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Revision as of 22:34, 19 November 2009

Introduction

• In Human Computer Interaction studies, the context describes the actual conditions under which the software system is used. Determining the context of the system means describing how the software system interacts with the user in normal day to day situations. It is important to carry out usability tests, prototyping sessions, meetings, user studies and other "user-dependent sessions" in the correct context of the system to get the most accurate results from your findings. In context-aware software systems, determining the context of use can allow the application to modify it's current behaviour to better interact with the user.
• Context information will typically include anything that can be used to characterize the situation of the user, system or any other relevant entities. Context can be decomposed into disjoint categories or types to help define the context of the software system. Although these context types may differ by opinion, the most commonly recognized are the User context, Time context, Physical context as well as the Computing Context. These four types of context are described below.

Types of Context in HCI

User Context

• The user context(also known as personal context) represents information about the end-user, which interacts with the system.
• This includes information such as the user profile (age, preferences, etc.), the user’s location (e.g. absolute position, indoors, outdoors, etc.) and orientation, nearby objects, the people nearby and the social situation.

Time Context

• The time context covers relevant information related to time such as absolute time, date, day of the week and season.

Physical Context

• The physical context includes everything, which is measurable in the environment of the system with which the user interacts.
• This includes temperatures, noise levels, lighting situations, traffic conditions, etc.

Computing Context

• The computing context contains everything related to computational resources.
• This can include things such as available networks, network bandwidth, communication costs and nearby computational resources such as printers or fax machines.

Examples of HCI Contexts

Mobile Devices

• A mobile device is a pocket-sized computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input or a miniature keyboard. It is by it's own nature a social device, used by people to connect with people. The most successful mobile devices are the ones that are great at delivering an excellent user experience. These excellent experiences are those that keep the user engaged, are visually appealing, well organized and provide clear ways of accomplishing the tasks at hand. In order to achieve this excellent user experience, the developers must identify the mobile device context.
• Perhaps the most important factor when considering context for a mobile device, is the user context. Mobile devices are portable and typically travel alongside the user. By identifying the users location, the mobile device can adapt to these circumstances and provide relevant and useful information. For example, when the user is searching for restaurants, the mobile device can identify the current location and provide results that are local. This helps the user with relevant information and improves the user experience. If the mobile device identifies that the user is currently in a meeting(maybe by accessing the calendar), the device can forward all non-important calls to voice mail. This is just one of many ways identifying the user context can improve the user experience and alter the interaction behaviour of the mobile device.
• Almost all mobile devices include a calendar or some type of personal task planner. The time context of the mobile device is very important when it comes to the users schedule. When the user travels through different time zones, the calendar should display all of the tasks and appointments with the proper timezone. This can be done by identifying the time context. Also based on the current day, reminders for future tasks and appointments can be set for the user.
• The physical context of the device can play an important role in the human computer interaction of the device. If the mobile device can identify noise levels, it can adjust the ring volume for the current situation. The same principle applies to lighting levels. When the device senses the user is working in a dimly lit environment, it can increase the brightness level of the mobile device.
• Lastly the computing context of the mobile device. This context type is rarely seen by the user. It is mainly involved with routine tasks but if noticed, can become an annoyance. One example of identifying the computing context is having the device become aware of available networks and bandwidth levels. In high bandwidth situations, the device should be able to update all of the users feeds, send/receive mail and do any necessary system updates. In low bandwidth situations, only the bare minimum of networking tasks should be completed. By utilizing the computing context the mobile device can have a very successful human computer interaction and an excellent user experience.
• Product designers need to firstly identify these user contexts for the mobile device. Secondly they need to develop the mobile device for these contexts. The mobile device needs to be able to recognize them and adapt the interaction style to improve the user experience. The mobile device needs to be tested in all of the identified contexts. By utilizing the contexts for the mobile device, the human computer interaction can go almost unnoticed and essentially achieving an excellent user experience.

Consumer Devices

Business Applications

World Wide Web

Collaboration Systems

Games

See Also

References

• Anind K. Dey and Gregory D. Abowd. Towards a Better Understanding of context and context-awareness. Technical Report GIT-GVU-99-22, Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Computing, June 1999
• Chen, G. and D. Kotz, A Survey of Context-Aware Mobile Computing Research. 2000, Dartmouth College

Further Reading

External Links