Broadening Access to Statistical Data by Improving User Interfaces Ben Shneiderman Founding Director, Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Professor, Department of Computer Science Member, Institutes for Advanced.
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Broadening Access to Statistical Data by Improving User Interfaces Ben Shneiderman Founding Director, Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Professor, Department of Computer Science Member, Institutes for Advanced Computer Studies & Systems Research University of Maryland, College Park ([email protected]) Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Interdisciplinary research community - Computer Science & Psychology - Information Studies & Education (www.cs.umd.edu/hcil) 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 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 Library of Congress Scholars, Journalists, Citizens Teachers, Students Visible Human Explorer (NLM) Doctors Surgeons Researchers Students NASA Environmental Data Scientists Farmers Land planners Students LifeLines Children as Our Design Partners Zoomable User Interfaces (ZUIs) Bureau of Census Economists, Policy makers, Journalists Teachers, Students Snap-Together Visualization Allow coordination designers to create novel layouts that combine existing visualizations Allow users to navigate large datasets conveniently Census Statistics with Maps Treemap - Stock market, clustered by industry 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 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 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. 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 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 Technology variety: Support broad range of hardware, software, and network access 1 to 100 range in processor speeds 286 486 Pentium 1 to 100 range in screen sizes Palm devices 30,000 Device Independence Input: keyboard, speech,... Output: visual, auditory,... Conversion: Text-speech Speech-text,... Software Versions Laptops 480,000 Large Desktop or Wall Display 3,840,000 pixels 1 to 100 range in network bandwidth 9.6K 56K 10,000Kbps Compatibility File conversion Multiple platforms 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 Skills Computer newbie to hacker Knowledge Domain novice to expert Disabilities Visual, auditory, motoric, cognitive Disabling conditions Mobility, injury, noise, sunlight Age Young to old Gender Male or Female Income Impoverished to wealthy Gaps in User Knowledge - Strategies Bridge the gap between what users know and what they need to know Online Learning Design Layered Level-structured Task-oriented (evolutionary, phased) Introductory tutorials Getting started manuals, Cue cards Walkthroughs/Demos Minimalist/Active 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 ACM Conference on Universal Usability Washington, DC November 16-17, 2000 www.acm.org/sigchi/cuu 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 Dynamap Dynamap Dynamap 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 Problems with Browsing Large Online Tables Universal Relation >> 1000 Tuples e.g. 1997 US Economic Census Data, for Counties: more than 3000 Tuples Hard to see overview, gaps, and clusters or find answers to questions without many zero or mega hit queries and large unnecessary downloads 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 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 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 ACM Conference on Universal Usability Washington, DC November 16-17, 2000 www.acm.org/sigchi/cuu Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (www.cs.umd.edu/hcil) 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/BLSphase3.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/~hert/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 ASIS&T 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/blsreport/mainbls.html Marchionini, G. (1998) Advanced Interface Designs for the BLS Website: Final Report to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://ils.unc.edu/~march/blsreport98/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/~march/bls_final_report_99-00.pdf