Victor Kaptelinin

2002-11-08

Activity theory and HCI

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

Hierarchical structure of activityfor an individual subject

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

Engeström's model

instrument

object --> outcomesubject

rules community division of labor

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

 

User interface: Maximized overview

RL

CP

PL

User interface: Project view

PIM/H

PD

RL

CP

STL

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

Prospects for future work

Heuristics

Two challenges

New directions of development

Questions

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