This study deals with the problems users encounter in their daily work with computers and the typical practices that they employ. Sixteen daily computer users were interviewed about their habits and problems that they encountered during document classification and retrieval. For both these areas, we provide an overview of identified user practices and a citation-based analysis of the problems users encountered, including those related to the use of the screen real estate (the actual desktop). Two types of problems were identified: (1) Problems that concern the actual use of the system installed on the computer. (2) Problems that arise when people realise that they are using a system that does not allow for the desired work or organizational functions sought. We were able to show that skill continues to be an important factor with respect to the ease of using today’s systems. We suggest the following necessary improvements for the evolution of personal information systems: A storage facility that represents the user’s view of information; replacing pure technical file metadata with more user-friendly attributes; and introduction of annotations as a new information type.

We describe our research in progress that explores the use of personal information management (PIM) tools in time and attempts to establish temporal attributes of information. We report on a short field study undertaken to examine relations between tools and information life-cycle. We propose four information types: prospective, ephemeral, working and retrospective. We outline relationships between PIM tools, email and different types of information. We use this framework to explain problems observed with handling information. Keywords Personal Information Management, Email use, Field study, Information Types, Temporal attributes of information.

How do people work with large document collections? We studied the effects of different kinds of analysis tools on the behavior of people doing rapid large-volume data assessment, analysis and organization. We analyzed the micro-structure details of using automated clustering techniques, the use of standard timeline and cluster visualization methods, alongside desktop paper sorting and piling. We find that the “natural ” methods people use (with piles of paper documents) are in fact very sophisticated and have a subtlety that is lacking in current computer interfaces. This analysis shows that the lack of expressiveness and responsiveness in current interface designs dramatically limits human performance, suggesting ways in which the next generation of analytic tools must evolve in order to support literate use of large volume / complex document collections.

To my wife,