Designing user interfaces using activity theory

The mainstream framework of computer-interaction research of cognitive psychology has come under increasing criticism lately because of the gap between research results and practical design. According to K. Kuutti (1996), the main criticism is that traditional cognitive psychology of design is not able to penetrate the human side of the interface. To overcome these limitations, an alternative approach to interface design is necessary. Activity Theory, which originated within Soviet psychology, appears to have much to offer. Activity Theory incorporates notions of intentionality, history, mediation, motivation, understanding, culture and community and it is these aspects that have proved attractive to interface design. We believe that Activity Theory offers several benefits to interface design, compared to the traditional cognitive psychology approach. This paper describes a case study involving the use of Activity Theory for the design and evaluation of a tourist information kiosk.