Immediate usability: a case study of public access design for a community photo library

TitleImmediate usability: a case study of public access design for a community photo library
Publication TypeJournal Articles
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsKules B, Kang H, Plaisant C, Rose A, Shneiderman B
JournalInteracting with Computers
Volume16
Issue6
Pagination1171 - 1193
Date Published2004/12//
ISBN Number0953-5438
KeywordsCasual use, Community photo library, direct annotation, direct manipulation, Drag-and-drop, Group annotation, Immediate usability, Photo collection, Public access system, Walk-up-and-use, Zero-trial learning
Abstract

This paper describes a novel instantiation of a digital photo library in a public access system. It demonstrates how designers can utilize characteristics of a target user community (social constraints, trust, and a lack of anonymity) to provide capabilities, such as unrestricted annotation and uploading of photos, which would be impractical in other types of public access systems. It also presents a compact set of design principles and guidelines for ensuring the immediate usability of public access information systems. These principles and guidelines were derived from our experience developing PhotoFinder Kiosk, a community photo library. Attendees of a major HCI conference (CHI 2001 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) successfully used the tool to browse and annotate collections of photographs spanning 20 years of HCI-related conferences, producing a richly annotated photo history of the field of human–computer interaction. Observations and usage log data were used to evaluate the tool and develop the guidelines. They provide specific guidance for practitioners, as well as a useful framework for additional research in public access interfaces.

URLhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0953543804000840
DOI10.1016/j.intcom.2004.07.005