Making Abstraction Concrete: A Design Space and Interaction Model of Abstraction in Interactive Systems
Proposed Abstraction Spaces model to analyze abstraction gaps between users and systems.
Key Findings
Methodology
Surveyed 457 papers to propose a six-dimensional design space model analyzing abstraction in interactive systems. The model includes abstraction gaps between user mental models and systems, emphasizing cognitive and design process bridging.
Key Results
- Survey reveals abstraction influences all stages of user mental models, especially in intention formation, action specification, and interpretation.
- Introduced Abstraction Spaces model with abstraction gaps, highlighting misalignments between users and systems.
- Analyzed existing interaction workflows to uncover design opportunities, enhancing user-system understanding.
Significance
This research provides new perspectives for interactive system design, emphasizing abstraction's importance in cognitive processes and guiding future system design. By redefining abstraction gaps, it promotes effective user-system interaction.
Technical Contribution
Introduced Abstraction Spaces model, extending traditional execution and evaluation gulf models with abstraction gaps, offering a new design framework for effectively applying abstraction in interactive systems.
Novelty
First to systematically incorporate abstraction into interaction models, introducing the concept of Abstraction Spaces, emphasizing dynamic influences between users and systems.
Limitations
- Application of the model in complex systems needs further validation, especially in multi-level abstraction design.
- Practical application of the Abstraction Spaces model may be limited by existing technology.
Future Work
Future research could explore the application of the Abstraction Spaces model in different interactive systems, especially AI-driven systems, to further validate its effectiveness.
AI Executive Summary
Abstraction plays a crucial role in interactive system design, yet existing models fail to fully explain its impact. This paper surveys 457 papers to propose a six-dimensional design space model, redefining abstraction gaps between users and systems.
The Abstraction Spaces model not only reveals misalignments between user mental models and systems but also provides a new framework for designers to apply abstraction in interactive systems. It emphasizes bridging cognitive and design processes, promoting effective user-system interaction.
By analyzing existing interaction workflows, the Abstraction Spaces model uncovers design opportunities, helping designers support user tasks in multi-level abstraction. Future research could explore the model's application in different interactive systems, especially AI-driven ones.
Deep Analysis
Background
Abstraction is a core principle in interactive system design, yet existing models fail to fully explain its impact. Traditional execution and evaluation gulf models only indirectly address abstraction, lacking design guidance. Recently, the research community has observed shifts in abstraction, especially in dynamic and high-level abstraction design.
Core Problem
Existing interaction models fail to fully explain abstraction's impact on cognitive processes, especially in misalignments between user mental models and systems. A new framework is needed to systematically analyze abstraction in interactive systems.
Innovation
Proposed Abstraction Spaces model, extending traditional execution and evaluation gulf models with abstraction gaps, emphasizing dynamic influences between users and systems. Analyzed existing interaction workflows to uncover design opportunities.
Methodology
- �� Surveyed 457 papers to analyze abstraction in interactive systems.
- �� Proposed six-dimensional design space model including abstraction gaps.
- �� Analyzed existing interaction workflows to uncover design opportunities.
Experiments
Surveyed 457 papers to analyze abstraction in interactive systems, proposing a six-dimensional design space model. The model includes abstraction gaps between user mental models and systems, emphasizing cognitive and design process bridging.
Results
Survey reveals abstraction influences all stages of user mental models, especially in intention formation, action specification, and interpretation. Introduced Abstraction Spaces model with abstraction gaps, highlighting misalignments between users and systems.
Applications
Abstraction Spaces model can be used to design multi-level abstraction interactive systems, supporting user tasks. Especially in AI-driven systems, the model can promote effective user-system interaction.
Limitations & Outlook
Application of the model in complex systems needs further validation, especially in multi-level abstraction design. Practical application of the Abstraction Spaces model may be limited by existing technology.
Plain Language Accessible to non-experts
Imagine you're cooking in a kitchen. Abstraction is like a recipe, helping you focus on the needed steps rather than every detail. The Abstraction Spaces model is like a high-level recipe, helping chefs balance different cooking stages. Through this model, chefs can better understand ingredients and cooking processes, ultimately creating delicious dishes.
ELI14 Explained like you're 14
Imagine you're playing a complex game. Abstraction is like the game's map, helping you find goals rather than getting lost in details. The Abstraction Spaces model is like a super map, helping players balance different game stages. Through this model, players can better understand game rules and strategies, ultimately winning the match!
Glossary
Abstraction
Abstraction is a specific schema of information, depicting entities and their relations.
Used to analyze relationships between user mental models and systems.
Abstraction Spaces
An interaction model describing abstraction gaps between users and systems.
Used to redefine user-system interaction.
Gulf of Abstraction
Misalignments between user mental models and systems.
Used to analyze cognitive processes between users and systems.
Semantic Zooming
Transforms content to different levels of abstraction according to zooming level.
Used to design multi-level abstraction interactive systems.
Direct Manipulation
Users directly manipulate system elements through interfaces.
Foundation of traditional interaction models.
Open Questions Unanswered questions from this research
- 1 How to effectively apply the Abstraction Spaces model in complex systems needs further research.
- 2 Effectiveness of the Abstraction Spaces model in AI-driven systems remains unverified.
Applications
Immediate Applications
User Interface Design
Design multi-level abstraction interfaces to support user tasks.
Long-term Vision
AI-driven Systems
Apply Abstraction Spaces model in AI-driven systems to promote effective user-system interaction.
Abstract
The principle of abstraction guides the design of interactive systems, yet we lack a conceptual framework to understand how it shapes interaction design. Existing models, such as the gulfs of execution and evaluation, do not explicitly model abstractions in the system or in users' mental models, and therefore lack actionable guidance for designing abstractions. To investigate how abstractions are employed in interactive systems, we surveyed 457 papers and synthesized a design space of abstraction techniques along six dimensions. We use this design space to reframe the gulfs through a lens of abstraction, explicitly articulate the cognitive and design processes by which users and systems bridge and navigate the abstraction gap, and demonstrate how this model integrates existing perspectives and surfaces new opportunities for future systems.