HCI International News, Number 7, December 2004

In this Issue

A Glance at the 48th Annual Conference of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

The 48th Annual Conference of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) was held September 20-24 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The HFES annual conference provides academics, scientists, and professionals in the field of Human Factors and Ergonomics with the opportunity to present the results of their research work. Fundamental, applied, or investigative research results in human factors can then be used to design more user-friendly, safe, and productive software and hardware products and systems for human use.

As usual, computer systems were one key area of focus. Overall, more than 65 papers discussed research in the area of computer systems, the internet, and virtual environments. Topics in the area of computer systems included: task analysis and cognitive modeling, user interface design for PDF devices, navigation, search, ecommerce, and usability methods and metrics. Most of these projects were conducted through research and academic institutions, but a number of corporate professionals also attended to share the results of their work. Among the major companies represented were Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft.

The 2004 Proceedings fully text-searchable CD-ROM containing papers presented during the Conference is available at: http://hfes.org/publications/2004proc.html

Abbas Moallem

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Book Review: Handbook of Human Factors Testing and Evaluation

Without question, testing and evaluation are among the most important practices in the field of human factors and ergonomics (HFE). Testing and evaluation techniques, measurements, and tools play an important role in the design and selection of a product or service, whether it be software, hardware, a training program, a procedure in an organization, or some other product or service. In this book, several authors, with extensive industry practice in addition to their academic credentials, provide a useful overview of the topic. In the 10 chapters that make up the first part of the book, the authors first provide a historic perspective of testing and evaluation in HFE. They then review all aspects of the tools and techniques used to test and evaluate products or services. Topics such as measurement techniques, documentation, and prototyping test environments are extensively covered.

The second part of the book includes 22 chapters about the application of HFE testing and evaluation techniques in different industries for different types of products. These examples include descriptions of evaluation and testing practices in diverse environments. The chapters covering commercial air transport flight decks (chapter 12), maritime applications (chapter 13), the forest industry (chapter 14), road safety (chapter 15), and nuclear power plants (chapter 16) are particularly delighting.

Overall this book helps readers understand the issues in testing and evaluation in different industries, and at the same time understand the topic and gather ideas through descriptions of other people's experiences. Consequently, Handbook of Human Factors Testing and Evaluation is not only a good book for those who practice human factors and ergonomics but also a good resource for academic and specialty students who are starting a career in HFE.A.M.

Handbook of Human Factors Testing and Evaluation, edited by Samuel G.Charlton and Thomas G. O'Brien, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesPublisher, 2002. 689 pages. ISBN 0-8058-3291-2.

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Few Exhibition Booths left-over at HCII 2005

A variety of related product and technology companies will exhibit at HCII2005 (see the list of Exhibitors).

Exhibitors who have committed to exhibit early will have a better opportunity in booth location selection and very attractive pricing, plus the opportunity to be listed in the Advance Program that will be distributed worldwide.

Out of the 50 Exhibition booths, 43 are already committed to a variety of state-of-the-art HCI technologies.

For more information, please contact Dr. Abbas Moallem,Communication and Exhibition Chair

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Sponsorship of HCI International 2005

Sponsorship is now open. Organizations wishing to sponsor a special event or to be a general sponsor of the Conference are welcome to contact the Conference Chair.

For questions about the sponsorship program at HCII 2005, please contact Dr. Abbas Moallem, Communication and Exhibition Chair.

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Interesting Recent Articles

• "User Education Is Not the Answer to Security Problems", Alertbox, October 26, 2004.
• "Do you hear what I hear? ...or why it may not matter that users still ignore breadcrumbs", UI Design Update Newsletter, October 2004.
• "Mind the Gap-On the appropriate use of focus groups and usability testing in planning and evaluating Interfaces", UI Design Update Newsletter, September 2004.
• "Interview with Tom Hewett", HOT Topics!, September 2004.
• "Create easy-to-view tables", Ease of Use, September 2004.
• "Online users not safe as they think", MSNBC News, October 25, 2004.
• "Making Personas More Powerful: Details to Drive Strategic and Tactical Design", Boxes and Arrows, October 27, 2004.
• "Carriers, handset makers vie for interface control", builder.com, October 7, 2004.
• "Newsletter Usability: Can a Professional Publisher Do Better?", Alertbox, October 11, 2004.
• "Acting on User Research", Alertbox, November 8, 2004.
• "A tale of two notations: a comparative evaluation of UML and matrices as representations for validating domain knowledge", Ease of Use Newsletter,November 5, 2004.
• "Wanted by the Police: A Good Interface", NYTimes.com, November 11, 2004.
• "Voice and Text: An Exploration of Modality Effects in Computer-Aided Instruction", HOT Topics!, November 2004.
• "Use of Narrative in Interactive Design", Boxes and Arrows, October 28, 2004.
• "Wireframe Annotations in Visio: Special Deliverable #11", Boxes and Arrows, October 28, 2004.
• "Stupid Web Tricks", builder.com, October 7, 2004.
• "In Search of Disclosure: How Search Engines Alert Consumers to the Presence of Advertising in Search Results", WebWatch, Nov. 8, 2004.
• "The High Price of Not Listening", AskTog, November 2004.
• "Rich Media Is Rising Star of Online Ad", eMarketer's new, November 18, 2004.

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Upcoming Conferences and Events in the HCI Area

• 10-11 December:: HCI Research in MIS, Third Annual Workshop, Washington, D.C., USA.
• 15-17 December: CELDA 2004, Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age, Lisbon, Portugal.
• 9-12 January : IUI 2005, International conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, San Diego, CA, USA.
• 23-25 January : SIMCHI '05, 2005 international conference on Human-Computer Interface advances for modeling and simulation New Orleans, LA, USA.

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Previous Issues of the HCI International NEWS

• October 04: "HCII 2005 Final Call for Papers"
• August 04: "HCII 2005, the largest HCI International Conference ever"
• June 04: "HCI in the People's Republic of China"
• April 04: "Invitation to participate in the inaugural International Conference on Augmented Cognition in conjunction with HCI International 2005"
• January 04: "Breadth, Depth, and the Future of HCI"
• November 03: "Usability and Internationalization" – HCII 2005 Program

Table of Contents | Top of Page

Contribute to HCI International NEWS

We welcome your contribution to the HCI International News. Please send us interesting news, short articles, interesting websites, etc. We will consider your comments and contribution for upcoming issues.

Please send your contribution to the Editor, Dr. Abbas Moallem.

Table of Contents | Top of Page

About HCI International NEWS

The HCI International NEWS is a newsletter about Human - Computer Interaction topics, the HCI International 2005 Conference deadlines and activities, the HCI International 2005 Exhibition, news in the area of HCI, tips and techniques in preparing effective presentation for publication and more.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you want to contribute, please contact the Editor, Dr. Abbas Moallem. The opinions that are expressed in this newsletter are sole responsibility of their authors and do not represent any institution or company.

Table of Contents | Top of Page