Knowledge Interaction Design
Professor NAKAKOJI, Kumiyo

Knowledge interaction design begins with what the person who will use it
wants to do

Interviewer: Takashi Mikuriya

̶̶ You basically did your research training in the United

invent what they did; thus, the person is held in high regard.

States, right? How did you ﬁnd Japan

I dons academic researcht think this depends on the particular ﬁeld.

environment upon returning to Japan?
̶̶ Although we can evaluate an object which already exists
I spent 8 years in the U.S., which formed the foundation of mybecause it is tangible, the future of the person who invented

research. I cannot say exactly what the physical differences

it is uncertain. In Japan, very little is invested in the future

between the research environments are, but in terms ofof researchers. Given this, please tell me about some of theresearch styles, I feel that the value of discussion that drives

topics of research currently underway.

research forward is not well understood in Japan. If weorganize workshops overseas using research funding, in Japan

In the field of Human-Computer Interaction Design, weone is often told to concentrate more on research, not so

are studying methodology and approaches for designing

much on traveling.

Although to those providing research

software systems and information technology used by thosefunding it apparently only looks like as if people are getting

engaged in research and knowledge-building. For example,

together to give presentations, in our field of research it iswhen simulating experimental data, in contrast to interface

essential to meet and debate with other people.

design, which begins from the point of view of how to show
the results to people, interaction design is a ﬁeld with begins

Fielding questions and opinions in response to ones own

with what the person who will use it wants to do.

remarks further develops ideas. In other words, the general
sense is that, rather than imparting information directly as̶̶ You mentioned that Japanese may be misunderstandingis, other people

the word designs comments benefit ones research by

disturbing it. In Japan, the research environment works bygiving and receiving information, where one only asks aLet

question because one wants to know the answer. It seems

his clients what kind of home they would like. Rather thans take an example from home design. An architect asks

to me that Japan does not have the kind of culture thatask only about the direct requirements such as white walls,

asks questions, debates or responds in ways that facilitatesa red roof… and so forth, he asks the clients about the kindunderstanding the background to the question.

of lifestyle they would like to realize and then designs theirhome accordingly. The same holds true for software systems.

̶̶ Is this peculiar to your ﬁeld of research or is this more an(Rather than only ask directly about what kind of functionality

issue of the so-called Japanese mentality towards research?

the client wants,) we ask what kind of work the person who
uses it wants to do and what kind of research they want to

If someone invents something, in Japan the invented object

conduct, then construct a system based on how it should

is held in high regard. But in the U.S., very little is made ofbe according to the client

what this person did before their invention because theystrong tendency for entrenched agrarian cultures ‒ Japanese,are deemed to have the ability concomitant to being able tofor example ‒ to take something given to them and adapt its needs. In general, there is a1

for their own uses. In contrast, in hunting cultures such as

think, Oh, I see, so that

Northern Europe, problems are overcome with the will toor other members proposals. It is fun when smart people

conquer one

come up with ideas. I would be even more thrilled if I coulds environment. I believe this manifests in theirapproach to design as well.

s how it is with regard to students

provide this kind of setting, look at or feel that which comesT h e p e r s p e c t i ve f r o m w h i c h t o g o a b o u t
manufacturing, along with the processes andmode of expression.

from it, and, to perhaps exaggerate it a bit, if it contributed
to the happiness of humanity. My undergraduate major wasformal specification description, which is a field similar tomathematical veriﬁcation, so I am inﬂuenced by that as well inthat I believe in cleanly tying together comfort and pleasure,̶̶ I see. Your research faces the twofold challenge of being

while formally underlain by a sound logic. Design is deeply

both creative, in and of itself, and changing things that cannot

enjoyable because it combines logical beauty and sensible

be seen, such as culture. By the way, what kinds of things

fun.

have you considered for business?
̶̶ This has something in common with aural history,
Now in the age of intelligent home appliances, electronics

doesn

manufacturers are up against the issue of the digital divide.

talking with researchers in information communications

t it? By this I mean that, after coming to RCAST and

Rather than reducing the number of buttons on a TV remoteand artificial intelligence, the way I define aural history has

control from 40 to 20, for example, eliminating the digitalchanged dramatically. In the past I used to focus only on

divide is returning to the basic focus of what the user wants

the interviewee as the speaker, and describe aural history

to do when watching television. That said, the number ofas skillfully drawing out the speakerbuttons on a remote control might not have been muchand recording what is said, but recently I feel that this doesof an issue to begin with. We are working together withnot seem to be the case. I have come to see the importanceindustry on this kind of research. Being able to provide usersof the interaction between speaker and interviewer, anda better overall experience by changing our way of thinking

the creativity that comes from that setting. In this interview

from simple to comfortable, easy to use to happy to

as well, I, the interviewer, and you, the speaker, happen touse is, in a certain sense, one of the responsibilities of an

be in the same place talking about a particular subject. This

information-related researcher.

is a temporal experience, but it becomes an aural history ifs public experiences

we have a good record of it. I have now come to see theLooking at the issue from the direction of what kind ofexperience we want users to have from the get-go rather
than laying out the existing parts and deciding which iseasier to use, manufacturers are only now starting to realizethat not only were products difficult to use because there

importance of the interaction between the two parties.

Coming up with information technology forhelping people to be more creative; this isknowledge interaction design

was not enough consumer testing, but they are realizingthat they have an even more fundamental issue at hand.

At the University of Colorado, I worked on a computer system,

We do not have answers like 20 buttons are better than 40

with all sorts of knowledge crammed into it, which interacts

buttons. We provide them with perspectives from whichwith humans who input information into it. Upon taking up

to go about manufacturing, along with the processes andkitchen design as a subject of study, we got very little newmode of expression. I feel that it is extremely enjoyable andinformation from a professional kitchen designer when we

meaningful to work together with industry on the things weasked in advance, What rules do you use when designing a

have so far emphasized and created in a research setting, andkitchen?

then give these shape in people

that the dishwasher should be placed to the right of the sink,s everyday lives.

Cleanly tying together comfort and pleasure,underlain by sound logic

However, when the know-it-all computer suggested

the kitchen designer began to respond by saying, No, thatcant be right. We should instead...

On the other hand, aperson unfamiliar with kitchen design would accept computer
output as a piece of information and that is where it would̶̶ Thats interesting. This means that your research isend. This was most interesting indeed.

worth conducting because you do not yet know the answer,
so you conduct your research together with industry, right?

I feel that software systems can be used as a catalyst for
educing knowledge, ideas and more creative approaches

For these companies, it is an unprecedented form of industry-from humans. I call this knowledge interaction design. If

academic collaboration. In the past, products gain widespreadan interviewer of aural history says something good, thenpopularity by businesses efforts to productize and mass-

this may lead the speaker to say something good as well.

produce while researchers have retained patents for them.

Someone with domain knowledge can actively interact with a

In our case, patents do not matter so much; it is more alongsystem and create something new. Coming up with effective

the lines of: letdesigns for information technology is the interesting part ofs think together about what has yet to bedeveloped. As I mentioned earlier, the conventional model

this research.

may have done well in a time when value was said to lie inobjects, but when the perspectives and knowledge of(August 1, 2005)

people become an issue, we need to work together.
I, myself, do not have much of a sense for design, but I do2

Links(in Japanese).
A. Takashima, Y. Yamamoto, K. Nakakoji. "Tansakuteki de-taRCASTbunseki no tame no jikanteki na gaikan to shosai no hyogen

http://www.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp

oyobi intarakushon ni kansuru kenkyu" (Representations andInteractions of Temporal Overview and Detail for Exploratory

KID Lab: Knowledge Interaction Design Laboratory

Data Analysis). IPSJ Journal, Vol. 44, No. 11, pp. 2767-2777,

http://www.kid.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

November, 2003 (in Japanese).

Recent Publications

K. Nakakoji, Y. Yamamoto, A. Aoki. "Interaction Design as a

Presented Papers

Collective Creative Process". Proceedings of Creativity andCognition 2002, Loughborough, UK, ACM Press, New York,Y. Yamamoto, K. Nakakoji. "Interaction Design of Tools forNY, pp.103-110, October, 2002.

Fostering Creativity in the Early Stages of Information Design".
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS),
Special Issue on Creativity L. Candy, E. Edmonds (Eds.), 2005
(forthcoming).
Y. Yamamoto, K. Nakakoji, A. Takashima. "The Landscape ofTime-based Visual Presentation Primitives for Richer Video
Experience". INTERACT2005, Rome, Italy, September, 2005
(forthcoming).
Y. Yamamoto, K. Nakakoji, Y. Nishinaka, M. Asada, R. Matsuda.
"What is the Space for?: The Role of Space in Authoring
Hypertext Representations". Proceedings of Hypertext 2005,
ACM Press, Salzburg, Austria, September, 2005 (forthcoming).
K. Nakakoji, Y. Yamamoto, M. Akaishi, K. Hori. "Interaction
Design for Scholarly Writing: Hypermedia Structures as a
Means for Creative Knowledge Work". Journal for New Review
of Hypermedia and Multimedia, Special Issue on Scholarly
Hypermedia, S. Buckingham Shum (Ed.), Vol.11, No.1,pp.39-67, Taylor & Francis Group Ltd, Oxon, UK, June, 2005.
Y. Shirai, M. Matsushita, K. Nakakoji. "Jikkannkyo ni okeru
dankaiteki joho teiji no tame no intarakushon dezain nowakugumi" (An Interaction Design Framework for Incremental
Information Presentation within a Real World). IPSJ Journal,Vol. 46, No. 7, pp. 1618-1636, July, 2005 (in Japanese).
Y. Ye, K. Nakakoji, Y. Yamamoto, K. Kishida. "The CoEvolution of Systems and Communities in Free and Open
Source Software Development". Free/Open Source SoftwareDevelopment, S. Koch (Ed.), Chap.3, pp. 59-82, Idea Group
Publishing, Hershey, PA., 2004.
K. Hori, K. Nakakoji, Y. Yamamoto, J. Ostwald. "Organic
Perspectives of Knowledge Management: Knowledge
Evolution through a Cycle of Knowledge Liquidization andCrystallization". Journal of Universal Computer Science, Vol.10,
Issue 3, pp.252-261, Springer, 2004.
M. Terry, E. Mynatt, K. Nakakoji, Y. Yamamoto. "Variation in
Element and Action: Supporting Simultaneous Developmentof Alternative Solutions"
Proceedings of CHI2004, pp.711-718, ACM Press, 2004.
K. Nakakoji, Y. Yamamoto. "Sozoteki joho soshutsu no tame nonarejji intarakushon dezain" (Knowledge Interaction Designfor Creative Knowledge Work). Journal of Japanese Society for
Artiﬁcial Intelligence, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.154-165, March, 2004

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