Paper Summary: |
The authors believe that dissatisfaction with attention systems is a result of information being presented at the wrong time, in the wrong way (for example, webpage advertisements). They believe that compelling attention systems must be based on user workload and attention without becoming an unwanted distraction to the primary task.
The paper presents the attention-utility trade-off which is: "The success of a notification system hinges on accurately supporting attention allocation between tasks, while simultaneously enabling utility through access to additional information." By taking an in-depth look at the costs (interrupting users) and benefits (utility associated with notification), the authors believe that the attention-utility trade-off provides the foundation for a conceptual model that can improve design decisions. They authors believe that the conceptual model should allow designers to match scenarios of use (level of interruption, reaction and comprehension) with appropriate information design options (motion, display size, font, color, etc.). Based on these scenarios of use, the paper introduces a framework for recommended display options. The authors believe that attentive notification systems should sense the desired usage scenarios and associated attention costs; the system should then adapt to the appropriate type of display in order to fit the user's priorities.
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