Artifact as theory-nexus: hermeneutics meets theory-based design

  • Authors:
  • J. M. Carroll;W. A. Kellogg

  • Affiliations:
  • IBM Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY;IBM Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY

  • Venue:
  • CHI '89 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 1989

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Abstract

We suggest that HCI designs characteristically embody multiple, distinct psychological claims, that virtually every aspect of a system's usability is overdetermined by independent psychological rationales inherent in its design. These myriad claims cohere in being implemented together in a running system. Thus, HCI artifacts themselves are perhaps the most effective medium for theory development in HCI. We advance a framework for articulating the psychological claims embodied by artifacts. This proposal reconciles the contrasting perspectives of theory-based design and hermeneutics, and clarifies the apparent paradox of HCI application leading HCI theory.