Tuesday 4 March, 2008 -- Dr Sharon Oviatt (Adapx, Seattle, WA) -- 2 pm GPS 78-420
Title: Implicit User-Adaptive System Engagement in Speech, Pen and Multimodal Systems
Abstract: As emphasis is placed on developing mobile, educational, and other applications that minimize cognitive load on users, it is becoming more essential to base interface design on implicit engagement techniques so users can remain focused on their tasks. In this research, data were collected with 12 pairs of students who solved complex math problems using a tutorial system that they engaged over 100 times per session entirely implicitly via speech amplitude or pen pressure cues. Results revealed that users spontaneously, reliably, and substantially adapted these forms of communicative energy to designate and repair an intended interlocutor in a computer-mediated group setting. This behavior was harnessed to achieve system engagement accuracies of 75-86%, with accuracies highest using speech amplitude. However, students had limited awareness of their own adaptations. Finally, while continually using these implicit engagement techniques, students maintained their performance level at solving complex mathematics problems throughout a one-hour session.
Sharon Oviatt is a Distinguished Scientist at Adapx in Seattle, and has been a Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Human-Computer Communication in the Dept. of Computer Science at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) for the past decade. She received her PhD in Psychology from University of Toronto. She studies lifespan human-centered interface design, especially modeling of users' natural behavior and communication patterns, and designing systems that process spoken language, pen-based, and multimodal input, as well as communication models and technologies, and mobile/ubiquitous interfaces.
Examples of Dr Oviatt's recent work involve the development of novel design concepts for math and science education, adaptive conversational interfaces with animated software characters, adaptive audio-visual interfaces for collaborative teamwork, and robust interfaces for real-world mobile and field environments. She has published over 110 scientific articles--journals include Communications of the ACM, Human Computer Interaction, Transactions on Human Computer Interaction, IEEE Multimedia, Proceedings of IEEE, and IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. She was General Chair of the International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces (ICMI) in 2003, and is Founding Chair of ICMI's Advisory Board.
Monday 20 August 2007 -- Prof Cathy Burns (Univ of Waterloo) -- 11 am. MC109 (McElwain Level 1)
Title: Practical Concerns: EID and CWA on Two Projects
Abstract: This talk examines the application of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) and Ecological Interface Design (EID) on two projects with very practical constraints. One project involved developing a decision support system on a mobile device for cardiac care nurses. The other project involved adding ecological displays to an existing power plant simulator display set. In both cases an ideal CWA process or EID implementation was not possible. Both projects though showed the benefits of CWA and EID even on partial scale, where the ecological display ideas are integrated with existing displays in a "hybrid" ecological display. In the talk I will discuss the models, design, implementation, evaluation phases and the concerns and benefits of taking a hybridized or partial approach.
Cathy Burns is a professor of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, where she directs the Advanced Interface Design Laboratory. Areas of application for her research include healthcare and health informatics, power plant and utility management, oil and gas plant management, and military applications. Cathy is the co-author of a well-received book "Ecological Interface Design" and is co-editor of a forthcoming book on broader aspects of CWA. She received her PhD from University of Toronto.
Further Cognitive Systems Engineering activities can be seen on the CERG activities page: