‘The human desire to contribute’: A Manitoba researcher rethinks the interface

The Person: Andrea Bunt has always been fascinated by how humans interact with computers, so much so that she’s dedicated much of her academic life to studying user experience in computer software.

After completing a bachelors degree in computer sciences at Queen’s University, Bunt pursued a Master’s in computer sciences from the University of British Columbia, where she earned a PhD in 2007. Her research  at the University of Manitoba’s HCI Lab focuses on how to make it easier for people to complete certain tasks using technology, “either by having interfaces that are customized to particular tasks, or looking at improving documentation that’s available, particularly web-based tutorials.”

The Project: In pursuit of improved user experience and design, Bunt and her students have been identifying and collecting data on problem areas and are proposing alternatives. For example, Bunt teamed up with the University of Waterloo to study how people interact with comments posted to online tutorials.

“What we found is that people post a wide range of comments on tutorials, a lot of which can be really helpful for people,” she said. “But the comments really aren’t organized in a way that makes them easy to use.”

Bunt and her students analyzed the hitch and built a prototype that integrates comments within tutorials while making it easier for users to search through relevant comments.

The Progress: While Bunt is largely focused on building a body of knowledge on the subject of user experience pain points, having already published a number of papers on her results, her research also attempts to propose viable solutions. One potential avenue that is of particular interest is utilizing the power of crowdsourcing to make interfaces more personalized.

“How can we harness (crowdsourcing) to the point where we can use it to provide help on demand, and provide interfaces that are really truly personalized to individual tasks?” she said. “I think we’re part of the way there. We’ve come up with isolated ways to leverage this human desire to contribute, but there’s still a long way to go in having it perfectly integrated.”

The Prospects: Unlike many innovators in the field of user experience, Bunt has no interest in commercializing or licensing what results from her research.

“I’ve got two young kids, so between the kids and the research and the teaching, commercialization isn’t something that I have a lot of time for,” she said.

Instead, Bunt has published her research in peer-reviewed publications and made it publicly available online.

“The hope is that people will pick this stuff up and run with it,” she added.

The Passion: “For me human-computer interaction is an ideal mix of a harder science and a softer science,” said Bunt, who has been studying the relationship between humans and computer software for over a decade. “I love the fact that we’re working with computers and code but in the end it’s all about whether or not the technology is making a positive impact. I love the interdisciplinary nature of the work.”

Bunt says she’s also driven by the opportunity to collaborate with students. “I really enjoy that relationship too,” she added.

photo credit: baldiri via photopin cc