Towards A Communication Model Applied To The Interface Design Process

The design of computational artifacts involves many communication acts occurring through different channels; usability tests, for example, have been used as a main communication channel between designers and users. Other channels used during the design process include requirement analysis, scenario construction, prototyping, etc. This work takes the Westley and MacLehan communication model and projects it into the context of interactive artifact design, resulting in a model of fractal nature. Some channels already present during the design process fit in well with the model we are proposing. It also reveals that other channels have not been explored in the global process of communication. Thus, we show how a semiotic-based analysis can unify techniques, methods and tools that support design, as well as make explicit the necessary interactions among designers, users and computers through different channels. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.148455459Adler, P.S., Winograd, T.A., (1992) Usability: Turning Technologies into Tools, , Oxford University Press, OxfordAndersen, P.B., (1997) A Theory of Computer Semiotics, , Cambridge University Press, CambridgeBeyer, H.B., Holtzblatt, K., (1998) Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems, , Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Los Atlos, CABrown, G., (1995) Speakers, Listeners and Communication, , Cambridge University Press, CambridgeCoelho Neto, J.T., (1996) Semiótica, informação e comunicação, 4th ed., , Editora PerspectivaDe Souza, C.S., The semiotic engineering of user interface languages (1993) Int. J. Man-Mach. Stud., 39, pp. 753-773Gould, J., Lewis, C., Design for usability: Key principles and what designers think (1985) CACM, 28 (3), pp. 300-311Grudin, J., Interactive systems: Bridging the gaps between developers and users (1991) IEEE ComputerJakobson, R., Closing statement: Linguistics and poetics (1960) Style in Language, , A. Sebeok (Ed.), The MIT Press, Cambridge, MassMuller, M., Participatory practices in the software lifecycle (1997) Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, , Helander, et al. (Eds.), Elsevier Science, AmsterdamMcLuhan, M., Os meios de comunicação como extensões do homem (1964) CultrixNadin, M., Interface design and evaluation - Semiotic implications (1988) Advances in Human-Computer Interaction, 2. , H.R. Hartson, D. Hix (Eds.), Ablex Publishing Corporation, Norwood, NJNorman, D.A., User centered system design: New perspectives on human-computer interaction (1986) Cognitive Engineering, , D. Norman, S.W. Draper (Eds.), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, LondonRheinfrank, J., Hartman, W.R., Wasserman, A., Design for usability: Crafting a strategy for the design of a new generation of xerox copiers (1992) Usability: Turning Technologies into Tools, , P.S. Adler, T.A. Winograd (Eds.), Oxford University Press, OxfordSchön, D., Bennet, J., Reflective conversation with materials (1996) Bringing Design to Software, , T. Winograd (Ed.), ACM Press, New YorkShannon, C.L., Weaver, W., (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication, , Urbana, University of Illinois Press, Champaign, ILWestley, B.H., MacLehan, M.S., Un modelo conceptual para la investigacíon en comunicaciones (1972) Comunicacíon y cultura, , G. Smith (Ed.), Nueva Visión, Buenos Aire