Taskposé: exploring fluid boundaries in an associative window visualization

ABSTRACT

Window management research has aimed to leverage users' tasks to organize the growing number of open windows in a useful manner. This research has largely assumed task classifications to be binary -- either a window is in a task, or not -- and context-independent. We suggest that the continual evolution of tasks can invalidate this approach and instead propose a fuzzy association model in which windows are related to one another by varying degrees. Task groupings are an emergent property of our approach. To support the association model, we introduce the WindowRank algorithm and its use in determining window association. We then describe Taskposé, a prototype window switch visualization embodying these ideas, and report on a week-long user study of the system.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI)

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Windowing systems

General Terms:
Human Factors

Keywords:
task management, window management