Home

View/Open - Calhoun: The NPS

1. Multiple Views provide multiple perspectives on the display of complex structures and processes e Color Texture use a consistent color code for screen displays and a maximum of five plus or minus two colors in each display b Hardware Elements Common to all GUIs are several hardware elements They are e High resolution graphics displays e Pointing devices such as mice trackballs and pens e Keyboards c Software Elements In addition to common pieces of hardware there are software elements common to most GUIs They are e Windows e Pull down menus e Dialog boxes e Icons e Buttons and scroll bars Cursors Careful examination of the Microsoft Windows 3 0 interface will reveal a general adherence to the principles and elements enumerated above To accomplish this the Microsoft Windows 3 0 system was designed using GUI standards detailed in an IBM document called the Common User Access Advanced Interface Design Guide IBM 1989 Common User Access CUA is a portion of IBM s System Application Architecture SAA that defines an overall set of interface standards Conformance to the CUA ensures consistency of the interface across platforms as well as software applications on a single platform 11 B GUI DESIGN FOR NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS The GUI guidelines presented in the previous section are in principle applicable to all software interfaces For NSS software there are however so
2. This particular orientation of the file directory and drive list boxes is the new standard for all applications written for Windows 3 0 This particular screen will look familiar to all users who run other Windows applications 20 Directory itestfile nss Drive Je WINDOWS DOS Current Path c windows vbasic n 2 Figure 4 Open Prior Session Screen c Save Current Session and Save Current Session As Screens Figures 5 and 6 shuw the screens the user sees when selecting the Save Curren Session and Save Current Session As commands respectively Save Session Save data changes for current session Filename Testfile Figure Save Current Session Screen The button layouts are consistent with other program screens The screen designs are very similar since they are used for the same basic purpose For the Save Current Session As command the user is provided with a text box to enter any eight 21 character filename If non allowable characters are entered a message box indicating the error is displayed Enter File Name Figure 6 Save Current Session As 3 Help Menu Screens The two screens that follow are associated with the commands that are listed under the Help Menu on the Action Bar a Index Screen Figure 7 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Index command located under the Help Menu This screen is the only one that was not designed using the
3. and pointing devices such as a mouse e Procedures for tuming power off and any special sequencing operations required 3 1 2 Access Control This paragraph gives an overview of system access and security features visible to the end user such as a How to obtain a password who to contact which form to submit b How the user can change add or delete a password c Confidentiality security and privacy considerations regarding storage and various output media generated by the end user 3 1 3 Installation and Setup This paragraph shall describe any special procedures which the end user must perform in order to be identified or authorized to access or install software on the equipment or to enter parameters for AIS operation 3 2 Initiating a Session This paragraph provides the end user with step by step procedures on how to begin work Also include a problem checklist for difficulties encountered 3 3 Stopping and Suspending Work This section describes how the user can interrupt or stop the system 47 SECTION 4 PROCESSING REFERENCE GUIDE This section shall provide the end user with technical information on processing DoD STD 7935A advises that if the procedures are complicated or extensive additional sections 5 6 may be added using the same paragraph structure as used in section 4 The Standard states on page 88 that the organization of the document will depend on the characteristics of the AIS being doc
4. beside each text box The standard three button layout is used in this screen also 27 taim o weghirg lacia Jor each nre Use be seel bans ta arts s vate borwaer O and 10 Figure 13 Issue Priorities Direct Entry Screen 9 Utility Values Screen Figure 14 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Urilir Values item from the Main Selection Menu The main design consideration in setting up this screen was how to make user entry of utility data as simple and intuitive as possible To provide a graphical look to the display seven columns of 11 radio buttons were used The user simply has to click the desired button in each column to make his preference The completed display presents the data in an x y graph fashion Since there are seven utility values associated with each issue a separate box was provided to allow the user to select which issue he would enter data for The remaining buttons are in a standard layout VY i MODORONODOO id gt N x N nenoononco N BODODONOONO E 409000009000 aa bad N E ONDOO OOOOOODO N x Ls E i Figure 14 Utility Values Screen 10 Negotiation Results Screen Figure 15 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Negotiation Results item from the Main Selection Menu Based upon the type of data presented the tabular format was the most logical choice The column total text boxes were separ
5. methodology for negotiations the parties involved possibly the arbitrator as well could provide a structure for systematic information exchange and could lessen the persona biases of both parties A computerized system that implements this methodology will be very useful in negotiations 3 A Framework for Bilateral NSS Figure 1 depicts a framework for designing a NSS for bilateral negotiation based on the Type VI of GDSS defined by Bui 1987 Each party can have his her own DSS that contains models customized to his her needs that individually describe the issues DSS1 and DSS2 The Negotiation Module allows the Negotiators to engage in a joint and open modeling effort In practice technical experts and advisors usually supply the bulk of information to the negotiators either before or during the negotiation process Even if such information is accurate and complete there is no reason why the negotiators themselves could not exercise their freedom of choice at the time of negotiation through joint concession and experimentation of simpler models of their own Nyhart and Samarasan 1987 contend that this can help the negotiators appreciate better the strengths and weaknesses of the other party s position and arguments A joint and open modeling effort may be to the advantage of both parties NEGOTIATOR 1 NEGOTIATOR 2 NEGOTIATION MODULE Figure 1 A Framework for Bilateral NSS The NSS should provide a model
6. Elements of Negotiation Management Working Paper 1956 87 Sloan School of Management MIT Cambridge Mass 1987 Pit D Negotiation Behavior Academic Press New York 1981 Zimmermann H Fuzzy Sets Decision Making and Expert Systems Kluwer Academic Publishers Boston 1987 APPENDIX B DOD STANDARD 7935A END USER MANUAL GUIDELINES The End User Manual is a vital reference source for the functicnal user of an application It must contain an overview of the application package as well as an explanation of all of the instructions formats and procedures by which the functional users can utilize the system 1 OBJECTIVES The manual should as a minimum meet the following objectives 1 1 Acquaint new users of the application package with its features and purposes 1 2 Show new users how to perform tasks utilizing the application package a Provide a quick easy reference for all users b Describe the menu format of the application package to help the user to navigate through the system c Help the user determine which online screens relate to furms used on the job for the business process d Enable the user to use all entry update display screens related to tasks performed on the job 2 MANUAL ORGANIZATION The manual should contain major topics such as 2 1 General Information The purpose of the End User Manual and of the system reference materials terms and abbreviations and security 2 2 An Overview o
7. User Manual Table of Contents DoD STD 7935A address the important generalities of the system where as Section 4 Processing Reference Guide provides the End User with the necessary processing procedures of the business If the procedures are complicated or extensive the Standard suggests that additional sections be added using the same paragraph structure as in Section 4 SECTION 1 GENERAL 1 1 Purpose of the End User Manual This paragraph describes the purpose of the End User Manual either in the following words or modified if appropriate The objective of the End User Manual for Project Name Project Number is to provide the end user with the information necessary to use the system effectively including operation of identification of terminal or personal computer equipment 1 2 Purpose of the System This paragraph states the purpose of the system the specific objectives to accomplish the mission the expected benefits and the major functions of the application 1 3 References Identify other documents which the end user may need in accomplishing tasks and procedures Specify the name of the document author or source reference number title date and security classification if any a Project Request Indicate the project proponent and a reference to the Structured Requirements Analysis Planning STRAP report or other documentation that initiated the project b Hardware documentation such as that addressing setup pow
8. menus must be consistent the descriptions of transactions must be consistent among themselves 4 3 2 Variable Title Identify This paragraph shall describe the second function menu or other procedure using the same format for information as used in paragraph 4 3 1 Additional functions menus or other procedures should be described in paragraphs 4 3 3 through 4 3 n 4 4 Related Processing This paragraph shall identify and describe any related batch offline or background processing performed by the AIS that is not invoked directly by the end user and is not described in paragraph 4 3 Any end user responsibilities to support this processing will be specified 4 5 Recovery from Errors and Malfunctions This paragraph shall describe responsibilities of the end user for making and retaining all recorded data which can be used to replace primary copies of data in event of errors defects malfunctions or accidents Step by step procedures shall be described as necessary 4 6 Messages This paragraph shall list or refer to an appendix which lists all error messages diagnostic messages and information messages which can occur while accomplishing any of the end user s functions described in paragraphs 4 3 through 4 6 The normal corrective action that should be taken after any such message should be identified and described Continuing with this example section 5 would be as follows SECTION 5 PROCESSING REFERENCE GUIDE COMMAND L
9. no longer possible to increase the utility of one party without decreasing the utility of the other A good treaty is one that yields to each party those issues which are more important to him her Thus the two parties should try to push the negotiation toward the Pareto optimum by capitalizing on asymmetries of interest and sometimes by redefining the situation to reveal more asymmetries The essence of the procedure is described below Step 1 Identify the major treaties which the two partics would like to sign For example say the U S and a host country are negotiating on the extension of a military base treaty and establishing a bilateral trade treaty Step 2 For each of the treaties being considered identify a common set of major issues about which the two parties disagree The initial positions of the partics on each of the issucs should be stated Assume that for the militan base treaty the negotiators have identified the issues important to their nations as duration of the use of the military base by the U S civil jurisdiction of the host country over the military personnel and U S economic compensation Step 3 Each party assigns a relative weight to each of the issues It is important to understand the meaning of the relative weight in a bilateral negotiation context The weights represent the relative importance of the difference between the parties position For example if the U S gives a weight of 20 points t
10. of the issue s seven range points click a utility button that best describes your desirability for that point Utility values range from 0 to 100 0 being no utility and 100 being maximum utility d Repeat steps b and c for all issues e After entering all the utility values select the OK button 5 10 Displaying Modifying Negotiation Results a Select the Negotiation Results option from the Main Selection Menu b From the Negotiation Results screen you have four choices 1 Display issue graphs using the Display Graphs button 2 Save the results of the current screen in ASCII text format using the Save button 3 Print the results of the current screen to the active printer using the Print button 4 Do what if analysis on the current results using the Scratch Pad portion of the screen c To do what if analysis click on any of the green Descriptor Value boxes Enter any value desired that is within the range for that issue d Press the Enter key on your keyboard and observe the newly calculated utility values for each party Also note the change in total utility at the bottom of the screen e Scratch Pad values initially default to the highest joint utility values 5 11 Displaying Graphs To view the graphs for each issue you must first select the Negotiation Results option from the Main Selection Menu a Press the Display Graphs button on the Negotiation Results screen b Once the Graphs screen is displayed you can sel
11. the button on the bottom right corner of any screen Section 3 Access to the System 3 1 First Time Use of the System Follow the steps below to start the program a From the Windows Program Manager screen select the Run command under the File Menu 53 b Type nss in the text box provided if the nss exe file is in your path If nss exe is not in your path then you must type in the entire pathname Press Enter and the Bilateral NSS opening screen will appear c If you want help with the program before starting simply select the Index command under the Help Menu A help screen will appear with instructions on how to use the program d To begin a new negotiation session follow the steps in paragraph 3 2 below On line help is available at all times by selecting the button located at the bottom of each screen 3 2 Initiating a Session Follow the steps below to start a new negotiation session a Select the Start New Session command under the File Menu b Type a filename up to 8 characters to save your work under then press the OK button c Enter your name party and a 5 character password in the spaces provided Don t forget your password since once it is entered it cannot be changed Press the OK button to continue d The Main Selection Menu will appear with the top two options available The last three options are not available shown as grayed out text until both parties have entered initial starting offer
12. the Bilateral NSS was achieved The GUI design followed the commonly accepted graphic design principles enumerated in this thesis Additionally the CUA standards outlined in IBM s System Application Architecture were followed to the maximum extent possible It is believed that the GUI based version of the Bilateral NSS will receive a favorable response in comparison to the original character based program B SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Several follow on studies are suggested as a result of this thesis First a study could te conducted to measure user preference between the GUI based and character based programs Since the task sets of the programs are identical a valid comparison could be made Second additional capabilities could be added to the original program to further enhance the negotiation process This might include dynamic updating of graphs and tables with multiple views of the information on the screen Third the program could be integrated into a broader Group Decision Support System The Bilateral NSS could be added as a module to such a system APPENDIX A FUZZY PREFERENCES IN BILATERAL NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS Tung Bui Department of Administrative Sciences U S Naval Postgraduate Schoo Monterey Ca 93943 Taracad Sivasankaran Department of Accounting amp MIS Califomia State University Northridge Ca 91330 Abstract This paper presents a bilateral Negotiation Support System NSS based on a mult
13. the utility functions of the two countries Step 7 Determine the total utility for each nation across all the issues Using the maximum utility principle the value of an issue is the highest point on the joint utility curve For the first iteration the data shown in Figure 2 yield to a total utility of 65 for the host country and 30 for the U S As the outcomes suggest it is imperative to look for a better distribution of utility points For this situation as shown in Figure 3 the proposed NSS would check for non cooperative issues and calls for restructuring A cooperative situation is one in which the highest value of the joint utility curve is higher than the individual maximum utility values of both panies Conversely a non cooperative situation is one in which the highest value of the joint utility curve corresponds to the highest for only one of the parties leading to the standard zero sum game scenario In this circumstance it is recommended to split the single non cooperative issue into subsets of more asymmetrical issues for further search for higher Pareto optima Note that there exists other aggregation to determine the total utility for both parties e g mid point analysis equal utilities etc The mode as described in this section requires perfect information and is very sensitive to perturbations e g falsification of weights or Utility HOST COUNTRY UNITED STATES 100 100 50 50 0 0 5 Years 1
14. 0 5 Years 10 lt DURATION gt s AM AR a 100 5 5 SO SO 0 0 0 Degree of Jurisdiction 10 0 Degree of Jurisdiction 10 lt JURISDICTION gt 100 100 5 5 50 50 0 0 400 200 Millions 400 200 Millions lt ECONOMIC COMPENSATION gt Figure 2 An Example of Multi Attribute Utility Function adapted from 1 37 DEFINE TREATIES DEFINE ISSUES FOR TREATY PRIORITIZE ISSUES GRAPH UNWEIGHTED UTILITY CURVES COMPUTE WEIGHTED UTILITY COMPUTE JOINT UTILITY SUGGEST CHECK FOR NON COOP ISSUES RESTRUCTURING COMPUTE TOTAL UTILITIES SEARCH FOR BETTER SOLUTIONS Figure 3 An Interactive Procedure for Bilateral Negotiation 38 unilateral disclosure of true preferences For the sake of Space these issues are not discussed further although they could be resolved by a careful and ordered preparation of the negotiation process 5 Fuzziness in Preference Formulation Experience has shown that it is difficult for the negotiators to define precisely their utility functions for the issues Step 5 Negotiators might not understand the precise meaning of the utility scale e g 0 100 in the example Yet they are forced to provide crisp inputs for the utilities Human quantification is fuzzy at best and a narrow range of acceptable values might exist around the crisp utility value suggested by the negotiator Zimmermann 1987 asserts that under such circumstances using fuzzy sets can capture the u
15. 10 ll NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey California INN H i AO nee 9 THESIS DESIGNING A GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR A BILATERAL NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEM by Ralph Sabene March 1992 Thesis Advisor Tung X Bui Approved for public release distribution is unlimited R 2 7627 OT 92 0 MN Unclussified SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PA REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Ya REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 1b RESTRICTIVE MARKINGS Unclussified de SECURITY CLASSIFICATION AUTHORITY 3 DISTRIBUTION AVAILABILITY OF REPORT Approved for public release distributiun 1 unlimited t DECLASSIFICATION DOWNGRADING SCHEDULE 4 PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER S 5 MONITORING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBEE KIS 64 NAME OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 6b OFFICE SYMBOL 7a NAME OF MONITORING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgruduute Schon eee Navul Postgruduste Schuul c ADDRESS City State and ZIP Code 7b ADDRESS City State and ZIP Code Monterey CA 94944 5000 Monterey CA 93943 5000 8s NAME OF FUNDING SPONSORING 8b OFFICE SYMBOL 9 PROCUREMENT INSTRUMENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER ORGANIZATION If applicable 8c ADDRESS City State and ZIP Code 10 SOURCE OF FUNDING NUMEERS Magram tenent hu y ES ee lata 11 TITLE Include Security Classification Designing a Graphical User Interface lor y Bilateral Negotiation Support System 12 PERSONAL AUTHOR S Ralph Subene 13a TYPE OF REPORT 13b TIME C
16. ANGUAGE USED IN SYSTEM Then the same paragraph structure as section 4 would be followed for items 5 1 through 5 6 5 1 Capabilities 2 Conventions 5 3 Processing Procedures COMMAND LANGUAGE SECTION 6 PROCESSING REFERENCE GUIDE GUIDE TO FUNCTIONS 6 1 Cap bilities 6 2 Conventions 6 3 Processing Procedures FUNCTIONS etc 49 4 MANUAL PREPARATION There are two distinct stages in preparing the End User Manual 1 A Draft End User Manual is prepared for the Alpha Test of the application developed 2 An Integrated End User Manual is compiled for the Beta Test and Deployment Draft documentation should evolve throughout the INTERACTIVE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT activity As each component of the application is completed and unit tested an application developer or documentation specialist prepares draft documentation for peer reviews Ii the application developed is complex with a fairly large number of people performing narrow sets of functions it may be practical to issue separate sections of the manual for each type of user e g administrative engineers project managers etc This documentation is updated and consolidated for the Alpha Test Copies of the Draft End User Manual are made for the Alpha Test Team the IPR Team the Development Team and other interested parties It is not a formal publication Following the Alpha Test corrections and various required modifications are made t
17. OVERED 14 DATE Of REPORT year month day 15 PAGE COUNT Master s Thesis From To March 1992 76 16 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTATION The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and de not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Detense or the Us Government 17 COSATICODES 18 SUBJECT TERMS continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number FIELD SUBGROUP Graphical User Interface Biluteral Negotiatiun Support System RR SKS 19 ABSTRACT continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number Gruphical User Interfuces GUI are quickly becoming the standard vperuting environment for most software programs und operating systema Ease of use rapid learning and the ability w retain complex task sequences and operations sre some of the advantages attributed tu this type uf interluce When properly implemented the GUI cun provide a natura interaction between the user and the computer Initial scceptance and continued use of any program cun be greatly enhanced by proper design of this inverfuce lt is expected thut this trend toward visual representation of e tusk s ubjecta und actions will be mure fully developed und expanded in future yeurs This thesis explored the principles of terface design with particular attention given to the specific characteristics associated with GUI design Unique design concepts associated with Negotiation Support Systems were nisu considered These design technique
18. PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES 5 Ln Types of Interfaces ii A 3 2 Graphical User Interface 32 0 ER Pad LOS 7 a Principles of Graphic Design J oss 9 1J Organize sss Kus ea IA AR NA 9 2 Economize ALESI Nox p LK SITA 9 3 Communicate 0 Ee S n EPT E N 10 b Hardware Elements ss corri VU HATE ears 10 c Software Elements seams Ta ad RS be Saha 11 iv B GUI DESIGN FOR NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS 12 HI DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A BILATERAL NSS 15 A GUESPECIFICATIONS 501 SE cine GED oe Oren whee 15 fake ia iria ROSE OE 15 a Temporal tease i a AIE raed A ON 15 Ds Spatial coda PAL See AAA 15 2s A ceca eS K hee TUA ap ET EE AE 16 A Task orented ES OVER oes Gow te oes 16 b Social emotional Ma R oh Aine ad hts dei RE 16 Me Pal MERK EE EIE RT OO beled alee ews 16 Me EER EE OE arin VATE SA 16 Bi METHODOLOGY ode Es sd o be de na Vr ee 17 C INDIVIDUAL SCREEN DESIGN 000 ee died BR ee eg SR eS 18 1 Main Bilateral NSS Screens ax osaansa s Sere Aww aoe edd 18 25 File Med SClCENS ss de Sain K DS Ad Re eek oe 19 a Start New Session Screen taco kati dd Nine DE 19 b Open Prior Session Screen ss SE SS 20 C Save Current Session and Save Current Session As Screens 21 Help Menu Screens ia ie AAA 22 a Index Screen assa MEER EO RE ER hi ER ete a a 22 b About Screen 23 4 Main Selection Menu Screen 24 5 Is
19. ance and continued use of any program can be greatly enhanced by proper design of the interface B BACKGROUND 1 Bilateral Negotiation Support Systems NSS The framework upon which the Bilateral NSS is based was originally formulated in a publication on Group Decision Support Systems Bui 1987 and a publication on Bilateral Negotiation Support Systems Bui 1991 The first character based menu driven Bilateral NSS program based on this design was written in the Pascal language in 1987 and subsequently translated to the C language in 1991 The Bilateral NSS is a multiple attribute joint utility negotiation model In its present form it supports a two party negotiation strategy A negotiation session can consist of up to ten issues of contention Within an issue each party can assign relative utilities within the range of values defined by the party s initial offers Also relative weightings can be assigned to each issue by the parties involved Once party variables weights utilities and initial offers are entered for both parties negotiation results are calculated and displayed in tabular and graphical formats 2 Graphical User Interfaces GUT Over the past ten years the Graphical User Interface has become the standard operating environment for most software programs The beginnings of GUI design can be traced to research started in the 1970 s at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center The result of this initial rese
20. arch was the introduction of a computer with a GUI interface called the Xerox Star 8010 workstation It had a cursor based interface using high resolution graphics and icons Norton 1990 The next evolution in GUI design was begun by the Apple Computer Corporation Apple designed and introduced the Lisa Computer in 1983 after visits to the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center by key corporate personnel Although not commercially successful it was the precursor for the successful introduction of the Macintosh Computer in 1984 Most people today credit the Apple Macintosh as starting the GUI revolution Realizing the potential importance of the GUI design Microsoft Corporation began work on their own GUI and introduced the Windows GUI environment in 1985 Several revisions of this GUI followed until the commercially successful release of Windows 3 0 in 1990 At the time of this writing Microsoft is releasing an updated version of Windows 3 0 Windows 3 1 It is expected that the GUI based Bilateral NSS developed for this thesis will run faster with Windows 3 1 This current version along with the Microsoft Disk Operating System DOS is the environment under which the Bilateral NSS was developed C LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY The initial thrust in researching for this thesis was in gaining a basic perspective on designing the user interface for NSS Several publications on general interface design were reviewed Lim amp Benb
21. asat 1991 These publications discussed a broad spectrum of design techniques on graphical interfaces as well as the character based interfaces such as menus and command line entry With a basic understanding of interface design the next step was getting information on GUI design for the IBM PC Windows platform The primary publication used was the Common User Access Advanced Interface Design Guide IBM 1989 This document provides a set of interface standards for all Windows programmers to follow After gaining an initial feel for interface design techniques through the literature review an overall design strategy for the program was initiated An initial prototype of the various screens was developed and presented to various potential users for feedback Several iterations of this process resulted in a final prototype that successfully met general interface design principles Implementation consisted of coding and testing each screen module before the final integration and testing for the entire program D SCOPE AND DIRECTION The main focus of this thesis is presenting the design considerations for developing a GUI based program Examples and techniques unique to this environment will be presented and explored Where appropriate character based versus GUI based interface design considerations will be contrasted The second chapter will open with a broad overview of general interface design principles Five main categories of inte fac
22. ased on Usability Engineering SIGCHI Bulletin v 21 p 45 July 1989 Norton P and Yao P L Windows 3 0 Power Programming Techniques pp 5 6 Bantam Books 1990 10 Page Jones M Practical Guide to Structured System Design pp 254 267 Prentice Hall Inc 1988 11 Shneiderman B Designing the User Interface Strategies for Effective Human Computer Interaction pp 57 60 Addison Wesley Publishing Company Inc 1987 12 Zachary G P Windows Tips Software Firms Power Balance The Wall Street Journal p Bl 28 September 1990 66 bo INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST Defense Technical Information Center Cameron Station Alexandria VA 22304 6145 Library Code 52 Naval Postgraduate Schoo Monterey CA 93943 5002 LCDR Ralph Sabene USNR Naval Reserve Personnel Center Code 60 4400 Dauphine Street New Orleans LA 70149 7800 Prof Tung X Bui Code AS BD Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA 93943 5000 Prof Balasubramaniam Ramesh Code AS RA Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA 93943 5000 Computer Technology Programs Code 37 Naval Postgraduate Schoo Monterey CA 93943 5000 67 159 ta
23. ated from the rest of the data to give the user a clearer presentation A distinctly different color was chosen for the Scratch Pad column that allows user modification to better indicate its unique nature Descriptive names were chosen for the screen buttons to clearly indicate their purpose 29 tener ESPAI BEE EIE ER 2 N Figure 15 Negotiation Results Screen 11 Display Graphs Screen Figure 16 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Display Graphs button from the Negotiation Results screen To augment the tabular data presented in the Negotiation Results screen a graphical representation of the data was provided The graph portion of the screen uses a three color layout to clearly present the data The display grid is re scaled for each issue to provide the maximum usable display area for each set of data A standard option button selection scheme was chosen to select the desired issue for display Two option buttons are also included to allow the user to toggle between weighted and unweighted data oes ENE ty Grogs eke eave ir Lag n Compenn at ar Duane heber r gt Loniturdion OONO i T Watromate hred T A C alow d OD Sieps awed Urmted States Comnaned italy Figure 16 Display Graphs Screen IV SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH A SUMMARY The goal of designing a graphical user interface for
24. ay the issues in graphiczi form 5 2 Opening a Prior Negotiation Session To open a prior negotiation session select the Open Prior Session command from the File Menu and follow the procedures below a A dialog box will appear with three list boxes to let you select which drive or directory to search in Double clicking on a directory in the directory list box will make that your default directory Only filenames with a nss extension will be shown b To select a file either double click on the filename or press the OK button after clicking once on the filename c After selecting the file the Main Selection Menu will appear You can then select any option that is not grayed out 5 3 Saving a Negotiation Session To save a negotiation session select the Save Current Session command under the File Menu and follow the procedures below a A dialog box will appear asking you whether you want to save the current data using the filename you entered when you started the session b Press the OK button to save your data or press the Cancel button to return to the previous screen Remember that selecting OK will overwrite any previous data you may have stored in that file 5 4 Saving a Negotiation Session Under a Difterent Name To save a negotiation session under a different name select the Save Current Session As command under the File Menu and follow the procedures below a Enter the name you want to save your data under in the text box pr
25. based interactive facilitation process that offers a comprehensive framework to allow the parties to concentrate on joint problem solving rather than on convoluted arguments The objectives of using a NSS are listed below 1 Establish a consensual database as a foundation for negotiation 2 Evaluate the impact of perceived uncertainty 3 Provide communication links for bargaining and discussion 4 Suggest restructuring for non cooperative issues and 5 Help search for agreements through Pareto optimization Computer support can be used to assist the negotiators in interactive information elicitation and process them in an orderly manner It can also update data as inputs are entered and present the results of analysis both tabularly and pictorially It should also act as a tool to fet negotiators know that their compromises or concessions can be implemented 35 and will produce the desired and agreed upon results 4 An Interactive Procedure for Bilateral Negotiation This section focuses on the negotiation module described in Figure 1 It describes a formal and comprehensive model for joint problem solving The purpose of the model is to focus on asymmetries of interests between the two parties so that the terms of the final treaty are better for both Barclay and Peterson 1978 The whole algorithm is based on the Pareto principle applied to a bilateral negotiation Situation A treaty is Pareto optimum when it is
26. ber of the issue you want to delete d You can enter a maximum of ten issues in each session 8 Enterine Issue Priorities a There are three ways of assigning issue priorities 1 Egual Prioritization all issues are assigned a weighting egual to 1 f of issues If equal priority is chosen the program will calculate the weighting and display it in a message box 2 Direct Prioritization the user can enter an individual weighting value for each issue If direct priority is chosen a screen will be displayed that allows you to select a weighting value for each issue Allowable values are between O and 10 3 Pairwise Comparison the user indirectly chooses a weighting value by comparing the issues to each other in pairs If pairwise comparison is chosen a screen will be displayed that asks you to select between two issues at a time This process will be repeated for all possible combinations of issues The program will then calculate the proper weightings not available in version 1 0 5 9 Entering Utility Values After selecting the Utility Values option from the Main Selection Menu a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter your utility values for each issue a There are seven evenly separated range points associated with each issue The range for each issue is bounded by the initial starting offer of each party b To enter utility values select an issue from those available in the leftmost c For each
27. d but more detail is needed for workstation configurations 2 2 1 Hardware Required This paragraph identifies and describes the hardware required to run the system 2 2 2 Software Required This paragraph identifies and discusses software Capabilities necessary to use the system It includes software components developed for the application as well as the operating system utilities and other supporting systems 2 3 Contingencies and Alternate Modes of Operation This paragraph includes a Statement as to what the user may expect in systems operations during emergencies wartime or conditions of alert 2 4 Assistance and Problem Reporting This section describes online or manual help features and identifies points of contact or other resources and procedures to assist the user when problems are encountered SECTION 3 ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM 3 1 First Time Use of the System This section is intended to describe detailed step by step procedures oriented to the first time occasional end user Enough detail should be presented so that the end user can reliably access the system even before learning the details of its functional capabilities 3 1 1 Equipment Familiarization This paragraph describes the following kinds of features as appropriate a Procedures for turning power on and making any adjustments b Visual display screen capabilities c How to identify position and use the cursor d Keyboard layout function keys
28. d in the C language Gilley 1991 The screen layouts and menu structure were penciled out and the general flow between them were analyzed After initially trying to design the program using the old system structure it became apparent that trying to directly convert it over to a graphical interface would not be successful Although the menu driven structure was adequate for the character based interface that it was originally written for a direct conversion would not in any way use the graphical user interface to its fullest advantage The second step was to come up with an overall flowchart of the program All the information needed to be input by the user and all the information needed to be presented to the user was written down This data was then broken down into logical groupings The next step was to figure out how best to present this data to the user in a clear and logical manner After designing the initial prototype that included the general screen layouts and the interaction between them it was presented to several potential users for feedback Several iterations of this cycle eventually produced the final working version The initial design layout was developed by adhering as much as possible to the guidelines outlined in the Common User Access guide This document details a standard set of guidelines to follow when designing graphical interfaces for Windows and OS 2 programs Standard menu bar configurations screen layouts and minimum scr
29. d substantial user training Natural Language This method allows users to enter words or phrases in a natural la zuage format Its chief advantage is that it can relieve the user from having to learn an obscure command syntax Disadvantages include the requirement for frequent clarification dialogs and the possibility of being slower and more cumbersome e Direct Manipulation Graphical User Interface This method involves the visual representation of objects and actions of interest to the user The user is allowed to select from a visible set of objects and act upon those objects by means of various cursor motion devices such as mice trackballs and keyboards It is relatively easy to learn ind retain for both novices and experts Disadvantages normally include more difficulty in programming and the requirement for additional pointing devices and higher quality displays As can be seen from the above list there are a variety of interface design methods at the disposal of the computer programmer Choice of a method depends on the complexity of the program and the experience level of the programmer Each one requires the programmer to correctly analyze both the user s requirements and the necessary functionality of the program In a Danish textbook on interface design Nielson 1989 five guidelines for the process of user interface design were presented They are e Know the user Involve users during the design e Coordinate
30. d the concept of joint utility Although not required the following procedure is normally used to operate the program a Identify a common set of issues about which the parties disagree b Define the range of values for each issue by assigning initial offers c Prioritize each issue by assigning relative weights to them d Within the range of values for each issue assign utility values e Compute joint utility curves by combining the utility functions of each party f Observe negotiation results and modify user variables to search for better solutions 2 2 System Environment 2 2 1 Hardware Required This program will operate on any IBM compatible PC with at least 640K of Random Access Memory RAM A hard disk is not reguired 2 2 2 Software Reguired This program reguires DOS 3 1 or higher and the Microsoft Windows 3 0 operating system to run Additionally two dynamic link libraries DLL called VBRUN100 DLL and VBTOOLS VBX must be located in any directory in your path 2 3 Contingencies and Alternate Modes of Operation N A 2 4 Assistance and Problem Reporting An on line help system is available at all times To bring up the main help screen select the Index command from the Help menu on the main screen The main help screen contains help on ten subject areas Select the button to the left of the subject area that you want help on and press the Get Help button To get context sensitive help during the program just press
31. ect an issue in the leftmost box c The initial screen default displays the graphs using weighted values To select unweighted values you must click on the unweighted option button at the bottom of the screen 65 N LIST OF REFERENCES Bui T X Co op A Group Decision Support System for Cooperative Multiple Criteria Group Decision Making pp 7 24 Springer Verlag 1987 Bui T and Sivasankaran T Fuzzy Preferences in Bilateral Negotiation Support Systems 24th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences January 8 11 1991 pp 687 694 IEEE Computer Society Press Coombs M J and Alty J L Computing Skills and the User Interface p 333 Academic Press Inc 1981 Gilley B Group Decision Support Systems and Bilateral Negotiations Thesis Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA March 1991 International Business Machines Common User Access Advanced Interface Design Guide pp 3 14 International Business Machines 1989 Lim F J and Benbasat 1 A Communication Based Framework for Group Interfaces in Computer Supported Collaboration 24rh Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences January 8 11 1991 pp 610 620 IEEE Computer Society Press Marcus A Designing Graphical User Interfaces UnixWorld v 7 no 8 10 pp 107 116 121 127 and 135 138 August October 1990 Nielson J and Molich R Teaching User Interface Design b
32. edures and data backup procedures are employed d A statement to the affect that regulations regarding the unauthorized disclosure or use of User IDs User Names or Passwords are to be applied to all such items assigned to the user In addition the user must comply with all privacy requirements Unauthorized copying of data documents or software is prohibited SECTION 2 SYSTEM SUMMARY 2 1 Overview This section provides a nontechnical presentation of information on the overall system Detailed technical information should be presented in other sections 2 1 1 Application Summary This paragraph explains the uses of the application and the user activities which it supports It describes the main functions performed by the system showing a The logical parts of the system from the end user s viewpoint b The communications paths and techniques c The interfaces to other systems d The organizations that provide input to the system or receive output from it 2 1 2 Performance Describe the overall system perforniance capabilities such as times and capacity constraints which the end user can expect in accomplishing major functions 2 1 3 Controls This paragraph briefly describes the supervisory controls necessary to manage or audit the system 2 2 System Environment This paragraph describes the configuration of the hardware and software necessary to support the system An overview of the host or LAN configuration is provide
33. een controls are some of the many design considerations presented Some of the screen design issues that were stancardized across the entire program are See Figure 1 e Button position all buttons are located on the bottom righthand side of the screen If the width of the screen is sufficiently small the buttons are equally spaced across the entire bottom The He p button is always the rightmost button in the TOW e Button types almost all screens have an OK and Cancel button If both are available the OA button is always on the left e Colors a similar color scheme is used for all screens A limited number of colors were used when groups of data needed to be highlighted e Help system a Help bution is available on all screens This button ovides context sensitive help for the current operation Party A Priorities Select Method for Ranking Issues Equal Weighting Direct Prioritization Pairwise Comparison Figure Sample Program Screen C INDIVIDUAL SCREEN DESIGN The following sections discuss the design considerations used in developing the screen layouts for the various portions of the Bilateral NSS program 1 Main Bilateral NSS Screen Figure 2 shows the opening screen the user sees when starting the Bilateral NSS program Window design components normally available on all Windows 3 0 18 application programs were used These include the upper left Control Menu button the upper righthand min
34. ehensive structured and controlled interface such as sequences of hierarchical menus or carefully designed queries seems to be most appropriate in order to satisfy the five design principles mentioned above In addition to Bui s arguments Lim and Benbasat 1991 propose a conceptual framework for designing software interfaces for group decision support systems They suggest four dimensions that need to be examined in group interface design e Concurrency this dimension describes the type of collaboration between members of a work group The temporal aspect of this dimension concerns itself with whether the collaboration is synchronous or asynchronous The spatial aspect describes whether the collaborators are collocated or dispersed e Content this dimension describes the type of message passed between members of a group There are two categories task oriented or social emotional Computer mediated communication tends to be richer in task oriented than social emotional messages Path this dimension describes the type of communication path Some of these paths may be collaborator collaborator collaborator works tion collaborator collaborator display etc e Channel this dimension describes the characteristics of the medium through which communication occurs Two issues are discussed technology support and mode The modes by which collaborators communicate may be classified by the degree of social presence conve
35. er respectively 5 6 Entering Changing Party Data To enter or change party data select the Name or Party option from the Main Selection Menu and follow the procedures below a If you are entering this data for the first time a dialog box will appear with empty textboxes for name party and password 61 b Enter up to 15 characters for your name and party Your password must be five characters long and can consist of any combination of letters and numbers Don t forget this password since once it is accepted it can not be changed c If you are updating previously entered information a dialog box requesting your password will appear Enter your password and press Enter d Change the name or party information in the textboxes provided and select OK when you are done 5 7 Entering Issue Parameters a Three types of data are entered for each issue 1 Issue Name max of 15 characters 2 Unit Value max of 7 characters the unit of value that describes the issue For example if contract length was an issue then the unit value might be years 3 Initial Starting Offer range 0 to 30 000 the starting value that you propose for this issue To use the scroll bars click the outer arrows to increment the value by one and the inside of the scroll bars to increment by 25 b To add a new issue press the Add New Issue button and a new set of textboxes will appear c To delete an issue press the Delete Issue button and enter the num
36. erup and powerdown packing for relocation activation operation or maintenance c Software documentation of an operating system utility software or documents oriented to an end user for related systems References to methodologies could be listed in this section An example s the IDEF Modeling Techniques Workshop Participant Workbook D Appleton Company Inc 1986 1987 and 1988 d Previously published documentation on the project if needed for accomplishing the end user s tasks An example might be a reference to the Functional Description of the project 1 4 Terms and Abbreviations Either include a list or reference an appendix of terms definitions and acronyms unique to this document 1 5 Security Under this paragraph an opening sentence stating that precautions have been taken to protect the hardware software and data of the system name Then cite the following kinds of security precautions addressed a Assignments of User IDs and Passwords to access the hardware and any user account reporting requirements b Assignments of User Names and Passwords to control access to the software Describe how access levels vary For instance you may want to indicate that access levels vary depending on whether the user is restricted to search and retrieval activities data entry interactive retrieval and update or ad hoc queries and reports c A Statement of how data integrity is assured and how error checking correcting proc
37. es will be discussed and compared with particular attention focused on the graphica user interface The third chapter will discuss the actual design and implementation of a Bilateral NSS Design features and considerations for the individual modules of the Bilateral NSS will be presented The final chapter will summarize the findings and make recommendations for future research The framework and model for the Bilateral NSS described in this thesis is reproduced in Appendix A Appendix B excerpts the end user manual guidelines set forth in DOD standard 7935A The Bilateral NSS user s manual is provided in Appendix C H INTERFACE DESIGN OF NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS A GENERAL INTERFACE DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES Successful computer programs begin with an intelligently designed user interface Without a good interface there is little incentive for the user to continue to use your program if the computer industry is successfully to extend its user base it must urgently attend to developing user friendly interfaces Coombs 1981 It is therefore incumbent upon the program designer to become thoroughly familiar with two important aspects of good software design understanding the needs of the intended users of the program and the gencrally accepted guidelines of proper interface design This chapter begins with a review of interface design techniques The strengths and weaknesses of the various designs will be examined as well as the ra
38. f the System The hardware and software required contingencies and alternate modes of operation and reporting problems 41 2 3 Getting Started How to gain access to the system logon requirements other user authorization requirements special commands and function keys 2 4 Business Processes How to use all transactions required in the performance of the tasks of the business process How to find and retrieve information in the Database and or manual files Data backup error messages recovery from errors and malfunctions and sample reports hard copy and online The Department of Defence DoD provides guidelines for the development of documentation As a branch of DoD and because of the nature of the Information Engineering program at the U S Army Corps of Engineers USACE Application Development Projects should adhere to this documentation standard known as DoD STD 7935A DoD STD 7935A lists two types of User Manuals that may be produced during the life cycle of an Automated Information System AIS e Users Manual e End User Manual The Users Manual is a high level nontechnical overview of a specific AIS application and its use in the business process Refer to the Standard for further description The End User Manual provides detailed information necessary to enable the functional user to effectively use the system The emphasis in this appendix is on the End User Manual The following is the formal structure
39. general graphic design principles and the framework proposed by Lim and Benbasat the following specifications have been determined for the GUI interface 1 Concurrency a Temporal The system should be distributed in time Both negotiating parties can access and use the Bilateral NSS at different points in time b Spatial The system should be distributed in space Both negotiating parties can either use the Bilateral NSS in face to face mode or at two different physical locations 2 Content a Task oriented The system should use a formal and comprehensive multiple attribute utility theory to define negotiators tasks b Social emotional N A 3 Path As a minimum the Bilateral NSS should support the following communication paths e collaborator collaborator e collaborator workstation collaborator e collaborator display 4 Channel The main thrust of the Bilateral NSS is its application of multiple attribute utility theory to the negotiation process Therefore the mode of operation can be at the low end of the social presence spectrum Ideally then the predominant sub mode should be graphical symbolic if we are to exploit the advantages of the graphical user interface Particular aspects of designing the visual representation presented to the user are discussed in the next section B METHODOLOGY The first step taken in designing this program was to look at the original program as it was implemente
40. ghts and utilities associated with each issue After receiving inputs from both negotiators the program will calculate and display the results in both tabular and graphical formats Users also can modify any input variables and perform what if analysis to see any effects on the final results 1 3 References Further information on NSS theory and Windows 3 0 operation may be obtained from a Bui T and Sivasankaran T Fuzzy Preferences in Bilateral Negotiation Support Systems 24th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences January 8 11 1991 pp 687 694 IEEE Computer Society Press b Bui T Co op A Group Decision Support System for Cooperative Multiple Criteria Group Decision Making Springer Verlag Berlin 1987 c Microsoft Windows User s Guide version 3 0 Microsoft Corporation 1820 1 4 Terms and Abbreviations All terms and abbreviations unique to the Bilateral NSS are explained in the applicable sections of the manual Additional Windows 3 0 terminology may be obtained from the glossary section of the Windows User s Guide 1 5 Security Password protection is provided for all user sensitive information The 5 character password is non modifiable once entered A dialog box reguesting user confirmation is presented for a l operations that would overwrite any existing files Section 2 System Summary 2 1 Overview The Bilateral NSS is a software program based on multiple attribute utility theory an
41. i attribute utility model that adapts a fuzzy set methodology in determining user s preference functions The system can concurrently handle negotiations that span across multiple mediating issues in a manner that increases the joint utility of both parues The NSS is expected to impart a more interactive and realistic approach to capturing uncertainties while developing the utility functions using the standard approach The potentiality of the proposed NSS lies in its ability to allow negotiators to evaluate potential treaties quickly explore alternate arrangements that reveal to be more advantageous to both parties than those which are arrived at intuitively 1 Introduction Negotiations have always been an integral part of business organizational management and intemational affairs With ever increasing competitiveness Negotiations require greater sophistication and faster resolution Today the information and knowledge of the parties involved are more technologically complex making it more difficult to crisply define agreements leading to a compromise Oftentimes each party to the negotiation knows conceptually the multiple issues of the problem in fairly good detail but this is not sufficient to define each other s preference utility functions in a deterministic an interactive fashion Current systems however can handie only deterministic inputs In reality utility functions are not deterministic and negotiators are willing
42. imize and maximize buttons and the main Action Bar The arrangement of the two Action Bar items are in compliance with the CUA guidelines The background graphic of the shaking hands was included to visually convey the intent of the program i oe Deswned end Proyameed by Raich Sabone o o AAA Figure 2 Bilateral NSS Opening Screen 2 File Menu Screens The four screens that follow are associated with the commands listed under the File Menu on the Action Bar a Start New Session Screen Figure 3 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Start New Session command under the File Menu This command is selected to begin a new negotiation session The user is prompted to enter the filename he wishes to store the data under The standard set of control buttons are located along the bottom of the screen for consistency with all other screens A Cancel button is provided to allow the user to cancel the command if he decides to As always a Help button denoted by the 2 symbol is the rightmost button Start New Session Enter File Name sed O Enter Party A Data O Enter Party B Data Figure 3 Start New Session Screen b Open Prior Session Screen Figure 4 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Open Prior Session command under the File Menu The standard complement of control buttons is again located on the bottom of the screen in the same relative position as all other screens
43. llows you to view the weighted or unweighted results of any issue Just select the issue from the list at the left of the screen and select either the Weighted or Unweighted option button below it o To quit the current session and save your work just press the Quit button on the Main Selection Menu and follow the instructions 3 3 Stopping and Suspending Work You may quit the current session you are working on at any point If you are in the middle of entering data press the OK button for that screen if you want to update those entries After returning to the Main Selection Menu press the Quit button and a Save screen will appear If you want to save your newly entered data and overwrite the old file just press the Save button Otherwise press the Cancel button At this point you can start a new session or open a prior one To save your work without going through the Main Selection Menu just select the File Menu on the Bilateral NSS main screen and select the Save or Save As commands The Save command will allow you to save your data under the current session name and Save As will let you save your data under any filename To quit the Bilateral NSS program select the Exit Program command under the File Menu and follow the prompts Section 4 Processing Reference Guide Menus 4 1 Processing Procedures Menus There are two menus associated with the opening Bilateral NSS screen File and Help 4 1 1 File Menu There are five comma
44. me additional design concepts that should be considered Bui 1987 argues that the following topics should be taken into consideration when designing for a group decision environment First a Group Decision Support System GDSS should provide both formal and informal man machine man interfaces to enhance information exchange within group members Second the GDSS should be designed in such a way that i it becomes favorable media for solving group problems and ii it ensures that decision makers do not waste unnecessary resources in interpersonal exchange at the expense of a thorough discussion of the object of the group problem a user interface of a DSS should 1 be transparent and consistent to make the system easy to learn use and remember ii be suitable for both novice and expert use iii let the user have contro of the system and feel competent in task performance iv promote effective usage and better decision making v and be efficient in the use of system resources Stohr and White 1982 Shneiderman 1986 Although these design principles should prevail in building GDSS importance should be given more to the concept of ease of use and transparency DSS users are often decision makers who deal with strategic and ill structured problems It is reasonable to expect that i the frequency of GDSS use is low and ii familiarity with computers is insignificant to none Under such a decision environment a compr
45. ncertainty or vagueness of the negotiators better A fuzzy set contains one or more pairs of numbers The first of each pair represents a domain element In this negotiation context the domain element is the utility values 0 100 with respect to the issue range The second element in the pair is the degree of membership of that element in the fuzzy set ranging from 0 1 Norwich amp Turksen 1984 For example the fuzzy set for a scale response 80 on a 0 100 utility scale would contain 80 with certainty ic membership value and the other proximate values e g 70 75 85 90 with lesser degrees of membership e g 0 4 0 8 0 9 0 75 Through the use of fuzzy sets for each scale response to create the utility function vaguencss or complexity in the input information can be captured Instead of eliciting the utilities of the negotiators with regard to the issues directly by asking them to provide a crisp definition of their utility curves the fuzzy sets approach attempts to seize the uncertainty from the negotiators inputs and reconstruct their utility functions The utility value can be reconstructed by using the weighted sum 6 An Example of Formulating Fuzzy Preference In the NSS using fuzzy set technique the preference elicitation is achieved as follows For a specific value of a given issuc the user is prompted for a utility value The utility value is assigned to be the domain element associated with a membe
46. nds under the File Menu 4 1 1 1 Start New Session This command is selected to start a new negotiation session A dialog box will appear reguesting a filename to save your data under 4 1 1 2 Open Prior Session This command is selected to open a previous negotiation session A dialog box will appear that allows you to browse through any drive and directory for a prior session s data Only filenames with a nss extension will be shown in the file list box 4 1 1 3 Save Current Session This command is selected to save the Current negotiation data under the currently active filename A dialog box will appear 57 that asks you if you want to save the data under the current name Select Save to store the data or Cancel to abort the command 4 1 1 4 Save Current Session As This command is selected to save the current negotiation data under any user entered filename A dialog box will appear that allows you to enter any filename up to 8 characters long Select Save to store the data or Cancel to abort the command 4 1 1 5 Exit Program This command is selected to end the Bilateral NSS program A dialog box will appear that allows you to save the current negotiation data under the currently active filename Select Save to exit the program after saving the latest negotiation data or Cancel to exit the program without saving the latest data 4 1 2 Help Menu There are two commands under the Help Menu 4 1 2 1 Index This command is selected
47. ny other information deemed appropriate ta a Bilateral Negotiation Support System Version 1 0 E Tung X Bui Designed and Coded im Miciasolt Visual Basic hy Ralph Sabene Figure 8 About Screen 4 Main Selection Menu Screen Figure 9 shows the screen displayed when the user starts the program by either opening a prior session or by starting a new session The ordering of the menu items was chosen so that the first item a user would most likely go to was displayed at the top Additionally the default radio button is also the first item The double column format was chosen as the most appropriate design to both limit redundancy and provide a symmetrical display Button layouts are standard and the Quir button was used instead of the Cancel button since it would convey a clearer meaning to the action of leaving the Main Selection Menu Issue Parameters Name or Party Issue Priorities Utility Values Negotiation Results Figure 9 Main Selection Menu Screen S Issue Parameters Screen Figure 10 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Issue Parameters item from the Main Selection Menu The lines were designed so that the user s cursor is automatically moved to the next available text box when he presses the Enter key This helps to speed up user data entry To enter an initial starting offer the user has two choices He can directly enter the value in the text box provided or use the
48. o duration and 10 to economic compensation the U S docs not consider the first issue to be two times as important as the second issue Rather the 20 10 ratio implies that the U S considers the change from the host position to the U S position on the economic compensation issue to be twice as important as the change from the host position to the U S position on the duration issue Assume that the weights for the three issues are 50 30 20 and 65 5 30 for the U S and the host country respectively Step 4 Define the range of values for all the issues as identified by both parties For example the U S may not be willing to sign a treaty unless it spans a minimum of 10 years whereas the host country may want to restrict the duration to 5 years It can be inferred that the negotiation will encompass the period between 5 10 years A utility curve can be drawn for different values between the 5 10 year range 36 Figure 2 shows the utility curves for duration jurisdiction and compensation for the two countries Note that these curves are unweighted in that they do not take into consideration the relative weights on the issues described in step 3 Step 5 For each party assign relative weights to utility curves This is done by taking the product of the utility values vertical axes of the graphs in Figure 2 and the respective relative weights of the issues Step 6 For each issue compute the joint utility curve by adding
49. o produce an End User Manual for the Beta Test The Beta Test will be testing the end user documentation as well as the application itself If the application developed is an extension or additional enhancement of a previous project an Integrated End User Manual is compiled following the Alpha Test Since the Beta Test is for a live environment existing documentation for the business process should be integrated with the new documentation 5 PACKAGING OF THE END USER MANUAL The End User Manual should be a 3 ring binder type with divider tabs for all major sections and appendices 6 MAINTENANCE OF END USER MANUAL The creation and maintenance of the End User Manual should be the responsibility of the Application Development Team until transition of the application to the support group for deployment At this time maintenance responsibilities should be transferred to the support agency APPENDIX C BILATERAL NSS USER MANUAL Section 1 General 1 1 Purpose of the End User Manual The objective of the End User Manual for the Bilateral Negotiation Support System NSS is to provide the end user with the information necessary to use the system effectively including operation under the Microsoft Windows 3 0 environment 1 2 Purpose of the System The purpose of the Bilateral NSS is to assist one or two negotiators in achieving an eguitable solution to a negotiation problem Each negotiation session allows the user to enter issues wei
50. ome of the advantages attributed to this type of interface When properly implemented the GUI can provide a natural interaction between the user and the computer Initial acceptance and continued use of any program can be greatly enhanced by proper design of this interface It is expected that this trend toward visual representation of a task s objects and actions will be more fully developed and expanded in future years This thesis explored the principles of interface design with particular attention given to the specific characteristics associated with GUI desi Unique design concepts associated with Negotiation Support Systems were also considered These design techniques and principles were then applied in the analysis and design of the graphical user interface for a Bilateral Negotiation Support System based on multiple attribute utility theory The program was written in Microsoft Visual Basic for use under the Microsoft Windows 3 0 operating environment Accession For NTIS Sisal TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION catan ae l A PURPOSE OF THESIS 4 lt temenni a ca a EE l B BACKGROUND 3 gs 6 dea DUS E O hee E eN 1 Bilateral Negotiation Support Systems NSS 1 2 Graphical User Interfaces GUI 2 C LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY 3 D SCOPE AND DIRECTION Sacate ae 4 II INTERFACE DESIGN OF NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS 5 A GENERAL INTERFACE DESIGN
51. onsistency observe the same conventions and rules for all elements of the GUI Screen Layout standardize the screen layout and group related items Relationships link related elements and disassociate unrelated elements Navigability provide an initial focus for the user direct attention to important items and assist in navigation throughout the material 2 Economize Maximize the effectiveness of a minimal set of cues Four concepts associated with this principle are e Simplicity include only those elements that are essential for communication e Clarity design all components so that their meaning is not ambiguous e Distinctiveness distinguish important properties of essential elements e Emphasis make the most important elements salient de emphasize non critical elements and minimize clutter so that important information is not hidden 3 Communicate Match the presentation to the capabilities of the user Six concepts associated with this principle are Legibility design characters symbols and graphic elements to be easily noticeable and distinguishable e Readability make the display easy to interpret as well as inviting and attractive e Typography use a small number of typefaces Generally you should use a maximum of three typefaces in a maximum of three point sizes e Symbolism carefully design icons charts maps and other imagery to properly convey the desired contents
52. ovided A filename can consist of any combination of letters and numbers up to eight characters The filename will automatically be given a nss extension b Press the Save button to save your data or the Cancel button to return to the previous screen Remember that selecting Save will overwrite any previous data you may have stored in that file 5 5 Using the Main Selection Menu There are five selection options for each party They are a Issue Parameters this option allows either party to add or delete issues Initial starting offers are also entered on this screen b Name or Party this option allows either party to enter or change their name or party data If this is the party s first entry for the session they will also enter a five character password c Issue Priorities this option allows either party to adjust the weighting given to each issue d Utility Values this option allows either party to enter or update the utilities assigned to each issuc e Negotiation Results this option allows either party to view the results of the current negotiation session A Scratch Pad is provided to allow a party to perform what if analysis on the results 1 Pressing the Display Graphs button brings up a screen that allows you to view the results in graphical form Both weighted and unweighted results can be viewed 2 Pressing the Save or Print buttons will send the negotiation results in ASCII form to the disk or print
53. res that pennit both sides to maximize their objectives Integrative bargaining generates solutions that yield high joint benefits thus contributing to a more positive relationship Fisher and Ury 1981 Pruitt 1981 Real life negotiations arc however characterized by a mixture of distributive and integrative elements This phenomenon is known as mixed motive paradigm Hence it is important to identify interest differentials guickly to help negotiators diagnose and reduce conflicts thus moving towards integrative bargaining There are a number of problems associated with negotiation In a bilateral negotiation the protagonists assume that their interests are always in conflict with each other Bazerman 1983 argues that this entrenched assumption inhibiis the creativity and problem solving necessary for the development of integrative solutions Empirical studies have also 34 found that negotiators may not always bc cognizant of their judgment criteria Further they may not be able to assess correctly the view of their counterparts Kleinmuntz 1990 Social and emotional factors have also been found to affect objectivity and rationality in negotiations Kessler 1978 suggests that successful conflict resolution depends on successful use of technigues that could handle socio emotional and cognitive bias issues inherent in conflict situations As discussed later in this paper we argue that by using a formal and comprehensive
54. rship value of 1 If the user indicates that there exists other domain elements having positive membership values the system Prompts the user for membership values for proximate utilities for example values ranging 10 points around the initial domain value whenever possible The set of utilities with their memberships for a given issue value is referred to as a fuzzy function Let us say after elicitation the fuzzy function for a treaty of 10 year duration for the U S looks as follows fguration 10 years 70 0 4 75 0 8 80 1 85 0 9 90 0 75 We arnve at a single utility value for duration of 10 using the weighting scheme mentioned earlier 70 0 4 75 0 8 80 1 amp 5 0 9 90 0 75 0 4 0 8 1 0 9 0 75 81 The procedure is then repeated for other possible values of the duration issue The resulting set of utility points are then used to specify the utility function The utility functions of other issues can also be done in a similar manner 7 Summary To use a formal multi attribute negotiation model negotiators are supposed to provide consistent and stable preference information This information should not contradict with previous judgments The interactive procedure proposed in this paper seeks to allow the negotiators to strengthen their preference structure This can be achieved through an interactive exploration of the fuzzs sets We expect that true preferences will finally emerge from
55. s e NextStep for the Next computer In a tutorial on graphical interface design Marcus 1990 the author stresses the importance of visually communicating a program s data and functions Proper use of graphic design principles and an effective use of visible language contributes to improved visual communication The author defines visible language as all the graphical techniques used to communicate the message or content Some aspects of visible language are e Layout formats proportions and 2 D and 3 D organization e Typography selection of typefaces and typesetting e Color and texture color texture and light that convey pictorial reality Imagery signs icons and symbols e Animation a dynamic or kinetic display that is especially important for video related imagery e Sequencing the overall approach to visual storytelling e Sound abstract vocal concrete or musical cues Visual Identity the additional unique rules that lend overall consistency to a user interface Careful manipulation of this visible language and judicious adherence to the following set of design principles will help to ensure a successful well thought out graphical design The three principles and amplifying concepts within each principle are detailed below a Principles of Graphic Design 1 Organize Provide the user with a clear and consistent conceptual structure Four important concepts associated with this principle are C
56. s and principles were then applied in the anulysis und design ot the graphical user interluce fur a Bilateral Negotiation Support System based on multiple attribute utility theory The program was written in Micrusolt Visual Basic for use under the Microsoft Windows 3 0 operating environment 20 DISTRIBUTION AVAILABILITY OF ABSTRACT 21 ABSTRACT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION ON une asse serie TEE sans as ueon ET oncusins Unclussificd Tung X Bui 408 646 2630 Code ASBI DD FORM 1473 84 MAR 83 APR edition muy be used until uxhuusted SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE All other editions are obsolete Unclassified Approved for public release distribution is unlimited Designing a Graphical User Interface for a Bilateral Negotiation Support System by Ralph Sabene Lieutenant Commander United States Naval Reserve B S Arizona State University 1978 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL March 1992 Author ph Sabene Approved by Tung X Bui Thesis Advisor Balasubramaniam Ramesh Second Reader avid R Whipple Chgfrman Department of Administrative Sciences ABSTRACT Graphical User Interfaces GUI are quickly becoming the standard operating environment for most software programs and operating systems Ease of use rapid learning and the ability to retain complex task sequences and operations are s
57. s for each issue Select the Issue Parameters option and press the OK button to continue e The Issue Parameters screen has three entries for each issue Issue Name Unit Value and Initial Starting Offer Issue names can be up to 15 characters long The Unit Value up to 7 characters is the unit of measure for an issue e g dollars years etc Initial starting offers 0 to 30000 can be entered directly into the text box or selected by using the scroll bars beside each issue f To add a new issue just press the Add New Issue button at the bottom of the screen Likewise to delete an issue press the Delete Issue button and enter the number of the issue you want to delete Once you are done press the OK button to accept your entries g Once both parties have entered initial starting offers the last three options on the Main Selection Menu will be available Select the Issue Priority option and press the OK button At this point a password screen will appear asking you to enter your password Type in your 5 character password and press Enter the program is case sensitive so capitalize any letters you did when you initially entered it h The next screen gives you three choices for ranking each issue equal weighting direct prioritization and pairwise comparison Select your choice and follow the instructions After completing your rankings you will be returned to the Main Selection Menu 1 Select the Utility Values option and press
58. same control layout considerations as the other screens The use of OK and Cancel buttons was not appropriate since their meaning to the user would not have been clear in this situation To get the user s attention a set of program topics in the center of the screen are grouped together The labeling of the Ger Help and Quit buttons was used to clearly convey their intent if pressed pip Screen Weboo me to the B lateral Nagotiation Support System The tallmemg miormahon eal assia pou n uang thn prepau imtroductor The B steral Negoteton Support Sprien i Widows 30 compatible program designed to assist m the solution of a two party asgotistion problem You tan get contest sensitive help bp ees ng the ledomng button 2 located at the bottom nghthand corner el anp screen 5 Fo help m using thes popes press Gel Holp after selecting any of the Sterting s New Negobahor Sessor O Entera levve Peeters 2 Dneneg a Pixs Neder Sessan X t ntermg Leer Valora Syv Meyatiation Secs O Disphagweg Graphs oo Emang Chongra Parto Diva Despioywg Negobabon Hesulls Entergy issue Pasamete N Mar Selection Menu Piers Quit to emit the help mena Ra j Figure 7 Help Index Screen b About Screen Figure 8 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the About command located under the Help Menu It is common practice to include this command under the Help Menu to indicate the program s current version authors and a
59. scroll bar located beside each text box Two additional control buttons Add New Issue and Delete Issue are provided to give the user a positive means of initiating those actions to A lesue Data en Aa Ua yy Ee Add New issue oge Figure 10 Issue Parameters Screen 6 Name or Party Screen Figure 11 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Name or Party item in the Main Selection Menu This screen uses the standard button layout with two additional text boxes If the user exceeds the 15 character limit for either text box a message to that effect will be displayed Party A Data Update Screen Figure 11 Name or Party Data Screen 26 7 Issue Priorities Selection Screen Figure 12 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Issue Priorities item from the Main Selection Menu The screen is a standard option button screen with the normal three button layout PartyAPriorities Select Method for Ranking Issues Equal Weighting O Direct Prioritization O Pairwise Comparison Cancel Figure 12 Issue Priorities Screen 8 Issue Priorities Direct Entry Screen Figure 13 shows the screen displayed when the user selects the Direct Prioritization option from the Issue Priorities Selection Menu Values can be entered in the Weight column by direct entry in the text box or by using the scroll bars located
60. specified in DoD STD 7935A SECTION 1 DoD STD 7935A END USER MANUAL TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL Purpose of the End User Manual Purpose of the System References Terms and Abbreviations Security SYSTEM SUMMARY Overview Application Summary Performance Controls System Environment Hardware Required Software Required Contingencies and Alternate Modes of Operation Assistance and Problem Reporting ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM First Time Use of the System Equipment Familiarization Access Control Installation and Setup Initiating a Session Stopping and Suspending Work PROCESSING REFERENCE GUIDE Capabilities Conventions Processing Procedures Variable Title Identify Variable Title Identify Related Processing Recovery from Errors and Malfunctions Messages 3 DEVELOPING SECTIONS OF THE END USER MANUAL Like all documentation components of DoD STD 7935A the End User Manual is a Structured document with specific information to be included under each numbered paragraph The numbering scheme the contents of each paragraph and the information contained in each paragraph is strictly laid out and must be followed to conform to the Standard The following is an extraction of this Standard If documentation developers are unclear about the nature of the information to be included under each paragraph heading the actual DoD STD 7935A should be consulted and used in this effort You will notice that Sections 1 through 3 of the End
61. sue Parameters Sereen serias RR RE RE kaa 4053 25 6 Name or Party Screen ee ka BR ET Vts Oa VS n 26 7 Issue Prionties Selection Screen sl 27 8 Issue Priorities Direct Entry Screen 27 9 Utility Valles SCreefi a EER a A 28 10 Negotiation Results Sereen Mera Ge HAR RR Ge SM 29 11 Display Graph Screen ecco EER RAL ghee SEER RR sa 30 IV SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 32 Ay SUMMARY ii ion NIKO L E KKI Bae KMS a 32 B SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 32 APPENDIX A FUZZY PREFERENCES IN BILATERAL NEGOTIATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS eors reas Wee Pas NO EIE ee SE mo 33 APPENDIX B DOD STANDARD 7935A END USER MANUAL GUIDELINES eu Targ de goe re Be DAS AAA RS 4 APPENDIX C BILATERAL NSS USER MANUAL 51 LIST OF REFERENCES ise N ewe de RE OR GE es v Eee wads 66 vi INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST 20 ie a Rd Od eee he ee ke RS ER 67 vii I INTRODUCTION A PURPOSE OF THESIS The purpose of this thesis is to design and implement a Graphical User Interface GUI based program for a Bilateral Negotiation Support System NSS Bui amp Sivasankaran 1991 The program is written to operate on a Microsoft Windows DOS operating system microcomputer It is expected that graphical user interfaces when properly implemented can provide a user friendly and natural interaction between the user and the decision support system program Initial accept
62. the OK button You will again be requested to enter your password j The Utility Value screen lists all session issues on the left side and the seven utility values for the currently active issue on the right side To enter utility values follow this procedure 1 Click the option button to the left of any issue you want to update LA A 2 At the bottom of the utility graph are the seven range points for that issue Above each range point is a column of utility values from 0 to 100 Select a utility value for each range point O being no utility and 100 being maximum utility 3 Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each issue Press the OK button to accept your data and return to the Main Selection Menu k To view the results of the negotiation at this point select the Negotiation Results option and press the OK button The Negotiation Results screen will appear 1 The Negotiation Results screen displays three sets of tabular data highest joint utility mid point utility and relative importance utility Additionally there is a Scratch Pad that allows you to enter any range point the green Descriptor column to observe how the individual party and total utility values will be affected m To print out the results on the screen press the Print button To save the screen results as an ASCII text file press the Save button To view the results graphically press the Display Graphs button at the bottom of the screen n The Graphs screen a
63. the leaming process made possil ic by the system The algorithm discussed in this paper is a specific treatment of preference information Further research is required to explore beter elicitation of preference information References 11 Barclay S and Peterson R C Mult Attribute Utility Models for Negotiations Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Arlington 1976 2 Bazerman M Negotiator Judement A Cntical Look at the Rationality Assumption American Behavioral Scientist Vol 27 No 2 1983 pp 211 228 3 Bui Tung X Co oP A Muluplc Criteria Group Decision Support System Lecture Notes in Computer Science No 193 New York 1987 4 Fisher R and Ury W Getting to Yes Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Penguin New York 1981 40 5 16 7 8 19 110 111 Kessler S Creative Conflict Resolution Mediation Leader s Guide National Institute for Professional Training Fountain Valley Califomia 1978 Kleinmuntz D N Why We Still Use Our Heads Instead of Formulas Toward an Integrative Approach Psychological Bulletin Vol 107 No 3 1990 pp 296 310 Lewicki R and Litterer J Negotiation Richard D Irwin Homewood Illinois 1985 Norwich A M and Turksen 1B A Model for the Measurement of Membership and the Consequences of its Empincal Implementation Fuzzy Sets and Systems Vol 12 pp 1 25 1984 Nyan J D and Samarasan D K The
64. the total user interface e Empirical measurements Iterative design to remove usability problems As can be seen in the above guidelines the user is a key elemeni in almost all aspects of interface design The programmer must avail himself of every opportunity to get user input and feedback during all stages of program development The final guideline is especially critical Even with user involvement during the early stages of system design until the user is able to interact with your program the success of your design is highly tentative at best When practicable a design philosophy based on rapid prototyping will yield more success than the waterfall method of system design Page Jones 1988 2 Graphical User Interface Until the unveiling of the Apple Macintosh in 1984 almost all interface design followed the general guidelines enumerated in the first four of Shneiderman s methods Although still used for certain applications the direct manipulation or graphical user interface has supplanted the earlier design methods as today s design of choice Indeed today s software applications need graphical user interfaces to sell Zachary 1990 Currently there are a wide variety of GUIs running on almost all available hardware software platforms Some examples are e Microsoft Windows 3 0 on IBM compatible systems e GeoWorks Ensemble on IBM compatible systems e IBM Presentation Manager for OS 2 e Motif for Unix based system
65. tionale for choosing the graphical user interface over other possible alternatives The last part of this chapter will deal with the actual design considerations involved in the programming of the Bilateral NSS 1 Types of Interfaces In his book on designing the user interface Shneiderman identifies five categories of user interfaces Shneiderman 1987 They are e Menu Selection In this method the user is presented with a list of items and must choose one by highlighting his choice or pressing the appropriate key This style is appropriate for novice and intermediate users It is easy to learn provides for structured decision making and supports error handling Disadvantages include the danger of creating too many layers of menus and slowing the speed of use for freguent users of the program e Form Fill in This method displays a group of fields for user fill in The fields are normally navigated by use of the cursor or tab keys This style is appropriate when data entry is the main form of interaction It simplifies data entry requires modest training and permits the use of form management tools e Command Language This method relies on the user learning a group of commands that are often complex and cryptic in nature This style 1s appropriate for experts and frequent users of the program It allows the user to quickly initiate commands with short and highly complicated syntax Disadvantages include poor error handling an
66. to bring up the main help menu A screen will appear that explains the help system and allows the user to select from a menu of ten subject areas 4 1 2 2 About This command brings up the Bilateral NSS credit screen Section 5 Processing Reference Guide Procedures 5 1 Starting a New Negotiation Session To begin a new session select the Start New Session command under the File Menu and follow the procedures below a Enter any filename up to 8 characters in the text box provided Press the OK button to continue 58 b Next enter your name party and a character password in the textboxes provided Don t forget your password since once it is entered you can t change it Press the OK button to continue c When the Main Selection Menu is displayed select the Issue Parameters option and press the OK button d Enter up to 10 issues and an initial starting value using the scroll bars next to each issue A new issue may be added by clicking on the Add New Issue button at the bottom of the screen To delete an issue click on the Delete Issue button e Once both parties have entered initial starting values you can enter your weightings and ut lities by selecting the appropriate option from the Main Selection Menu f Selecting the Negotiation Results option from the Main Selection Menu will give you a tabular display of the results of the current session Clicking on the Display Graphs button at the bottom of the screen will displ
67. to budge their positions in small variants during actual negotiations This paper proposes an extension to a Pareto optimum model that maximizes the utilities of the two parties using the fuzzy set concept to capture the negotiators preferences function The paper is organized as follows Section 2 addresses the problems in bilateral Negotiations Design issues for building bilateral Negotiation Support Systems NSS are discussed in section 3 Section 4 lays down the basic steps of an interactive multi attribute model for negotiation involving multiple treaties between two parties In section 5 we explain the use of fuzzy sets in formulating negotiators preferences as an improved means for the utility modeling Section 6 illustrates the model using an example 2 Background Traditionally bilateral negotiation is often viewed as a distributive bargaining in that it operates on the notion of a fixed pie which must be shared between the two parties Both protagonists seek to maximize their own goals without concem for the other Research has shown that distributive bargaining or the win lose approach leads to capitalizing on power differentials escalating hostilities suboptimal agreements and ultimately an uncooperative relationship for future negotiations e g Lewicki and Litterer 1985 An alternative approach is the integrative bargaining or win win method This secks to resolve conflict with a set of procedu
68. umented For example if the tasks of end users vary depending upon the organization echelon in which they work Section 4 might be oriented to headquarters functions and Section 5 to remote site functions SECTION 4 PROCESSING REFERENCE GUIDE MENUS USED IN THE SYSTEM 4 1 Capabilities This paragraph provides an overview of the use of the system describing menus functions transactions and their interrelationships 4 2 Conventions This paragraph describes the conventions used such as rules for assigning names or codes abbreviations colors on the screens and use of audible alarms 4 3 Processing Procedures MENUS NOTE Detailed procedures are intended to be presented in the subparagraphs of paragraph 4 3 Depending on the design of the AIS the subparagraphs might be organized on a function by function basis or on a menu by menu basis For a transaction oriented system the organization might be on a screen by screen basis 4 3 1 Variable Title Identify The title of this paragraph shall identify the function menu transaction or other process being described This paragraph shall describe and give examples of menus data entry forms outputs diagnostic messages or alarms and help facilities which can provide online descriptive or tutorial information The format for presenting this information can be adapted to the particular characteristics of the AIS but a consistent style of presentation must be used i e the descriptions of
69. yed In a computer mediated context the textual and graphical symbolic modes at the low end of the social presence spectrum are predominant The above mentioned design considerations are not totally unique concepts Rather they build upon the general design techniques enumerated in the previous section They attempt to address some of the special characteristics inherent in a computer mediated environment When applied to the GUI design of the Bilateral NSS they give the designer additional insight into the type of person that uses a NSS program and some of the environmental issues he may be exposed to The next section will take the design ideas presented in this chapter and attempt to apply them to the design of a Bilateral NSS Although certain aspects of the above discussion are not applicable to the design of this particular Bilateral NSS the general guiding principles and special corsiderations of this project will be explained 14 HI DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A BILATERAL NSS This section presents the philosophy used in designing the Bilateral NSS The first part of this section discusses the GUI specifications for the Bilateral NSS The second section discusses the design considerations for the program as a whole The last part breaks down the Bilateral NSS program into its iunctiona parts and discusses the programming and design considerations used A GUI SPECIFICATIONS Based on the previous discussion of

View/Open - Calhoun: The NPS

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents