Activity-centered design: an ecological approach to designing smart tools and usable systems

The shift in the practice of human-computer interaction (HCI) Design from user-centered to context-based design marks a significant change in focus. With context-based design, designers start not with a preconceived idea of what users should do, but with an understanding of what users actually do. C...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gay, Geri
Other Authors: Hembrooke, Helene
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press 2004
Series:Acting with technology
Links:https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/1085.001.0001?locatt=mode:legacy
Summary:The shift in the practice of human-computer interaction (HCI) Design from user-centered to context-based design marks a significant change in focus. With context-based design, designers start not with a preconceived idea of what users should do, but with an understanding of what users actually do. Context-based design focuses on the situation in which the technology will be used -- the activities relating to it and their social contexts. Designers must also realize that introduction of the technology itself changes the situation; in order to design workable systems, the design process must become flexible and adaptive. In Activity-Centered Design, Geri Gay and Helene Hembrooke argue that it is time to develop new models for HCI design that support not only research and development but also investigations into the context and motivation of user behavior. Gay and Hembrooke examine the ongoing interaction of computer systems use, design practice, and design evaluation, using the concepts of activity theory and related methods as a theoretical framework. Among the topics they discuss are the reciprocal relationship between the tool and the task, how activities shape the requirements of particular tools and how the application of the tools begins to reshape the activity; differing needs and expectations of participants when new technology is introduced, examining in particular the integration of wireless handheld devices into museums and learning environments; and the effect of the layout of the computing space on movement, function, and social interaction. Gay and Hembrooke then apply their findings on the use of technology in everyday contexts to inform future HCI design practice.
Physical Description:1 Online-Ressource (xxi, 111 Seiten) Illustrationen
ISBN:0262251817
0262256223
128209632X
1417560495
6612096322
9780262251815
9780262256223
9781282096325
9781417560493
9786612096327