Creating Effective Decision Aids for Complex Tasks

Speaker
Caroline Hayes
Professor, University of Minnesota

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 3305

Description

Rapid, high quality product design is essential for competitiveness in the global economy.

For many years, various mathematical decision methods have been proposed as ways to help designers make more systematic and rational decisions. However, designers often complain that they are “too busy” for these methods, and fail to apply them in much of their work. This talk will describe two studies aimed at better understanding what underlies this reluctance, and how one might better support their needs. The first was a laboratory study assessing the actual costs and benefits derived by designers when using two different multi-criteria decision-aids in real design tasks. The second is an ethnographic study examining how designers actually make decisions in their work. The first showed that the costs of using the decision-aids were significant but the benefits were limited to specific design situations—which may explain designer’s reluctance to use them. The second study revealed that information seeking is an important and integral part of designers’ decision making; and they strategically focus information gathering efforts in ways not afforded by most multi-criteria methods. Finally, I propose that decision-aids might provide more benefit to designers by focusing on information seeking decisions, and combining mathematical and naturalistic decision methods to provide the flexibility they require.

Speaker's Bio

The aim of my research is to understand how to design effective systems of people and technology. These systems range from an intelligent architect’s assistant that suggests design alternatives, to a wheelchair mounted robot arm that can be controlled by a quadriplegic person. Solving such challenges requires understanding what technology can be made to do, and how people think and work. Thus, I have always taken an interdisciplinary approach in her work. Interesting problems do not restrict themselves to specific disciplines, so why should I? Dr. Hayes grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she attended Carnegie Mellon University for my undergraduate and graduate education. She earned a Bachelors degree in math and computer science, and the first PhD in Robotics from the Robotics Institute, which was then a new interdisciplinary program. She joined the Computer Science faculty at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1991 and moved in 1998 to the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota. She has enjoyed living and working in the Twin Cities ever since. Dr. Hayes is currently a full professor, director of graduate studies for the Human Factors and Ergonomics program, co-chair of the Provost’s Women’s Faculty Cabinet, a faculty senator, and the faculty liaison between the university and the Minnesota state legislature.