Knowledge interfacing in cyberspace

Abstract

The WWW is basically an access phenomenon: it provides easily accessible information to users for different purposes. How to design information for the web is the challenge faced by cognitive ergonomics today. To help frame this challenge, two models are presented: a web interaction model and a web information design model. These capture what are considered to be central features of information design that need to be addressed in the field. The web interaction model involves knowledge expression on the part of the information provider and knowledge building on the part of the user, both channeled through the person's cognitive structure. Information on the web is categorized as data, complex information, or process and characterized along dimensions of coherence and dynamics. These are the elements that impact knowledge interfacing. The principal concern for web information design is the less intentional nature of the communication involved and the interest-driven nature of web navigation. Both present difficulties for the traditional task-oriented design model of ergonomics. The web information design model presented considers the what (selection) and the how (representation) of information. It suggests focusing on three design spaces in terms of access, interest, and transaction structures. These are the filters that need design attention. The two models provide groundwork for further discussion of the issues raised and will hopefully encourage further modeling that will help establish this emerging field of knowledge technology as a prime concern of cognitive ergonomics. Relevance to industry As interface development continues to evolve from perceptual and motor issues to cognitive issues, developing a soft technology of knowledge design becomes paramount. Some of the significant issues are how one interacts with the on-line knowledge environment surrounding us and the emergence of practical multimedia and its extension into virtual reality and metaworlds.