pdf Usability This page intentionally left blank USABILITY Turning Technologies into Tools Edi ted by Paul S Adler Department of Management and Organization School of Business Administratio. pdf Usability This page intentionally left blank USABILITY Turning Technologies into Tools Edi ted by Paul S Adler Department of Management and Organization School of Business Administratio.
Usability This page intentionally left blank USABILITY: Turning Technologies into Tools E d i t e d by Paul S Adler Department of Management and Organization School of Business Administration University of Southern California Terry A Winograd Computer Science Department Stanford University New York Oxford Oxford University Press 1992 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Kuala Lumpur Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1992 by Oxford University Press, Inc Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved No pail of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Usability: turning technologies into tools/edited by Paul S Adler and Terry A Winograd p cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0-19-5075 10-2 System design Automation User interfaces (Computer systems) I Adler, Paul S II Winograd, Tern' QA76.9.S88U73 1992 670.42'7—dc20 91-39416 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Preface In the past few decades, we have witnessed a tremendous increase in the complexity and power of the tools we use in the office and industry The book you are holding, for example, is the product of a personal computer used to type the text, a telecommunications network used to coordinate the revisions, photocopiers and printers used to produce copies, and manufacturing equipment used to fabricate the paper and apply the binding, and much more Gone are the mechanical typewriters and the manual production processes that would have been used not so long ago This technological mutation has led to great improvements in productivity and quality in many types of work; but if our tools have become more powerful and flexible, it is because the technologies embedded in them have grown more complex, and as a result the challenge of designing effective tools has become more difficult For users to exploit the full range of the new tools' potential function—indeed, to use them successfully at all—"usability" must be a high priority in the process of designing these tools This book proposes new approaches to the "design for usability" challenge The chapters of this book began as contributions commissioned for a seminar on "Technology and the Future of Work" conducted at Stanford University in March 1990 The seminar brought together 200 senior managers and union leaders from U.S industry, and 50 leading researchers from the U.S., Europe, and Asia A companion volume, Technology and the Future of Work, edited by Paul Adler (Oxford University Press, 1991), presents the seminar contributions focused on the conditions required for effective technology implementation; it addresses the need in industry for new skills, new training approaches, new labor/management relations, and new strategic management practices The present volume focuses on the technology design issues and brings to a wider audience revised and edited versions of the contributions focused on design for usability The seminar was conducted under the auspices of the Stanford Integrated Manufacturing Association Funding was provided by several Association sponsors: Apple Computer, Inc., Digital Equipment Corp., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., and IBM Corp Representatives from these companies helped shape the agenda, and we owe special gratitude to Reesa Abrams, Chris Duncan, Al Jones, Frank West, and Stuart Winby for vi PREFACE their contributions to the planning effort Stanford faculty colleagues Elliott Levinthal, Warren Hausman, and Dick Scott provided valuable guidance and support Susan Sweeney's help with the logistics and Cecilia Wanjiku's secretarial support were indispensable Greg Tong provided invaluable editorial help in refining successive drafts of the chapters Thanks too to Don Jackson and Herb Addison at Oxford, for their consistent encouragement and support Above all, we must thank the contributing authors Their patience and responsiveness made the editors' role a pleasure Tarzana, Calif Stanford, Calif November, 1991 P.S.A T A.W Contents Contributors, ix The Usability Challenge, Paul S Adlcr and Terry Winograd Design for Usability: Crafting a Strategy for the Design of a New Generation of Xerox Copiers, 15 John./ Rheinfrank, William R Hartman, and Arnold Wasserman Designing Effective Systems: A Tool Approach, 41 Charles D Kukla, Elizabeth Anne Clemens, Robert S Morse, and Dcbra Cash Skill-Based Design: Productivity, Learning, and Organizational Effectiveness, 66 Harold Salzman Scandinavian Design: On Participation and Skill, 96 Pelle Ehn Work at the Interface: Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Job Design, 133 ,7 Martin Corbett Enacting Design for the Workplace, 164 John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid Name Index, 199 Subject Index, 202 This page intentionally left blank Contributors Paul S Adler is associate professor at University of Southern California's School of Business Administration He began his education in Australia and moved to France in 1974, where he received his doctorate in Economics and Management while working as a research economist for the French government Before joining U.S.C in 1991, he was a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution, a visiting assistant professor at Columbia University, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Harvard Business School, and an assistant professor at Stanford University John Seely Brown is vice president, Advanced Research at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and co-founder and associate director of the nonprofit Institute for Research on Learning in Palo Alto, California Brown received his bachelor's degree in math and physics from Brown University, his master's of mathematics from the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D in computer and communication sciences from the University of Michigan Debra Cash is currently a principal writer in Digital's Media Communication Group She has a longstanding interest in modern cultural and intellectual history and is a regular contributor to M.I.T.'s Technology Review and to the Boston Globe Elizabeth Anne Clemens is a principal of Da Vinci Group, a human factors consulting firm Previously, she worked in the Human Factors Department at Digital Equipment Corporation, where she was involved in the application of human factors to the design of computer systems J Martin Corbett has a background in organizational psychology and studied at the Universities of Leeds, Lancaster, and Bath before joining the "Human Centered Technology" research team at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology He then became a research fellow with the Medical Research Council at the University of Sheffield and is currently lecturer in organizational behavior at the University of Warwick Business School His recent publications include Crossing the Border: The Social and Engineering Design of Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems (coauthored with Lauge Rasmussen and Felix Rauner) He is vice-chairman of the International Federation of Automatic Council's Technical Committee 194 USABILITY Brown, J S (1986) From cognitive to social economics, in D.A Norman and S.W Draper, (eds.) User Centered System Design Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Brown, J S., A Collins, and P Duguid Situated cognition and the culture of learning Education Researcher 18(4): 1-12 Brown, J.S., and P Duguid (1991) Organizational learning and communitics-of-practice, Organization Science 2, 1, Feb., 40-57 Brown, J S., P Duguid, and G Nunberg (1991) Design as Communication Palo Alto, Calif.: Xerox PARC Brown, J S., and S Newman (1985) Issues in cognitive and social ergonomics: From our house to Bauhaus Human Computer Interaction 1, 359-91 Burton, R R., and J S Brown (1976) A tutoring and student modeling paradigm for gaming environments, in R Colman and P Lorton (eds.) Computer Science and Education ACMSIGCSE Bulletin 8( 1,) 236-46 Burton, R R., and J S Brown (1979) An investigation of computer coaching for informal learning activities, in D H Sleeman and J S Brown (eds.) Intelligent Tutoring Systems London: Academic Press Burton, R R., J S Brown, and G Fischer (1984) Skiing as a model of instruction, in B Rogoff and J Lave (eds.) Everyday Cognition Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press Carey, J (1989) Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society Boston: Unwin Hyman Carr, E H (1964) What Is History Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books Clancey, W C (1990) The Frame of Reference Problem in the Design of Intelligent Machines IRL report 90-0016 Palo Alto, Calif.: Institute for Research on Learning Clark, H H., and E F Schaefer (1989) Contributing to discourse Cognitive Science 13, 25994 Coates, N (1988) Street signs, in John Thackera (ed.) Design after Modernism London: Thames & Hudson Cooley, M (1988) The product of illusion, in John Thackera (ed.) Design after Modernism London: Thames & Hudson Daft, R L, and K E Weick (1984) Toward a model of organizations as interpretation systems Academy of Management Review 9(2), 284-95 Derrida, J (1987) The law of genre Glyph 7, 55-81 Dessauer, J H (1971) My Years with Xerox: The Billions Nobody Wanted Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Dreyfus, H (1979) What Computers Can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason (second edition) New York: Harper & Row Eckert, P (1989) Jocks and Burnouts New York: Teachers College Press Ehn, P (1988) Work-Oriented Design of Computer Artifacts Stockholm: Arbetslivscentrum Eliot, G (1980) Felix Holt, The Radical, Oxford: Clarendon Press Fish, S E (1971) Surprised by Sin Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press Fish, S E (1980) Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretive Communities Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press Foucault, M (1971) The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language New York: Pantheon Frampton, K (1988) Place-form and cultural identity, in John Thackera (ed.) Design after Modernism London: Thames & Hudson ENACTING DESIGN FOR THE WORKPLACE 195 Garson, G (1988) The Electronic Sweatshop New York: Simon & Schuster Gibson, J J (1979) The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception Boston: Houghton Mifflin Gott, S P (1989) Apprenticeship for real world tasks Review of Research in Education 15, 97169 Habermas, J (1979) Communication and the Evolution of Society Boston: Beacon Press Habermas, J (1989) The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press Heidegger, H (1962) Being and Time J Macquarrie and E Robinson (trans.) New York: Harper & Row Heidegger, H (1971) Poetry, Language, Thought New York: Harper & Row Hutchins, E (forthcoming) Learning to navigate, in S Chalkin and J Lave (eds.) Understanding Practice New York: Cambridge University Press Iser, W (1974) The Implied Reader Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press Jacobson, G., and J Hillkirk (1986) Xerox: American Samurai New York: Macmillan Jordan, B (1989) Cosmopolitical obstetrics: Some insights from the training of traditional midwives Social Science and Medicine 28(9), 925-44 Kant, I (1934) The Critique of Pure Reason (second edition) London: J.M Dent and Sons (first published, in German, 1787) Latour, B., and S Woolgar (1986) Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts Princeton: Princeton University Press Lave, J (1988) Cognition in Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lave, J., and E Wenger, (1990) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation IRL report 90-0013 Palo Alto, Calif.: Institute for Research on Learning Lesgold, A., S Lajoie, M Bunzo, and G Eggan (1988) SHERLOCK: A Coached Practice Environment for an Electronics Troubleshooting Job Pittsburgh, Penn.: Learning Research and Development Center Levi-Strauss, C (1966) The Savage Mind Chicago: Chicago University Press Lodge, D (1978) Changing Places Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books Lukacs, G (1966) Technology and social relations New Left Review 39,49-60 (first published, in German, 1925) MacLean, A, K Carter, L Lovstrand, and T Moran (1991) User-tailorable systems: Pressing the issue with Buttons Proceedings qfCHI'90 New York: ACM Martin, J (1982) Stories and scripts in organizational settings, in A.H Hastorf and A.M Isen, (eds.) Cognitive and social psychology Amsterdam: Elsevier Norman, D A (1988) The Psychology of Everyday Things New York: Basic Books Norman, D A., and S W Draper (eds.) (1986) User Centered System Design Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Nunberg, G N., and P Duguid (1991) Genre and technological base Palo Alto, Calif: Xerox PARC Orr, J (1987a) Narratives at work: Story telling as cooperative diagnostic activity Field Service Manager: The Journal of the Association of Field Service Managers, \ 1(6), 47-60 Orr, J (1987b) Talking about machines: Social aspects of expertise Report for the Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, Calif Orr, J (1988) Transparency, representation, and embodied knowledge: Some examples from the diagnosis of machines Paper presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Arizona, November, 1988 196 USABILITY Orr, J (1990a) Talking about machines: An ethnography of a modern job Ph.D Thesis, Cornell University Orr, J (1990b) Sharing knowledge, celebrating identity: War stories and community memory in a service culture, in D S Middleton and D Edwards (eds.) Collective Remembering: Memory in Society Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications Perin, C (1970) With Man in Mind: An Interdisciplinary Prospectus for Environmental Design Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press Rasmussen, E S (1962) Experiencing Architecture Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press Rasmussen, E S (1982) London: The Unique City (Revised edition.) Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press Reddy, M J (1979) The conduit metaphor: A case of frame conflict in our language about language, in A Ortony (ed.) Metaphor and thought New York: Cambridge University Press Roshelle, J., and S Behrend (1991) The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative problem solving IRL Report no 91-0026 Palo Alto, Calif.: Institute for Research on Learning Sacks, H., E A Schegloff, and G A Jefferson (1974) A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking in conversation Language 50, 696-735 Sartre, J-P (1978) What Is Literature London: Verso Schon, D.A (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Schon, D.A (1984) The Reflective Practitioner New York: Basic Books Schon, D.A (1971) Beyond the Stable State New York: Norton Scribner, S (1984) Studying working intelligence, in B Rogoff and J Lave (eds.) Everyday Cognition: Its Development in Social Context Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press Sommer, R (1969) Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Smith, A (1937) Investigations into the Wealth of Nations, (fifth edition) New York: Random House (first published 1784) Stevens, A.L (1982) Quantitative and qualitative simulation in portable training devices Report to the National Academy of Sciences Cambridge, Mass.: Bolt, Beranek and Newman Suchman, L (1987) Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication New York: Cambridge University Press Thackera, J (ed.) (1988a) Design after Modernism London: Thames & Hudson Thackcra, J (1988b) Beyond the object in design, in John Thackera (ed.) Design after Modernism London: Thames & Hudson Watt, I (1958) The Rise of the Novel Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press Wenger, E (1988) Glass-box technology and integrated learning: Information, communication, and knowledge in computerized environments Thesis proposal submitted to the Department of Computer Science, University of California at Irvine Williams, M D., J D Hollan, and A L Stevens (1981) An overview of STEAMER: An advanced computer-assisted instruction system for propulsion engineering Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation 13(2), 85-90 Williams, R (1961) The Long Revolution: An Analysis oj the Democratic, Industrial, and Cultural Changes Transforming Our Society New York: Columbia University Press Williams, R (1975) Television: Technology as Cultural Form New York: Shocken Books ENACTING DESIGN FOR THE WORKPLACE 197 Williams, R (1976a) Communication Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books Williams, R (1976b) Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society New York: Oxford University Press Winograd, T., and F Flores (1987) Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design Menlo Park, Calif.: Addison Wesley Winterson, J Oranges Are not the Only Fruit London: Pandora/RKP Zuboff, S (1988) In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power New York: Basic Books This page intentionally left blank Name Index Ackoff, Russell, 129 Adler, Paul, 6, 10,66 Akrich, M., 181 Alexander, C, 167, 188 Anderson, R., 187-88 Arguren, S., 104 Armstrong, P., 135 Attewell, P., 136 Aucella, A F., 143 Austin,! L, 167 Bannon, L J., 171, 180 Barley, S R., 175, 176 Behrend, S., 174 Bennett, John, 45 Berger, P L., 118 Bhimani, A., 149 Bijker, W E., 136 Bjerknes, G., 114 Bjorn-Andersen, Niels, 72 Blackler, Frank, 73 Blanchard, Benjamin, 69, 71 Blauner, R., 135 Bodker, S., 112, 120 Bourdieu, P., 164 Brandt, G., 137 Bratteteig, T., 114 Braverman, H H., 6, 135, 136 Brecht, Berthold, 125 Brock, S., 120 Brodner, Peter, 68, 150 Bromwich, M., 149 Brown, Colin, 73 Brown, J S., 165, 170, 173, 180, 182 Brulin, G., 111 Buchanan, D A., 133, 135 Buffo, M J., 134 Burnes, B., 134 Burton, R R., 165, 180 Carey, J., 167, 191 Carlson, Chester, 22, 17 Chalmet, L G., 152 Chapanis, A., 145 Cherns, Albert, 73 Child, J., 135 Clancey, W C, 185 Clark, H H., 167, 178 Clegg, C W., 141, 142, 145, 146-48 Coates, N., 188, 189 Cody, William J., 72 Cooley, M.J.E., 139, 140, 145, 155, 186 Corbett, J M., 135, 137, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146,150 Coulter, Jeffery, 72 Daft, R L., 165, 175 Dahlstrom, E., 98 DeMarco, T., 137 Dessauer, J.H., 17 Draper, S W., 10, 187 Dreyfus, Hubert, 72, 116, 124 Dreyfus, Stuart, 116, 124 Duguid, P., 170, 180 Eason, K D., 143 Eckert, P., 169 Edgren, J., 104 Ehn, Pelle, 10, 45, 68, 102, 104, 112, 122, 128, 130, 174, 187, 193 Einhorn, E., 99 Eliot, George, 186-87 Ellis, David O., 69, 70 Fabrycky, Wolter, 69, 71 Fischer, G., 165 Fish,S E., 167, 168, 179 Fitts, P M., 145-46 Flores, F., 10,46-47, 116, 172, 181, 185, 187 Floyd, Christiane, 116 Foged, J., 114 Frampton, K., 167, 188 Francis, A., 134 Fry, J., 99 Garson, G., 185 Gibson, J.J., 166 Gibson, John E., 69-70 Goranzon, B., 114 Gott, S P., 173 Greenbaum, J., 10 Greif, L, 10 Grootings, P., 134 Gustavsen, B., 105 Habermas, J., 167, 191 Hackman, J R., 135 Hampden-Turner, C., 140 199 NAME INDEX 200 Hartman, Bill, 25 Hedbcrg, Bo, 72, 105, 114 Heidegger, H., 166, 167, 189 Hclander M., 10 Henshall, D., 141 HillkirkJ., 178 Hindhedc, Uft'e, 72 Hirschhorn, Larry, 66 Hollan.J D., 185 Holtzblatt, Karen 45 Hooper, K Howard, R 113 Hutchins, E L., 154, 166, 172 Newman, S., 173, 180, 182 Noble, David F., 42, 72, 140 Nordenstam, T., 121, 123 Norman, D A., 8, 10, 187 188 190-91 Nunbcrg, G., 170 Iser, W., 167 Ishikawa, S., 167 Qvale, T., 103 Jackson, M., 121 Jacobson, G., 178 Jaikumar, Ramchandran, 66 Janik, A., 124 Jefferson, G A., 167 Jones, J Christopher, 43 Jordan, B., 181 Jordan, N., 145, 146 Kaasboll, J., 121 Kammcrsgaard, J., 112 Kant,! 170 Kelley, M R., 134 Kosik, Karcl, Kronlund, Jan, 104 Kubicek, H., 103 Kustercr, K., 136, 141 Kyng, M., 10, 112, 114, 122, 128 Laessoc, J., 154-55 Latour, B., 168 Laurel, B., 10 Lave, J., 167-70, 183-84, 193 Leithauser, Th., 156 Lesgold,A., 173 Littler, C, 135, 136 Lodge, David, 191 Logue, J., 99 Luckman, T., 118 Ludwig, Fred J., 69, 70 Lund, Robert, 74 Lysgaard, Sverre, 100-101 MacKenzie, D., 136 MacLean.A K., 183 Majchzrak, A., 5,66, 160 Markus, Lynne, M., 72, 156, 160 Mason, D., 137, 140 Matthiassen, L., 114 Mehlmann, M., 114 Meister, David, 142 Mellor, Stephen, 47 Milgram, S., 156 Molleryd, Bcngt 49 Mumford, Lnid, 72, 73, 141 Oldham, G R., 135 Or, J., 166, 169, 173, 174, 181, 187, 193 Perin, C., 188 Perrow, Charles, 72-73 Pfeffer, Jeffery, 72 Polanyi, Michael, 124 Rasmussen, E S., 188 Reddy, M J., 167 Rheinfrank, John, 25 Richardson, Deane, 25 Rittel, HorstW J 43 Rose, 11., 136, 138 Roscnthal, Stephen, 74 Roshclle, J., 174 Rouse, William B., 72 Sacks, H., 167 Salzman, Harold, 67, 74 Sandberg, Ake, 102, 104 Sartre, J.-P., 167 Scarbrough, H., 135, 137 Schaeffer, E F., 167, 178 Schegloff, E A., 167 Schneiderman, Ben, 10, 154 Schon, D A., 167, 187 Seymour, J., 119 Sharrock, W., 187-88 Shlaer, Sally, 47 Silvcrstein, M., 167 Sjogren, D., 114, 130 Skinner Wickham, 67 Smith, Adam, 182 Smith, S L., 143 Sommer, R., 188 Sorge, A 134 Steen, J., 114 Stevens, A L., 185 Suchman, L A., 10, 178, 180, 182, 186, 193 Sussman, Gerald, 66 Sydow, J., 137-38 Taylor,.I C, 135 Thackera, J., 164, 167, 189, 192 Ullmark, P., 14 Vidosic, Joseph P., 71 Wajcman, J., 136 Walton, Richard, 6, 66 Wasserman, Arnold, 25 Watt, I., 179 NAME INDEX Webber, Melvin M., 43 Weick, K E., 165, 175 Wenger, E., 167-70, 183-84, 193 Whiteside, John, 45 Wilkinson, B., 134 Willcocks, L., 137, 140 Williams, M D., 185 Williams, R., 14, 167, 171, 179, 191 Williams, T A., 150 Winch, Peter, 117, 125 Winograd, T., 10,46-47, 116, 172, 181, 185, 187 201 Winteston, J., 189 Wittgenstein, L., 97, 117-18, 119, 120, 121, 122, 125, 126, 129 Woodward,:., 135, 136 Woolgar, S., 168 Yeomans R.W.A., 152 Yourdan, E., 121 Zuboff, S., 7, 10,63, 136, 138, 157, 173, 187 Subject Index Accounting standards, 149 Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) See also Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM); Computer-based systems; Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems; Computer-numerically controlled (CNC) machines; Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS); Information technology; Technological determinism, soft; Technological indeterminism abstract job designs in, 138 contribution of workers to, 141 cooperative elements in design, 47-48 design methods to reshape, 139-44 hard technology- and human-centered, 14042, 159-60 human/machine function allocation in, 14449 relation to and constraints for job design, 133-39, 150, 154 social aspects of design for, 142-44 software tools for enhancing plant performance, 50-58 systems architecture for, 150 Allocation of function, 144-49 Apprenticeship, 168 Architecture See also Organizational architecture; Systems architecture design language in, 19 language of, 188-89 Artifacts interpretation of, 170 interpreting new, 180 role of well-designed, 15 Xerox copiers as, 16 Bank Project, 114 "Buttons" design, 183 CAD See Computer-aided design (CAD) CAM See Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) CAP See Computer-aided planning (CAP) Carpentry Shop Project, 114 Causal reasoning See Reasoning, causal and explicit CEC See Commission of European Communities (CEC) CIM See Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems CNC machines See Computer-numerically controlled (CNC) machines Codes design attempts to cue or dismiss, 170 explicit and implicit, 170-71 value and color, 30 Cognitive psychology models, 72 Collaboration See also Communication; Conversations; Cooperation enhancement of, 61 in work environment, 54 Xerox's increased, 36 Collective resource approach, 107 Commission of European Communities (CEC), 139-40 Communication See also Collaboration; Conversations; Cooperation; Design team; Information; Information technology (IT); Language; Language-games as construction, 167 for design as product, 178-80 in internal design process, 178 model building of, 55-58 technology as medium for, 7-8 treatment in systems design, 156-57 video and windowing technology as enhancement, 61 Xerox's increased, 36 Communities of practice, 169-70 Companies Act (Sweden), 99 Complementarity of humans and machines, 146 Computer-aided design (CAD), 138, 150, 151, 154-56 Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), 138, 151-52, 157 Computer-aided planning (CAP), 151 Computer-based systems See also Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT); Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems; Software, Systems design; Tools collective agreement in Norway for, 99 data agreements for, 107 design participation in, 128-29 legislative impact on design and use, 99-100 replacing human action and knowledge, 138 role of unions in, 102, 104-5 202 SUBJECT INDEX role of unions in NJMF project, 106-7 trends in design for, 116-17 union participation in design for, 115-16 usability criteria for, Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems See also Computer-aided design (CAD); Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM); Computer-aided planning (CAP); Production island concept automation strategy for, 42 in ESPRIT project 1217, 140, 150-51 human-centered, 151-52 integration function of, 134 organizational choice in, 150 Computer network, steel-making technology, 90-91 Computer-numerically controlled (CNC) machines, 134 design of, 149-50 development for CAM cell, 157 Constraints See also Technically embedded constraint concept in AMT systems, 137-38, 150, 154 distinction of resources from, 191 for explicit codes, 171 minimizing design, 154 in prescribed sequences, 41 societal, 111 Control/display surfaces, 31 Conversation Management tool, 60 Conversations identified in workplace, 57-59 modeling of, 55-58 Cooperation in DEMOS project, 107-11 in manufacturing system design, 43, 47-48 in playing, 119-20 Coordination, 61 Creativity, 128 Dairy Project, 114 Data agreements, 107 use in manufacturing environment of, 54 Decision making components for design of AMT systems, 14460 design criteria for, 148 Democracy at work (Scandinavia) See also Industrial democracy; Trade unions; Workers' collective concept; Work-oriented design freedom concept in, 97-98 impact of trade unions, 101 sociotechnical approach to, 103-5 Swedish policy for, 99-100 DEMOS project See also DUE project for democratization, 107-11 lessons learned from, 114-15 for participatory design, 96, 102, 114 203 Design See also Architecture; Design process; Direct manipulation interfaces; Humancentered design; Job design; Mockups; Model building; Object design; Organizational architecture; Prototyping; Systems architecture; Systems design; Usability; Users; Work-oriented design allocation of function in, 145-49 codes for interpretation in, 170-71 as component of innovation, 165 computer-aided, 140 criteria for structural change from, 186-89 democratization for computer-based system, 115-16 evolution of new, from experiential semantics approach, 18 fundamental elements of, 125 human-computer initiatives in, 38-39 individual and social aspects of, 171-72 in language-game, 121, 126 for learning in the workplace, 13, 166 lessons for work-oriented, 128-29 limitations of conventional, 164 meaning in, 16-17 means to improve, 141 minimizing constraints in, 154 novices and experts in learning, 172-74 role in gaining acceptance, 176 role in innovation of, 175-77 role of peripheral features in, 189-91 skill, description methods, and participation in, 117-18 survey of principles of, 68-73 tradition and transcendence as foundation of, 125 transparency and opacity in, 183-86 usability concept in, 7-9 user-oriented and user-orienting, 35, 39, 18689 Design approach hard technology-centered, 141, 158 idiot-proofing and deskilling myths, 3, 6-7 tool perspective as, 112 Design artifacts requirements for, 125 system descriptions as, 121-22 use of, 126 Design as product communication for, 178-80 problems with idiot-proof, 180-82 Designers See also Design team dialogue with operators, 7-8 in helping organization, 165 interaction with workers, 86-88 internal and external missions of, 177-80 learning from users, 126 organizational, 43-44 in shared design language-game, 127-29 transformation of Xerox design team, 36-38 in usability process, 8-9 use design language 18-21 204 Design language See also Visual language; Xerox Design Language business applications of, 21-22 components and role of, 18-19 to craft usability, 22 to learn by using, 20-21 presence of, 19 to reveal, 29 shift from design styling to, 39 Design process See also Design team; Mockups; Prototyping; Scenarios; Shaping workshop as central business activity, 36 design elements for effective, 46 electronic sketch pad for, 154 human and organizational factors in technical, 140 iterations in, 27 multidisciplinary, 160 postinstallation modification, 77-79 scenarios and mockups in, 48-49, 61 skill-based approach to, 91-92 traditional, 97 two-phase method for, 157 usability assurance in, wicked problems of, 43 without worker involvement, 83-86, 88-90 with worker involvement, 86-88, 92 worker involvement in, 77-79, 86-88, 106-7 Design strategy to develop effective tools, 63-64 for prototyping, 49-50 for usability (Xerox), 23-28 Design team composition and function of Xerox/FRS, 2528, 34, 36-37 of engineers and ergonomists, 142-43 in function allocation project, 145-49 without operator participation, 88-90 Deskilling practices, 3, 6-7 hypotheses for prevalence of, 82-83 in optics manufacture, 83-86 in traditional Scandinavian design, 97, 103 Determinism social, 135 136 soft technological, 137-39 technological, 135, 136-37 Development strategy, Xerox, 36 Digital Equipment Corporation project, 50-63 Direct manipulation interfaces See also Sketch pad, electronic object manipulation with, 154-55 as visual languages, 38-39 Direct numerical control (DNC), 150 Direct object manipulation See Direct manipulation interfaces Distance, semantic and articulatory, 154-55 DNC See Direct numerieal control (DNC) Domain transparency, 184-85 DUE project, 114 Engineers in collaboration with users, 157 education of, 160 SUBJECT INDEX in shaping workshop context, 151-52 Environment See also Work environment developing description of, 51-53 reinterpreting organization, 176 Ergonomic considerations, 70-71, 73, 142 See also Human factors ESPRIT program, 139-40, 160 ESPRIT project 534, 140, 141, 143-49, 151, 158 ESPRIT project 1217, 140, 141, 144, 146, 150, 154-58 Expectations in manufacturing software tools, 62 in peripheral features, 189-90 Experiential semantics, 16-18, 35-36 Financial considerations See also Accounting standards for systems design, 149 Fisher Controls, Inc project, 50-63 Fitch RichardsonSmith (FRS) See also XeroxFRS design team as collaborators, 15-16,26 Flexible Automated Assembly Cell, 140 Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), 134, 138, 150 Florence project, 114 FMS See Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) Freedom concept, 97-98 FRS See Fitch RichardsonSmith (FRS) Functionality design to reveal, 20 effect of increased, 36 importance of, 12 of new systems, Function allocation, 144-49 Gestalt view, 29 Glass Box tools, 183-84, 185 Graphics, communication, 31 Hardware interface control, 153-54 Hawthorne studies, 157 Hermeneutics, 116 Human-centered design See also ESPRIT program; Human-machine interface; Interaction; Job design; Learning; Shopfloor monitoring and control (SMC) system; Sketch pad, electronic; Skill-based design; Work-oriented design (Scandinavia) arguments for, 144-45 cell in CAM, 152, 157 in CIM systems, 151-52 interface design for, 154-56 tradition of, 139-40 Human factors See also Interaction; Job design; Social factors; User control; Users analysis of, 44-46 in ESPRIT project 534, 140 in ESPRIT project 72/7, 150-51 importance of flexibility, 148-49 SUBJECT INDEX in technical design process, 140-42 Human factors engineering, 43-45, 72-73 Human-machine interface See also Complementarity of humans and machines; Direct manipulation interfaces allocation in design function of, 145 allocation of functions in, 145-49 control and informational characteristics of, 153-58 design for, 38 informational characterisics of, 156-59 Industrial democracy See also Collaboration; Cooperation; Democracy at work (Scandinavia); DEMOS project; Workoriented design (Scandinavia) in Scandinavia, 96-103 Industrial relations (Scandinavia), 98-99 Information See also Codes; Collaboration; Collective resource approach; Communication; Conversations; Cooperation; Data; Knowledge clearinghouse in manufacturing for, 55 effect of standardized, 61 in human/machine interface, 156-59 interviews and observations to collect, 51-52, 62-63,73,78-83 software design for manufacturing system, 58-61 from statistical process control systems, 81 82 treatment in systems design, 156 use in work environment of, 54-55 in Xerox Design Language, 29-31 Information systems, 185 Information technology (IT) See also Shopfloor monitoring and control (SMC) system businesses in, 139 demands and tendencies of, 173 Innovation design support for, 165 in organizations, 175-76 Interaction informal patterns of worker, 46 in playing, 119-20 scenarios to explore people's, 48 Internal transparency, 185 Interviews to assess changes in design practice, 74, 78-83 to collect workplace information, 52-53 for conversation modeling, 56-58 ISA-KLAR (computer-based planning system), 108-10 Island concept See Production island concept IT See Information technology (IT) Job design See a/so Technological indeterminism constraint of technology in, 135, 150 derivation in AMT design of, 144-45 effect of systems architecture on, 150 organization's choice of, 133 relation to advanced manufacturing technology, 133-39 205 relation to AMT design, 160 view of human potential and worth in, 141 Joint Regulation Act(MBL), Sweden, 99-100, 109, 110 Knowledge See also Prepositional knowledge; Understanding how organizations afford, 187-88 in practice, 118 process of understanding, 118 social distribution of, 172 technology replacing human, 138 Labor laws (Scandinavia), 99-100 Labor Representatives on Company Boards Act (Sweden), 99 Language See also Design language; Semantics; Visual language of architecture of buildings, 188 for communication, conditions for communication with, 120 to create common perspective, 46-47, 50-51 Language-games changing rules for, 120 participation in, 120 played as design-by-doing, 126-27 practical and fun aspects of, 129-30 requirements for participation in, 126 role of designer in, 128-29 rules for, 119-20, 127 tools and objects in, 120 of Wittgenstein, 117 Learning See also Apprenticeship; Codes, Legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) about new devices, 168 design for, 165-71 design language for, 20-21 as process of construction, 167 tools support, 166 well-designed tools for, 13, 169 Legitimate peripheral participation (LPP), 16769 Machining shop design process without worker involvement, 88-90, 92 worker participation in design process, 86-88 Management, participative, 73 Manufacturing system See Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) Marketability design language for, 21 -22 of useable- and experience-based products, 35-36 MBL See Joint Regulation Act (MBL), Sweden Mockups, 48-49, 61 in UTOPIA project, 112, 121-22, 126, 127 of workplace software tools, 61 Model building See also Conversations of conversations in work environment, 53-58 for manufacturing system design, 47-48, 50 Monitor Display, 61 Monsanto Chemical Corporation project, 50-63 206 NJMF See Norwegian Iron and Metal Workers Union (NJMF) project Nordic Graphic Workers' Union (NGU), 112 Norwegian Employers Federation, 107 Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions, 107 Norwegian Iron and Metal Workers Union (NJMF) project, 105-7 Object design, 17-19 Operability concept extension of, 31, 34 shift in terminology to, 26 Organization or company factors choice in design, 133, 150 in FMS and CIM design, 150 resulting from product design (Xerox), 36-37, 40 in technical design process, 140, 141 Organization or company policy with decentralized decision making, 90-91 design practices with no, 78-83 equipment design as factor shaping, 76-77 factors influencing new, 92-93 with statistical process control, 79, 80, 81 worker participation as factor shaping, 77-80, 86-88 Organizational architecture, 188-89 Organizational transparency, 185-86 Organizations or companies analysis of kinds of, 175-76 as systems, 174-75 understanding formal and informal structure of, 46 PA AS project, 114 Parallel design methods, 141-44 Peripheral features, role in design of, 189-91 Perspective in design, 46-47 Phenomenology, 116-17 Photocopying history, 22-28 Plant Information tool, 60 Plant Overview tool, 60-61 Practice of language-game rules, 120, 123-24 reforming, 120-21 as social construction of reality, 118 Product semantics concept for, 16-17, 20 with shift in design perspective, 39-40 Product families, 39 Production island concept, 150-51, 153 Programming staff, 88 Propositional knowledge, 123, 127 See also Understanding Prototyping See also Mockups in ESPRIT project 1217, 140 pros and cons of, 49-50 in software development, 116 in UTOPIA project, 112, 121-22, 126 in Xerox design strategy, 27, 28 Quality circles, 79 SUBJECT INDEX Reasoning, causal and explicit, 185 Relevant causality, 185 Reliability, 39 Remote Window Viewing tool, 60 Research team in CAD experience, 154-56 in DEMOS project, 108 Robot-populated factories, 42, 83-85 SAF See Swedish Employers' Federation (SAF) Scenarios building, 56 to explore people's interactions, 48 in UTOPIA project, 126 Searle's Chinese room, 186 Semantics experiential, 16-18 product semantics concept, 17 situation, 16 Semiotics, 16 Shaping workshop, 151-52, 153 Shared Data Window, 58 SHERLOCK training system, 173-74 Shopfloor monitoring and control (SMC) system, 152-53 Simulations, 127 Sketch pad, electronic, 154-55 Skill-based design differences from technology-based design, 66, 67-68 lessons on, 128 in near future, 92-93 participatory, 116-29 for worker involvement, 73 Skill development, 87, 92 SMC system See Shopfloor monitoring and control (SMC) system Social determinism, 135 Social factors See also Users in AMT design, 142-44 Social milieu, 173-74 Social scientists, 143-44, 146 role in ESPRIT 534 project, 151 in shaping workshop context, 151-52 Sociotechnical approach (Scandinavia), 100105 Software design for CNC machine tool, 153 with human learning and communication focus, 116 for shopfloor monitoring and control (SMC) system, 153 workers' changes in programs of, 87-88 Software tools See also Conversation Management tool; Plant Information tool; Remote Window Viewing tool design requirements for, 50-51 expectations for manufacturing environment, 62 means to define, 55-57 for workplace conversations, 58-61 SUBJECT INDEX Statistical process control (SPC), 78-79, 80, 8182 Status of Shop Stewards Act (Sweden) 99 Steel plant technology, 90-91 Suggestion system, 87 Swedish Employers' Federation (SAP) sociotechnical experiments of, 104 statutes, 100 Swedish Federation of Trade Unions, 104, 105 Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), 107 System engineering, 43-44, 47-48 System Performance Monitor tool, 60 Systems analysts, 137 Systems architecture See also Computerintegrated manufacturing (CIM) systems; Shopfloor monitoring and control (SMC) system need for change in, 188-89 redesign of, 150, 151 role in AMT technical design process, 149-53 Systems design See also Parallel design methods; Shaping workshop criteria for effective, 43-44 effect of financial appraisal of, 149 with minimal worker participation, 88-90 redefining criteria for, 43-44 role of ergonomics in, 142 technology-centered approach to, 140-41 for updated steel-making technology, 90-91 Taylorism,8, 103, 109 Technically embedded constraint concept, 13944, 149-53 Technological determinism, soft, 135, 137-39, 160 Technological indeterminism, 134-37, 144 Technology See Advanced manufacturing technology (AMT); Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems; Computernumerically controlled (CNC) machines; Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS); Information technology (IT); Technological determinism, soft; Technological indeterminism Technology-based design See also Skill-based design assumptions for, 66-68 weaknesses of, 140-42 TIK-TA K project, 114 Tools See also Glass Box tools; Software tools computer-based, 112 for design, 61, 118 design of, 165-66 design strategy to develop effective, 63-64 Glass Box, 183-84 in language-games, 120 for learning, 166, 169 software for workplace conversations, 58-61 systems designed as, 41-42 that isolate people, 172 TOPOS project, 187 207 Trade unions See also Workers' collective concept (Scandinavia); Work-oriented design (Scandinavia) contract demands of, 79 movement in Scandinavia, 98-99, 101 participation in computer-based systems design, 115-16 role in democratization of design, 104-5 role in DEMOS project, 107-11 role in NJMF research project, 106-7 traditional distribution issues of, 102 Tradition See also Transcendence in Wittgenstein approach, 124-25, 128 Training, Technology, and Products from a Quality of Work Perspective (UTOPIA), 112 Transcendence, 125, 128 Transparency in design 5eealso Domain transparency; Glass Box tools; Internal transparency; Organizational transparency; Reasoning, causal and explicit; Relevant causality opposed to opacity, 183-86 Understanding achieving practical, 123 implicit, 170 individual and social construction and distribution of, 172 language-game as shared activity for, 126 as skill, 128 Urban design, 19 Usability See also Operability concept; Xerox Design Guidelines; Xerox Design Language as applied at Xerox, 23 assurance process for, 8-9 challenge, 3-13 criteria for computer-based design, 7-8 criteria for system, 45-46 design language to craft, 22 design strategy for (Xerox), 23-28 developing broader definition of, 26 limitations of traditional model, 4-5 testing for, 45 User control See also Direct object manipulation; Sketch pad, electronic in human-machine interface, 153-56 Users See also Design process; Design team; Worker involvement assumed role in hard technology design, 141 design process can enable, 157 interface simulations, 127 mechanism to characterize, 51-53 optimizing role of, 140 participation in AMT design, 143-44 participation in design process, 44-45, 143 problems with formalized information of, 157 technology to enhance skills of, 3, user-oriented and user-orienting design, 35, 39,186-89 when included in design process, 141 208 UTOPIA project See also Carpentry Shop Project computer-based tool design for, 112 design-by-doing methods in, 126 design language-game used in, 122-23 lessons learned from, 114-15 for participatory design, 96, 102, 117, , 158, 187 Value coding, 30 Video Observation tool, 60 Video technology, 61 View, access and interior, 30, 37 Visual language, 38-39 Windowing technology, 61 Work environment characterization of 53-55, 62 democratizing Scandinavian, 97-100 labor laws related to Scandinavian, 99-100 Work Environment Acts (1977) (Norway and Sweden), 99 Worker involvement Sec also Deskilling practices SUBJECT INDEX access to system information, 90-91 importance of, 92 minimal, 88-90 in NJMF project (Norway), 106-7 strategy for, 73 in system design process, 86-88 when minimized, 83-86, 92 Workers' collective concept (Scandinavia), 100101, 103 Workforce, Scandinavian, 98 Work-oriented design (Scandinavia) See aha Collective resource approach for users, 105-16, 128 Workplace environment design for working and learning in, 165, 166 learning in, 170 Work surface view, 30 Xerographic process, 177-78 Xerox Design Guidelines, 35-36, 37-38 Xerox Design Language, 16, 28-34, 37-39 Xerox-FRS design team, 25-28, 34, 36 ...Usability This page intentionally left blank USABILITY: Turning Technologies into Tools E d i t e d by Paul S Adler Department of Management and Organization School... Oxford University Press Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Usability: turning technologies into tools/ edited by Paul S Adler and Terry A Winograd p cm Includes bibliographical references... but if our tools have become more powerful and flexible, it is because the technologies embedded in them have grown more complex, and as a result the challenge of designing effective tools has