Ben Shneiderman
Abstract
A challenge for human-computer interaction researchers and user interf ace designers is to construct information technologies that support creativity. This ambitious goal can be attained by building on an adequate understanding of creative processes. This article offers a four-phase framework for creativity that might assist designers in providing effective tools for users: (1)Collect: learn from provious works stored in libraries, the Web, etc.; (2) Relate: consult with peers and mentors at early, middle, and late stages, (3)Create: explore, compose, evaluate possible solutions; and (4) Donate: disseminate the results and contribute to the libraries. Within this integrated framework, this article proposes eight activities that require human-computer interaction research and advanced user interface design. A scenario about an architect illustrates the process of creative work within such an environment.
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Index Terms
- Creating creativity: user interfaces for supporting innovation
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Reviews
Susan Loretta Fowler
Shneiderman starts with three approaches to creativity: inspiration, structuralism, and situationalism. Inspirationalists emphasize the magical breakthrough moment. Structuralists emphasize orderly approaches—for example, studying previous work and methodically exploring possible solutions. Situationalists emphasize the community context, in particular, the effect of journal editors, museum curators, and literary prize juries, who cull the uninteresting work and support the creative. Shneiderman offers two definitions of creativity: para digm-breaking leaps into the unknown, and “evolutionary creativity,” which refines and applies existing paradigms. Evolutionary creativity is the focus of this paper, “in part because it is most likely to be helped by software tools” (p. 1 18). He proposes a “genex” (for “generator of excellence”) system, as yet nonexistent, to help evolutionary creators. The genex framework is: Collect: learn from previous works stored in libraries, the Web, and so on. Relate: consult with peers and mentors at all phases. Create: explore, compose, and evaluate possible solutions. Donate: disseminate the results and contribute to libraries. Most of the last section of this paper describes existing software or Web tools. None covers all four phases, unfortunately (also, for mind mapping, the advantage of software over a piece of paper and a pencil eludes me). However, as Shneiderman says in the conclusion, “Ambitious visions can be helpful in shaping more concrete research agendas” (p. 135). The authors goal is to provide a path forward for researchers, students, and interested developers, and he succeeds in that. His paper is not revolutionary, but it is evolutionary and enlightening.
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