In 2021 HelsinCHI contribution to CHI conference was 10 papers, 5 workshops, 1 TOCHI journal article, 1 Doctoral Consortium, 1 Case Study, 1 Course, and 1 SIG.
Papers
Nils Ehrenberg, Turkka Keinonen
The Technology Is Enemy for Me at the Moment: How Smart Home Technologies Assert Control Beyond Intent
Abstract: Smart technology turns the home into an active agent, which shifts the power structures within the household. This paper examines how initiators of smart technology insert their vision of the good life into households, and how these technologies exert power over the residents. Through a thematic analysis of interviews with five households, we consider Foucault’s theory on disciplinary power to examine how smart home technologies shape the experience of the home by shifting the flow of information and thereby reify power structures. Results indicate that the implementation of smart technology can affect access to shared spaces, constrain interactions, and predefine practices thereby establishing hierarchies within the household. We turn the discussion towards ethical challenges concerning control, whose problems the smart home is concerned with, and how the smart home embeds itself in the household. We conclude with design considerations and future work.
Keywords: smart home; ethics; relationships; discipline; control mechanisms
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445058
Maria Karyda, Elisa D Mekler, Andrés Lucero
Data Agents: Promoting Reflection through Meaningful Representations of Personal Data in Everyday Life
Abstract: Visual and physical representations of historical personal data have been discussed as artifacts that can lead to self-reflection through meaning-making. However, it is yet unclear how those two concepts relate to each other. We focus on meaningfulness, a part of meaning-making that relates to feelings. In this paper, we present three projects where mundane objects, our data agents, are combined in meaningful ways with personal data with the aim to trigger reflection by placing a person's individual experience of data in relation to others'. To identify relationships between self-reflection and meaningfulness we use Fleck and Fitzpatrick's framework to describe the levels of reflection that we found in our projects and Mekler and Hornbæk's meaning framework to define the depth of reflection. We conclude with a discussion on four themes in which we outline how data agents informed the intersections between our central concepts. This paper constitutes a first step towards unpacking those relationships and invites for further explorations by the HCI community.
Keywords: Meaningfulness; self-reflection; data representations; personal data.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445112
Xiuli Chen, Aditya Acharya, Antti Oulasvirta, Andrew Howes
An Adaptive Model of Gaze-based Selection
Abstract: Gaze-based selection has received significant academic attention over a number of years. While advances have been made, it is possible that further progress could be made if there were a deeper understanding of the adaptive nature of the mechanisms that guide eye movement and vision. Control of eye movement typically results in a sequence of movements (saccades) and fixations followed by a ‘dwell’ at a target and a selection. To shed light on how these sequences are planned, this paper presents a computational model of the control of eye movements in gaze-based selection. We formulate the model as an optimal sequential planning problem bounded by the limits of the human visual and motor systems and use reinforcement learning to approximate optimal solutions. The model accurately replicates earlier results on the effects of target size and distance and captures a number of other aspects of performance. The model can be used to predict number of fixations and duration required to make a gaze-based selection. The future development of the model is discussed.
Keywords: Reinforcement learning; gaze-based selection; adaptive model; computational rationality
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445177
April Tyack, Elisa D Mekler
Off-Peak: An Examination of Ordinary Player Experience
Abstract: Videogames' increasing cultural relevance and suffusion into everyday use contexts suggests they can no longer be considered novelties. Broadly speaking, games research at CHI has concerned two forms of peak experience—historically, research aimed to support flow, or maximise enjoyment and positive emotions; more recently, scholarship engages with more varied experiences of intense emotion, such as emotional challenge. In different ways, both approaches emphasise extra-ordinary player experience (PX). Conversely, videogame play and PX have become more routine—indeed, more ordinary—as the medium's cultural presence grows. In this paper, we argue that HCI games research is conceptually ill-equipped to investigate these increasingly common and often desirable experiences. We conceptualise "ordinary player experience'' – as familiar, emotionally moderate, co-attentive, and abstractly memorable – articulating a phenomenon whose apparent mundanity has seen it elude description to date. We discuss opportunities to productively employ ordinary PX in HCI games research, alongside conceptual implications for PX and player wellbeing.
Keywords: player experience; ordinary experience; videogames; peak experience; optimal experience
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445230
Presentation video: https://apriltyack.neocities.org/media/Offpeak-1.mp4
Preprint: https://apriltyack.neocities.org/preprints/_Ordinary_Player_Experience.pdf
Alena Denisova, Julia Ayumi Bopp, Thuy Duong Nguyen, Elisa D Mekler
"Whatever the Emotional Experience, It's Up to Them": Insights from Designers of Emotionally Impactful Games
Abstract: Emotionally impactful game experiences have garnered increasing interest within HCI games research. Yet the perspectives of designers have, to date, remained largely overlooked. We interviewed 14 indie game designers regarding their values and practices in designing emotionally impactful games. Counter to the focus of recent player experience (PX) studies, we find that while designers typically have a clear vision for the intended emotional impact, they aim for their games to provide a space for players to have their own personal experiences and interpretations. Despite this player-centric orientation, players were rarely involved before and during the production to evaluate the emotional experience. Based on these findings, we identify gaps between design practice and PX research, raise open questions around the design and evaluation of emotionally impactful game experiences, and outline opportunities for HCI games research to more productively support game designers.
Keywords: Emotional challenge; game designer; design practice; agency; emotionally impactful games; emotion; player experience; video games
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445286
Jonas Oppenlaender, Elina Kuosmanen, Andrés Lucero, Simo Hosio
Hardhats and Bungaloos: Comparing Crowdsourced Design Feedback with Peer Design Feedback in the Classroom
Abstract: Feedback is an important aspect of design education, and crowdsourcing has emerged as a convenient way to obtain feedback at scale. In this paper, we investigate how crowdsourced design feedback compares to peer design feedback within a design-oriented HCI class and across two metrics: perceived quality and perceived fairness. We also examine the perceived monetary value of crowdsourced feedback, which provides an interesting contrast to the typical requester-centric view of the value of labor on crowdsourcing platforms. Our results reveal that the students (N=106) perceived the crowdsourced design feedback as inferior to peer design feedback in multiple ways. However, they also identified various positive aspects of the online crowds that peers cannot provide. We discuss the meaning of the findings and provide suggestions for teachers in HCI and other researchers interested in crowd feedback systems on using crowds as a potential complement to peers.
Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Design Feedback; Crowd Feedback System; Classroom Study; Peer Review
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445380
Jussi P. P. Jokinen, Aditya Acharya, Mohammad Uzair, Xinhui Jiang, Antti Oulasvirta
Touchscreen Typing As Optimal Supervisory Control
Abstract: Traditionally, touchscreen typing has been studied in terms of motor performance. However, recent research has exposed a decisive role of visual attention being shared between the keyboard and the text area. Strategies for this are known to adapt to the task, design, and user. In this paper, we propose a unifying account of touchscreen typing, regarding it as optimal supervisory control. Under this theory, rules for controlling visuo-motor resources are learned via exploration in pursuit of maximal typing performance. The paper outlines the control problem and explains how visual and motor limitations affect it. We then present a model, implemented via reinforcement learning, that simulates co-ordination of eye and finger movements. Comparison with human data affirms that the model creates realistic finger- and eye-movement patterns and shows human-like adaptation. We demonstrate the model's utility for interface development in evaluating touchscreen keyboard designs.
Keywords: touchscreen typing; computational modelling; rational adaptation
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445483
Video teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMGxfTJaM-s
Kashyap Todi, Gilles Bailly, Luis Leiva, Antti Oulasvirta
Adapting User Interfaces with Model-based Reinforcement Learning
Abstract: Adapting an interface requires taking into account both the positive and negative effects that changes may have on the user. A carelessly picked adaptation may impose high costs to the user – for example, due to surprise or relearning effort – or "trap" the process to a suboptimal design immaturely. However, effects on users are hard to predict as they depend on factors that are latent and evolve over the course of interaction. We propose a novel approach for adaptive user interfaces that yields a conservative adaptation policy: It finds beneficial changes when there are such and avoids changes when there are none. Our model-based reinforcement learning method plans sequences of adaptations and consults predictive HCI models to estimate their effects. We present empirical and simulation results from the case of adaptive menus, showing that the method outperforms both a non-adaptive and a frequency-based policy.
Keywords: Adaptive User Interfaces; Reinforcement Learning; Predictive Models; Monte Carlo Tree Search
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445497
Video teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDbnUAFlYS8
Presentation video: https://youtu.be/5AB0MskPH64
Preprint: https://kashyaptodi.com/adaptive
Emrecan Gulay, Toni Kotnik, Andrés Lucero
Exploring a Feedback-Oriented Design Process Through Curved Folding
Abstract: The advancement of computational design and fabrication technologies has allowed combining physical and digital processes in architecture. Existing methods for physical-digital integration offer limited support for explorations with folded non-linear surfaces. This paper introduces a feedback-oriented design approach linking physical models with digital tools to enhance ideation processes in architecture. We employ paper as a medium for translating simple mock-up ideas to more elaborate digital design models. We explain the physical exploration, 3D scanning, digital simulation, and fabrication processes. Then, we discuss the results, observations, and limitations of this design approach.
Keywords: Computer-Aided Design; Physical Models; Ideation; Design Exploration
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445639
Antti Salovaara, Andrea Bellucci, Andrea Vianello, Giulio Jacucci
Programmable Smart Home Toolkits Should Better Address Households' Social Needs
Abstract: End-user-programmable smart-home toolkits have engendered excitement in recent years. However, modern homes already cater quite well to users' needs, and genuinely new needs for smart-home automation seldom arise. Acknowledging this challenging starting point, we conducted a six-week in-the-wild study of smart-home toolkits with four carefully recruited technology-savvy families. Interleaved with free toolkit use in the home were several creativity workshops to facilitate ideation and programming. We evaluated use experiences at the end of the six weeks. Even with extensive facilitation, families faced difficulties in identifying needs for smart-home automation, except for social needs that emerged in all the families. We present analysis of those needs and discuss how end-user-programmable toolkits could better engage with both those household members who design new automated functions and those who merely `use' them.
Keywords: End-User Programming; Internet of Things; Smart Homes; In-the-Wild Study; Trigger-Action Programming; Appropriation
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445770
Video teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQyn64WKA94
Presentation video: https://youtu.be/eSflwXpwctE
TOCHI journal article
Mateusz Mikusz, Peter Shaw, Nigel Davies, Petteri Nurmi, Sarah Clinch, Ludwig Trotter, Ivan Elhart, Marc Langheinrich, Adrian Friday
A Longitudinal Study of Pervasive Display Personalisation
Abstract: Widespread sensing devices enable a world in which physical spaces become personalised in the presence of mobile users. An important example of such personalisation is the use of pervasive displays to show content that matches the requirements of proximate viewers. Despite prior work on prototype systems that use mobile devices to personalise displays, no significant attempts to trial such systems have been carried out. In this paper we report on our experiences of designing, developing and operating the world’s first comprehensive display personalisation service for mobile users. Through a set of rigorous quantitative measures and eleven potential user/stakeholder interviews, we demonstrate the success of the platform in realising display personalisation, and offer a series of reflections to inform the design of future systems.
Publication: (No DOI assigned yet)
Video teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_KdZi22NYg
Workshops
Johanna Ylipulli, Aale Luusua
In Search of the Alternative Future: Developing Participatory Digital Citizenship to Address the Crisis of Democracy
Abstract: In this workshop, we strive to formulate a working definition of a participatory digital citizenship, and to share issues, challenges, opportunities, methods and empirical examples pertaining to participatory digital citizenship as a goal. The rational for such a work lies in extensive digitalization of everyday life, which has turned data into valuable capital and a means of manipulation. Excessively datafied environments and more and more powerful algorithms and artificial intelligences used for processing data pose a threat to societies’ democratic arrangements and principles. Our goal is to explore the possibilities and limitations of expanding the concept of digital citizenship towards a direction that addresses the deep power asymmetry existing between the ones that use data and ones that are monitored.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3441318
Dorota Glowacka, Andrew Howes, Jussi P. P. Jokinen, Antti Oulasvirta, Ozgur Simsek
Reinforcement Learning for Humans, Computers, and Interaction
Abstract: Reinforcement learning (RL) is emerging as an approach to understand intelligence in both humans and machines. However, if RL is to have a meaningful impact in human--computer interaction, it is critical that these two threads are integrated. This is required for genuinely interactive RL-based systems which take into account user capacities and preferences. This workshop will build a community and form a research agenda for investigating RL in HCI.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3441323
Sayan Sarcar, Cosmin Munteanu, Neil H Charness, Jussi P. P. Jokinen, Xiangshi Ren, Emma Nicol
Designing Interactions for the Ageing Populations – Addressing Global Challenges
Abstract: We are concurrently witnessing two significant shifts: digital devices are becoming ubiquitous, and older people are becoming a very large demographic group. However, despite the recent increase in related CHI publications, older adults continue to be underrepresented in HCI research as well as commercially. Therefore, the overarching aim of this workshop is to increase the momentum for such research within CHI and related fields such as gerontechnology. For this, we plan to continue developing a space to discuss and share principles and strategies to design interactions and evaluate user interfaces (UI) for the ageing population. We thus welcome contributions of proposing improved empirical studies, theories, design and evaluation of UIs for older adults. Building on the success of the last three years’ workshops, we aim to grow the community of CHI researchers across borders interested in this topic by fostering a space to exchange results, methods, approaches, and ideas from research on interactive applications in support of older adults that are reflective of international diversity.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3441326
Matthias Baldauf, Peter Fröhlich, Shadan Sadeghian, Philippe Palanque, Virpi Roto, Wendy Ju, Lynne Baillie, Manfred Tscheligi
Automation Experience at the Workplace
Abstract: Automation is transforming traditional workplaces and work processes tremendously. While automated systems are no longer restricted to manufacturing environments but pervade various work domains in manifold appearances, automation initiatives and research are still driven from a technology and performance perspective. The goal of this workshop is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for automation-focused user experience research. It will bring together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines to create and transfer knowledge on automation experiences of skilled workers and professionals at workplaces across domains. In a keynote talk, participant presentations, and the group-wise drafting of research ideas, the workshop will address three recent main challenges: encountering workplace automation, collaborating as well as building meaningful relationships with workplace automation. The outcome of this workshop will be a research agenda consisting of ideas for promising future research on automation experiences at the workplace.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3441332
Dmitry Alexandrovsky, Susanne Putze, Valentin Schwind, Elisa D Mekler, Jan David Smeddinck, Denise Kahl, Antonio Krüger, Rainer Malaka
Evaluating User Experiences in Mixed Reality
Abstract: Measuring user experience in MR (i.e., AR/VR) user studies is essential. Researchers apply a wide range of measuring methods using objective (e.g., biosignals, time logging), behavioral (e.g., gaze direction, movement amplitude), and subjective (e.g., standardized questionnaires) metrics. Many of these measurement instruments were adapted from use-cases outside ofvMR, but have not been validated for usage in MR experiments. However, researchers are faced with various challenges and design alternatives when measuring immersive experiences. These challenges become even more diverse when running out-of-the lab studies. Measurement methods of VR experience received recently much attention. For example, research has started embedding questionnaires in the VE for various applications, as this allows users to stay closer to the ongoing experience while filling out the survey. However, there is a diversity in the interaction methods and practices on how the assessment procedure is conducted. This diversity in methods underlines a missing shared agreement of standardized measurement tools for VR experiences. AR research strongly orients on the research methods from VR, e.g., using the same type of subjective questionnaires. However, there are some crucial technical differences that require deliberate considerations during the evaluation. This workshop at CHI 2021 provides a foundation to exchange expertise and to address challenges as well as opportunities of research methods in MR user studies. By this, our workshop launches a discussion of research methods that should lead to standardizing assessment methods in MR user studies. The outcomes of the workshop will be aggregated into a collective special issue journal article.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3441337
Preprint: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.06444.pdf
Doctoral Consortium
Yi-Chi Liao
Computational Workflows for Designing Input Devices
Abstract: Input devices, such as buttons and sliders, are the foundation of any interface. The typical user-centered design workflow requires the developers and users to go through many iterations of design, implementation, and analysis. The procedure is inefficient, and human decisions highly bias the results. While computational methods are used to assist various design tasks, there has not been any holistic approach to automate the design of input components. My thesis proposed a series of Computational Input Design workflows: I envision a sample-efficient multi-objective optimization algorithm that cleverly selects design instances, which are instantly deployed on physical simulators. A meta-reinforcement learning user model then simulates the user behaviors when using the design instance upon the simulators. The new workflows derive Pareto-optimal designs with high efficiency and automation. I demonstrate designing a push-button via the proposed methods. The resulting designs outperform the known baselines. The Computational Input Design process can be generalized to other devices, such as joystick, touchscreen, mouse, controller, etc.
Keywords: Input devices; Design workflow; Computational methods; Bayesian optimization; Meta-RL; Meta learning; Reinforcement learning; Button; Physical simulator
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3443428
Case Study
Annika Wolff, Antti Knutas, Anne Pässilä, Jon Lautala, Lasse Kantola, Teija Vainio
Designing SciberPunks as Future Personas for More than Human Design
Abstract: In this case study we describe the evolution of a new method for creating future personas, called SciberPunks, for use in sustainable city design scenarios. SciberPunks channel the voice of the environment and have special abilities for feeling and expressing data, such as the ability to taste it, or communicate it through living tattoos on the skin. The aim was to examine how environmental data could act as a bridge between people and nature, to encourage empathy towards 'more-than-human' perspectives. We engaged 5 participants in activities designed to lead them through a process of engaging with information and data in the process of building their personas. The activities utilised arts-based methods as we were interested in the experiential aspects of engaging with data and how we might foster creative and sensory experiences with it. Activities included drawing, writing and performing and were framed by a single story that took participants on a journey through time: past, present and future. Activities took place online, due to COVID-19. Overall, participants produced 5 characters, including a shaman, a shape-shifter and a fairy, all with special skills for connecting to nature and/or to each other.
Keywords: arts-based methods; datasets; online; co-design; environment; sustainability; more-than human; data literacy; covid-19
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3443443
Courses
Virpi Roto, Val Mitchell, Stuart Cockbill, Jung-Joo Lee, Effie Lai-Chong Law, John Zimmerman
Introduction to Service Design for UX Designers
Abstract: We are witnessing the work of user experience (UX) designers expanding beyond single digital products towards designing customer journeys through several service touchpoints and channels. Greater understanding of the service design approach and the interplay between service design and UX design is needed by UX researchers and practitioners in order to address this challenge. This course provides a theoretical introduction to service design and practical activities that help attendees understand the principles of service design and apply key methods within their work. It is targeted at UX design practitioners, teachers, and researchers, and those interested in systemic approaches to design.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3444999
SIG
Simone Kriglstein, Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken, Laia Turmo Vidal, Madison Klarkowski, Katja Rogers, Selen Turkay, Magy Seif El-Nasr, Elena Márquez Segura, Anders Drachen, Perttu Hämäläinen
Special Interest Group: The Present and Future of Esports in HCI
Abstract: Rapidly gaining in mainstream appeal, esports constitute a phenomenon at the intersection of different Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) perspectives - relating to games user research, multifaceted aspects of game design for performance and entertainment, design and support of social or interpersonal interaction, inclusion vs. toxicity in online communities, visualization of esports data, subdomains like physical esports, as well as connections with education and health contexts. This special interest group (SIG) will provide a space for HCI researchers and practitioners to connect and discuss themes at the intersection of HCI and esports. It will serve as a starting point for mapping the esports design and research landscape in order to identify and pursue opportunities for research, to increase awareness for collaboration in this domain within the HCI community, to share experiences and knowledge, and to establish a community to shape the future of esports.
Publication: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411763.3450402
