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138 Chapter 4 Design for collaboration and communication

Abigail Sellen is a senior re- value of a particular product for a user? Once we
searcher at Hewlett Packard know this, we can then ask, for a particular situation
Labs in Bristol, UK. Her or task, what features do we want to deliver and how
work involves carrying out best should we deliver those features? This includes,
user studies to inform the for example, what would the interface look like? Fi-
development of future prod- nally, I think user studies are important to understand
ucts, including appliances how users' lives may change and how they will be af-
and web-based services.
She has a background in fected by introducing a new technology. This has to
take into account the social, physical, and technologi-
coanitive science and
"
human factors engineering, cal context into which it will be introduced.
having obtained her doctor-
ate at the University of Cali- YR: So it sounds like you have a set of general
fornia, Son Diego. Prior to questions you have in mind when you do a user
this Abiaail worked at
Xerox Research Labs in Cambridge, UK, and Apple Computer study. Could you now describe how you would do a
Inc. She has also worked as an academic researcher at the user study and what kinds of things you would be
Computer Systems Research Institute at the University of looking for?
Toronto, Canada and the Applied Psychology Unit in Cam- AS: Well, I think there are two different classes of
bridge, UK. She has written widely on the social and cognitive user studies and both are quite different in the ways
aspects of paper use, video conferencing, input devices, you go about them. There are evaluation studies,
human memory, and human error, ail with an eye to the de- where we take a concept, a prototype or even a devel-
sign of new technologies.
oped technology and look at how it is used and then
try to modify or improve it based on what we find.
YR: Could you tell me what you do at Hewlett The second class of user studies is more about discov-
Packard Research Labs? ering what people's unmet needs may be. This means
AS: Sure, I've been at HP Labs for a number of trying to develop new concepts and ideas for things
years now as a member of its User Studies and Design that people may never have thought of before. This is
Group. This is a smallish group consisting of five so- difficult because you can't necessarily just ask people
cial scientists and three designers. Our work can best what they would like or what they would use. Instead,
be described as doing three things: we do projeqts that you have to make inferences from studying people in
are group-led around particular themes, likt for ex- different situations and try to understand from this
ample, how people use digital music or how people what they might need or value.
capture documents using scanning technology. We do
consulting work for development teams at HP, and YR: In the book we mention the importance of tak-
thirdly, we do a little bit of our own individual work, ing into account social aspects, such as awareness of
like writing papers and books, and giving talks. others, how people communicate with each other and
so on. Do you think these issues are important when
YR: Right. Could you tell me about user studies, you are doing these two kinds of user studies?
what they are and why you consider them important? AS: Well, yes, and in particular I think social aspects
AS: OK. User studies essentially involve looking at really are playing to that second class of user study I
how people behave either in their natural habitats or mentioned where you are trying to discover what
in the laboratory, both with old technologies and with people's unmet needs or requirements may be. Here
new ones. I think there are many different questions you are trying to get rich descriptions about what
that these kinds of studies can help you answer. Let people do in the context of their everyday lives-
me name a few. One question is: who is going to be whether this is in their working lives, their home lives,
the potential user for a particular device or service or lives on the move. I'd say getting the social aspects
that you are thinking of developing? A second ques- understood is often very important in trying to under-
tion-which I think is key-is, what is the potential stand what value new products and services might