
Disscussion with Eric and Dietmar:  

Thesis related to dimensions of user modifiability.


If you look at users and a computer system that is explicitly 
designed to be user modifiable.

What can the manufacturer know in advance about the system?


Compare top-down with iterative design strategies. 

Can we create dimensions of user modifiability?  What's an example 
of such a dimension? 

Can you predict what areas will be modified?  

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Seems to be a shared system between mfg and user -- who creates 
the innovation?  How do you enhance it?
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Look at PARC     -  Long term study, small groups, 3 versions of software.
Look at MIT      -  Medium term study, large group
Look at SIGGRAPH -  Short term study, huge group, include media.

What are the ways in which users have modified the software?

What could have been predicted in advance by the manufacturer?

What was required by users?


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What's the question?

Trying to understand the software design process.

Trying to understand the technological innovation process.

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What are the measures?

Numbers of innovations by mfg (i.e. the designers of the system)
Numbers of innovations by the users of the system.
Differences between predicted innovations (by each group) and 
actual innovations.
Kinds of innovations - along "explicitly-modifiable" lines or 
along other lines.
Measures of benefit -- who benefits from the modification.  (Also,
are the manufacturers their own users?)

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(Try to get predictions of use by designers.  Also, get a 
specific list of what the product is designed for and the 
dimensions along which users are supposed to modify the 
system (e.g. rules) and not supposed to modify the system
(e.g. messages).

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Look at answers to generals questions.  Write up.
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I predict that the use of the system will reflect the organizational 
structure of the business.




I'm interested in the problem of providing users with an environment 
in which they can communicate with other people and access information, 
as required.  My software "testbed" is a multi-media communication system, my
research tools include video analysis, rapid prototyping, software
monitoring, and interviews.  I'm also interested in the question of how
to make user-modifiable software.
