Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving

Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving

by Barbara Mirel
Released November 2003
Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 9780080508955

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Book description

Software for complex problem solving can dazzle people with advanced features and alluring visuals, but when actually put to use it often disappoints and even frustrates users. This software rarely follows the user's own work methods, nor does it give people the degree of control and choice that they truly need.This book presents a groundbreaking approach to interaction design for complex problem solving applications. The author uses her vast field experience to present a new way of looking at the whole process, and treats complex problem solving software and web applications as a distinct class with its own set of usefulness demands and design criteria. This approach highlights integrated interactions rather than discrete actions, clearly defines what makes problem solving complex, and explores strategies for analyzing, modeling, and designing for exploratory inquiries.

·In depth case studies ranging from IT troubleshooting to marketing analysis to risk assessments in healthcare show exactly where and what goes wrong in real world activities and how to improve them.·Presents a system and framework for analyzing complex work and takes the mystery out of eliciting patterns of work and their meanings.·Offers new perspectives for support and new design strategies for building the right models into programs so that they effectively address users' dynamic work. ·Allows designers to turn findings into useful designs for problems that require users to create new knowledge but with no one right answer and with many methods of reaching solutions.

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Critical Acclaim for Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving!
  5. Copyright
  6. The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies
  7. Dedication
  8. PREFACE
  9. INTRODUCTION
  10. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  11. PART I: UNDERSTANDING THE WORK
    1. Chapter 1: What Makes Complex Problem Solving Complex?
      1. SCENARIO: SHOULD WE BREAK INTO A NEW MARKET NICHE?
      2. DESCRIBING CONTEXTS AND CONDITIONS SHAPING COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING
      3. IDENTIFYING DYNAMICS AND TRAITS OF COMPLEXITY
      4. CONCLUSION: REVISITING MARTY AND THE SOFTWARE SUPPORT HE NEEDS
    2. Chapter 2: Usefulness: Focusing on Inquiry Patterns, Task Landscapes, and Core Activities
      1. DEFINING USEFULNESS
      2. FOCUSING ON COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING AT A PRACTICAL LEVEL
      3. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INQUIRY PATTERNS AND DESIGN PATTERNS?
      4. SCENARIO: ANALYZING THE ROOT CAUSES OF A DRUG OVERDOSE
      5. SUMMARIZING PATTERNS OF INQUIRY AND TASK LANDSCAPES IN THE RCA CASE
      6. FOCUSING ON CORE ACTIVITIES WITHIN TASK LANDSCAPES
      7. WHAT SENSEMAKING ACTIVITIES CHARACTERIZE COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING?
      8. FOCUSING ON COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING OBJECTIVES FOR CORE ACTIVITIES
      9. CONCLUSIONS: HIGHER-ORDER NEEDS VERSUS SUPPORT DELIVERED
    3. Chapter 3: Filling in the Gaps: Integrating Usefulness Into User-Centered Design
      1. UNDERSTANDING AND RETHINKING ASSUMPTIONS
      2. GATHERING DATA ABOUT USERS AND THEIR WORK
      3. ANALYZING AND SYNTHESIZING DATA
      4. MODELING USERS’ WORK
      5. CONCEPTUALIZING DESIGNS
      6. CONCLUSIONS: PUTTING IT TOG?THER
  12. PART II: SOLVING PROBLEMS IN TECHNICAL, SOCIAL, AND CO-EMERGENT SYSTEMS
    1. Chapter 4: Keeping the System Up and Running
      1. SCENARIO: CRISIS IN A CORPORATE INTRANET
      2. DETECTING PROBLEMS AND MAKING REPAIRS FOR IMMEDIATE RELIEF
      3. DESIGN TEAM SCENARIO: ANALYZING AND MODELING CONTEXTUAL DATA
      4. DESIGN TEAM STORY: CONCEPTUALIZING DESIGN
      5. DESIGNING DIFFERENTLY BY CREATING INTEGRATED AND CONSOLIDATED MODELS
      6. DESIGNING DIFFERENTLY: CAPTURING CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES
      7. CONCLUSIONS
    2. Chapter 5: Getting IT Right
      1. PRELUDE TO A STORY: LOOKING AT ONLY SELECT PARTS OF THE TEAM’S EFFORTS
      2. INTRODUCTION: REGROUPING AND DECIDING HOW TO REDESIGN
      3. ANALYZING WHAT TROUBLESHOOTERS DO TO VALIDATE A PROBLEM
      4. ANALYZING WHAT TROUBLESHOOTERS DO TO BOUND AND FORMULATE A PROBLEM
      5. CONCEPTUALIZING DESIGNS FOR SAVING, COMMENTING ON, AND RECALLING VIEWS
      6. CONCEPTUALIZING DESIGNS FOR FINDING AN ENTRY POINT
      7. CONCLUSIONS
    3. Chapter 6: Criteria, Constraints, and Choices: Optimizing the Mix in Merchandising
      1. SOLVING PRODUCT MIX PROBLEMS
      2. SCENARIO: DECIDING THE BEST MIX OF SHORTENING AND OILS FOR A WESTERN CHAIN
      3. CREATING MODELS OF WORK THAT CAPTURE SUPPORT FOR PROBLEM SOLVING NEEDS
      4. CONCLUSIONS
    4. Chapter 7: Design Strategies and Choices for Optimizing the Mix
      1. MAKING COMPARISONS
      2. “WHAT DO I SEE AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?”
      3. GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE IN TASK LANDSCAPES
      4. PERFORMING COMPLEX QUERIES VISUALLY WITH UNCOMPLICATED INTERACTIONS
      5. COMPOSING IN TANDEM WITH CUMULATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
      6. CONCLUSIONS
    5. Chapter 8: Decision-Making in Complex Systems of Patient Care
      1. SCENARIO: MAKING DECISIONS IN A MEDICATION PASS
      2. WHAT SUPPORT DOES KATHERINE NEED AND WHAT DOES SHE GET?
      3. ADOPTING DESIGN ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS OF WORK
      4. CONTEXTUALLY ANALYZING IN-PATIENT MEDICATION PROCESSES
      5. MODELING PATTERNS OF INQUIRY AND TASK LANDSCAPES
      6. PREPARING FOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN: RECOGNIZING THE POLITICS OF CHOICES
      7. CONCEPTUALLY DESIGNING SUPPORT FOR INTEGRATING DIVERSE INFORMATION
      8. CONCEPTUALLY DESIGNING SUPPORT FOR WORKING IN AN ELECTRONIC “PLACE”
      9. CONCLUSIONS
    6. Chapter 9: Designing for Usefulness Across Cases
      1. STEP 1: ORIENTING DESIGN THINKING TOWARD USEFULNESS
      2. STEP 2: IDENTIFYING AND DESCRIBING CORE INQUIRY ACTIVITIES IN NEED OF SUPPORT
      3. STEP 3: CONCEPTUALIZING DESIGN FOR USEFUL SUPPORT
      4. BRAINSTORMING AND DECIDING ON EFFECTIVE DESIGN CHOICES
      5. CONCLUSIONS
  13. PART III: THINKING STRATEGICALLY
    1. Chapter 10: Next Steps: Politics and Positioning of Usefulness
      1. CREATING LONG-RANGE PLANS FOR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS AND MARKETS
      2. DETERMINING THE SCOPE OF THE SOFTWARE
      3. CREATING TEAMS, DIVIDING TASKS, AND COMMUNICATING
      4. FORMALLY HANDLING MODIFICATION REQUESTS
      5. POLITICAL POINTS FOR PROMOTING USEFULNESS
      6. LOOKING AHEAD: A STRATEGIC PROGRAM FOR USEFULNESS
  14. Appendix: Distribution of Control in the VizAppManager Tool
  15. FIGURE CREDITS
  16. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving
  • Author(s): Barbara Mirel
  • Release date: November 2003
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780080508955