HCI2002/EUPA: Home Truths about Extending Usability

'Working people have job descriptions, but in the home people carry out a much wider variety of activities and these are poorly understood', said Andrew Monk of York University as he looked at the research that should accompany the domestication of technology. 'We can and should expand the concept of usability. Designing technology for the home is a stimulus for change but the new concepts will also be applicable in other contexts, such as enjoyable software in the office. We are only at the beginning of this process.' He was speaking in the final session of the HCI2002/EUPA conference last month.

In a talk that was moving in its respect for the realities of life, Monk juxtaposed conventional conceptions of usability such as ease-of-learning, low level ease-of-use and task fit, with a trio of additional concepts that need consideration as technology becomes ubiquitous: enjoyment, effective communication, and trust and dependability.

He focussed briefly on each of these areas, decomposing enjoyment into narrative and frivolity, and giving as an example of this, a smart pill that could be swallowed. It might broadcast 'It's my Birthday' for the day: eaten at breakfast and, having progressed through the system, emitted at night.

He also cited Herb Clark's work on communication, offering it as a basis for understanding mediated gatherings, such as online chat, and the new needs of these contexts; touching on the field that has been live for many years in CSCW circles: that of mutual awareness and how it can be fostered over a network.

But he turned most of his attention to the twin concepts of trust and dependability, breaking these down into safety issues and 'new things to avoid', and focussing particularly on the needs of older people.

He looked at conventional risk analysis and traditional hazards, presenting this in the context of adverse consequences of everyday living for older people. Traditional hazards included 'damage to property', 'medical conditions' and 'injury to the person'; the last incorporating falls, burns, cuts, electric shock, overdose, under dose, food poisoning, hypothermia, overexertion, attack on person. To this list, Monk added two further categories: of social or psychological condition (such as isolation, debt, depression, fear, boredom, lack of privacy, and discrimination) and exclusion from services (such as no food in house, no medical and social support, no access to transport).

Combining his themes, he drew attention to the importance of marketing elements: comparing an electric wheelchair to a smart red scooter that fulfils the same function but does not stigmatise the driver of it. The scooter is more enjoyable to use and has aesthetic appeal, while still overcoming isolation. The traditional concept of usability would not distinguish between the two except in terms of performance.

Monk was also quick to suggest that there are many hidden dangers to taking a technological option and this is one reason why a fuller audit is needed. Were we to replace carer's visits with monitors, this might well be opposed by the invalid on the basis that it increases isolation and is therefore undesirable, though safer.

And he suggested that even labour-saving devices that reduce the level of activity required of older people may not be a good thing: in fact, this was 'one of the dangers of design by younger people'. Opening a window may be the limit of someone's physical resources, but it may be important to stay at that limit.

Another point he raised was how perceptions change with stages in life. He introduced the idea of a monitor presented as a toy bear, now used in Japanese nursing homes to keep watchful eye on incumbents. The prospect of the bear 'is awful to us now. But if it keeps someone at home...'. He made his point.

His thoughts were echoed light-heartedly by a later exchange in the audience when the subject of smart houses that can run your bath for you came up for exploration. Someone objected that this takes the ritual thrill out of preparing a bath. Parents with small children were swift to point out that not everyone regards the routine associated with running baths as fun. It depends on your circumstances and these change during life.

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