When Constraints Limit and Inspire: Characterizing Presentation Authoring Practices for Evolving Narratives
Linxiu Zeng, Emily Kuang, Jian Zhao
TLDR
This paper introduces the CMPA framework and ReSlide prototype, showing how presenters use constraints as design drivers for evolving presentation narratives.
Key contributions
- Characterizes how presenters reason about and use contextual constraints in presentation authoring.
- Introduces the Constraint-based Multi-session Presentation Authoring (CMPA) framework.
- Develops ReSlide, a prototype tool that helps presenters use constraints as active design drivers.
- Demonstrates ReSlide's effectiveness in facilitating content reuse across evolving narratives.
Why it matters
This paper shifts the perspective on constraints in presentation authoring from limitations to active design drivers. It offers a framework and tool to help presenters manage evolving narratives, improving efficiency and coherence in content adaptation.
Original Abstract
Authoring presentation slides involves navigating contextual constraints that shape how content is structured, adapted, and reused. While prior work frames constraints as limitations, little is known about how presenters actively reason about them. We conducted a formative study with ten presenters to examine how constraints emerge, are interpreted, and influence authoring decisions, leading to the Constraint-based Multi-session Presentation Authoring (CMPA) framework. CMPA treats time, audience, and communicative intent as key constraints shaping authoring. We instantiated CMPA in ReSlide, a research prototype for constraint-aware slide creation and reuse, and conducted two user studies on (1) single-session behaviors and (2) multi-session workflows. Compared to a baseline tool, ReSlide helped presenters treat constraints as active design drivers that guide narrative construction. The second study further shows how presenters flexibly reuse and adapt content across authoring cycles as constraints evolve. We then propose design implications for future constraint-aware presentation tools.
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