Usabilty of the post-it

A great piece on why computers have such a long way to catch up on the usability of the
post-it, can the argument of Activity Centred Design be a way in that the usability of technology can edge closer to such integration in understanding.

MIT researchers argue that computers need to become as easy to use as those yellow sticky notes.

Office workers are like electricity: When they want to get something done, they follow the path of least resistance.

Which is why, say researchers at MIT, the Post-it note continues to flourish on every surface of the contemporary office, despite all those expensive computers ready and willing to help.

David Karger helps lead a group at MIT exploring the way people work with computers. A recent paper from his team chronicled the attraction of “information scraps” like Post-Its, which, says Karger, are actually near-perfect data base tools. They’re accessible and easy to use, and they take advantage of the brain’s facility to remember an object’s location in the three-dimensional world."

A further great point from David Karger recent paper
"We started out asking what people do with Post-it notes, and it spiraled into something much bigger -- a study of how people intentionally misuse all of those systems that are supposed to help you," says Bernstein, who has worked closely with graduate student Max Van Kleek on the information scrap project.

In a similar manner I can think about how my own work own work evolved from the focus of paper use in the lab to the larger issues of how to design for such scientific software systems in the context of understanding the information workflow.

Follow up research to be presented at CHI 09 - to read

Post from Fade to play

Stumbled across a post from the blog fade to play caught my eye as ties in some nice ideas with Sellen & Harpers book the myth of the paperless office from a research study conducted in 2006

"This 2006 research paper entitled “Our Lives in Digital Times” by G. Sciadas from Statistics Canada has just been released. It discusses how the notion that we have become a paperless society is a myth as the use of office technologies such as email have actually increased paper usage.

Statistics Canada found that:

Not only is the notion of a paperless society defeated by existing data, but a visit to any modern office workplace will confirm that printers everywhere continue to spit out massive amounts of paper, and paper recycling bins are full,

There are also social behavioural trends in ICT and communication that are discussed:

The pattern of communication and interaction has changed. The reality is that people are talking to other people – whether to the person next door or to someone thousands of miles and time zones away. Thus, it is not that people are becoming anti-social; it is that people are becoming differently social.

In summary, key outcomes of ICTs are manifested in shifting behavioural patterns everywhere, with real consequences. Moreover, the pattern of communications has changed, something exemplified by the rise in long distance and the explosion in international calling made possible by
liberalized markets and falling prices. Such expanded circles of communication have found an even better expression through e-mail that knows no boundaries. People make the choice to expand their associations and move from geographically defined communities to communities of interest. As well, they are willing to pay for their choices. ICT spending is on the rise and, within this higher spending, substitutions take place in favour of newer ICTs, such as the Internet, and against older ones, such as the telephone. The willingness of people to pay can also be seen by the fact that many low income households choose to spend a relatively higher proportion of their income on ICTs.

A summary of the report can be found in this CBC news report.

This report confirms finding from Richard Harper and Abigail Sellen who wrote The Myth of the Paperless Office (2001) and found that paper usage increased on average 40% because of email in an organisation).

Relevance: Although offices are using paper more, I wonder about whether students are printing more in universities. I would say that they are printing less. I spend a significant time with my laptop around undergrads that I see reading papers in pdf form online on their laptop rather than printing them out. This may be due to convenience and a desire for cost savings. Perhaps, older people just feel more comfortable with paper."

Also the blog has recommended the book

Tagging: People-powered Metadata for the Social Web (Voices That Matter) (Paperback) - but only on American amazon!

Why blog this?

A blog to keep an eye on as holds some really interesting points, and research paper mentioned above may hold some significance for future reference .