Designing attentive interfaces

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a tentative framework for the classification of Attentive Interfaces, a new category of user interfaces. An Attentive Interface is a user interface that dynamically prioritizes the information it presents to its users, such that information processing resources of both user and system are optimally distributed across a set of tasks. The interface does this on the basis of knowledge – consisting of a combination of measures and models – of the past, present and future state of the user’s attention, given the availability of system resources. We will show how the Attentive Interface provides a natural extension to the windowing paradigm found in Graphical User Interfaces. Our taxonomy of Attentive Interfaces allows us to identify classes of user interfaces that would benefit most from the ability to sense, model and optimize the user’s attentive state. In particular, we show how systems that influence user workflow in concurrent task situations, such as those involved with management of multiparty communication, may benefit from such facilities.