Transcript Document 7211203

Why Activity Theory in HCI?
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Reaction against what was viewed as the limitations of
HCI
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The role of the artefact poorly investigated or understood
Focus on novice users
Limited possibility to use task analyses to describe activity
and terms for activity
Focus on automatisation of routine tasks
Focus on one user – one computer
The view on the user as solely object of study
2009-01-20
Helena Lindgren
Activity Theory
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Sources:
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Bertelsen/Bödker, course book chapter 11
Victor Kaptelinin
Susanne Bödker
Yrjö Engeström (”developmental work research” – CHAT)
Origin: Culture-Historical school in former Soviet
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1920-30
Lev Vygotsky
A. N. Leontjev
A. R. Luria
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”The Making of Mind” (1976)
” ...in order to have a theory of brain-behavior relations, it is
necessary to have a theory of both the brain and behavior”.
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Helena Lindgren
Dynamic system theory
subject
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tool
object
Activity: the minimal purposeful context for analysing
human activity
Is characterised by constant change = development
Humans interact with (and change) their environment by
using tools (language, other artefacts, symbols)
Avoids dichotomies
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Two basic ideas
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1) human’s consciousness develops, exists and
can only be understood in the context of the
human’s interaction with the world
2) this interaction – *activity* – is socially and
culturally augmented
“Man’s activity is the substance of his consciousness.”
Leontjev 1977
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Constructs of Activity Theory –
5 keys to understanding human activity
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Object orientedness
Mediation
Hierarchal structure of activity
Internalisation – externalisation
Development
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tool
Object
subject
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object
A human’s activity is oriented towards an object
An entity that exists in the world and can be
studied with objective methods
Can be things or humans, theories, models,
ideas, social or cultural phenomenon
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tool
Mediating tools
subject
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Tools form the way we interact with reality
When external tools are shaped, internal are also shaped
Tools mirror earlier users’ experiences
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object
The physical properties of the tool
Knowledge about how the tool is to be used
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Tools can be physical or psychological
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The situation determines whether an artefact functions as a tool
that mediates activity (not focus for the activity) or functions as an
object for activity. A transformation can take place....
Tool
object
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Hierarchal Structure of Activity
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Activity (verksamhet)
transformation
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Actions (aktivitet)
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Performed consciously, goal-driven
Consists of:
Operations (operationer)
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Fulfills a motive, behind which a need exists. A person may not
be aware of the need but the motive, or purpose
Is identified by identifying what object the activity is directed
towards that is to be modified/changed -> the motive
Consists of:
Performed without thought, do not have own goals
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transformation
Internalisation
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Internal activities – cognition
External activities (executed outside the body) can be
internalised (ex calculation)
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Externalisation
Verksamheten som helhet är viktig i denna process; tex
motorisk aktivitet, användandet av artefakter
Internal activities can be externalised for the purpose
of involving others in the activity
This continuous transformation is viewed as the base
for human cognition and activity
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The 5 constructs once again...
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Activity is directed towards an object to be
modified/changed
Tools mediate activity
Dynamic and hierarchal structure of activity
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subject
object
Verksamhet (activity)
Aktivitet (action)
Operation (operation)
Internalisation – externalisation of activity
Development
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tool
Conflicts – ”breakdowns”
ZPD
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“design of a computer application is
design of conditions for the whole use activity.”
Bödker 1999
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All keys are needed to understand the activity:
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What is the activity?
What is the object?
What is the motive?
What are the tools? (internal-external)
How are the above-mentioned changed? (identify
breakdowns)
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...even if focus lies on one of the phenomenon, e.g., the
system as mediating tool in the use context...
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Or was the system the object..?
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Development
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What triggers these transformations?
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Conflicts built into activity systems
Changes in the environment
 Changes in an individual’s abilities or resources
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Causes ”breakdowns” -> transformations ->
development, is viewed as something positive!
Development is viewed as a general research
methodology – ”formative experiment”
ZPD – ”Zone of proximal development”
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Levels of development in an individual
(only intresting in relation to an activity)
Beyond ZPD
Zone of Proximal Development - ZPD
Autonomous / independent
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Engeström’s ”Activity System”
Tool
subject
object
Rules / routines
Outcome
Division of labour
Society / work environment / team
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Contradictions (Engeström)
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Types of contradictions
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1) resources vs demands of results
2) Internally within the system
3) towards ”neighbour” activities
4) contradictions between how the activity is
performed today and how it potentially may be
performed in the future
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”Web of activities”
Tool producing
activity
Subject producing
activity
Future more developed
central activity
Rule producing
activity
Central activity
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Earlier projects: Examples
– What is the activity?
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Volvo: Montering vs. lager
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Verksamhet: Montering
Aktiviteter: montering av objekt A-Ö, beställning av fler objekt vid brist
Operationer: skruva, ”skjuta”, hämta
Handdator, monteringsverktyg, lista
linjemontör
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Hytt
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Färdig,
felfri
hytt
Helena Lindgren
Verksamhet: Hantera material som ska levereras till linjen
Aktiviteter: Ta emot beställningar, hämta varor, leverera varor,
fylla på varor i lager, beställa varor från leverantörer
Operationer: manövrera truck, dator, kolla streckkoder
dator, truck, lista, kodnummer, vagnar
Materialhantering
truckförare
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Rätt
material
levereras
i tid till
minsta
möjliga
kostnad?
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Verksamhet: Systemförvaltning
Aktiviteter: Uppdatera system, upprätta förvaltningsplan,
identifiera informationsflöden
Operationer: manövrera dator, applikationer, ...
Lotus-notes, pärm m förvaltningsplaner, kommunikationshjm, egna scheman
Friktionsfri,
säker
220 system
systemanvändning
ute i
verksamheter
Systemförvaltare
Regler
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Systemägare,
tekniker, användare
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Organisation
Helena Lindgren
The course from an activitytheoretical perspective
verktyg
subjekt
objekt
regler / rutiner
resultat
arbetsfördelning
samhälle / arbetsplats
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”Crystallized” Activity Theory
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Checklists
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Bödker (fig 11.8)
Korpela et al. (fig 11.9)
Focus and focus shift (fig 11.10)
Activity checklist
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Kaptelinin Victor, Nardi Bonnie, Macaulay C. The
Activity Checklist: A Tool for Representing the “Space”
of Context. Interactions, july, august 1999
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Contributions of Activity Theory to HCI
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Extending the scope of HCI
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HCI needs to move focus from only ”human factors” towards
the wider perspective ”human actors”
Collective learning
Knowledge generation
Shift from byrocratic to dynamic organisations
”action research”
Adding dynamic properties to previously over-simplified
concepts like transparency, affordance, direct
manipulation
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Helena Lindgren
Literature Tips
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Bödker, Susanne (1989), "A human activity apporach to user interfaces",
Human-Computer Interaction, Ch. 4, pp 171-195.
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Hasu Mervi, Engeström Yrjö (1999), "Measurement in Action: An
Activity-Theoretical Perspective on Producer-User Interaction".
http://www.edu.helsinki.fi/activity/people/mervi.htm
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Kaptelinin Victor, Nardi Bonnie, Macaulay C. (1999) “The Activity
Checklist: A Tool for Representing the “Space” of Context”. Interactions,
july, august, 1999
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Kaptelinin Victor, Nardi Bonnie. “Acting with Technology – Activity
Theory and Interaction Design”. The MIT Press (2007)
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