This document summarizes a course on intelligent interfaces and decision making. It discusses interface types, preferential choices versus decisions, goals and values in decision making, anticipating consequences of choices, reusing previous choices, and social influences on decision making. Key learning outcomes are listed, including explaining how preferential choices relate to other areas of human-computer interaction and synthesizing a framework for supporting user decision making. Guidelines for interaction design to support decision making are also outlined.

1. ICS3211 - Intelligent
Interfaces II
Combining design with technology for effective human-
computer interaction
Week 3
Department of Intelligent Computer Systems,
University of Malta,
2016

2. Choices & Decisions
Week 2 overview:
• Interface Types - a recap;
• Preferential Choices & Decision making;
• Goals & Values;
• Anticipation of Consequences;
• Reuse of Previous Choices;
• Social Influence;

3. Learning Outcomes
At the end of this session you should be able to:
• List the various types of interfaces & critically evaluate
some given types of interfaces;
• Explain how the user’s preferential choices fit in, with
other research domains in HCI;
• Summarise key concepts of decision making;
• Synthesise a framework for thinking about how to best
support users’ decision making process;

5. Recap
• What interface types can you think of? [Fill in this
Google Doc: http://tinyurl.com/hz4a92v ]
• Think of a game that can be played on both the pc
and the mobile smart phone. List the game, and
then describe the extent to which the change in
interface changes the game play experience. Use
the class discussion VLE to contribute your ideas.

6. Preferential Choices &
Decision Making
• What is a preferential choice?
• In the case when a user is faced with 2 or more
options (but which are not necessarily incorrect)
the user submits a preferred choice.
• What is the difference between a decision & a
choice?

7. Focus on goals
What is a good decision-making
process in this situation?
Situation assessment
What’s going on in this situation?
What are the options?
Anticipation of consequences
What would the consequences be
if this option is chosen? How
desirable would that be?
Intertemporal choices
What priority should be given to
consequences that will not occur
until some time in the future?
Reuse of previous choices
Why did the user choose that
option the last time?
Social influence
What do the group of users
choose in the situation?

8. Interaction Design
Guidelines
• Designing effective visual displays;
• Making the user’s options clearly identifiable &
understandable;
• Providing information on the user’s actions;
• Making the actions reversible in case they do not
yield satisfactory results;

9. Influencing the way a user
deals with a question

10. • Interaction Design Guidelines
• Designing effective visual displays;
• Making the user’s options clearly identifiable & understandable;
• Providing information on the user’s actions;
• Making the actions reversible in case they do not yield satisfactory results;
• Recommender Systems
• Predicting what will satisfy a user;
• Persuasive Technology
• Influencing People’s beliefs and behaviours;

11. Preferential Choice
• Decision about whether to use a system or not
• What variables will influence?
• What is the relationship of those variables?
• Choice of method from a selected set of alternative methods
• How do users choose a sub-task?
• Why do users persist in choosing inefficient methods?
• Configuration decision
• How do people decide whether to configure an application?
• What difficulties do they encounter?

12. Goals & Values
• What constitutes a good decision or choice?
• normatively justified;
• maximise desirable outputs;
• A goal or value can be activated by a change in the
interface without awareness from the part of the
user

13. Consequences
• Assessing situations where a decision may be
unnecessarily challenging for the user;
• Choice architects take on role of influencing choices
through design (perceived best interest);
• Decision making seen through the consequences of
actions taken;

14. • Consequence anticipation through:
• experience anticipation;
• configuration choices - how can users anticipate
these?

15. Intertemporal Choices
• How do choices change over time?
• Short term vs. long term benefits
• Bracketing choices

16. Reuse of Previous
Choices
• Recognition-primed decision making
• Retrieve an action from memory (by association);
• Retrieve, evaluate and modify an action;
• Assess situation and consider more tha one
course of action;

17. • Coherent arbitrariness
• Habit
• Goal controlled;
• Influences Goal;
• Conflicts with Goal;
• Skill acquisition

18. Social Influence
Why would people’s decisions be influenced by others?
• Useful experiences;
• Increased sense of belonging;
• Practical benefits of the community;
• Avoid punishment;
• Legitimate reason (including work hierarchy)

19. –Steve Jobs
“You’ve got to start with customer experience
and work backwards to the technology.”