Before looking into exactly what adaptive user interfaces (AUIs) are, a short explanation of the different types of user interfaces will be provided. I have categorized them into four different groups: static UIs, adaptable UIs, adaptive UIs, and intelligent UIs (see Figure 1).

The first UIs were static, “the system designer built the interface and the user had to learn how to use it.” (Schneider-Hufschmidt, Kühme et al.) This ‘one-size-fits-all’ concept of UIs is far from optimal for individual users because it does not take into consideration differences amongst users (such as different user preferences, user goals, or even computer literacy). Adaptable UIs address this problem by designing UIs with a degree of flexibility, allowing users to personalize or customize their interface by modifying specific parameters. Popular online examples of these interfaces are social networks and portal websites; which often allow the user to personalize their interface by changing what content is displayed, how it is displayed, or where it is displayed. “However, the interface is still entirely passive. It is left to the user to set the preferences. This assumes that users realize that the preferences exist, that they understand them and have the time and inclination to alter them.”

Similar to adaptable UIs, adaptive UIs are designed to create a more personalized experience through creating a flexible interface that monitors the dialogue between the user and the system, and then adapts to the user’s needs or goals. Although the goal of both adaptable and adaptive UIs is the same (to create a more optimal UI through providing a more personalized experience) the main difference is the active style of the adaptive interface. Adaptive UIs can also be seen as the next step towards true intelligent UIs, whilst adaptive UIs are designed to support users and improve the user experience, intelligent UIs are more closely related to the field of artificial intelligence, focusing on the performance of the system to substitute human process.

Recent research suggests that there is a strong interest for adaptive UIs because of their ability to create a more optimal experience without the drawbacks of an adaptable UI. Unfortunately, “there is limited knowledge as to which adaptation methods and techniques are appropriate for different users and for different interaction contexts [...] due to the lack of reusable empirical findings.” (Paramythis A.) The purpose of my research is to bridge the gaps between the existing research, by providing a clear understanding of adaptive UIs in an overview of the different contexts in which they should be used.

Pat Langley describes an adaptive user interface (AUI) as a “software artifact that improves its ability to interact with a user by constructing a user model based on partial experiences with that user. [...] Improvement should result from generalization over past experiences and carry over to new user interactions.” In theory, the more that a user interacts with an AUI, the better the user experience should become. For this very reason an AUI “cannot exist in isolation, but rather is designed to interact with a human user. [...] AUIs rely on a precious resource – the user’s time.” Therefore, user interfaces that are used frequently by individuals are an ideal environment for AUIs; the more interactions an interface has with a user, the more accurately it can adapt to match the user’s needs and goals. What does this then mean for user interfaces that users only use occasionally?

Many UIs have approached this problem by creating UI that users can customize to best match their individual preferences. By manually adjusting parameters in the UI, users can improve their interaction with the interface; however there are two main problems: First, it is a process that users are likely to find tedious; and secondly, some aspects of user preferences may only be reflected in their usage behavior and not subject to introspection. Customizable UIs are a step towards creating a more personalized experience, but they is still much room for improvement.

An adaptive user interface (AUIs) attempts to improve interaction with a user by tailoring itself to better match that individual user. AUIs are designed to coexist with users; continually learning from past experiences with users in order to provide a more optimal experience for future dialogues. If a fully adaptable interfaces could become a reality, then the usefulness of computers could be dramatically improved.

As you can see, I’ve completely revamped the design of my blog. I’ve created a temporary platform where you can track my research progress as well as give feedback. On the homepage I created an overview of the entire project (inspired by the Human Centered Design Toolkit). As I progress in my project I will add information to the respective categories, to keep up-to-date with my work make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed.

That’s about it, but before I leave:

Here’s a view of the office from my desk.

Data visualizations are everywhere around us, and many of us have always been fascinated by them; whether it is their power to summarize and communicate complex sets of data, or even simply for their aesthetic elegance. The past couple of weeks I have been reading and studying works of some of the people with the most knowledge about visualizing data (for example Edward Tufte or Ben Fry). In the process, I came across many eureka! moments which greatly helped me understand the theory behind visualizing data. I’ve collected these bits of information and tied them together in a document which I’ve titled “An Introduction to Visualizing Data.”

Examples of pages:

[ Download 1.2mb ]

This document is heavily based on the works by Edward Tufte, Ben Fry, and Jenifer Tidwell - if you enjoy it please take a look at their work as well! My document is mostly a summary of their work with a twist from my perspective. Most information you will find about visualizing data is has been true for decades, therefore I’ve added a chapter (Chapter 7) dedicated to data visualizations and new media.

If you have any comments or suggestions – leave a comment, send me an email (feedback[at]piksels.com) or let me know via Twitter.

An Introduction to Visualizing Data [ Download 1.2mb ]

The animation is based on the first couple chapters of Barbara Ballard’s Designing the Mobile User Experience – and is targeted for students who are just getting into User Experience Design. This was a joint project together with Niek Dekker, Lemmy-Boy Hoogendoorn, and Gemma Vernooij.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Last spring I was working as an assistant researcher (at The Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) for an Human Centered ICT group. Together with Bas Leurs, Peter Conradie, and Rosalieke Verboom (and under the supervision of Ingrid Mulder) we created the user-centered design toolkit.

At its simplest, the toolkit is a resource that you can use to help guide yourself through the work process from start to finish. We designed a five step model, and in every step you are encouraged to create, test, and analyze your work before proceeding to the next step. This iterative process is crucial to successful user-centered design as you will be continually testing a design to match the needs, wants, and requirements of the users.

Under the five steps, there are a list of tools that you might use. And for each tool we provided a simple “what, why, and how” to use them. Take a look at the toolkit and let us know what you think about it.

Please keep in mind that this is only the first version, and is far from complete. Even though we have around one-hundred tools listed, there are still many that can be added. Unfortunately this current version is quite static; there are plans for a new version that will harness the power of the community and allow users to add. moderate, and review content.

With no further ado, please enjoy the toolkit.

Download v2 (3.5 MB)

As a web designer, at one time or another, you are going to need these. Either when presenting your work to a client, or working on a high resolution monitor; adding a browser frame around your design will help you (another others) get an idea of what the site will really look like.

Yes I know, anyone with basic photoshop skills can make these, but I found myself remaking these templates for every project I worked on. So what I’ve done is created a .PSD file with three different browser resolutions; all with easily editable titles, address bars, scrollbars, and favicons. Just open the PSD and place the layers on top of the design you are working on, and voila!

There are many of these browser templates out there, but most of them are designed using IE5 or IE6 templates, I figured your browser frame should be as beautiful as your design so I’ve based this template on Firefox 3 (OS X).

If you have any feedback or requests, just let me know via Twitter or feedback[at]piksels.com.

Download v2 (3.5 MB)

Yes it has been more than a year, but I’ve finally updated my portfolio. Unfortunately I can’t show some of my best work because it hasn’t gone ‘live’ yet, but I’ll be sure to add it once I am allowed to. I’m still going to be adding a few projects I’ve worked on as well as descriptions and challenges of all the projects.

There are still some minor tweaks which I am going to be working out in the coming days, but let me know what you think.