Novel interaction styles, complex working contexts, and the role of usability

This chapter presents a series of case domains demonstrating two dimensions of complex usability. The first dimension is the technical complexity of systems, which moves away from a traditional “input-output” view of interaction to consider the use of multiple modalities, tasks, and interfaces during a single interaction with a system. Second is the complexity associated with the social and organizational context in which the technology is used. These dimensions of complexity, in particular contextual complexity, require a triangulation of sometimes novel methods, both quantitative and qualitative, in order to fully design for user needs. Each case domain (collaborative work environments, virtual environments, and sociotechnical systems) represents a different setting in which complex usability emerges, and where different methods are required.