Companies and user-testing

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User experience: why do so many organizations believe they own it? report from a Silicon Valley gathering by Fred Sampson is a great account about a meeting that focused on usability in private companies.

Dear Dr. Usability, I am working for a client who does not want to conduct user research. He just wants me to start giving him page designs for his Web site. This potential client has a specific audience in mind: Vegetarian Veterinarians. Shouldn’t I insist on doing some user research before giving him what he wants? It would be unprofessional to just give him designs without some research supporting their value. —Worried Contractor in Connecticut

A database of corporate commands

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(via), the Institute of Infinitely Small Things is lauching a new interesting project that aims at creting a database open to submissions of corporate commands from researchers around the world.

WHAT IS A CORPORATE COMMAND? A Corporate Command is an instruction work, a call to action in the form of an imperative: "Just Do It" "Turn on the Future" "Live without Limits" "Tap into great taste" "Think different" "Ride the light" "Live Like You Mean It" It is the hypothesis of the Institute for Infinitely Small Things that these commands, largely and consciously ignored by a public over-saturated with advertisements, function at the scale of the infinitely small. (...) By compiling, tabulating, concretizing and enacting these commands in the International Database of Corporate Commands (IDCC), the Institute for Infinitely Small Things seeks to better understand the mechanisms behind this deployment of power and its larger cultural ramifications.

Pedestrian and street simulation

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Jamie's simulation seems very appealing. Jamie's work is related to the study of social relationships found in urban areas, as well as the design of proper system to distribute content within a local community (the distibution will be based on collocation events). To meet this end, he built a computer simulation of to provide the artificial collocation data upon which an information sharing application can be developed.
This is an agent-based simulation where each agent represents a pedestrian moving about the city. The spatial representation is basically a graph: a "semi-realistic street grid upon which the agents will move". Using a grid could take advantage of the space syntax methodology. The complete methodology is described in his 9th month phd report. Since Jamie is dubious about whether or not he should make this document public, I don't describe how he did this. Why do I blog this? The simulation architecture is really smart. I am interested in this sort of things to simulate the catchbob activity (or a simpler version of this collaborative treasure hunt). Don't know whether it is possible or not. The point would be to have this kind of simulation and to add a collaborative feature on it. I mean, implementing a mutual modeling feature that modify the agents' behavior depending on various components like: each agent's position, common knowledge... (personal traits?)... This said, it's just random thought here, I absolutely don't know how to code this sort of stuff. I'm just dreaming here...
Anyway, this is very stimulating, what do you think about this jamie? :)

UK UbiNet Summer School resources

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Last summer was the UK UbiNet Summer School. There are plenty of documents worth to have a glance at.

UK-UbiNet is an EPSRC funded network of research in the U.K. in the area of Ubiquitous Computing. The community covers many aspects of research into ubiquitous computing, including networks, sensors, distributed systems, interaction, social factors, security and theory. This summer school is mostly aimed at training 1st year PhD students and RAs who are new to the area. It will provide an overview of the current research and topics of interest in the field.

RePast: a simulation toolkit

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I turned myself into simulation lately. When you're not a tech person, it's hard something that can both fit your needs and be simple. Let's have a look at RePast.

Our goal with Repast is to move beyond the representation of agents as discrete, self-contained entities in favor of a view of social actors as permeable, interleaved, and mutually defining; with cascading and recombinant motives. We intend to support the modeling of belief systems, agents, organizations, and institutions as recursive social constructions.

About geosimulation

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I might read this book: Geosimulation: Automata-based modeling of urban phenomena by Itzhak Benenson and Paul Torrens. Don't know whether it is highly technical or readable for nontech person like me.

Introduction to Urban GeosimulationFormalizing Geosimulation with Geographic Automata Systems (GAS) System Theory, Geography, and Urban Modeling Modeling Urban Land-Use with Cellular Automata Modeling Urban Dynamics with Multiagent Systems Finale: Epistemology of Geosimulation Bibliography Index

Why do I blog this? It may be great to have a computer model of spatial relations for my phd. I am wondering about the granularity of such geosimulation, more focused on big groups (because of geographical concerns). I am more concerned with small grousp acting in small portion of space. Besides, I don't code :(

Confessions of a Technologist who has worked with Psychologists, Artists, Designers, and other Creatures Who are Strange to Me

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Randy Pausch is going to be keynote speaker at CHI 2005. His talk (entitled Confessions of a Technologist who has worked with Psychologists, Artists, Designers, and other Creatures Who are Strange to Me) will deal with a smart issue: Cross-disciplinary collaboration is hard.. He worked as a computer scientists on various projects,c ollaborating with psychologists (to evaluate VR design), designers, artists, neursurgeons... and he found out that:

Some highlights from the talk regarding Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration:

  1. Shotgun marriages don't work
  2. Neither side can be there "in service of" the other
  3. It takes time, patience, and courage
  4. A goal that is "above" either discipline really helps
  5. Different disciplines have different values, moral and otherwise

Onomy interactive table/wall

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A new interactive table + wall that Scott Minneman pointed me! Scott is the CTO of Onomy, an american company specialized in the design of interactive systems. Thanks to Onomy's Interactive Wall, users now have the opportunity to explore a scene or graphic in a very engaging new way. In the first installation, they move the monitor around a diorama of the city -- on the monitor, parts of the city 'come alive' and animate scenes of how the city is being changed by wireless and network technologies. They also have several tables that rocks like this one. What is even more interesting is their research-based approach:

When embarking upon the development of a new technology, we engage in "genre-based design." This methodology begins by analyzing the genre of the design situation to determine the relevant cultural conventions that (1) govern the social situation of use and deployment, (2) shape user/visitor expectations, and (3) ultimately influence the symbolic meaning of the new technology.

A genre defines not only the technological form, but also the social framework for the experience of the technology. We methodically analyze both the formal and informal conventions that influence the meaning of technology. Based on this analysis, we augment the scope and objectives of the design problem, and proceed to create a genre-sensitive design for the form and interaction of the new technology.

Why do I blog this? because we're into interactive tables recently because of the learning center project + the workshop we're organizing about it.

A location-augmented cell phone for kids

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mymo is a bright coloured plastic mobile phone designed for children and, with just 3 buttons controlling all the functions. The phone can only hold 5 pre-programmed numbers, so kids will be limited in who they can call. There is a location service that allows parents to locate the owner. Why do blog this? I am just wondering about it's going to be used, especially the location feature. I like the 3-buttons thing, it reminds me lowtech remote control.

PLAN compiled notes/followup

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I extracted from our PLAN running notes what can be useful to my research

  1. steve benford: interweaving physical and digital interaction (for instance mobile participants with online players) ; studying emerging tech in the wild (ethnographic methods)
  2. mathew chalmers (uni glasgow): geolocation tech limits -> how people can reveal those seams/limits/gaps so that people can find their own way to deal with them, seamful design. In CYSMN: runners experienced the seams between GPS and city streets (precise positioning in open areas, jittery positioning in the 'shadow' of buildings), then runners developed their own tactics to taje advantage of system errors! Players wait in areas of poor GPS and lure online players into the open areas. - People not only accommodate this, but exploit it. a variant of their game played at night with electrolumiscent panels on jacket sleeve (should show how many coins you're carrying). Variants - found wi fi doesnt go so far: Rain, Large objects - trucks, Leaves on trees
  3. matt adams: What is relation of place to meaning - especially when you are mobile? What can you make that is meaningful out of that process? locative media is a highly subjective experience, due to weather, differences in GPS signal etc.
  4. richard hull: look at their XML framework (in and out tag to trigger interactions)
  5. Annika Waern: Involving non-players in games: check how they evaluate what happen during their games
  6. duncan campbell: empirical study of location based service: positioning is accurate only in cities, apart from that it's somehow bullshit due to antenna/phone mast repartition
  7. anne galloway: i am interested in "Started mapping a landscape of all these words and practices: research, design, use, networks, processes" + "looking at play in the wireless city", her phd, what did she got from all her analysis
  8. lalya gaye: I would like to know more about their user-testing
  9. andrew wilson: lofi solutions to the problem of fixing location using posters, stickers, beer mats, sticks of rock

It was really nice to meet so many people there in this small amount of time. I thank Drew and Ben for the organisation. Anybody here knows who stole my socks?

PLAN random quotes and buzzwords

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Here are few funny things I heard at <a href="- white/grey/black shadows - thin versus thick interaction - "I bluejack my students phone!" (russel beale) - "mc-gyver type of ubiquitous computing" (lalya gaye) - consensus-based location (?) - "we don't believe in HMD's " (cliff randell) - "The word interaction not so applicable in a wireless environment - how can you interact if you don't know what you're interacting with? We should talk about resonance" (Rob Van Kranenburg) - "phone is the concrete mixer of the 21st century" (andrew wilson)">PLAN:

- white/grey/black shadows - thin versus thick interaction - "I bluejack my students phone!" (russel beale) - "mc-gyver type of ubiquitous computing" (lalya gaye) - "we don't believe in HMD's " (cliff randell) - "The word interaction not so applicable in a wireless environment - how can you interact if you don't know what you're interacting with? We should talk about resonance" (Rob Van Kranenburg) - "phone is the concrete mixer of the 21st century" (andrew wilson)

CRAFT workshop about collaborative/interactive furnitures

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CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ! Our lab isis organising a workshop on artefacts and furniture that can support collaboration. Our goal is to have an informal meeting between researchers involved in designing, producing or experimenting with things such as tables for enhancing group interactions, walls or carpets that reflect group interactions... any roomware or tanglibles that might enhance the life of our students in our future learning center. The workshop will include talks and working sessions. It will be held in a small village of the Swiss Alps on June 20th-22nd 2005 (arrival on 19th). The exact place is not fixed yet, but the local airport will be Geneva. Geneva airport has now many low cost airlines operating across Europe.
If you are interest to joir the CAIF workshop, send us (mauro[dot]cherubini[at]epfl.ch) a short bio and an abstract of your current related work that could be presented. We hope you will accept our invitation and we look foward to meet you in June.
Stay tuned!

Why and how running a newsletter?

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Since lots of people still don't use RSS aggregator, I've came across 2 resources:Basically, why creating a newsletter

  1. Keeping in touch with customers (give them special offers, remind them about your site, ensure loyalty, provide useful links)
  2. Developing relationships with people who have similar interests to you
  3. Providing an industry or group of people with proprietary information
  4. Just for fun!

How do you send a newsletter:

It wouldn't be very fun sending out an email message to 2,000 people every week via your desktop computer. I know there are many people out there who run huge mailing lists that say it works fine, and all that, but really, it isn't the most convenient way to do it. It takes up a lot of your time.

A nice solution is getting someone else to send it out for you. It's easy, fast and usually very cheap, often free. Usually all you do is send one email to their server, and it sends it out to all your subscribers. Very painless. Of course, there is a catch. Most of them will attach a small (or sometimes large) ad to your newsletter. There are a number of companies that offer free newsletter mailing services, including:

  1. Groups Yahoo: From what I have seen, this is one of the best free servers on the Internet.
  2. Listbot: This one has recently been improved... they now support larger messages and also allow your subscribers to sign up via email.

Concept checklist:

  1. What areas are you knowledgeable in?
  2. Can you bring something extra to an already well covered topic? (i.e. gardening)
  3. If not, do you have focused knowledge in a particular niche? (i.e. growing tobacco)
  4. Do you want to make money? If so, is your potential audience really desirable for advertisers? If not, how will you be inspired to keep working on it?
  5. Do you know of any competing newsletters? If so, how is your newsletter going to be different from existing competitors?

Why do I blog this? I've been concerned lately by the topic of 'running a newsletter'. It surely won't be for Pasta and Vinegar, it's more related to a potential start-up project with some folks about futuristic trends.

The next writing paradigm

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The NYT has a very smart column about the coming "tools for thought" that may radically change how people write.

The word processor has changed the way we write, but it hasn't yet changed the way we think. (...) But 2005 may be the year when tools for thought become a reality for people who manipulate words for a living, thanks to the release of nearly a dozen new programs all aiming to do for your personal information what Google has done for the Internet. These programs all work in slightly different ways, but they share two remarkable properties: the ability to interpret the meaning of text documents; and the ability to filter through thousands of documents in the time it takes to have a sip of coffee. Put those two elements together and you have a tool that will have as significant an impact on the way writers work as the original word processors did. (...) What does this mean in practice? Consider how I used the tool in writing my last book, which revolved around the latest developments in brain science. I would write a paragraph that addressed the human brain's remarkable facility for interpreting facial expressions. I'd then plug that paragraph into the software, and ask it to find other, similar passages in my archive. Instantly, a list of quotes would be returned: some on the neural architecture that triggers facial expressions, others on the evolutionary history of the smile, still others that dealt with the expressiveness of our near relatives, the chimpanzees. Invariably, one or two of these would trigger a new association in my head -- I'd forgotten about the chimpanzee connection -- and I'd select that quote, and ask the software to find a new batch of documents similar to it. Before long a larger idea had taken shape in my head, built out of the trail of associations the machine had assembled for me.