Activity Modeling: From Activity Theory to Interaction Design Practice
Speaker
Larry Constantine
Professor, Department of Mathematics & Engineering and Director, LabUSE, (Laboratory for Usage-centered Software Engineering) University of Madeira
When
-
Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)
Description
Psychologist and usability guru Donald Norman has argued that to create better tools to support user performance, designers need to turn from human-centered perspectives to activity-centered approaches grounded in activity theory. To put activity theory into practice, however, an appealing but loose conceptual framework needs to be transformed into a systematic method. Activity modeling is a new approach that focuses on the simple representation and organization of those elements of human activity that are most relevant to informing and guiding an activity-centered design process. This seminar will present recent work in developing a disciplined scheme for modeling human activity in relation to interactive systems and the interaction design process.
Speaker's Bio
Larry Constantine, IDSA, ACM Distinguished Engineer, is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Engineering and director of LabUSE, the Laboratory for Usage-centered Software Engineering at the University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal. An award-winning designer and innovator with multiple HMI patents, he specializes in interaction design and design methods for enhancing user performance in complex interaction-critical applications. He has more than 150 articles and papers published and 17 books in both the human sciences and computer sciences, including, with Lucy Lockwood, Software for Use, winner of the Jolt Award as best book of 1999. He is Chief Scientist with Constantine & Lockwood, Lt., the international design, consulting, and training firm he co-founded.
Speaker's Website
http://foruse.com/
Host
Brad Myers, Bonnie John, and Len Bass