Research Scientist
Contact: daniel_gruen@us.ibm.com
Research Interests:
User experience
Cognitive engineering
Scenarios and stories in design
Unified Activity Management
Portable devices/pervasive computing/appliances
"In your space" computing
Dan is currently working on the Unified Activity Management project, which is exploring new ways to combine informal work with business processes, recasting collaboration technologies in terms of the meaningful business activities in which people are engaged. He recently headed the group's Reinventing Email project. His work includes the use of visual scenarios and other story-based methods to ground design in real-world usage situations. Dan applies his background in user-centered design and experience with observational methods to a variety of areas, including:
- fluidly merging informal work with structured business processes,
- new approaches to email and integrated messaging,
- tools to help users manage multiple activities,
- innovative ways of linking computer-based information with the external world.
Dan joined Research in October, 1996 with a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego.
Dan's thesis research at UCSD, conducted under Don Norman and funded by Apple Computer, involved detailed observational studies of how people manage multiple activities and handle interruptions. His earlier research investigated trade-offs in the design of graphical representations.
Dan has consulted on usability and interface design for a variety of applications, including digital television, telecommunications, and computer-assisted design. He has also taught courses on user-centered design techniques in university and corporate settings.
Previously, Dan worked as a Vice President at Merrill Lynch, responsible for the design of trading support systems.
Projects:
Reinventing Email
Story-Based Design
"In Your Space" Computing
Email and Wireless Devices
Publications:
TR 2002.13, ReMail: A Reinvented Email Prototype (CSCW '02)
TR 2002.10, Collaborating Within-not Through Email: Users Reinvent a Familiar Technology (CSCW '02)
TR 2001.05, Email Visualizations to Aid Communications (IEEE InfoVis '01)
TR 2000.02, Beyond Scenarios: The Role of Storytelling in CSCW Design.
TR2000.03, Storyboarding for Design: An Overview of the Process.
DIS2000, Panel on Stories in Design.
IBM CASCON 1999 Workshop on New Techniques for User Experience Design.
HCSCW 1999, Pagers, Pilots and Prairie Dog: Awareness via Handheld Devices (with Kamal Ayad, Mark Day, Steve Foley, Steve Rohall, Quinton Zondervan). Available as TR 1999.07.
CHI 1999 Collaborative Assistant for Email (with Candy Sidner, Carolyn Boettner, Charles Rich). Available as TR 1999.08.
HCIC 1998 Synchronous WebPath as a Tool for Leveraging Expertise (with Paul Moody).