Analyzing human-computer interaction as distributed cognition: The resources model

In this article we present a new approach to interaction modeling based on the concept of information resources. The approach is inspired by recent di stributed cognition (DC) literature but develops a model that applies speci fically to human-computer interaction (HCI) modeling. Of course, there are many approaches to modeling HCI, and the motivation of this article is not to offer yet another approach. Rather, our motivation is that the recent de velopments in DC are so obviously relevant to HCI modeling and design, yet the ideas have lacked visibility in the HCI community. By providing a model whose concepts are rooted in DC concepts, we hope to achieve this visibili ty. DC research identifies resources for action as central to the interacti on between people and technologies, but it stops short of providing a defin ition of such resources at a level that could be used to analyze interactio n. The resources model described in this article defines a limited number o f resource types as abstract information structures that can be used to ana lyze interaction. We demonstrate how these abstract types can be represente d differently in an interface. The resources model uses the concept of inte raction strategy to describe the way in which different configurations of r esources can differently shape users' actions. These 2 components of the re sources model (information structures and interaction strategies), through the process of coordination and integration, provide a link among devices, representations, and actions that is not well articulated in the DC literat ure.