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An Intelligent Human-Computer Interface for Provision of On-Line Help

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Book cover Intelligent Help Systems for UNIX

Abstract

Some user interfaces, such as that of Unix, are difficult for novices to use, and this paper suggests a possible solution to such problems. The results of a study of Unix users enabled the development of a taxonomy of error types so that users’ errors can be classified. This information is encapsulated as production rules within a knowledge base and forms the basis for the design and development of an intelligent interface to Unix. The prototype makes inferences about users’ mental models and uses these to select appropriate tutorial advice. Performance of users of the prototype intelligent interface was compared with that of users of the usual Unix interface. The prototype users were found to make fewer errors, exhibit fewer misconceptions and take less time to complete a standard set of tasks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Systems, University of Portsmouth, University House, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, Hants, PO1 2Up, UK

    Jennifer Jerrams-Smith

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  1. Jennifer Jerrams-Smith
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Stephen J. Hegner Paul Mc Kevitt Peter Norvig Robert Wilensky

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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Jerrams-Smith, J. (2000). An Intelligent Human-Computer Interface for Provision of On-Line Help. In: Hegner, S.J., Mc Kevitt, P., Norvig, P., Wilensky, R. (eds) Intelligent Help Systems for UNIX. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0874-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0874-7_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3790-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0874-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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