Creativity Support Tools: A Grand Challenge for Interface Designers Ben Shneiderman bencs'umd'edu Fo

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Creativity Support Tools A Grand Challenge for
Interface DesignersBen Shneiderman
(ben_at_cs.umd.edu)Founding Director (1983-2000),
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory Professor,
Department of Computer ScienceMember, Institute
for Advanced Computer Studies Institute for
Systems ResearchUniversity of MarylandCollege
Park, MD 20742UIST Vancouver November 3,
2003
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Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
Interdisciplinary research community -
Computer Science Psychology - Information
Studies Education
www.cs.umd.edu/hcil
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User Interface Design Goals

• Cognitively comprehensible Consistent,
  predictable controllable
• Affectively acceptable Mastery,
  satisfaction responsibility
• Design philosophy
• Direct Manipulation
• NOT
• Adaptive, autonomous anthropomorphic

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Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly)

• Specify users and tasks
• Predict and measure
• time to learn
• speed of performance
• rate of human errors
• human retention over time
• Assess subjective satisfaction (Questionnaire
  for User Interface Satisfaction 7.0)
• Accommodate individual differences
• Consider social, organizational cultural
  context

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Scientific Approach (beyond user friendly)

• Specify users and tasks
• Predict and measure
• time to learn
• speed of performance
• rate of human errors
• human retention over time
• Assess subjective satisfaction (Questionnaire
  for User Interface Satisfaction 7.0)
• Accommodate individual differences
• Consider social, organizational cultural
  context

4th Edition April 2004
www.awl.com/DTUI
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Library of Congress

• Scholars, Journalists, Citizens
• Teachers, Students

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Visible Human Explorer (NLM)

• Doctors
• Surgeons
• Researchers
• Students

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NASA Environmental Data

• Scientists
• Farmers
• Land planners
• Students

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Bureau of Census

• Economists, Policy makers, Journalists
• Teachers, Students

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NSF Digital Government Initiative

• Find what you need
• Understand what you Find UMd UNC

www.ils.unc.edu/govstat/
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Creativity Support Tools
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Creativity Support Tools
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Creativity Support Tools
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Creativity Support Tools Goals

• More people, more creative, more of the time
• Revolutionary breakthroughs, paradigm shifts,
  H-creativity
• Evolutionary, normal science, music art,
  creative knowledge work
• Impromptu everyday creativity
• Raised expectations for professionals
• Tailored solutions
• Cheaper, faster, better

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Structuralists A plan, method, process

• Polya's four steps in How to Solve It (1957)
• 1) Understanding the problem
• 2) Devising a plan
• 3) Carrying out the plan
• 4) Looking back
• Couger (1996) reviews 22 "creative problem
  solving methodologies"
• Preparation
• Incubation
• Illumination
• Verification

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Structuralists A plan, method, process

• Atman's design steps
• Problem definition identify need
• Gather information
• Generate ideas brainstorm list alternatives
• Modeling describe how to build
• Feasibility Analysis
• Evaluation compare alternatives
• Decision select one solution
• Communication write or present to others
• Implementation

(Atman et al., Design Thinking Research
Symposium2003)
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Inspirationalists Aha, Aha, Aha!

• Free associations
• Brainstorming
• Thesauri, photo collages
• Random stimuli, inkblots
• Breaking set
• Getting away to different locations
• Working on other problems
• Meditating, sleeping, walking
• Visualization
• 2-d networks of ideas
• Sketching

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Situationalists context, community, collaboration

• Personal history
• Family history, parents, siblings
• Challenging teachers, inspirational mentors
• Supportive peers and partners
• Consultation
• Peers and mentors
• Early, middle and late stages
• Information and empathic support
• Motivations
• Fame, legacy, admiration
• Competition

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Csikszentmihalyis book Creativity (1993)

• 1) Domain e.g. mathematics or biology
  "consists of a set of symbols, rules and
  procedures
• 2) Field "the individuals who act as gatekeepers
  to the domain...decide whether a new idea,
  performance, or product should be included
• 3) Individual creativity is "when a person...
  has a new idea or sees a new pattern, and when
  this novelty is selected by the appropriate field
  for inclusion in the relevant domain"

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Genex (Generator of Excellence) Framework

• Collect
• Learn from previous works in digital libraries,
  the web, etc.
• Relate
• Consult with peers mentors, early, mid late
  stages
• Create
• Explore, discover, compose, evaluate possible
  solutions
• Donate
• Disseminate refined results and contribute to the
  digital libraries, the web, etc.

(Codex, memex, genex The pursuit of
transformational technologies IJHCI, 1998)
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Genex Some potential down sides

• Collect
• Will knowledge of previous work limit
  imagination?
• Relate
• Could mentors discourage exotic ideas?
• Could peers rip-off your innovation?
• Create
• Will using standard tools limit creativity?
• Donate
• Could the desire for intellectual property
  protection limit dissemination?

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Eight Activities in Genex

• 1) Searching browsing digital libraries
• 2) Consulting with peers mentors
• 3) Visualizing data processes
• 4) Thinking by free associations
• 5) Exploring solutions - What if tools
• 6) Composing artifacts performances
• 7) Reviewing replaying session histories
• 8) Disseminating results

(Creating creativity User interfaces for
supporting innovation ACM TOCHI, 3/2000)
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1) Searching Browsing Digital Libraries

• Effective search Basic Google Search
• Improved multimedia search
• Overviews previews
• Result set categorization visualization
• Multiple session searches

(Clarifying Search, CACM 4/98)
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1) Advanced Search Google
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1) Search Overviews Previews

• Faceted search
• Preview cardinality of result sets

• www.epicurious.com

www.endeca.com
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2) Consulting with Peers Mentors

• Early, middle and late stages
• Information and empathic support
• Build trust by negotiated expectations
• Email, listservs, newsgroups, discussion boards
• Chat rooms, instant messaging, audio/video
  conferencing
• Comprehensive online communities
• Tele-medicine, tele-meeting, tele-democracy
• Collaboratories

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2) Components of Negotiated Expectations

• Clearly identify and refine through dialog
• who I am
• what I want to do
•  
• Declare understandings
• Why I think you can help
• How you can help (specific request with
  time period)
• How much is in it for you (payment,
  shared honor, appreciation)

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2) Example Request for Consultation

• Poor Dear Prof. Shneiderman Attached is my PhD
  proposal, please tell me what you think.
• Better Dear Prof. Shneiderman I am a Computer
  Science PhD student at Imperial College. My
  advisor, Prof. Spence, knows you and I have read
  your papers. My work extends your concept of
  dynamic queries. Ive attached my 2-page
  doctoral proposal in the hopes that you can give
  me your comments before I defend it in two weeks.
  Your input would be acknowledged and Dr. Spence
  would be glad to pay for your plane ticket to
  join the committee meeting.

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3) Visualizing Data Processes

• Visual bandwidth is enormous
• Human perceptual skills are remarkable
• Trend, cluster, gap, outlier...
• Color, size, shape, proximity...
• Human image storage is fast and vast
• Opportunities
• Spatial layouts window coordination
• Information visualization
• Scientific visualization and simulation
• Telepresence and augmented reality
• Virtual Environments

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3) Visualizing Data Processes

• Visual bandwidth is enormous
• Human perceptual skills are remarkable
• Trend, cluster, gap, outlier...
• Color, size, shape, proximity...
• Human image storage is fast and vast
• Opportunities
• Spatial layouts window coordination
• Information visualization
• Scientific visualization and simulation
• Telepresence and augmented reality
• Virtual Environments

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Treemap Implementations
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3) TimeSearcher

• Time series
• Stocks
• Diseases
• Weather
• Genes
• User-specified patterns
• Rapid search

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3) Information Visualization Mantra

• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand
• Overview, zoom filter, details-on-demand

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3) Information Visualization Data Types

• 1-D Linear Document Lens, SeeSoft, Info Mural,
  Value Bars
• 2-D Map GIS, ArcView, PageMaker, Medical
  imagery
• 3-D World CAD, Medical, Molecules, Architecture
• Multi-Dim Parallel Coordinates, Spotfire, XGobi,
  Visage, Influence Explorer, TableLens, DEVise
• Temporal Perspective Wall, LifeLines,
  Lifestreams, Project Managers, DataSpiral
• Tree Cone/Cam/Hyperbolic, TreeBrowser, Treemap
• Network Netmap, netViz, SeeNet, Butterfly,
  Multi-trees

(Online Library of Information Visualization
Environments) otal.umd.edu/Olive
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4) Thinking by Free Associations

• Free associations
• Brainstorming
• Thesauri, photo collages
• Random stimuli, inkblots
• Breaking set
• Getting away to different locations
• Working on other problems
• Meditating, sleeping, walking
• Visualization
• 2-d networks of ideas
• Sketching

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An Idea Visualization Tool The human vision is
by far the most developed and powerful faculty.
The Idea Processor exploits visual attributes
such as color, shape, size, scale, position,
depth, link, icon, etc. Visual cues facilitate
recall, association, and discovery. Diagrams and
pictures help you to represent and solve complex
problems. Visualization reinforces your short
term memory. Towards Higher Abstractions
Ideas and diagrams are the basic abstractions of
the Axon Idea Processor. Ideas are shown as
graphical objects and its relationship shown as
links. You get the big picture at all times, and
details can be hidden from view. Stimulate
Recall Creativity The Idea Processor has an
integrated Checklist Management System and a
library of Checklists on problem-solving
strategies, words of wisdom, etc. Checklists are
effective means of capturing and transferring
knowledge, and it effectively amplifies your
intelligence.
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5) Exploring Solutions - What If Tools

• State space exploration
• Combinationist theory
• Spreadsheets
• Simulation as a third paradigm of science
• SimCity Flight Simulator
• Economic models
• Weather forecasts

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5) Exploring Solutions - What If Tools

• Terry Mynatt
• Previews

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6) Composing Artifacts Performances

• Initiate a new composition
• Exemplars
• Templates
• Processes
• Revise at multiple levels
• Low
• Middle
• High
• Evaluate and refine
• Feedback about problems
• Measurement

(Composition, Hawaii Intl Conf. on Systems
Science, January 2000)
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6) Composing Artifacts Performances

• Initiate a new composition

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7) Reviewing Replaying Session Histories

• Record compact histories
• Allow users to review annotate history
• Disseminate histories (histories as first class
  objects)
• Send by email
• Post to website
• Consult synchronously asynchronously
• Edit, extract, combine, search
• Replay slow, fast, reverse
• Macros to automate exploration (Photoshop)

(Learning Histories, Computer Supported
Collaborative Learning Conf., December 1999)
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7) Imaginary dialysis procedure exploration
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7) Adobe Photoshop History tools
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8) Disseminating Results

• Disseminate refined solution to gatekeepers
• Facilitate web publishing focused advertising
• Reach subscribers organizational gatekeepers
• Ensure quality by editors reviewers
• Contribute to digital library communities
• Journals, books, resources, libraries,
  communities
• Science fairs, student projects, galleries,
  performances

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Genex Integrated Framework for Software

• Modular design to allow components
• Common file formats to ease data movement
• Consistent commands to reduce cognitive load
• Shortcuts for experts immediate feedback
• Direct manipulation for rapid learning, powerful
  actions, low error rates, high retention

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Genex Phases and Activities
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Challenges for Creativity Researchers

• Domain knowledge is vital
• Creative work may take years
• Individuals have highly varied approaches
• Evaluation is difficult
• Controlled studies are unrealistic
• Case studies are not replicable
• Theories are shallow

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An Inspirational Muse Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519)

• Renaissance Man
• Combined science art
• Integrated engineering esthetics
• Balanced technology advances human
  values
• Merged visionary practical
• (MIT Press, Oct 2002)

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Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory 21th
Annual Symposium June 3-4, 2004 www.cs.umd.edu/h
cil
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References

• Shneiderman, Ben and Plaisant, Catherine,
  Designing the User Interface Strategies for
  Effective Human-Computer Interaction Fourth
  Edition, Addison Wesley Longman, Boston, MA
  (2004)
• Shneiderman, Ben, Relate-Create-Donate A
  teaching philosophy for the cyber-generation,
  Computers Education 31, 1 (1998), 25-39.
• Shneiderman, B., Creating Creativity User
  interfaces for supporting innovation, ACM
  Transactions on Computer Human Interaction 7, 1
  (2000), 114-138.
• Shneiderman, B., Supporting creativity with
  powerful composition tools for artifacts and
  performances, Proc. 33rd Hawaii International
  Conference On System Sciences (HICSS) (1/2000).
• www.cs.umd.edu/hcil