[:en]

Jonathan Grudin’s new book, From Tool to Partner: The Evolution of Human-Computer Interaction, is a detailed history of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that spans from the 19th century “human-tool” period to 2015. Grudin has been writing and presenting about the history of HCI and the themes that have emerged from research and practice for more than 20 years. I’ve read some of his work and attended a CHI workshop that explored key issues in the HCI timeline – like the move from non-discretionary use of computing systems (the early days of mainframe computing and office automation) by trained experts to discretionary use by nearly anyone in the world (smartphone apps). Grudin is highly qualified to write about the history and emergent themes of HCI.

The field of HCI is broad and complex, and Grudin’s 165-page book is ambitious in trying to cover Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human Factors & Ergonomics (HFES), Participatory Design (PD), Information Science (IS), Computer-Human Interaction (CHI), Management Information Systems (MIS), and Office Automation (OA). Grudin tries to show why these fields developed, why colleagues in these fields did, or did not, interact much at a professional level, and what assumptions and issues shaped the fields that contribute to HCI. Grudin makes clear in Chapter 1 that any history is based on an individual’s perspective, training, and experience and thus will highlight some topics (e.g., information science in Grudin’s case) and neglect others (usability engineering and user experience) that are outside of the primary experience of the author. His analytical approach is to examine the similarities and differences between fields and professional, academic, government, and commercial organizations to extract patterns and themes that have contributed to the evolution of HCI.

Why would our colleagues want to read about the history of HCI? Grudin argues that many of us are focused on one discipline and there is much we can learn by “crossing over” and capturing the wisdom (and the failures) of others. I thought that my background from 40 years of practice was interdisciplinary, but when I read Chapters 7 and 8, I found that I had missed, almost entirely, the disciplines of information science and office automation – quite relevant to my career in the 1980s when I was working on – office automation! In modern-day HCI work, disciplines like social psychology and big data have much to contribute to the designs of computing systems. This book could be a clarion call to look outside our primary disciplines.

Grudin’s second reason for why one should read a history of HCI is that it can help us celebrate the accomplishments of past visionaries and inspire future colleagues. This the book did well. I found myself wishing that I could enter a time machine, get young, and restart my career with Grudin’s book as inspiration. Grudin’s stories and references to visionaries and their work provide many guilty pleasures for those who are interested in just how our field evolved. Grudin delights with stories of information systems that were precursors to the web and references to demonstrations like the “Mother of all Demos” where Douglas Engelbart demonstrates 1968 research technologies (the mouse, video conferencing, word processing, hypertext and more) that took several decades to be realized. Science fiction writer H. G. Wells, perhaps most famous for “War of the Worlds,” was highlighted for proposing an information system based on index cards and sorting stations that would filter and transmit answers to inquiries. Another “information system” visionary, Paul Otlet, worked with the Belgian government to create a record center in 1919 called the Mundaneum where millions of index cards and images where organized and cross-referenced and available to a wide audience – a fuzzy precursor to the Internet. Grudin finishes this chapter with references to the more familiar work of Vannevar Bush on “memex,” a personal workstation based on microfilm that would allow fast indexing, linking to related material, and retrieval of documents and images. These early ideas and efforts at making large masses of information accessible were the historical underpinnings and metaphors for our modern computing systems. Dipping into the myriad archival references was unadulterated joy and is still a potential source of ideas and metaphors.

Grudin’s third rationale for studying history is to understand why “some visions and prototypes were quickly converted to widespread application, others took decades to influence use, and a few [e.g., odor generation systems] remain unrealized” (p. 3). Grudin delves into why AI research has had a roller coaster ride with limited prototypes generating outlandish expectations, like those of Marvin Minsky who in a 1968 Life Magazine article predicted a machine with the “general intelligence of an average human being.” Grudin delves into forces that affect the course of visions including hardware capabilities and the trade-offs that come with the autonomous systems that may not have the contextual flexibility of humans to deal with unusual situations (e.g., how autonomous cars make decisions about who should be injured, passengers or pedestrians, when there is an unavoidable accident). Grudin notes that the future will go from Human-Computer Interaction to Human-Computer Integration where computing and communication systems are truly ubiquitous partners with humans.

The final rationale for a history of HCI is to extract trends and patterns that can guide the career plans of colleagues in a field that is expanding, like the universe, faster and faster. Chapters 9 through 12 provide insights and themes that could be valuable to colleagues.

While Grudin’s book kept my attention with historical details, good stories, and insights for future generations (I spent many hours reading historical references), there were a few minor details that could be improved. It felt like one more editorial pass was needed to remove some redundancy and improve the overall flow of the book. The richness and breadth of the field does pose a challenge for anyone trying to document the history of a complex field like HCI. The book is filled with acronyms, and I did appreciate the list of acronyms in the Glossary. I found myself using the Glossary often as I moved through chapters. There are only a few pages dedicated to the Usability Professionals Association/User Experience Professionals Association. I wish that Grudin had dug a bit more deeply into the impact of the UPXA organization and the value brought by practitioners of usability and UX.

To conclude, I would highly recommend this book for both understanding the grand history of HCI and also for providing food for thought on what might be important for the future of our HCI colleagues.

 [:zh]Grudin 的这本书详细介绍了技术、组织和学科对 HCI 演变的影响。这本书通过引人入胜的故事和旁征博引介绍了 HCI 的杰出人物和关键事件。Grudin 揭示的见解和模式可帮助您预测和缓解技术快速变化带来的挑战。对于那些涉足“智能系统”和物联网的人来说，最后几章尤其相关。

文章全文为英文版[:KO]Grudin의 책은 기술, 조직, 학문체계가 HCI의 진화에 미치는 영향을 자세하게 설명합니다. 이 책은 HCI 전문가들과 주요 사건에 대한 흥미진진한 이야기와 참고할 내용들로 가득합니다. Grudin은 급속한 기술 변화로 인한 어려움을 예상하고 완화하는 데 도움이 되는 통찰력과 방향을 제시합니다. 마지막 장은 “스마트 시스템”과 사물 인터넷에 노력을 기울이는 사람들과 관련이 있습니다.

전체 기사는 영어로만 제공됩니다.[:pt]O livro apresenta um relato detalhado do impacto das tecnologias, organizações e disciplinas sobre a evolução da interação homem-computador (IHC). O livro é repleto de histórias envolventes e referências aos profissionais mais influentes e aos principais acontecimentos de IHC. Grudin revela ideias e padrões para ajudá-lo a prever e atenuar os desafios da rápida evolução tecnológica. Os capítulos finais são relevantes para aqueles que estão trabalhando em “sistemas inteligentes” e na Internet das Coisas.

O artigo completo está disponível somente em inglês.[:ja]テクノロジーと組織と規律がHCIの進化に及ぼす影響について詳細に説明する本書は、興味深いストーリーに加え、HCIの功績者や重要な出来事への言及も豊富である。Grudinが明かす洞察とパターンは、テクノロジーの急速な変化がもたらす課題や難題を予測し、それらを軽減するのに役立つことだろう。最終章は、特に「スマートシステム」とモノのインターネットに携わる読者にとって有意義な内容となっている。

原文は英語だけになります[:es]El libro de Grudin ofrece una descripción detallada del impacto de las tecnologías, las organizaciones y las disciplinas en la evolución de la interacción humano-computador (HCI). El libro está lleno de historias atrapantes y referencias a personas distinguidas de la HCI, además de eventos clave. Grudin revela percepciones y patrones para ayudarlo a anticiparse a los desafíos del rápido cambio tecnológico y a mitigarlos. Los capítulos finales son relevantes para aquellos que trabajan con “sistemas inteligentes” y el Internet de las cosas.

La versión completa de este artículo está sólo disponible en inglés[:]

Topics: User Research, Ethnography, [:en]Book Review[:zh]书评[:KO]서평[:pt]Resenhas de livros[:ja]Book Review[:es]Reseñas de libros[:]
Published in: July, 2017 in [:en]Focus on Asia[:zh]聚焦亚洲[:KO]아시아 포커스[:pt]Foco na Ásia[:ja]アジアに注目[:es]Foco en Asia[:]