1. Broadening Access to Statistical Data by Improving User Interfaces Ben Shneiderman Founding Director, Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Professor, Department of Computer Science Member, Institutes for Advanced Computer Studies & Systems Research University of Maryland, College Park (ben@cs.umd.edu)

2. Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Interdisciplinary research community - Computer Science & Psychology - Information Studies & Education (www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)

3. Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly) Z Specify users and tasks Z Predict and measure (theory-driven, hypothesis-testing) ] time to learn ] speed of performance ] rate of human errors  human retention over time Z Assess subjective satisfaction (Questionnaire for User Interface Satisfaction) Z Accommodate individual differences Z Consider social, organizational & cultural context

4. Design Issues Z Z Input devices & strategies ] ] Keyboards, pointing devices, voice ] ] Direct manipulation ] ] Menus, forms, commands Z Z Output devices & formats ] ] Screens, windows, color, sound ] ] Text, tables, graphics ] ] Instructions, messages, help Z Z Collaboration & communities Z Z Manuals, tutorials, training www.awl.com/DTUI usableweb.com hcibib.org useit.com

5. Library of Congress Z Scholars, Journalists, Citizens Z Teachers, Students

6. Visible Human Explorer (NLM) Z Doctors Z Surgeons Z Researchers Z Students

7. NASA Environmental Data Z Scientists Z Farmers Z Land planners Z Students

8. LifeLines

10. Children as Our Design Partners

11. Zoomable User Interfaces (ZUIs)

12. Bureau of Census Z Economists, Policy makers, Journalists Z Teachers, Students

13. Snap-Together Visualization ] ] Allow coordination designers to create novel layouts that combine existing visualizations ] ] Allow users to navigate large datasets conveniently

14. Census Statistics with Maps

15. Treemap - Stock market, clustered by industry

16. Z Z Problem: Confusion, frustration, and remorse dominate user experiences ] ] Survey of 6000 users finds 5.1 hours/week wasted ] ] Incompatible files, interfaces, networks, hardware ] ] Poorly designed websites lacking accessibility policy Z Z Solutions: ] ] Raise user expectations ] ] Conduct research ] ] Provide practical tools & methods Universal Usability

17. Z Z Problem: Confusion, frustration, and remorse dominate user experiences ] ] Survey of 6000 users finds 5.1 hours/week wasted ] ] Incompatible files, interfaces, networks, hardware ] ] Poorly designed websites lacking accessibility policy Z Z Solutions: ] ] Raise user expectations ] ] Conduct research ] ] Provide practical tools & methods Skeptics corner - Dumbing down - Lowest common denominator Universal Usability

18. ACM Code of Ethics In a fair society, all individuals would have equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or other such similar factors.

19. Internet Use by Education - 1998 Z Percent of U.S. Households Using the Internet Total U.S., Rural, Urban, and Central City Areas Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide www.ntia.doc.gov

20. Internet Use by Income - 1998 Z Percent of U.S. Households Using the Internet Total U.S., Rural, Urban, and Central City Areas Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide www.ntia.doc.gov

21. Technology variety: Support broad range of hardware, software, and network access 1 to 100 range in processor speeds 286 486 Pentium 1 to 100 range in screen sizes Palm devices Laptops Large Desktop or Wall Display 30,000 480,000 3,840,000 pixels Software Versions Compatibility File conversion Multiple platforms Device Independence Input: keyboard, speech,... Output: visual, auditory,... Conversion: Text-speech Speech-text,... 1 to 100 range in network bandwidth 9.6K 56K 10,000Kbps

22. Language & Culture Western, Eastern, developing... Personality Introvert vs extravert Thinking vs feeling Risk aversion Locus of control Planful vs playful User diversity: Accommodate different users User diversity: Accommodate different users Skills Computer newbie to hacker Knowledge Domain novice to expert Age Young to old Gender Male or Female Income Impoverished to wealthy Disabilities Visual, auditory, motoric, cognitive Disabling conditions Mobility, injury, noise, sunlight

23. Online help Context sensitive, tables of contents, Indexes, Keyword search, FAQs, Newsgroups, Chat rooms Online communities Gaps in User Knowledge - Strategies Bridge the gap between what users know and what they need to know Design Layered Level-structured Task-oriented Training Fade-able scaffolding Training wheels Minimalist Online Learning (evolutionary, phased) Introductory tutorials Getting started manuals, Cue cards Walkthroughs/Demos Minimalist/Active Customer service Email Phone Help desks

24. ACM Conference on Universal Usability Washington, DC November 16-17, 2000 www.acm.org/sigchi/cuu

25. Broadening Access to Census Data Z Z Dynamaps ] ] Speeds exploration of geographic data ] ] Facilitates comparisons & visibility of extremes Z Z Query Previews ] ] Speeds exploration of statistical data ] ] Facilitates study of distributions of data Z Z Table browser ] ] Speeds exploration of tabular data ] ] Facilitates understanding of data patterns

26. Dynamap

27. Dynamap

28. Dynamap

30. Broadening Access to Census Data Z Z Dynamaps ] ] Speeds exploration of geographic data ] ] Facilitates comparisons & visibility of extremes Z Z Query Previews ] ] Speeds exploration of statistical data ] ] Facilitates study of distributions of data Z Z Table browser ] ] Speeds exploration of tabular data ] ] Facilitates understanding of data patterns

31. Problems with Browsing Large Online Tables e.g. 1997 US Economic Census Data, for Counties: more than 3000 Tuples Hard to see overview, gaps, and clusters or find answers to questions without many zero or mega hit queries and large unnecessary downloads Universal Relation >> 1000 Tuples

41. Conclusions Z Visual presentation of data Z Visual manipulation of data Z Continuous immediate feedback on actions Z Easily reversible actions Z Error prevention instead of error correction Z Better network performance: ] No zero/mega hit queries ] Loading only the metadata prior to query submission

42. Broadening Access to Census Data Z Z Dynamaps ] ] Speeds exploration of geographic data ] ] Facilitates comparisons & visibility of extremes Z Z Query Previews ] ] Speeds exploration of statistical data ] ] Facilitates study of distributions of data Z Z Table browser ] ] Speeds exploration of tabular data ] ] Facilitates understanding of data patterns

45. Thomas Jefferson I feel... an ardent desire to see knowledge so disseminated through the mass of mankind that it may...reach even the extremes of society: beggars and kings. -- Reply to American Philosophical Society, 1808

46. ACM Conference on Universal Usability Washington, DC November 16-17, 2000 www.acm.org/sigchi/cuu

47. Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (www.cs.umd.edu/hcil)

48. References Z Z Hert, C.A. (1999). Federal Statistical Website Users And Their Tasks: Investigations Of AvenuesTo Facilitate Access: Final Report to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Available at: http://istweb.syr.edu/~hert/BLSphase3.PDF http://istweb.syr.edu/~hert/BLSphase3.PDF Z Z Hert, C.A. (1998). FedStats Users and Their Tasks: Providing Support and Learning Tools: Final Report to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Available at: http://istweb.syr.edu/~hert/BLSphase2.html http://istweb.syr.edu/~hert/BLSphase2.html Z Z Z Z Haas, S.W. and Hert, C.A. (2000). Terminology Development and Organization in Multi-Community Environments: The Case of Statistical Information. In Soergel, D. (ed.) Proc. 11th ASIS&T SIG/CR Classification Research Workshop. Chicago, IL, November 12, 2000, p. 51-72 Z Z Hert, C.A. and Marchionini, G. (1997). Seeking Statistical Information in Federal Websites: Users, Tasks, Strategies, and Design Recommendations: Final Report to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://ils.unc.edu/~march/blsreport/mainbls.html Z Z Z Z Marchionini, G. (1998) Advanced Interface Designs for the BLS Website: Final Report to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://ils.unc.edu/~march/blsreport98/final_report.htmlhttp://ils.unc.edu/~march/blsreport98/final_report.html Z Z Marchionini, G. (1999). An Alternative Site Map Tool for The FedStats Statistical Website. http://ils.unc.edu/~march/bls_final_report99.pdf Z Z Marchionini, G. (2000). From Overviews to Previews to Answers: Integrated Interfaces for Federal Statistics Report to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 30, 2000 http://ils.unc.edu/~march/bls_final_report_99-00.pdfFrom Overviews to Previews to Answers: Integrated Interfaces for Federal Statistics