EXERCISE 3.3
3.3 What influence does the social environment
in which you work have on your interaction with the
computer? What effect does the organization (commercial
or academic) to which you belong have on the interaction?
answer
The aim of this exercise is to explore
the social and environmental influences that affect
interaction, often without the user being aware of
them. The particular influences will vary from environment
to environment, but we encourage you to consider some
or all of the following.
- work context - Is the work
place shared? Are the machines shared?
- peer pressure - Is there pressure
to compete or impress?
- management pressure - Is there
pressure to achieve? Is the interaction carried
out in the presence of management?
- motivation - What motivates
the interaction? Does this encourage or discourage
experimentation?
- organizational goals
- What is the objective of the organization? (profit?
education? etc.) How does this affect the interaction?
- organizational decision making
- Who determines the systems that you use? Do you
have any choice or influence? Does this influence
the way you interact with the system?
- In each case consider what influence
there may be on the interaction. It may be helpful
to consider other possible environments in order
to identify how the interaction would differ under
these different circumstances. For example, if you
currently share a machine with colleagues, would
your interaction practice change if you were given
a personal machine?
Chapters 13 and 14 also discuss the influence
of groups of workers within an organization on interaction,
and are suggested as further reading material on this
topic.
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