mega hit queries
• Loading only the metadata prior to query
  submission

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Broadening Access to Census Data

• Dynamaps
• Speeds exploration of geographic data
• Facilitates comparisons visibility of extremes
• Query Previews
• Speeds exploration of statistical data
• Facilitates study of distributions of data
• Table browser
• Speeds exploration of tabular data
• Facilitates understanding of data patterns

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Thomas Jefferson

• I feel... an ardent desire to see knowledge
  so disseminated through the mass of mankind that
  it may...reach even the extremes of society
  beggars and kings.
• -- Reply to American Philosophical Society,
  1808

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ACM Conference on Universal Usability
Washington, DC November
16-17, 2000 www.acm.org/sigchi/cuu
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Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
(www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)
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References

• Hert, C.A. (1999). Federal Statistical Website
  Users And Their Tasks Investigations Of
  AvenuesTo Facilitate Access Final Report to the
  United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  Available at http//istweb.syr.edu/hert/BLSphase
  3.PDF
• Hert, C.A. (1998). FedStats Users and Their
  Tasks Providing Support and Learning Tools
  Final Report to the United States Bureau of Labor
  Statistics. Available at http//istweb.syr.edu/h
  ert/BLSphase2.html
•  
• Haas, S.W. and Hert, C.A. (2000). Terminology
  Development and Organization in Multi-Community
  Environments The Case of Statistical
  Information. In Soergel, D. (ed.) Proc. 11th
  ASIST SIG/CR Classification Research Workshop.
  Chicago, IL, November 12, 2000, p. 51-72
• Hert, C.A. and Marchionini, G. (1997). Seeking
  Statistical Information in Federal Websites
  Users, Tasks, Strategies, and Design
  Recommendations Final Report to the Bureau of
  Labor Statistics. http//ils.unc.edu/march/blsr
  eport/mainbls.html
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• Marchionini, G. (1998) Advanced Interface Designs
  for the BLS Website Final Report to the Bureau
  of Labor Statistics. http//ils.unc.edu/march/bl
  sreport98/final_report.html
• Marchionini, G. (1999). An Alternative Site Map
  Tool for The FedStats Statistical Website.
  http//ils.unc.edu/march/bls_final_report99.pdf
• Marchionini, G. (2000). From Overviews to
  Previews to Answers Integrated Interfaces for
  Federal Statistics Report to the Bureau of Labor
  Statistics, June 30, 2000 http//ils.unc.edu/marc
  h/bls_final_report_99-00.pdf