Research Interests

My current research interests can be divided into three major themes:

• Information access — Research on information-seeking behavior and systems for efficient information access;
• End-user programming — Research on how programming can be made accessible to non-specialists;
• Cross-functional design — Studies of design process in cross-functional teams.

At the Lycos UI Lab, my staff and I run usability evaluations weekly. When we ask Internet consumers what they like the most and the least about the Web, we hear a paradox. On the one hand, we hear people say "I like information immediacy, where I can find information on almost anything". On the other hand, we hear people say "I don't like information overload, where I can't find what I'm looking for—There's is too much junk". This, of course, is a naive framing of the information problem.

Herbert Simon[1] resolves the paradox with the observation that human attention is a limited resource; therefore, one must focus on filtering information, for example, rather than creating and disseminating content. Thus, I'm fundamentally interested in devising and evaluating methods for giving users effective access to information. Earlier in my career, this involved studying the expressive limits of declarative markup languages for professional technical writers. Today, I seek to understand the limits of consumer-based web products, such as search and personalization. In the future, I would like to expand upon my Ph.D. research and examine how methods of end-user programming, such as programming by demonstration and dataflow languages, might allow people to construct gardens that emphasize the relevant and suppress the marginal. One fascinating property of end-user programming is that it is equally a cognitive and social activity[2]. I believe, therefore, that developing requirements and evaluating solutions requires a cognitive and social orientation. (Working with TRG Green, and later inspired by him, I have touched upon both perspectives.) For me, the most interesting insights have occurred in the field, where I have observed people exhibit completely unexpected behaviors when using information technology.

Finally, my experience at WiseWire[3], an Internet startup formed to commercialize collaborative filtering technology, and at Lycos, the 4th largest Internet property, has highlighted, the enormous challenge confronting members of cross-functional teams. In these environments, where the goal has been to develop complex web properties, I have found that technical expertise in Human-Computer Interaction has mattered less that the ability to facilitate stakeholders of different backgrounds to think about users in common, and complementary, ways. In short, techniques in user-centered design have played a social and educational role rather than a technical role. On business-critical projects, I have witnessed inefficient communication and evidently unproductive tension within cross-functional teams. What does it take to get a group of specialists to work together on a design problem? I think the answer lies with helping teams to form good habits for thinking about process and users, and focusing on ways to adapt processes to the needs of the situation. Christopher Alexander proposes that ordinary people can design effective physical spaces for themselves by mapping familiar cases—what he calls design patterns—to problem situations. If a goal for the Information Technology movement is to facilitate communication and cooperation amongst specialists, Alexander's approach may be part of the solution. For both theoretical and educational reasons, I would like to investigate this direction through studies of cross-functional design.

For more information on my work, see dhendry.org
Updated: 25 October 2001

- - - - -
[1] Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge: MA: MIT Press.
[2] See, for example, Nardi, B. A. and O'Day, V. L. (1999). Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart. Cambridge. MA: MIT Press. .
[3] WiseWire.com was acquired by Lycos in April 98.