|
Attribute or Behavior
|
Low Representation
1
|
Intermediate Representation
3
|
High Representation
5
|
| Creates a "big picture". Provides an overall
context for the process, work or activity. |
Provides little or no visual, graphic, animated
or narrative representation of the overall process, deliverables or
outcomes. Performer must maintain understanding of context, process
and their point in process. |
Provides access to extrinsic information about
overall process, but maintains little or no context within the interface
itself. No context sensitive information about point in process (e.g.
"you are here") or summary of prior choices. Performer must maintain
process orientation in their head.
May employ visual process maps, diagrams, maps, graphs, flowcharts,
etc., but no as the primary workspace. Performer must reference
these resources as opposed to work in these processes.
|
Includes explicit and complete representation
of the context (e.g. process, equipment, facility) and what will be
necessary to complete it within or immediately accessible from primary
displays. Rich representation of the work context or process, possibly
including multi-media representations. Summarizes previous choices.
Includes significant advance organization of expectations, steps,
deliverables.
In 3-D or virtual representations of the task, equipment, or workspace,
performers work within the context.
|
| Establish and maintain a work context. |
Not task oriented. Presents itself as "software".
Employs technical rather than work language. No task orientation,
cueing or structuring. Requires performer to make mental connections
between the software and the work context, task or deliverables. |
Employs some task language or representative
metaphors to establish work context. Low to moderate fidelity to actual
work context.
May employ some multimedia in metaphors and objects.
|
Task centered. Employs task language and metaphors
to establish a psychological work context. Results in perception or
feeling of "doing work" rather than being in "software. |
| Aid goal establishment. |
Performer must generate goals prior to interacting
with software; must know options and the relationship between options
and goals and where and when to execute them. |
Presents either some specific or general goals
to stimulate performer interaction from within the interface. May
provide detailed information about goals within extrinsic support
researches such as manuals, instruction, Help.
Goal states may be presented in multimedia objects or models to
serve as points of comparison for the performer.
|
Presents explicit goal options from within
primary displays. Employs dialogs (e.g. "What do you want to do...)
and presents initial and progressive options for selection Both overall
and context specific goal establishment are supported. May provides
intrinsic or extrinsic resource to help performer compare and contrast
goal options and/or consequences.
In rich 3-D or virtual environments, goals and models of desired
outcomes might be represented.
|
| Structure work process |
Provides little or no overall summary of recommended
or possible work process.
Any work process information resides in extrinsic or external resource.
Performer must initiate all process orientation.
|
Provides overall and detailed process information
in extrinsic or external resources.
May summarize results to date in visual or text summary
form.
May employ some multimedia
|
Establishes and maintains overall process definition
within or immediately accessible from interface. May employee process
maps as primary task orientation using button bars, process maps,
etc. Cues performer to position in and/or completion of process steps
or milestones via differentiating factors such as color.
In rich 3-D or virtual environments, performers may be led to the
space and images that represent the conditions, problems, requirements,
models or examples or demonstrations of best practice.
|
| Structure progression through tasks and logic
|
Depends on performer to generate and structure
task requirements and progression through proper task sequence. No
system initiated task sequencing or presentation of relevant data
or tools. Rules and relationships reside in performer memory or must
be accessed from extrinsic or external resource before and during
task progression. |
Provides some task structuring -- most often
in the form of information contained in extrinsic resources (e.g.
procedures, demonstrations, process maps).
Employs menu structures for task structuring, but performer must
generate sequence. Irrelevant options may be dimmed on menus, lists,
etc.
May actively present guidance or suggestions.
May employ some multimedia.
|
Following goal establishment the system structures
task requirements in proper or best known task or process sequence
from within the interface. Guides performer through appropriate options,
choices, inputs. Filters irrelevant steps or options out. Via edits,
models and examples observation and advice, does not permit wasted
activities or inappropriate sequencing that will result in cycle repetition
or dead ends. Presents relevant data and powerful representations
of data, conditions, equipment, etc. at appropriate times during task
sequence. Performer led to successful task completion or deliverable
creation.
All aspects of work are supported including job task, system interaction,
cognitive and verbal tasks are supported.
Provides on-demand access to overall process or sequence information
within extrinsic resources (e.g. procedures, process maps, coaches
or demos)
In rich 3-D or virtual environments, performers are presented with
more robust representations of the data, conditions, examples,.
or external knowledge resources.
|
| Reinforce and link activity to business strategy
|
No implicit or explicit content, functionality,
advice or process reinforces or links to organizational strategy.
Any relationship between behavior and strategy must be constructed
by the performer. |
Loose or indirect reference to strategy is
based in optional activities or is referred to in extrinsic support
system content. Business rules into system logic relate primarily
to data manipulation, transformation and representation -- not business
practice or standard operating policy. When business strategy is incorporated
into system logic it remains stable between major system releases.
|
Business or organizational strategy and goals
are reinforced through advice, options, or underlying logic which
incorporates business rules expected to produce strategic results.
Responsible parties alter system logic to reflect new strategy
or business goals as it is changed.
Strategic information is available within extrinsic resources.
|
| Institutionalize current best approach. |
Interaction and process are data driven. If
tasks are supported from within the display or described in extrinsic
resource, the approach is frozen in time as of the construction date.
No changes are made other than during major release changes or revisions.
Content may be very discrepant with current known information or process.
|
Business task, content, data, process or rule
changes are distributed to performers in analog or electronic announcements,
meetings, and informally. Changes are not institutionalized within
the applications, except via major system version changes. Time lags
exist between surfacing of change needs and performers incorporating
those changes into their behavior.
Individual performance changes are a function of the performer
receiving and incorporating the changes into their behavior without
structure or guidance from the application.
|
Support for task progression or cognitive processing
reflects most current and best known approach or content.
Task sequence, content, data, rules and tools are continuously
updated and dynamic. Individual learning systematically feeds the
system to translate current experience and learnings into organizational
practice.
Responsible parties alter system logic to reflect new knowledge.
Performers have ongoing interaction with experts via Groupware,
forums, or bulletin boards. Computer supported collaborative work
is actively employed and encouraged or required via context sensitive
links and communications to appropriate people when limited resource
o content is available to support processing, creative or knowledge
development.
In rich multimedia, 3-D or virtual environments progression is
through more realistic space with powerful models and examples,
etc.
|
| Reflect natural work situations. |
Interface language, metaphors, behaviors or
options bear little or no relationship to the real work, world or
performer expectations or experience. Performers must adjust the way
they think, interact and behave to system requirements.
How to approach work requirements is not immediately obvious from
within the interface.
|
Partial match between interface and natural
work situations. Gaps exist in language, appropriateness of the metaphors
to situation or task, sequence or other elements.
May employ some multimedia.
|
Language, metaphors, behaviors, options, process,
sequences and deliverables conform to the way people communicate,
interact, observe and behave. Reality is modeled with multimedia,
3-D or virtual representations of space, equipment, conditions and
data.
Communication and interaction is concrete, colloquial, obvious
and natural.
The match between work and the system is very close and approach
and options are obvious.
|
| Use metaphors and direct manipulation of variables
to capitalize on prior learning and physical reality. |
Displays and content are data driven and use
little or no visual representation or metaphors. Performers must transform
requirements into system terms employing abstractions, codes or commands.
|
Some use of metaphors, visualization or direct
manipulation. Metaphorical or visual content more likely to be resident
in extrinsic resources rather than in primary displays.
May employ some multimedia.
|
Extensive use of metaphors and visual representation
to construct familiar realities and capitalize on prior learning.
Direct manipulation of objects employed to where physical movement
of data, visual structures, etc. match real-world tasks. Performers
feel they are working in "real" vs. abstracted space.
The most advanced environments employ multimedia, 3-D or virtual
metaphorical space, objects and permit direct and powerful manipulation
of situational variables.
|
| Provide alternative views of the application
interface |
One size fits all interface. No options
for more or less structure, alternative mode, interaction type, or
navigation. Performer diversity results in some feeling inadequate
and others feeling patronized or spoon fed (i.e. little or too much
structure). |
Alternative interface possible for some or
all tasks or for limited differences in amount of structure (e.g.
some use of Wizards or Helpers vs. command or menu-based interaction;
or primary use of Wizard structure with some key stroke bypass options.
May employ animations or sound.
|
Two or more alternative interfaces presenting
broad range of structure and freedom. Alternatives may be based on
different interaction modes (e.g. blank page vs. templates vs. wizards/assistants),
customization options or expanded or collapsed view of the interface
controlled by performer.
Alternate interfaces may include alternative media representations
(e.g. visual, 3-D or virtual versions of the workspace, objects,
data, etc.
|
| Provide alternative views of the support resources
|
Support resources represented primarily in
text mode with limited or no use of other media, content organization
or knowledge representation. |
Some use of alternative knowledge representation
within extrinsic support resources or in primary displays.
May employ some media beyond text and simple visual objects or
animations.
|
Rich and varied views of content and knowledge.
Use of multiple knowledge representation (e.g. textual procedure and
demonstration and voice-narrated demonstration).
Advanced applications employ multimedia, 3-D and/or virtual knowledge
representation within the interface to represent conditions, options,
etc. -- or within the extrinsic or external support resources.
|
| Observe performer actions and data. |
Observation of performer actions limited to
edits of entered data. |
Systems sense some performer, data, physical,
environmental, equipment or system states and provides context-sensitive
information. The more "sensitive" the system, the more powerful the
support. |
Observes and notes performer context, prior
decisions, physical interaction with system (e.g. mouse position,
time delays, previous choices). Observes relationships between performer,
context, task, data and goals.
May employ visual, 3-D or virtual representations of resources
tightly linked to state, data or user conditions or preferences.
|
| Provide contextual feedback. |
Feedback is either generic, vague or non-existent;
not linked to context, performer actions, system behavior or data.
|
Feedback may be linked to one or more elements
(e.g. data, point in process.) |
Rich, varied, explicit and continuous feedback
related to performer actions, data, task requirements, performer attributes.
Anticipates performer requirements and communicates actively about
states, conditions, results, requirements or options. May appear "intelligent".
Feedback may employ rich visual, auditory, 3-D or virtual feedback
about conditions, data, alternatives, etc.
|
| Advise. |
Provides no task or conditional advice in either
primary displays or extrinsic resource. |
May provide advice through extrinsic support
resource or through Advisor components invoked by the performer.
Advisors may employ media beyond text.
|
Ongoing, dynamic, rich and explicit system
or performer -initiated advice. Observes and monitors data, time,
options or performer behavior and provides conditional, rule-based
or "learned" advice. Advice may be information or directive.
Advice may include multimedia representations, examples, guidance,
demonstrations, practice exercises, etc.
|
| Shows evidence of work progression |
Performer must maintain conscious understanding
of what has been done, choices made and consequences and relationships.
|
System presents some evidence on all task progression
or conditions or limited/in-depth evidence (e.g. images, time bars,
narrative descriptions) of accumulated choices and system-generated
outcomes.
Some multimedia may be employed.
|
System presents rich, continuous and in-depth
evidence on all task progression or conditions or limited/in-depth
evidence (e.g. images, time bars, narrative descriptions) of accumulated
choices and system-generated outcomes.
Task progression may be represented with multimedia, 3-D or virtual
representations to provide clear understanding of rules, relationships,
conditions, outcomes, deliverables, etc.
|
| Provide support resources without breaking
the task context. |
Support resources are external to the system
and require a complete context change (e.g. signing off system and
accessing on-line resource -- or suspending interaction with the system
to access manuals, training or peer resource.
Accessing support resource requires significant effort and/or time
away from task. Often, the effort required is greater than the payoff
due to gaps between resource content and performer needs.
|
Support resources within HELP or Searchable
Reference, but may not be context-sensitive in any or all cases. Performers
are clearly in another space when working with support resources
(e.g. they are "in a training module).
Accessing resource often breaks the task or thought context.
Knowledge may be represented in limited ways that are not faithful
to the task of physical workspace or equipment. Consequently, performers
must reconceptualize, transform or cognitively manipulate the content
due to low fidelity content representation, thereby breaking their
task context.
|
Context-sensitive access to support resources.
Support is organized in granular structures or is written and displayed
to conform to other system display conventions. Sufficient support
is embedded within or immediately accessible from primary displays.
Resources overlay the application or can be sized or minimized.
While momentary shifts between task performance and use of extrinsic
resources, context breaks are minor .
Rich multimedia, multi-sensory, 3-D or virtual representations
of knowledge are available as primary or alternative resources.
Representation permit maintenance of task context because of high
fidelity knowledge representation.
|
| Contain embedded knowledge in the interface
|
Any available knowledge resides in extrinsic
resources. |
Some directions, explanations or visualizations
are in primary displays.
Rich and complete knowledge is included in extrinsic resources.
Some multimedia may be employed.
|
Extensive and rich knowledge is contained in
primary displays. Next steps are expressed or demonstrated. Content
may be displayed in multiple forms (e.g. words and images).
Examples, instructions and guidance may be represented with multimedia,
3-D or virtual reality.
|
| Business knowledge available in support resources
and system logic. |
Business knowledge is entirely external to
the system and/or must be known by the performer prior to interacting
with the software. |
Business knowledge resides primarily in extrinsic
resources. May or may not be rich knowledge representation.
Business knowledge typically must be learned by the performer in
advance (possibly just in time) and then applied to the task
at hand.
Some multimedia may be employed.
|
Business knowledge and rules incorporated into
embedded knowledge in displays or underlying system or programming
logic. Rules and relationships between data, tasks, goals, rules,
concepts, requirements, etc. are tightly coupled and explicit.
Learning about the work or process is tightly coupled with doing
and is often a consequence rather than a pre-condition of performance.
Rules and relationships and data may employ multimedia , 3-D or
virtual representations.
|
| System information contained in support resources
|
Help or other extrinsic resource is either
limited in content or of inadequate quality. |
Information about procedures, system structure
and mental models, requirements, options, etc. contained in support
resources. Typically organized in hierarchical structure. Not context
sensitive. Must be invoked by performer (who must know that they need
help, how to phrase their request, and how to execute their request).
Some multimedia may be employed.
|
Information on the system, procedures, etc.
tightly coupled to task context and available for context-sensitive
access.
Knowledge representation is rich and complete and may employ multimedia,
3-D or virtual representations.
|
| Provide alternative knowledge search and navigation
mechanisms. |
One size fits all navigation (e.g. index or
table of contents access; keyword search access). |
More than one search and navigation mechanism
provided. May include context sensitive access to some resources.
|
Numerous search and navigation options available
including hypertext, indexing, keyword search, context sensitive links,
"sounds like" queries, browsing, VRML etc.
Users may "browse", be guided, or directed through the content,
data, space or objects. May employ agents for searching, coaching,
assessing, etc.
|
| Layered. |
Single view of interface, content or information.
What you see is what you get... |
May provide layering via hypertext or hypermedia
links within extrinsic resources. |
Multiple levels of content, forms, interaction
methods, feedback, advice, etc. provided to accommodate performer
diversity in prior knowledge, goals, motivation, available time, and
style. |
| Provide access to underlying logic.
|
The system presents its advice or executes
tasks in response to tasks. |
May provide explanations of logic, rules or
representation of decision tree structure when requested by the performer.
Content most probably static and in extrinsic resources.
Some multimedia may be employed.
|
Rich, dynamic and context sensitive access
to system and/or business logic and rationale.. May be presented by
the system (e.g. Here is the thinking behind my recommendation...)
or invoked. The "thinking" may be presented via multimedia agents,
including video and sound images presenting content, advice or experience
of high level performers.
May provide direct interaction with expert resource via videoconferencing,
audio conferencing, chat lines, Groupware, etc.
|
| Automates tasks. |
Most tasks must be structured by the performer.
Proper sequence must be established and implemented. Some tasks must
be performed externally to the software (e.g. data access, calculations,
data manipulation, etc.) |
Some tasks are automated or the performer can
automate them via macros.
Most task automation relates to data access, transformation and
representation, rather than supporting workflow, thinking and/or
human interaction.
|
High task automation including data, cognitive
and judgment tasks. Processing may be rule or case-based.
Performer needs are anticipated and automatically presented for
acceptance or dismissal or are executed.
|
| Allow customization |
One size fits all displays, interaction
modes, task sequence progression established by system designers.
Little or no performer control. |
Some customization options, primarily around
display settings, keyboard, menu labels or lower level interaction
behavior (e.g. "confirm changes" before executing). |
Significant customization options around displays,
task sequences, language and system behavior. Alternative settings
are available from multiple contexts (e.g. options displays, check
boxes within dialog boxes, layered buttons on displays).
Performers can change options for the task or document or establish
as new defaults. Settings and options summaries can be accessed
for evaluation and change. Explanations, illustrations or demonstrations
of consequences of alternative summaries are presented as options
are explored. Performers may select among media representations,
if available.
|
| Provide obvious options, next steps, and resources.
|
Performers must know options, steps and resources
in advance or access them from extrinsic resources prior to task performance.
|
Some options, next steps or resources are displayed
in obvious ways within the interface or via buttons with clear labels.
Some multimedia may be employed.
|
What to do next or available resources are
always prominently displayed and are clear (e.g. Show me or
Tell me about or Do it... buttons) |
| Employ consistent use of visual conventions,
language, visual positioning, navigation and other system behavior.
|
Labels, display attributes, positioning or
navigation conventions are inconsistent and possibly in conflict.
Expectations cannot be established based on prior displays/system
behavior. |
Gaps may exist is language, positioning or
behavior. System displays conform largely to platform standards. |
Once established, language, navigation, displays,
interaction methods and system behavior are consistent. Performers
experience in one context establishes expectations that are always
met in other displays, tasks or contexts. |
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