From: riander@well.sf.ca.us (Richard Ivan Anderson)
Newsgroups: ba.seminars,comp.human-factors,comp.groupware,comp.cog-eng
Subject: BayCHI (Feb 9) - Where HCI Design Fails / Don Norman (at Stanford)
Date: 26 Jan 93 08:27:56 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link


                                      BayCHI,
                       the San Francisco Bay Area ACM SIGCHI
             (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction),
                          announces its February meeting:

                            Tuesday, February 9, 1993
                                  7:30 - 9:30 pm

 
                              Where HCI Design Fails:
            The hard problems are social and political, not technical

                                 Donald A. Norman
                                  Apple Computer


              ******** NOTE DIFFERENT LOCATION THAN USUAL ********
                                Kresge Auditorium
                               Stanford University
               (Directions to Kresge - the Law School Auditorium -
                       appear at the end of this posting.)


Abstract:

The following talk is based upon my experiences as a consultant, but still
based within a university environment.  My experiences within the product
side of Apple confirm the observations a hundred-fold.  

HCI has been solving the wrong problems. The real reason we have so many
bad products is not the lack of HCI expertise but rather social and
organizational issues.

Why is little attention paid to HCI?  Lots of reasons.  Here is one: the
location of HCI within the organizational structure.  If it is off to the
side, you lose. Industry tends to be organized into neat, hierarchical
compartments: each has its own responsibilities, cost and promotion
structure.  Even with the most perfect advice, if you aren't part of both
the design and manufacturing team, you lose.  Most suggestions made by the
HCI team lead to increased time, cost, and pressures on the design or
manufacturing arm of the company.  From their point of view, if they have to
spend more money and time, their promotion chances go down.  So what if the
end result is easier to use, safer, and easier to manufacture and maintain?
Add to this a general lack of understanding of how products really get used
("that's a one-in-a-million chance") that implies that the suggestions are
unimportant.  No wonder HCI doesn't have much respect.

We already know a lot about HCI, about design, and about documentation.
We know a lot about human behavior and the factors that contribute to human
error, to accidents, and to safety.  We know how to make products easier
and more comfortable to use, and safer.  But still, there are problems.
Should we do more research, publish more studies?  Nope. In my opinion,
10% of the problem involves the science and engineering knowledge of HCI,
90% reflects the social and managerial side.  The real problem is one of
attitude, which then gets reflected into organizational practice. 

There are other problems as well.  There is plenty of fault to go
around.  Are there solutions to these problems?  Yup, but they will require
major realignments of company structures and attitudes.  It is difficult,
but it can be done. 

Biography:

Donald A. Norman is an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer and Professor
Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego where he was founding
chair of the department of Cognitive Science. He was one of the founders of
the Cognitive Science Society and has been chair of the society and editor
of its journal, Cognitive Science. He as served as a director of the san
Diego Human Factors Society and as a national officer of ACM's SIGCHI. He
is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

"The technological problems today," says Norman, "are sociological and
organizational as much as technical. In this new age of portable, powerful,
fully-communicating tools, it is ever more important to develop a humane
technology, one that takes into account the needs and capabilities of
people. " Norman is the author of the book The Design of Everyday Things.
His most recent book is Turn Signals Are the Facial Expressions of
Automobiles.  Things That Make Us Smart is scheduled for publication in May,
1993. 

***************************************************************************

                         NOTE OF SPONSORSHIP & THANKS

The February BayCHI meeting at Kresge Auditorium is sponsored, in part, by
the "Project on People, Computers and Design" at Stanford.  Special thanks
to Terry Winograd.

***************************************************************************

     Coming Attraction: March 9

         Key Controversies About Computerization & Changing Work
               Rob Kling, University of California, Irvine

                                  at Xerox PARC Auditorium, Palo Alto

***************************************************************************

                                About BayCHI

BayCHI, the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of ACM's Special Interest
Group on Computer-Human Interaction, brings together systems designers,
human factors engineers, computer scientists, psychologists, social
scientists, users, ... from throughout the Bay Area to hear and to
exchange ideas about computer-human interaction and about the design
and evaluation of user interfaces.

To join BayCHI, which will get you added to the mailing list for the
newsletter, enable your access to the jobbank, enable your listing in
and access to the consultants directory, ..., send a note to
SAnderson.chi@xerox.com or to BayCHI, PO Box 25, Menlo Park, CA 94026,
and we will send you a membership form.  Membership forms are also
available at the BayCHI meetings.

***************************************************************************

                         BayCHI Steering Committee

The BayCHI steering committee meetings are open to anyone who is interested
in attending.  The meetings are generally held the first Tuesday of the month
at 7:30 p.m.  Please contact any member of the committee for directions to the
meeting.

Chair/Program Chair    Richard Anderson    rianderson.chi@xerox.com
Vice Chair             Rosemary Wick       wick.chi@xerox.com
Treasurer              Ulrike Creach       415-423-0843
Past Chair             Kathy Hemenway      hemenway@sun.com
 
BOF Coordinator        David Rowley        rowley@varian.com
South Bay Interface
Designers BOF          Desiree McCrorey    Desiree_McCrorey@smtp.esl.com
OSF/Motif BOF          Lora Shirley        lora@askinc.ask.com
 
Dinner Coordinator     Kate Finn           finn.chi@xerox.com
Publicity/HFS Liason   Susan Wolfe         wolfe_susan@tandem.com
SIGCHI Liason          Don Patterson       patterson.chi@xerox.com
Job Bank               Richard Yamauchi    yamauchi.chi@xerox.com
 
Newsletter             Steve Anderson      SAnderson.chi@xerox.com
Elections/Newsletter   David Simkin        david@makesys.com
Tutorial Chair         Ellen Francik       epfrancik@pacbell.com
Consultants Directory  Scott Luebking      phoenix1@netcom.com

Member-at-Large        Clark Streeter      streeter@nersc.gov
UI Design Competition  Al Lee              alee.dr@applelink.apple.com
 
 
            BayCHI -- P.O. Box 25 -- Menlo Park, CA -- 94026
 
 
***************************************************************************

                       Directions to Kresge Auditorium

>From Interstate 280, take EITHER
                              the PAGE MILL Road exit
                             OR
                              the SAND HILL Road exit.

  If you take PAGE MILL, go east on Page Mill about one mile and turn left onto
  Junipero Serra Blvd. (Foothill Expressway goes in the opposite direction).
  Go north about two miles and turn right onto Campus Drive East.  Turn left
  onto Alvarado Row (the second cross street).  Then turn left at the next
  corner onto Abbott Way.  Kresge - the Law School auditorium - is to the right
  near the end of Abbott Way.  (The most convenient parking for Kresge is
  around Alvarado Row and Abbott Way.)

  If you take SAND HILL, go east on Sand Hill about one mile and turn right
  onto Alpine Road.  After a short distance, turn left onto Junipero Serra
  Blvd. Follow Junipero Serra about one mile to Campus Drive East (not West -
  you will pass Campus Drive West).  Turn left onto Campus Drive East.  Turn
  left onto Alvarado Row (the second cross street).  Then turn left at the
  next corner onto Abbott Way.  Kresge - the Law School auditorium - is to
  the right near the end of Abbott Way.  (The most convenient parking for
  Kresge is around Alvarado Row and Abbott Way.)


>From 101, take EITHER
                   the OREGON EXPRESSWAY exit,
                  OR
                   the EMBARCADERO Road exit,
                  OR
                   the UNIVERSITY Avenue exit.

  If you take the OREGON EXPRESSWAY exit, go west on the Oregon Expressway 2
  miles to El Camino Real.  Oregon Expressway becomes Page Mill Road at El
  Camino Real.  Follow Page Mill Road 1.5 miles to Junipero Serra Blvd. and
  turn right (Foothill Expressway goes in the opposite direction).  Go north
  about two miles and turn right onto Campus Drive East.  Turn left onto
  Alvarado Row (the second cross street).  Then turn left at the next corner
  onto Abbott Way.  Kresge - the Law School auditorium - is to the right near
  the end of Abbott Way.  (The most convenient parking for Kresge is around
  Alvarado Row and Abbott Way.)

  If you take EMBARCADERO, go northwest on Embarcadero 2 miles to El Camino
  Real.  Embarcadero becomes Galvez Street at El Camino Real.  Follow Galvez
  St. about one mile to Campus Drive and turn left.  Follow Campus Drive (it
  turns into Campus Drive East at some point) around to Alvarado Row (approx.
  2 miles). Turn right onto Alvarado Row.  Then turn left at the next corner
  onto Abbott Way.  Kresge - the Law School auditorium - is to the right near
  the end of Abbott Way.  (The most convenient parking for Kresge is around
  Alvarado Row and Abbott Way.)

  If you take UNIVERSITY, go west on University 2 miles to El Camino Real. 
  University becomes Palm Drive at El Camino Real.  Follow Palm Drive about one
  mile to Campus Drive and turn left.  Follow Campus Drive (it turns into
  Campus Drive East at some point) around (approx. 2 1/2 miles) to Alvarado
  Row.  Turn right onto Alvarado Row.  Then turn left at the next corner onto
  Abbott Way. Kresge - the Law School auditorium - is to the right near the
  end of Abbott Way.  (The most convenient parking for Kresge is around
  Alvarado Row and Abbott Way.)
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