Dogma Scriptwriter turns Attention to HCI Personas

Sigchi.dk has invited film luminary Mogens Rukov to share a professional narrator's methods for constructing convincing characters. Rukov produces scripts for the radical Danish film movement Dogma, reknowned for its realistic depiction of life. He has been involved in most of the Dogma films (including the last, "Dogville", with Nicole Kidman). He is going to lead a two-day workshop in Copenhagen in October on applying scriptwriting to personas for HCI.

Lene Nielsen of Copenhagen Business School's Department of Informatics, who spoke at DIS 2002 about the need for better use of personas and scenarios, is behind the initiative.

At the time she saw a number of problems with how Alan Cooper's idea of personas was being implemented:
• Focus on use rather than on the user,
• Character-descriptions presenting stereotypes rather than believable characters, and
• Difficulties in creating an understanding of the user.

She announced the idea of the workshop on UN last year (see UN story: Workshop to spring from DIS2002 Critique of Scenario Use) and has now called for participation (see Sigchi.dk Workshop on Personas.

The workshop is intended for people who have worked with personas before and want to develop the technique. The workshop will focus on how to construct convincing and captivating portraits of users after the initial collection of user data.

Nielsen says 'I have always found the personas I have read as vague - and not vivid - descriptions. I have now hired the best Danish scriptwriter to give a workshop. He is to talk about what it takes to write a good character for film. And in the workshop we will try it out.'

'Internet addiction' linked to Depression
Source: BBC, 9 February 2010
 
There is a strong link between heavy internet use and depression, UK psychologists have said.

Could *You* be more Usable?
Source: UN, 8 February 2010
 
Bet you could.

Stowe Boyd on 'Steampunk' thinking about the Future of Computing
Source: Stowe Boyd's blog via Experientia, 6 February 2010
 
Are established metaphors of user experience holding us back from new ways of structuring our interaction through computers?

Nokia's User Experience Programme
Source: UN, 5 February 2010
 
Nokia has put together a rich and informative website covering the key elements of user experience.

Interfaces magazine: latest issue available now
Source: HCI News Service, 4 February 2010
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available in pdf format, free from the Interaction Website.

A Lighter Brigade of Chargers
Source: UN, 3 February 2010
 
Lots of gadgets, one charger. At last.

Mobile Touch Screens could soon Feel the Pressure
Source: MIT Technology Review, 2 February 2010
 
A quantum switch could add pressure sensing to mobile screens.

Usability, Usability, Usability: why the iPad will Succeed
Source: Econsultancy, 1 February 2010
 
The tech critics love it, hate it, love it again, shrug it off. What do usability experts say?

British Airways - at last some good news
Source: Loop11, 30 January 2010
 
In a recent website usability study for the world's leading airlines, the British Airways website proved to be the most user friendly, with Malaysia Airlines and Virgin Atlantic having the lowest user experience rating.

Computation of Emotions in Man and Machine
Source: Royal Society, 29 January 2010
 
Advances in computer technology now allow machines to recognise and express emotions, paving the way for improved human-computer and human-human communications.