[IA Summit 2007] 'Adaptive Interfaces' Presentation
The Conversation Gets Interesting: Creating the Adaptive Interface
Description
With the proliferation of rich Internet applications and interactions more closely aligned with how people think, we face some interesting challenges:
- Do we design for one common audience and common tasks, or tailor applications around specific audiences and their unique activities?
- How do we resolve the tension between creating simple applications that ‘do less’ and the demand for new features that some people really do need?
- As we move beyond usability to create desirable interfaces, how do we handle a subjective domain like emotions?
These types of challenges could all be addressed by creating a truly ‘adaptive’ interface. More than removing unused menu options or collaborative filtering, this would include functionality that is revealed over time as well as interface elements that change based on usage. Imagine the web-based email client that begins offering three forms fields for attachments instead of the default one, because it ‘noticed’ that you frequently upload more than one file. Or the navigation menu that disappears because it is not relevant to the task at hand. Sound scary? Look at the world of game design, where inconsistency has never been an issue and where users learn new functions over time, as needed. In the same ways that ads are becoming more targeted around context and behavior, we can also create interfaces that respond, suggest, or change based on actual usage data.
While much of this is still speculative, we’ll explore some concrete examples of how such ideas have already been used, and other instances where they could be used. We’ll also take a brief look at what technologies might support these interactions, as well as some of the rules engines that might make this possible. And, to ground this in the past, we’ll at some existing navigational theories and research that might support this argument for an interface that is truly conversational and context aware.
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On Mar 30, 06:06 AM Wade Winningham said
Very nice. I definitely think the technology for making things adaptive are even 10x better now than they were just a little over a year ago and they’ll keep getting better and easier to implement.
On Mar 31, 12:18 PM Michael Montgomery said
Looks good.
(Congratulations on the mention in Digital Web.)
On Apr 9, 03:44 AM Rob Findlay said
Hey S – really enjoyed the no-audio presentation – there is some interesting things in there I can share with my bank customer experience colleagues. Keep it up – Rob, Melbourne, Australia.
On Apr 10, 05:47 PM xian said
fantastic!
(and i hope it was ok to leave the http-colon-slash-slash off my url, as implied by the form label)
...preview implies yes
On Apr 18, 04:08 PM Trevor van Gorp said
This is great stuff! I’ve been waiting for the technology to catch up and make things like this possible. Done well, adpative interfaces like will make HCI more like human to human interaction. Rich in subtle, significant cues.