Abstract
The Ecological Interface Design (EID) approach is introduced and contrasted with alternative frameworks for evaluating interfaces. Two elements of the EID approach are 1) the problem of correspondence between the functional constraints in a work domain and features of the interface; and 2) the problem of integrating complex information about the work domain into a perceptually coherent representation that allows direct manipulation within the work domain. The abstraction/decomposition space is presented as a framework for attacking the correspondence problem (i.e., identifying functional constraints within a work domain). Four strategies for configuring information in ways that increase coherence are presented: mimic, state space, nested symmetries, and metaphor. Empirical support for the EID approach is summarized and recommendations for partitioning the iterative design evaluation process are made.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of Ergonomics/Human Factors |
| Editors | K. Itoh, S. Kuwano |
| Number of pages | 46 |
| Place of Publication | Tokyo |
| Publisher | Asakura Publishing |
| Publication date | 1999 |
| Publication status | Published - 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Cite this
Flach, J. M., Vicente, K. J., Tanabe, F., Monta, K., & Rasmussen, J. (1999). Ecological Interface Design. In K. Itoh, & S. Kuwano (Eds.), Handbook of Ergonomics/Human Factors Tokyo: Asakura Publishing.