Principles of Mixed-Initiative User Interfaces.
Some researchers are aiming at the development and application of automated services, which can sense users’ activities and then take automated actions. Other researchers are focusing on metaphors and conventions that can enhance users’ ability to directly manipulate information to invoke specific services. This paper stated principles that can provide a method for integrating research indirect manipulation with work on interface agents.
The author listed 12 critical factors while combining automated services with direct manipulation interfaces: 1) developing significant value-added automation. 2) considering uncertainty about a user’s goals. 3) considering the status of a user’s attention in the timing of services. 4) inferring ideal action in light of costs, benefits, and uncertainties. 5) employing dialog to resolve key uncertainties. 6) allowing efficient direct invocation and termination. 7) minimizing the cost of poor guesses about action and timing. 8) scoping precision of service to match uncertainty, variation in goals. 9) providing mechanisms for efficient agent-user collaboration to refine results. 10) employing socially appropriate behaviors for agent-user interaction. 11) Maintaining the working memory of recent interactions. 12) continuing to learn by observing. As a result, the author designed mixed-initiative user interfaces which can enable users and intelligent agents to collaborate efficiently on the LookOut system. This system can elucidate difficult challenges and promising opportunities for improving HCI through the elegant combination of reasoning machinery and direct manipulation.
I have read several papers about ubiquitous computing recently. One of the core features of the ubiquitous computing is that users are gradual cannot feel the existed computing and technologies which are surrounding them. Hence, I think that applications and systems which can sense users’ activities and then provide users with specific services will become prevalent in the future. Especially with the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence, we may not even need mixed interfaces or software anymore in the future. According to this, I consider that “Considering uncertainty about a user’s goals” is the most important factor. Humans are complex. It is impossible to fulfill everyone’s motivations and goals with several common services. Hence, customizing various features by considering a user’s uncertainty goal is really significant. What’s more, I think that maintaining the working memory of recent interactions is a great design claim which can assist users with the process of self-reflection. Users should know and understand what they did in the past.
Among these 12 critical factors for leveraging off automated services and direct manipulation interfaces, which factor do you consider as the most important factor?
If you are an HCI researcher, do you prefer to focus on developing applications that can sense users’ activities and offer services, or concentrating on designing tools that allow users to manipulate interfaces directly to access information and then invoke services?
How do you think about the “Dialog” interaction between the user and the system? Do you think it is useful or not?
