david k. farkas hcde university of washington
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David K. Farkas HCDE University of Washington. “Scent and Situation Awareness”. What is situation awareness?. Navigating a website is similar to wayfinding in the physical world We use landmarks, we remember our route, we build a mental model On the Web we are generally navigating hierarchies. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
David K. FarkasHCDE
University of Washington
“Scent and Situation Awareness”
What is situation awareness?
• Navigating a website is similar to wayfinding in the physical world
• We use landmarks, we remember our route, we build a mental model
• On the Web we are generally navigating hierarchies
Understanding your location in a hierarchy
Users differ in how fully they utilize situation awareness
• Depends on the individual user
• Depends on a user’s goals and circumstances
• Depends on the website (small vs. large)
• Users may prefer “opportunistic” navigation
For large websites situation awareness is limited
What is “scent”?
• Navigation is similar to the behavior of foraging animals (Pirolli and Card)
• Links (metaphorically speaking) give off a scent that users may choose to follow
• Scents must be distinct
• A strong scent is more apt to attract users
Distinctiveness and strength
Visualizing scent
What “scent” really means
• Scent is a metaphor for confidence
• Scent captures a trade-off that characterizes all user navigation: motivation vs. confidence level plus projected effort
• A distinct scent means the user has confidence regarding ultimate success
• A strong scent means the goal is near—little effort will be required
Take-aways
1. Situation awareness: Navigating a website is akin to wayfaring in the real world
2. Design for situation awareness, but recognize its limitations
3. Scent is a metaphor for the user’s cost- benefit analysis when following links
4. Require distinct scents—links must point clearly to their destinations
5. Try for strong scents but users will follow a weak scent if it is distinct