On the Role of Reflection and Representation in Environmental Decision Support Systems

Donald Norman describes how reflection enables us to critically analyse and review details, compare and contrast situational outcomes, and aid in our general decisionmaking abilities. Furthermore, he explains how through reflection, we increase our awareness - become smarter - which inevitably enables us to conduct more satisfying decision-making analyses. In a day and age where information is abundant, the activity of reflection may prove more difficult. This is particularly the case for evaluating alternatives for health and environmentally preferable product selection. Key in supporting consumers in such regard is the design of the user interface, one where the interactions provide satisfying user experiences through support for reflective activities supplemented by high quality representations. This paper will discuss the importance of reflection and representation in such regard by describing a framework for system design. A detailed description of the framework is provided along with a discussion describing qualitative results from a recent usability evaluation. Future work is also provided.