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Using an expert system to convey HCI information.
Authors:
Wilson, M., Barnard, P. & MacLean, A.
Reference:
In M.D. Harrison & A.F. Monk (Eds.), People and Computers: Designing for Usability (pp.482-497). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Year of publication:
1986
CBU number:
1954
Abstract:
Where the focus is upon human cognition, guidelines and technical reports are an inadequate means of conveying information from the research to the design communities concerned with HCI. Automated databases or simple expert systems assist in accessing relevant informtion. They do not, however, readily predict behaviour in novel settings. This possibility is offered by expert systems that incorporate a cognitive analysis of user knowledge and human information processing activity. The present paper outlines an approach to Cognitve Task Analysis (CTA) in which a theoretical framework (Barnard, 1985; in press) is used to derive an explicit representation of cognitive activity associated with dialogue tasks. The representation construted (or Task Model) includes a specification of mental processes; procedural knowledge; the contents of episodic memory; and a characterisation of the way in which the cognitive mechanism is controlled during task execution. Prespecified mapppings from the contents of Task Models then predict aspects of user behaviour.
