The article on Cognitive Artifacts by David A.

Norman deals with the the

ories and principles of artifacts as they relate to the user during execution an
d completion of tasks. These principles and theories that Norman speaks about ma
y be applied to any graphical user interface, however I have chosen to relate th
e article to the interface known as Windows 95.
Within Windows 95, Microsoft has included a little tool called the wizard that g
uides us through the steps involved in setting up certain applications. This wi
zard is a very helpful tool to the non experienced computer user, in the way tha
t it acts like a to-do list. The wizard takes a complex task and breaks it into
discrete pieces by asking questions and responding to those questions based on
the answers. Using Norman's theories on system view and the personal view of ar
tifacts, we see that the system views the wizard as an enhancement. For example
, we wanted to set up the Internet explorer, you click on the icon answer the wi
zard's questions and the computer performs the work. Making sure everything is
setup properly without the errors that could occur in configuring the task yours
elf. The wizard performs all the functions on its little to-do list without hav
ing the user worrying about whether he/she remembered to include all the comman
ds. On the side of personal views the user may see the wizard as a new task to
learn but in general it is simpler than having to configure the application your
self and making an error, that could cause disaster to your system. The wizard
also prevents the user from having to deal with all the internal representation
of the application like typing in command lines in the system editor.
Within Windows 95 most of the representation is internal therefore we ne
ed a way to transform it to surface representation so it is accessible to the us
er. According to Norman's article there are "three essential ingredients in rep
resentational systems. These being the world which is to be represented, the se
t of symbols representing the world, and an interpreter." This is done in Wind
ows by icons on the desktop and on the start menu. The world we are trying to r
epresent to the user is the application, which can be represented by a symbol wh
ich is the icon. These icons on the desktop and on the start menu are the surfa
ce representations the user sees when he goes to access the application not all
the files used to create it or used in conjunction with the applications operati
on. With the icons a user can retrieve applications and their files by a click
of a button. The icons lead the user directly into the application without sho
wing all the commands the computer goes through to open the application. The ic
ons make the user more efficient in accomplishing tasks because it cuts done on
the time of trying to find an item when the user can relate what he/she wants to
do by the symbol on the icon.
Another example of an artifact within Windows 95 that exhibits Norman's theories
is the recycle bin. This requires the user to have a direct engagement with th
e windows explorer and knowing the right item to delete. As a user decides that
he no longer desires a certain program and chooses to delete the item, he is ex
ecuting a command that will change the perception of the system. By selecting t
he item to delete the user has started an activity flow which involves the gulf
of evaluation and the gulf of execution. Either of these gulfs could be perceiv
ed differently by the user then by the system so Windows 95 prompts the user wit
h a dialog box asking if the user is sure he/she wants to remove this item from
the system and it prompts again when emptying the recycle bin. What the user in
tends to do and what the system plans to do might not be the same so by promptin
g the user for action we are double checking that this is what the user has in m
ind. However when windows prompts us with the confirmation message, we are brea
king the scheduled activity flow. The main problem with halting the activity fl
ow is that it breaks the user's attention, however when deleting an item you cou
ld have selected the wrong item by mistake and without the break in activity flo
w the outcome could be dangerous. Norman calls these breaks "forcing functions
which prevent critical or dangerous actions from happening without conscious att
ention."
The artifacts discussed above using Windows 95 graphical user interface are very
 similar to the theories and principles that Norman suggests in his article. No
rman has stressed that cognitive artifact should follow three aspects which I fe
el Windows has dealt with. Windows 95 in itself has been made so that it is ada
ptable to the user whether he/she be an experienced user or not, by creating art
ifacts like icons and menu bars that are all related to one another. This makes
it easier for the user to adapt to its environment and continue computing happi
ly.