CS182-1: Investigation 6

Interface Agents

Due:
Thursday, March 23 (part 1), 1:15pm by email
Tuesday, April 4, 1:15pm by email

This is an individual investigation. You may discuss this investigation with others, but should complete all work on your own.

Goals

The goals of this Investigation are:

To become familiar with an existing agent-based interface
To critically evaluate the utitlity and usability of an existing agent-based interface

Before you Begin

You are ready to go on this investigation. Please get started right away!

Assignment

In this assignment you will critically examine an agent-based interface: the Ultra Hal Assistant (if you run Windows) or DEVONAgent (if you run Macintosh). You will use this agent for at least a week and then write a critique of the advantages and disadvantages of this interface over "traditional" software to accomplish the same task.

Part 1: Download the Software and Start Using It (DUE: Thursday, March 23!)

Based on the platform computer you run, download the free trial version of one of the following:

Windows: Ultra Hal Assistant
Mac: DEVONAgent

The two agents are designed for slightly different tasks. Ultra Hal Assistant is a desktop assistant designed to replace your calendar, and the DEVONAgent helps you perform web searches.

When you have successfully downloaded and set up the software, send me an email to confirm that you have completed part 1 of the assignment. I must receive this email by class time on Thursday, or you will not receive full credit on the assignment. Let me know well in advance if you are having trouble (i.e. do this ASAP!).

Part 2: Critiquing the interface

Use these interfaces regularly for a full week or more. I mean really use them. Use them whenever you would be temped to use another application. For Hal this means putting as much of your scheduling information into it as possible. For the DEVONAgent this means using it to perform all research tasks and web searches. If you do not have to do any web searches for your classes, think of a few things that interest you and research them. You should spend a few hours total interacting with your agent. For these agents, you won't really see their true functionality until they "know" a lot of your patterns and information.

However, as a warning: The trial period for DEVONAgent is only 60 hours of use, so be sure to quit the agent between searches. This will be plenty of time, just be sure you don't leave it running continuously.

As you are interacting with your agent, keep in mind the following questions (from Interaction Design, by Preece, et al., p. 162):

What does this agent do?
In what way is it an "agent" (as we discussed in class)?
What kind of agent is it? (Anthropomorphic? Assistive? Does it learn?)
Does it elicit an emotional response from you? (If so, what is it?)
What kind of personality does the agent have, if any?
How does the agent express its personality?
How does the agent appear on screen?
How does it communicate with the user?
Is the level of discourse appropriate?
What advantages does this agent have over a more "traditional" interface?
What is problematic about this interface?
How is the agent nature of the interface appropriate? (I.e., what works in this interface?)
How could this interface be improved?
Do you trust this interface?

After you have interacted with the agent for a significant period of time, imagine how you would have performed the same tasks in a non agent-based interface.

In 3-4 pages (more or less) write up your critique of the agent interface that you used basing your critique on the questions above. You may (and should) incorporate ideas we have discussed in class, ideas from the readings, or any other UI ideas that help support your critique. You should also be sure to include ample details of your personal interaction with the agent to support your critique. Note that you should focus on both postive and negative aspects of the agent-based interface. Please don't make this just another "agent-bashing" opportunity. :) (And when you do give negatives, be sure they are well supported by specific experiences or facts).

As with the reading responses, this investigation is somewhat open-ended, so come seem me if you have questions about what you are supposed to be doing.

What to Hand In

You only need to hand in your writeup, described above in part 2.

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