Visitor-Oriented Design-Three Studies of Visitor Accommodation and a Call for Action

Abstract

This article proposes and describes a visitor-oriented perspective emphasizing the unique needs of visitors of digital environments in contrast to the user-oriented perspective that emphasizes the needs of users. To do so the term accommodation is introduced in a technical sense and given a brief explanation. Results are also reported from three explorative studies of desktop virtual reality environments. In these studies the visitor-oriented perspective was adopted and allowed for analyzing how subjects perceived the environments as places rather than artifacts for use. In comparison to a web site, it was found that even a rudimentary virtual reality environment can have a positive impact on visitor regard for information content. Implementing teleports increased the efficiency of one test environment but it was not found to have a positive effect on user attitudes to the environment. Many subjects felt that first the environment was sterile. Another common complaint was about the amount of walking required in the first environment. Five suggestions are given for building desktop virtual reality environments that are better received by visitors. In closing, the visitor-oriented perspective presented here is briefly discussed in relation to Terry Winograd's writings on software inhabitants. PLACE AND ACCOMMODATIONThe starting point for this article is a description of a proposed design approach that centers on visitors of digital environments rather than users of digital environments. In order to explain this approach and to have a working terminology, the term accommodation is introduced in a technical sense. The term digital environment is also used, and for the purposes of this article it should be understood as referring to any digital artifact that can be experienced as a place. This article, however, centers on user studies conducted within a particular kind of digital environment: the desktop virtual reality system. This kind of system runs on an ordinary personal computer. With desktop virtual reality systems, environments are rendered on a standard CRT monitor producing convincing representations of 3D space.The subject interacting with a desktop virtual environment can move about within the environment, typically by using the arrow keys of a standard keyboard or by moving a mouse. Kaur's usability thesis (Kaur, 1998) is largely about usability issues pertaining to such systems. While Kaur's work focuses on the design for users of virtual environments the focus here is on the design of environments for visitors. The unique needs visitors have are here characterized as accommodative needs.Accommodation occurs with digital artifacts capable of being experienced as places Hedman, 1999-2). In places (electronic or not) subjects as visitors reveal feelings, attitudes and dispositions that indicate how well accommodated they are. Arguably the needs of visitors are different from the needs of users. The subject as user has needs in order to work easily and efficiently with her/his digital tools such as the ac...

Teleportation and Navigation in a 3-D Web-Based Virtual Shopping Environment

“…The present results replicated previous research on the room effect (Colle & Reid, 1998, 2000, 2003Couture, et al, in press). Within-store spatial knowledge that was acquired during the shopping trip was clearly more accurate than between-store spatial knowledge.…”

“…In contrast, our participants chose to be teleported and selected the teleportation site from the menu icon. Map menus made movement from store to store easier and faster by reducing the number of clicks that were needed, as recommended by Hedman (2003). This suggests that map menus may be usable as a direct navigation tool to facilitate ease of movement without the added benefit facilitating spatial knowledge acquisition.…”

“…Traversing hallways to get from one store to another appears to impair between-room spatial knowledge compared to walking directly into one store from another store (Colle & Reid, 2003;Colle, Bock & Reid, 2005). Taking long walks down hallways is also subjectively less pleasant (Hedman, 2003).…”

“…Configural (or survey) spatial knowledge refers to knowledge of the geometric relations between objects in the environment. Colle and Reid (1998, 2000, 2003 have found that within-store configural spatial knowledge is acquired rapidly and easily under a variety of conditions. However, between-store spatial knowledge is much more difficult to acquire.…”