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ReferencesNavigation arrowAuthorsNavigation arrowLaura Silver
Jun 19

“ ... there are no simple 'right' answers for most web design questions (at least not for the important ones). What works is good, integrated design that fills a need--carefully thought out, well executed, and tested. ”

-- Steve Krug, Don't Make Me Think, p. 136

 
 

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Laura Silver

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Publications by Laura Silver (bibliography)

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1994
 
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Silver, Laura and Marin, Irwin (1994): Software Use and Disuse: From Shelfware to Improved Software Utilization. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 38th Annual Meeting 1994. p. 975.

“All too often, software that has been purchased is not used. A term has emerged to describe this phenomenon, "shelfware." Our research investigates shelfware, seeking to understand how interacting behavioral factors affect software use. We also are applying the results to develop a system for improving software utilization. In our approach, the behavioral factors (independent variables) are categorized into individual, group, and organization user levels. The dependent variable chosen as indicative of utilization is the perceived amount of software use. From an initial sample of responses obtained from our questionnaire on software utilization, a set of optimal decision rules (variable interactions) are induced using a machine learning program with an ID3 learning algorithm. These rules are then converted to an expert system we call a Shelfware Advisor Front End (SAFE). Initial results indicate that the amount of software utilization varies with interactions among individual, group, and organizational factors in the following decreasing rank order: the motivation of the individuals using the software, group cohesion, and software cost. The conditional rules induced from the model suggest which variables to adjust to increase software utilization. To experience the approach firsthand, at the poster session we can work with interested parties using SAFE for their particular cases of software. Their data readily can be entered, and the person can leave with information on how to decrease the occurrence(s) of shelfware and increase software use. After returning to their organizations, they can experiment with the information suggested by SAFE. If consent is gained, their data may be used to extend this ongoing research. By using this approach, we hope both to further the understanding of the variables that impact software use, as well as to put this information to use in decreasing the occurrences of shelfware and thereby improving software utilization.”

© All rights reserved Silver and Marin and/or Human Factors Society

 
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26 Jun 2007: Added

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Jun 19

“ ... there are no simple 'right' answers for most web design questions (at least not for the important ones). What works is good, integrated design that fills a need--carefully thought out, well executed, and tested. ”

-- Steve Krug, Don't Make Me Think, p. 136

 
 

Featured chapter

Read the fascinating history of Wearable Computing, told by its father, Steve Mann

Read Steve's chapter !

 
 

Latest books

The Social Design of Technical Systems: Building technologies for communities
by Brian Whitworth and Adnan Ahmad

 
Start reading

The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd Ed.
by Mads Soegaard and Rikke Friis Dam

 
Start reading
 
 

Help us help you!

 
 
 
 
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