Supporting Novice Multimedia Authoring with An Interactive Task-Viewer
Date
2015
Authors
Akiyama, Yasushi
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Abstract
Many novice users struggle with multimedia authoring (MMA) tasks. MMA tools
often have extensive feature sets and correspondingly complex user interfaces that
impede these users’ creative pursuits. My goal was to provide support for novice
users so they can more effectively utilize MMA systems.
First, I conducted User Study 1 to observe both novice and advanced users, and
from this group of users, I identified approaches that experts often employed but
novices did not. Drawing on an analysis of MMA systems and theory of general
problem-solving, I hypothesised that these approaches were related to what I call
meta-tasks. A meta-task involves the generalized work of both constructing and
maintaining an appropriate representation of a task. Advanced users execute meta-
tasks effectively while novice users find them significantly more difficult. Based on
this assumption that the issues experienced by this set of novice users could largely
be explained by considering meta-tasks, I identified potential challenges underlying
novice difficulties and developed a set of relevant design guidelines to address them.
Next, I followed an iterative approach to design a prototype MMA environment
that is conducive to effectively satisfying the design guidelines. The overall design
process consisted of several cycles of development, evaluation, and refinement. In User
Study 2, I explored and compared different possible design configurations in order to
establish a set of support features. This MMA environment consists of a standard
MMA system together with a new support tool called the Interactive Task-Viewer
(ITV). The ITV allows novice users to view and explore the complex task structure
of MMA effectively.
Finally, I conducted a usability study (User Study 3) to evaluate a prototype of
this new environment. The results revealed that, compared to the traditional MMA
environment, (1) users were able to complete specific MMA tasks faster in this new
environment, (2) users found the new environment easier to use, and (3) the new
environment positively addressed the challenge of meta-task difficulties for novice
users, thus this new environment effectively supported this set of novice users.
Description
Keywords
Human-Computer Interaction, Multimedia authoring systems