Thomas C. Ormerod
About the author:
No description available of Thomas C. Ormerod...
Publications by Thomas C. Ormerod (bibliography)
» 2005 «
Ormerod, Thomas C., Mariani, John A., Morley, N. J., Rodden, Tom, Crabtree, Andy, Mathrick, J., Hitch, G. and Lewis, K. (2005): Mixing Research Methods in HCI: Ethnography Meets Experimentation in Image Browser Design. In: Bastide, Remi, Palanque, Philippe A. and Roth, Jörg (eds.) Engineering Human Computer Interaction and Interactive Systems, Joint Working Conferences EHCI-DSVIS 2004 July 11-13, 2005, Hamburg, Germany. pp. 112-128. Available online
» 2000 «
Ball, Linden J. and Ormerod, Thomas C. (2000): Putting Ethnography to Work: The Case for a Cognitive Ethnography of Design. In International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 53 (1) pp. 147-168
“The methods of ethnography and cognitive psychology are frequently set in opposition to each other. Whilst such a view may be appropriate in defining pure, or prototypical, classes of each activity, the value and necessity of such a distinction is broken down when researchers are goal-directed to study complex work domains in order to foster technological change. In this paper, we outline a rapprochement of these methods, which we term cognitive ethnography. The value of qualifying ethnography in this way is to emphasize systematically the differences between ethnography as a radial category and the kinds of legitimate method used to study work practices which are often referred to as ethnographic, but which in practice differ in important ways from prototypical ethnographic studies. Features of cognitive ethnography such as observational specificity, verifiability and purposivenes challenge many of the tenets of a pure ethnographic method, yet they are essential for studies that are undertaken to inform technological change. We illustrate our arguments with reference to a project to develop a tool for supporting design re-use in innovative design environments.”
Copyrights may apply
» 1998 «
Richardson, Juliet, Ormerod, Thomas C. and Shepherd, Andrew (1998): The Role of Task Analysis in Capturing Requirements for Interface Design. In Interacting with Computers, 9 (4) pp. 367-384
“Recently, the role of task analysis in design has been brought into question. It has been argued, for example, that task analysis leads to the non-creative redesign of existing artefacts. In this paper, we offer a view of task analysis that resolves this problem. In particular, we argue that by focusing upon the analysis of user/operator goals rather than an existing task implementation, task analysis encourages novel and apt design. A reformulation of hierarchical task analysis is offered, based on the sub-goal template (SGT) scheme. The SGT scheme provides a notation for goal-oriented task analysis and defines an appropriate level at which task analyses can inform the design process without constraining it to existing task implementations. The SGT scheme is compared with the systems analysis-based design methodology SSADM and the advantages of each approach are reviewed.”
Copyrights may apply
» 1996 «
Ormerod, Thomas C. and Ball, Linden J. (1996): An Empirical Evaluation of TEd, A Techniques Editor for Prolog Programming. In: Gray, Wayne D., Boehm-Davis, Deborah A. and Spohrer, James C. (eds.) Empirical Studies of Programmers - Sixth Workshop January 5-7, 1996, 1996, Alexandria, Virginia. pp. 147-162.
» 1995 «
Ball, Linden J. and Ormerod, Thomas C. (1995): Structured and Opportunistic Processing in Design: A Critical Discussion. In International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 43 (1) pp. 131-151
“We present a critical discussion of research into the nature of design expertise, in particular evaluating claims that opportunism is a major influence on the behaviour of expert designers. We argue that the notion of opportunism has been under-constrained, and as a consequence the existence of opportunism in expert design has been exaggerated. Much of what has been described as opportunistic design behaviour appears to reflect a mix of breadth-first and depth-first modes of solution development. Whilst acknowledging that opportunities can arise in the design process (e.g. serendipitous solution discovery), such events might equally confirm structured behaviour as cause unstructured behaviour. We argue that the default mode for truly expert designers is typically a top-down and breadth-first approach, since longer-term considerations of cost-effectiveness are more important for expert designers than short-term considerations of cognitive cost. However, there are situations (e.g. when faced with a highly unfamiliar design task) where it is cost-effective for experts to pursue a depth-first mode of solution development. The implications of our analysis for the development of methods and tools to support the design process are also discussed.”
Copyrights may apply
» 1994 «
Lansdale, Mark W. and Ormerod, Thomas C. (1994): Understanding Interfaces: A Handbook of Human-Computer Dialogue. Academic Press
View info on Amazon.com or .co.uk 
Ormerod, Thomas C. (1994): "Human Reasoning: The Psychology of Deduction," by J. St. B. T. Evans, S. E. Newstead and R. M. J. Byrne. In International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 40 (6) pp. 1068-1069
» 1993 «
Ormerod, Thomas C. and Ball, Linden J. (1993): Does Programming Knowledge or Design Strategy Determine Shifts of Focus in Prolog Programming?. In: Cook, Curtis, Scholtz, Jean and Spohrer, James C. (eds.) Empirical Studies of Programmers - Fifth Workshop December 3-15, 1993, 1993, Palo Alto, California. pp. 162-186.
“In this paper we examine the nature of expertise in program writing, in particular the factors which underlie the order in which code is generated by Prolog programmers. Verbal and keystroke recordings were taken from five expert subjects coding solutions to a problem requiring a recursive list-processing solution. A quantitative analysis of transcripts revealed a wide variation between subjects in the presence of non-linearities in code generation, with one subject demonstrating almost perfect linear development of code whilst others showed varying degrees of non-linearity. On the other hand, there was little evidence of deviation from a structured approach to code development even by experts producing code in a non-linear fashion. Qualitative analysis of verbal protocols revealed two key factors which determined the sequence of code generation: these were 1) switches between different views of the programming problem during solution development; and 2) the operation of problem scheduling strategies which created agenda for tackling coding sub-problems We discuss our findings in terms of current theories of programming expertise, and propose that the notion of programming 'plans' is neither necessary nor sufficient to account for the shifts of focus in the coding of our expert subjects. Plans may be a component of programming expertise, but they cannot alone account for the different coding orders observed in the construction of similar programs. Instead, we argue that a theory of programming expertise must account for the role of design strategies such as structured problem decomposition and problem scheduling that are employed by experts in developing code.”
Copyrights may apply
» 1986 «
Ormerod, Thomas C., Manktelow, K. I., Robson, E. H. and Steward, A. P. (1986): Content and Representation Effects with Reasoning Tasks in PROLOG Form. In Behaviour and Information Technology, 5 (2) pp. 157-168
“Two experiments were carried out to examine human reasoning performance in the context of the logic programming language PROLOG. Two factors, "content" (familiar versus unfamiliar) and "representation" (diagrammatic versus PROLOG-like list) were investigated. Subjects answered questions about hierarchical relationships in each condition. A significant interaction was obtained in both experiments, subjects making fewer errors in the familiar-diagram and unfamiliar-list conditions than in the familiar-list and unfamiliar-diagram conditions. It is hypothesized that a lower percentage of correct responses was given in familiar-list and unfamiliar-diagram conditions because the representation of information prevented successful use of an appropriate reasoning strategy. Working memory limitations provide a basis for understanding constraints on reasoning strategies for solving task questions. These strategies may involve either a serial or a spatial solution process. One strategy may require a larger working memory load than another, depending on the representation and content of task information. Implications for PROLOG programming instruction are discussed.”
Copyrights may apply
SHOW THIS LIST ON YOUR HOMEPAGE
What do YOU think?
Give us your opinion! Do you have any comments/additions
that you would like other visitors to see?
You say:
Mar 20th, 2010
Changes to this page (author)
27 Feb 2010: Enabled abstracts to be shown on Thomas C. Ormerod's author page.03 Jun 2009: Author was edited 28 Apr 2003: Added the author to the bibliography
