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introduction 'Object-Oriented Modeling and User Interface Design: Designing Interactive Systems'object modeling with UML you are here methods for interactive system design some useful design techniques a discussion form to be implemeted soon need training? need help?
 HCI Fundamentals: Cognitive Modeling Existing users have a cognitive (or mental) model of an application area and activities that they can undertake in that application area. For example, filing clerks see their work as one of placing documents in folders within filing cabinets, and also of retrieving those documents. Filing clerks have a view of their world of work (a cognitive model) which has two parts
  • a content model which consists of filing cabinets, filing cabinet drawers, folders, and documents to be filed, and

  • a task model which consists of top-level tasks like filing a document and retrieving a document. Tasks may be composed of lower-level tasks called subtasks. Retrieving a document may consist of subtasks such as locating an appropriate filing cabinet drawer, locating the appropriate folder in the drawer, and placing the document in the folder.
    Alternate subtasks may have to be performed during task execution. For example a folder may have to be made if one does not exist, or material may have to be moved between drawers if one becomes too full.
Together, these two interrelated models form the user's cognitive model.

Cognitive modeling is the development (or design) of a cognitive model that is characteristic of all users' cognitive models. The scope and contents of the cognitive model is determined by the scope of the users' activities and the users' referents (the things they use and refer to) in the application domain.

To gain the benefits of cognitive modeling we also need to design a user interface to the system that makes the cognitive model apparent to users. Making the user interface reflect the cognitive model has advantages

  • users don't run into operation difficulties in using the system
  • the system meets the cognitive expectations of experienced users who have a well-developed application domain view
  • the system helps engender (suggest and form) a suitable cognitive model in new users or users with partial domain knowledge, and
  • the system may perhaps engender a correct application domain view in users with an incorrect understanding of the domain.