Andrew Monk

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Fun, communication and dependability extending
the concept of usability
Andrew Monk Department of Psychology University
of York A.Monk_at_psych.york.ac.uk
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Digital technology in the home 1. Digital
communication by voice
1. Digitises speech 2. Transmits speech and
text 3. Contains a database of telephone
numbers 4. Can be slipped in your pocket!
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Digital technology in the home 2. Video
entertainment
SKY Digibox
Microsoft X-Box
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Digital technology in the home 3. Smart homes
Orange at Home
Unlocking the door using your mobile phone
Remote controlled bathroom
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Assistive technology
Fall
Personal alarms
CO
Flood
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New concepts of usability?
Traditional concepts from the work
context Ease-of-learning Low level ease-of-use
Task fit
Concepts for home use? Enjoyment Effective
communication Trust and dependability
How should we develop these new concepts?
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Concepts from the work context Ease-of-learning
-gt Consistency Reversibility
People learn GUIs by exploration
Reversibility
Undo
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Expanding the concept of usability Enjoyment -gt
High engagement (as and individual or a
group) Csikszentmihalyi - "flow" Goffman -
"focussed gathering"
Conditions needed for flow
High engagement is rewarding
Levels in games
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Enjoyment an illustrative design problem The
virtual pub (Multimedia communication as a
recreational activity)
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Participation in the round - turn allocation with
a direct reference
L so what did you do over the weekend, if we
start off with you renie.(.) did you do L
anything exciti(0.2) did you see some?body
nothing at all R no
nothing at all no (croakey) no (.)
no no at all? .h I R just didnt feel like
doing any?think (.) .h I was feel lazy and wore
out h h L did you watch the tennis. L
are you interested in tennis R no no
Im very upset about henman (0.2) I wanted him
to win L mmm (.) so did the wor so did the rest
of Britain I think R
yeah
R I feel so upset about it
R .h as a matter of fact usually if Im
watching em they dont .h they lose so I even R
turned it off so there he wouldnt lose D ah ha
ha ha uh hum
L - Laura D - Dorothea R - Renie I - Ida
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Participation in the round - turn allocation with
a direct reference
R .h as a matter of fact usually if Im watching
em they dont .h they lose so I even R turned it
off so there he wouldnt lose D ah ha ha ha
uh hum L it I I I
its silly isnt it cos I watch an he
loses a point an I have to walk L around the
?gar?den hhh R yeah L cos I think its cos Im
watching him R yeah (0.2) shame L
.hh what about (.) dorothea do you watch
the did you watch the tennis D no I didnt I I
dont watch tennis hh L well your blood pressure
was probly a lot calmer than mine and roses
then D
ah
Ha Ha Ha Ha hh D hh hh R hh hh L .hh did
you see it did you have visitors at the
week?end D well er like er my son pop D
round an you know stay with me for (.) for few
hours and er that was all what I D was doing
(laughing) nothing else
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Engagement in the conversation - a "focussed
gathering" (Goffman)
L oh yes and which is what is your favourite
author I ye I (0.2) (sniff) well i like er
daniel steele Loh yes yes I
or catherine cookson L oh YEs yes
dorothea and I like catherine cookson D yea
h ((cough)) R thats mar favourit I ( ) I
like L an you as well renie Ryeah I yes
I like er ACHullee there as lot of (.) good books
i like really, L mm R the trouble is with er
books once youve picked them up you dont want to
put R them down do you I NO No L
no L its ( ) I they are good yeah
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Getting into conversation - "A gift to
everyone" The gift is a topic token directed to
everyone and has the potential to put the giver
in a position of utterance recipiency
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Enjoyment -gt High engagement (as and individual
or a group) -gt concepts yes guidelines
some principles X -gt inventions some -gt
experiments (manipulations and measures)
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Expanding the concept of usability other
components of enjoyment Enjoyment -gt High
engagement (as and individual or a
group) (Aesthetic attraction) (Narrative
completion)
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Decomposing enjoyment? Aesthetic Attraction
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Frohlich Murphy
Decomposing enjoyment? Narrative Frivolity
Smart pill
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Effective communication -gt Interpersonal
awareness Fluent turn allocation Deixis
Conversation is a cooperative activity Clark, 1996
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Effective communication -gt Interpersonal
awareness Fluent turn allocation Deixis
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Interpersonal awareness
Who is there? Are they attending to me? Did they
understand what I said? Are they in
agreement? (Clark 1996)
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Effective communication -gt Interpersonal
awareness Fluent turn allocation Deixis
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Trust and dependability -gt Safety (new things
to avoid)
Unlocking the door using your mobile phone
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Exploring the use of dependability arguments from
process control, e.g., flight deck
Work through these in context of this examining
risk of any of these
List of generic bad outcomes Controlled flight
into terrain Failure of all engines ... (about
20, rarely changed)
(New) configuration of technology or
sociotechnical system Existing 747 cockpit with
printed comms from ATC instead of voice (data
link) details
List of scenarios Change of course details
(roles and process) Normal landing Emergency
landing ...
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Hazard Analysis in the home?
Work through these in context of this examining
risk of any of these
List of generic bad outcomes Loneliness Personal
injury ...
(New) configuration of technology or
sociotechnical system Miss B's bungalow with
added door and window openers in context of care
provided by ... and Miss B's abilities. details
List of scenarios Installation of AT details
(roles and process) Preparing food and clean
up Getting up ...
We don't have this list
ADLs give some of this
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First thoughts activities in the home (sources
ADLs additions)
Dressing Grooming Laundry Food
preparation Eating and drinking Washing
up Housework (cleaning) Using the
telephone Socialising in the flat Socialising
outside of the flat Entertainment (e.g., watching
TV)
Getting up Moving from one room to
another Transferring from bed to chair Using
steps and stairs Letting visitors in and
out Leaving the house Entering the house Self
medication Buying food Washing oneself Toileting
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Trust and dependability -gt Safety (new things
to avoid)
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Adverse consequences of everyday living for older
people
Damage to property e.g., Fire, Flood,
Infestation, Burglary. Injury to the person e.g.,
Falls, Burns, Cuts, Electric shock, Overdose,
Under dose, Food poisoning, Hypothermia,
Overexertion, Attack on person. Medical
conditions e.g., Infection, Stroke, Heart Attack,
Incontinence, Obesity, Malnutrition. Social or
psychological condition e.g., Isolation, Debt,
Depression, Fear, Boredom, Lack of privacy,
Discrimination. Exclusion from services e.g., No
food in house, No medical and social support, No
access to transport.
Traditional hazards
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Robot care bears for the elderly The sleepy town
of Kourien on the outskirts of Osaka in western
Japan is home to the world's first hi-tech
retirement home. The 106-bed facility run by
Matsushita Electrics, called Sincere Kourien,
features robot bears whose sole purpose is to
watch over the elderly residents. The bears
monitor patients' response times to spoken
questions. They record how long they spend
performing various tasks, before relaying
conclusions to staff or alerting them to
unexpected changes.
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Conclusions
We can and should expand the concept of usability.
Conventional conceptions of usability Ease-of-lear
ning Low level ease-of-use Task
fit Enjoyment High engagement (as an individual
or as a group) (Aesthetic attraction) (Narrative
completeness) Effective communication Interpersona
l awareness Fluent turn allocation Deixis Trust
and Dependability Safety (New things to avoid)
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Conclusions
We can and should expand the concept of
usability. Designing technology for the home is
a stimulus for change but the new concepts will
also be applicable in other contexts, e.g.,
enjoyable software in the office. We are only at
the beginning of this process.
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Acknowledgements
Gordon Baxter Jan Blom Mark Blythe David
Grayson Darren Reed Hokyoung Ryu Peter
Wright www.yorkusabilityresearch.org