Multimodal Usability (Human–Computer Interaction Series) - Hardcover

Bernsen, Niels Ole; Dybkjær, Laila

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1848825528 ISBN 13: 9781848825529

Publisher: Springer, 2009

Synopsis

This preface tells the story of how Multimodal Usability responds to a special challenge. Chapter 1 describes the goals and structure of this book. The idea of describing how to make multimodal computer systems usable arose in the European Network of Excellence SIMILAR - "Taskforce for cre- ing human-machine interfaces SIMILAR to human-human communication", 2003- 2007, www. similar. cc. SIMILAR brought together people from multimodal signal processing and usability with the aim of creating enabling technologies for new kinds of multimodal systems and demonstrating results in research prototypes. Most of our colleagues in the network were, in fact, busy extracting features and guring out how to demonstrate progress in working interactive systems, while claiming not to have too much of a notion of usability in system development and evaluation. It was proposed that the authors support the usability of the many multimodal pro- types underway by researching and presenting a methodology for building usable multimodal systems. We accepted the challenge, rst and foremost, no doubt, because the formidable team spirit in SIMILAR could make people accept outrageous things. Second, h- ing worked for nearly two decades on making multimodal systems usable, we were curious - curious at the opportunity to try to understand what happens to traditional usability work, that is, work in human-computer interaction centred around tra- tional graphical user interfaces (GUIs), when systems become as multimodal and as advanced in other ways as those we build in research today.

About this title

Product Description:

This book is about how to develop and evaluate multimodal systems which are usable by, or fit, people. The main objective is to answer the practical question of what system developers need to know and be able to do in order to develop usable new multimodal applications. The need to know is addressed in the first part of the book, in which the role of development and evaluation for multimodal usability in the software engineering life-cycle is described, and 9 key multimodal usability parameters are presented as well as theory of modalities and multimodality. The need to be able to do is addressed in the second part of the book. The distinction between interleaved and iteratively performed development for multimodal usability and evaluation for usability is discussed.

From the Back Cover:

Multimodal Usability demonstrates several major generalisations of human-computer interaction and extends the traditional focus on graphical user interfaces to all input/output modalities accessible to vision, hearing, and touch.

Multimodal Usability can help make a multimodal interactive system usable no matter if you are building a work tool or a game, and whether your system models aspects of people, like a virtual (or robot) companion or friend, or not.

Successful implementation can be achieved using the following usability development steps:

(1) Augment system model specification with an AMITUDE model of use specified in terms of Application type, Modalities, Interaction type, Task, User, Device and Environment of use.

(2) Apply usability methods to collect the usability data needed at any time. A toolbox of 24 key methods are presented in a common format. Methods are of five kinds: question-answering, meetings with discussion, observation, imagination, and interaction with the system.

(3) For each method application, post-process, annotate, analyse, report, and act on the data to improve system model usability.

Three multimodal system Cases are included to illustrate usability development from idea to user test of the implemented prototype.

Multimodal Usability assumes no prior knowledge about usability and human-computer interaction.

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1848825528
• ISBN 13: 9781848825529
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 447