To give feedback on the articles published in this newsletter or to make recommendations on writers and topics that you'd like to read about, write newsletter at gotomedia dot com.

John SanGiovanni on the Intuitive Designer

BY KELLY GOTO

Introduction
John SanGiovanni is an innovator and entrepreneur and currently works as a Technical Evangelist with Microsoft Research. He is also one of the most energetic, positive and motivating people I know. In the field of mobile technology and advanced communication and education, he is an industry leader - taking a leap past our everyday thinking and working to conceptualize, fund and develop technologies of the future. Ten years ago, John adopted handheld devices and mobile technologies as his sole information medium. The transformation was so dramatic that John now has a standing challenge that anyone who finds a piece of paper with his handwriting gets $100 cash (signatures are exempt). He's never paid anyone.

Q: How would you describe your job and the work you have been doing?
SanGiovanni: This last year I've been focused on a couple of very specific domains of research funding. The most relevant area to this discussion is scalable user interfaces. We've been thinking about fairly radical approaches using interaction and visualization techniques (which have been used for the last 5 years) to create a new vocabulary for designing the core principles for scalable, usable interfaces.

Right now, we're focused on cross-device design -- using smart mobile applications instead of websites. Long-term, we're focused on web content, web services, etc. But for now, we're looking at seamless scaling of interfaces from a 320 x 240 Pocket PC to a larger Tablet PC or desktop computer, all the way up to a huge flat panel or wall display.

Q: How do you approach the user experience so it works up the chain from a usability standpoint? How does the design process work in this new visual context?
SanGiovanni: This is a very interesting question. With regard to usability verification, I am very concerned with the direction in which the industry has been moving recently. There are several different types of Interaction Designers. The most common approach to current interface development finds designers at both ends of the spectrum. One is a maverick designer who has a creative vision but is not grounded in reality (doesn't care if it works or if it is usable). The other is the usability scientist specializing in HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and who is typically a PhD. These two designer profiles often find themselves in conflict either over the creation of interactions that are 1) dramatic but difficult to learn or 2) usable but antiseptic.

This has been the model for the last 7 - 10 years. But I think this model is obsolete. I believe there is a new class of designer who is an elegant marriage of the two profiles above. They are very bold and use strong intuition not only as a designer but also as a user of these technologies. They can do 70% of the usability verification based on their own experience and then do targeted user studies just to make sure the team hasn't made any horrible assumptions. Inside companies like Microsoft or Apple, bold design comes to the surface but then is softened once the usability verification process begins. I call this new type the "Intuitive Designer" - talented, cross-disciplinary and usability-aware. I feel the boldest new interfaces are coming out of people who fit this profile. I see the change on a micro scale but it needs to change on a macro scale. With very few exceptions, current academic design and interaction curricula are producing either one or the other - usability and research gurus on one side, and innovative, flashy but impractical design talent on the other. The industry needs more Intuitive Designers.

Q: What is a good example of this "Intuitive Designer" in action?
SanGiovanni: The best examples can be seen in current video games. Game designers are generally video game players as well. They understand the audience and how to approach the design of a game. Halo is the first example that comes to mind - the controller is heavily overloaded, but in a very intuitive manner. Every button and trigger does something clever. After a few minutes, new users understand the interaction model; and after a few days, players begin to master the controls. Eventually, the controller becomes a natural extension of the user's mind. Halo is a good example because it is an incredibly complex system of interaction, but provides an amazingly high degree of control. Most Human Computer Interaction scientists would quickly veto such complex interaction. Yet, there is an enormous community of users who have achieved expertise. The social experiment worked. Much like a musical instrument or a manual transmission, the controller is designed to tightly couple the user to the machine.

Q: Tell me about bold interfaces. What is this notion and how does it apply to mobile devices?
SanGiovanni: There are two projects that come to mind. The first is the DateLens project which is a revolutionary, scalable calendar interface for PDAs. Our group worked with Professor Ben Bederson, (Director of the Human Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland) to develop DateLens. Microsoft Research focuses on collaborating with academia and working together to create next generation technology and innovation. I participated in the concept development of using a fish eye distortion technique and applying it to mobile devices. Ben Beterson and his team did 100% of the design and coding.

"The goal of DateLens is to create one interface that uses the same source code to execute on multiple devices -- such as Pocket PC, Tablet PC and the desktop -- that have different processor types, different display resolutions and radically different interaction models." (Microsoft Press release, July 2002) This is the quintessential example of Intuitive Design. DateLens employs fairly radical interface techniques to create an innovative yet usable concept. They use these scalable interface primitives to allow viewing detailed information on a small, compact device.

In addition to interface design technologies, there are several cool social computing projects that use mobile devices in interesting ways. One such project is ActiveCampus. This project, created in partnership with University of California at San Diego, tests whether wireless technology can be used to enhance the classroom and campus experience for a college student. Students can ask questions and take polls during class using a Pocket PC. In another case, students can roam by the student center and find out if a free concert or book-signing event is about to begin using ActiveCampus Explorer. Professor Bill Griswold is leading this effort. He has a vision to use research to develop this location-based system to help tie the community together. He is also exploring usage of this research in other environments such as the medical community.

ActiveCampus is based on the idea that location-based applications can enhance the campus community's "culture of learning." Its goal is to point students back into the physical world, not draw them further into handheld devices. (Cal-(IT)2 article) ActiveCampus is a web experience targeted to mobile devices. In the area of academic computing, there is ubiquitous and aggressive deployment of 802.11 networks (wireless) on campuses all over the world, as well as really impressive hardware advancements. UCSD is making the transition to a mobile application that is sometimes connected, sometimes not. With mobile devices, designers should build experiences that let users just glance, and get timely, meaningful information. Ideally, the application should be wirelessly synchronized at all times, so the user never has to wait for a download (you never know the connection speed). You need to quickly consume information because the device is being used in an ambient manner. The information should seamlessly adapt to a variety of different devices (i.e., SmartPhone or Pocket PC) and should be persistent. Also, the technical underpinnings need to support this connected/disconnected user experience.

Q: How does this apply to the web?
SanGiovanni: The important trend is that people are starting to really look at enterprise applications with more understanding of how they will get the most use, and have the most impact to information flow. Both users and designers are starting to figure this out. The pendulum is swinging towards persistent, synchronized web services, and rich, client applications and not just WAP or browser-based web experiences.

Q: What is the future of personal computing? Where do you see it going?
SanGiovanni: I'm excited about this new trend called ultra-mobile computing (using the UMPC - an ultra mobile personal computer). The term I've been using to define this phenomena is Nomadic Computing. Your personal computer is tiny -- less than 2 lbs, and eventually not much bigger than an iPod. It not only has all your music, but all your documents and applications. You can use it wirelessly from wherever you are. You will have full capabilities when you are on a train and commuting. You can even play a PC game. This is the newest great example of device convergence. There are several companies that I'm keeping an eye on. One is San Francisco-based OQO which makes an ultra-mobile personal computer. Another is Seattle-based Vulcan, who is working on their own UMPC called the FlipStart PC. Both companies are developing tiny, yet fully functional Windows XP PCs. Such a device can fit into your pocket - but is powerful enough to replace your laptop.

"The OQO computer has all the functionality of an ultra portable notebook computer, with a 1GHz processor, a 20GB hard drive, 256MB of RAM, color transflective display (for easy indoor and outdoor viewing), 802.11b wireless, a removable lithium-polymer battery, and FireWireô and USB 1.1 ports. For input and navigation it includes thumb keyboard with TrackStikô and mouse buttons as well as digital pen and thumbwheel." (OQO website)

There are also trends around application design and separating design process from the engineering process and then integrating them again. For web developers, Avalon is the code name for the new platform for application designers targeting "Longhorn", the next version of MicrosoftÆ WindowsÆ The premise of Avalon is to make beautiful interfaces prototyped in a way that allows for cross communication during the design process between the design and development teams. Today, creative Interaction Designers will build elegant interfaces, but many of the beautiful details of their Flash prototype get lost when it's time to code the actual application. Longhorn's Avalon core technology provides a framework so design and development teams work together to produce a new class of really gorgeous applications.

Q: Finally, what is your Comprehensive Personal Technology Update?
SanGiovanni: About every 6 months, I spend a week re-thinking what technology I can use to increase my personal and professional productivity. I treat this process like an IT team treats technology deployment. This is very different than buying the newest gadget just because it's cool. The way I see it, one week per six months is a small price to pay to be empowered by the latest digital tools. My most recent Personal Technology Update was in January. I have a few new devices worth noting:

• HP TC1100 Tablet PC -- is a beautiful device. It is a convertible Tablet PC / notebook and a close second to the Apple Powerbook 15" in style. The cool upright design lets you separate the tablet from the keyboard so you're left with a tiny computing slab. Its about 3 lbs, has good Nvidia 3D video, 60 gigs of HD and a gig of RAM. It is a totally awesome device. I take this lightweight thing with me everywhere. When I'm at home or the office, I just slam it into a docking device to be used with a large Samsung 19" display. It works like a dream as my production and personal machine.
• A prototype of HTC's latest Pocket PC Phone -- is my current PDA/Phone. HTC is an amazing Original Device Manufacturer (ODM) in Taiwan who has been behind the scenes of many of the coolest devices over the past 10 years. This device supports Qualcomm's newest 1xEV-DO standard, which offers up to 500kbps wireless internet access in Asia and parts of the US.
• Media Center PC -- is much cooler than I thought it would be. Using a Windows machine with an adaptable user interface, I can sit on the couch and use the same remote control to play a DVD, browse pictures with friends, and cue up digital music. I can even record TV directly to the hard drive like you would with a TiVo. It does everything. I ripped out all my old AV components and replaced them with one device. My speakers are Genelecs which are high quality digital speakers designed for studio use, and plugged directly into my PC. The Genelecs are self-amplified so I don't even need an amp! I also have a year-old HP/Compaq MP2800 DLP projector which has the most gorgeous industrial design. The bulb module simply pops off. It is very well engineered. I mounted it to the ceiling, and find it to be a work of art, whether it's on or off.

MORE ON JOHN SANGIOVANNI

With a background ranging from mobile computing to digital culture, John SanGiovanni is known for his unique perspective on emerging technologies. In his current role as Technical Evangelist for Microsoft Research, John manages Microsoft's academic research funding into mobile computing and wireless technologies. Prior this role, John has had several technology learning-related roles with PPI/Knowledge Universe, and worked in entertainment at the Walt Disney Company. John's current research focus is in interaction techniques and hardware interface technologies for next-generation mobile devices. In this area, SanGiovanni has several patents for alternative text input systems (non-handwriting, non-speech, non-typing). In recent years, John has spent his time exploring the ways that mobile devices and wireless technologies will transform communication, entertainment, and learning.
Learn more at www.johnsangiovanni.com.