Victor Kaptelinin 2002-11-08 Activity theory and HCI
Dec 19, 2015
Outline
Introduction
Two waves of HCI
Post-cognitivist HCI: Second-wave theories
Activity theory as a middle ground
An overview of basic principles
The Activity Checklist
UMEA
Wave I: The cognitive approach
The focus on user interface
Experimental studies of factors underlying efficient human-computer interaction
Models of the user
Usability criteria and techniques
Wave II:From human factors to human actors (Bannon, 1991)
From product to process in research and design
From individuals to groups
From the laboratory to the workplace
From novices to experts
From analysis to design
From user-centered to user-involved design
From user requirements specifications to iterative design
Wave III: Beyond...
Beyond work: learning, play, entertainmentBeyond adults: Children as design partnersBeyond general purpose computers: Ubiquitous computingBeyond tools: Persuasive technologies, etc.Beyond HCI: web design, interaction design, etc.… and beyond
From UI to work to life...
user(s) UI
worker(s)
human being(s)
tool
artifact
understanding
designingevaluating
informing
What is activity theory?
A psychological approach based on cultural-historical psychology
An interdisciplinary framework
An approach to the complex phenomena of purposeful use of information technologies by individual and groups in social context
What activity theory is not
Activity theory is a framework for thinking about activity, not a finished body of a theoryA conceptual framework, not strongly predictive theoryAn analytical tool, not a cookbook for design and evaluation
Why activity theory?
The extending scope of HCI and CSCW research
Studying context (from ”Situated actions” to ”Contextual Design” and beyond)
Focus on ”user experiences”
HCI and CSCW in search of a conceptual framework
A summary of the basic principles of activity theory
Object - relatednessHierarchical structure of activityInternalization/externalizationMediationDevelopment
Object - relatedness
Subject and objectUnity of material and ideal world.Another example: become a doctor
transform one’s own mind and body to enact medical skills
Hierarchical structure of activity
Activities and motives conscious and unconscious
Actions and goals conscious
Operations and conditions unconscious, habitual
Poly-motivation
Internalization/ externalization
Mental processes vs. external behaviorThe nature and functions of internalizationThe nature and functions of externalizationIntra-subjectivity vs. inter-subjectivityInternal/external and individual/social: two separate dimensions of human activity
Two dimensions of human activity
internal
external
individual - social
Image of the World
Internal Plane ofActions
instrumentalactivity
multi-voicedness
communication
collaboration
Mediation
Language and technology mediate human experience Accumulation and transmission of social experienceMediation of external and internal activitiesTechnical tools and psychological toolsFunctional organs
Development
Object of study and research methodologyPractice as a result of historical developmentTypes of development and methods of their studyZone of Proximal Development
The Zone of Proximal Development
"The distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers"
Lev Vygotsky
Beyond individual activities
Hierarchy of motives
Collective subjects and activity systems : two perspectives on supra-individual activities
Basic principles of activity theory: A summary
Tools are used by active subjects (individuals, groups, organizations) who interact with the world to achieve their goalsSubjects have hierarchies of goals which reflect, on the one hand, higher-level objectives and their tradeoffs, and, on the other hand, available resourcesSubjects are shaped by their activities—having an impact on their social/cultural environment, subjects impact themselvesHuman experience is crystallized in tools and is transmitted to other people by mediating their activitiesHuman activities undergo various kinds of developmental transformations
A historical overview
1991 "Through the interface" by Susanne Bødker1992 Plenary session at the EWHCI'92 Conference (S. Petersburg, Russia)1995 A workshop at the Third Decennial "Computers in Context" Conference (Aarhus, Denmark)1996 Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human-Computer Interaction, MIT Press, ed., Bonnie Nardi
1998 ISCRAT Conference, June 7-11, Denmark
2001 Special Issue Journal CSCW on activity theory and design, B. Nardi and D. Redmiles, eds.
2002 ISCRAT Conference, 18-22 June, Amsterdamaz
AT and HCI:Main directions of research
Retrospective analyses based on activity theoryComputer-Supported Cooperative WorkComputer-Supported Collaborative LearningParticipatory design, scenario-based design, and industrial designActivity-based workplace studies and designInterface designDevelopmental work researchInformation systems
The overall structure of the Checklist
Part 1. Means and ends
Part 2. The environment
Part 3. Learning, cognition and articulation
Part 4. Development
Part 1. Means and ends
Human beings have hierarchies of goals which emerge from attempts to meet their needs under current circumstances. Understanding the use of any technology should start with identifying the goals of target actions, which are relatively explicit, and then extending the scope of analysis both "up" (to higher-level actions and activities) and "down" (to lower level actions and operations).
Part 2. The environment
Human beings live in the social, cultural world. They achieve their motives and goals by active transformation of objects in their environments. This section of the checklist identifies the objects involved in target activities and constitutes the environment of the use of target technology.
Activities include both internal (mental) and
external components which can transform into
each other. Computer systems should support
both internalization of new ways of action and
articulation of mental processes, when
necessary, to facilitate problem solving and
social coordination
Part 3. Learning, cognition and articulation
Activities undergo permanent developmental
transformations. Analysis of the history of
target activities can help to reveal the main
factors influencing the development. Analysis
of potential changes in the environment can
help to anticipate their effect on the structure
of target activities
Part 4. Development
Main issues in analysis
Functionality
Flexibility
Learning
Collaboration
Personal/ Social Spaces
Breakdowns
User resistance
Power differences
etc
Space mission as an activity: the case of Apollo 13
collective activity
“pre-processed activity”
shift from one activity to another after the breakdown
Suggestions
Suggestion 1: Video monitoring of Apollo 13 from the inside and the outside, so that people at Mission Control could watch the spacecraft and the astronauts.Suggestion 2: Shared goal-specific representations indicating sub-goals, priorities, distribution of responsibilities, and available resources. Suggestion 3: Support of decision making (primarily by the head of Mission Control and those immediately responsible for the decision) with explicit representation of options and consequences associated with a specific problem.Suggestion 4: Support of meaningful interpretation of instrumentation dataSuggestion 5: Dedicated human assistants for astronautsSuggestion 6: Systematic preliminary check of potential conflicts and breakdowns at each phase of the mission
UMEA: User-Monitoring Environment for Activities
Applications as environments: Coping with multiple information hierarchies
Supporting Higher-Level User Actions: Existing Approaches Personal information management systems Dedicated project spaces Non-hierarchical information space architectures
The UMEA approach: Converting interaction histories into project contexts
Rationale
minimize overhead and make the benefits of creating project environments apparent to the user;
integrate personal information management, communication, and management of tools and materials;
capitalize upon actual work practices of users.
Architecture
overview
project context
PIM tools
MS Office
COM add-in DLL
project-tagged interaction history
7
6
5
4
2
1 resource lists
3
User interface: Minimized overview
project panel
resource panel
”maximize”button
fol – ders
con -tacts
URLs
docu -ments
project icons
resourcemenu
buttons
An example use scenario
-- the user launches the UMEA application;decides, which project to focus on;selects a project and opens necessary resources;continues working on the project, i.e., opens and saves documents, sends emails, etc; file names, etc, are automatically added to respective lists of resources; PIM entries are automatically linked to the project; when the user switches to another project, he or she gets an immediate access to PIM tools and resources related to that project.
Main advantages
an access to various types of resources related to a project “from one place”,
an overview of ongoing projects,
a possibility to instantly switch back and forth between projects, and
the help provided by the system in recalling the context of a project, which made it easier to resume working on the project after a break.
Main problems
the need to manually clean up resource lists and/or interaction histories from time to time to delete irrelevant items,
some participants experienced difficulties with understanding the user interface and the functionality of the system