Augmented interactions: A framework for adding expressive power to GUI widgets

Abstract

The basic elements of WIMP interfaces have proven to be robust components for building interactive systems, but these standard interactors also have limitations. On many occasions, researchers have introduced augmented GUI elements that are capable of more expressive interactions and that are better suited to user tasks. Although many of these novel designs have been effective, augmented interactors are still invented in an ad-hoc fashion, and there is no systematic way of thinking about or designing augmentations. As a result, there is little understanding of the principles underlying augmentation, the relationships between different designs, or the possibilities for creating new interactors. In this paper we present a framework that specifies elemental interactions with WIMP components and identifies the possible ways in which augmentations can occur. We show the explanatory and generative power of the framework by analysing existing and novel augmented interactions. © 2009 Springer.