5620902.doc Created by Chethan.

HCI

“When simple things need pictures, labels, or instructions, the design has
failed.” [Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things, 1988 [Norman, 1992,
page 9]]

“Human-computer interaction is a discipline concerned with the design,

evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use
and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them.” [ACM SIGCHI
Curricula for Human-Computer Interaction]

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is particularly interest in computers and the

composition of the user population, by studying the interaction between people
and computers, concerning themselves with the physical, psychological and
theoretical aspects of this process.
The information science and technology is strand of research that has
influenced the development of the HCI.
HCI draws on many disciplines, but it is in computer science and systems design
that it must be accepted as a central concern.
From this perspective, HCI involves the design, implementation and evaluation
of interactive systems in the context of the user’s task and work.

What is HCI? (HCI Defined)

Human-Computer Interaction is a discipline concerned with usability in
the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computer systems for
human use and with the study of the major phenomena surrounding them

HCI is not just about creating attractive user interfaces, but is about
understanding who will use them, how they will use them and what they will
use them for and ensuring they are effective for this purpose.

The interaction means any communication between a user and computer, be it

direct and indirect. Direct interaction involves a dialog with feedback and
control throughout performance of the task.
Indirect interaction may involve batch processing or intelligent sensors
controlling the environment.

 Theory and HCI

There is no general and unified theory of HCI that we can present. However,
there is underlying principle that forms the basis of our own views on HCI, and
it is captured in our claim that people use computers to accomplish work. This
outlines the three major issues of concern: the people, the computers, and the
tasks that are performed.

ISiM
5620902.doc Created by Chethan. M

Why HCI is Important?

 Computing devices and applications are rapidly increasing in diversity and in
complexity
 And so is the user population: it is now dominated by nontechnical users,
with widely varying background experience,
 User interfaces are a major component of many computer system
 Up to 50% of all code is UI code
 User interfaces are hard to design and build
 Poorly design interaction and user interfaces are: costly, inefficient,
unpleasant, dangerous,…etc.
 Poor user interface design:
• Reduces likelihood of successful task completion
• Increases learning time (possibly beyond user’s patience)
• Conceals (rather than reveals) functionality
• Increases errors
• Reduces overall system dependability
• And so on…
 Computing is moving very fast
 so many users
 If people don’t like it they dump it…
 Modern software used by much wider range of user (in terms of know-
how, culture, personality, age, goals…)
 Used in different situations (mobile phones, laptops, 747 autopilots…)
 Changing society – designers face ethical questions
 Interaction is now widely recognized to be crucial factor
 Graduates with HCI skills earn top salaries
 Not necessarily programmers, designers, marketing experts….

Why is HCI important to you?

 HCI impacts on almost everyone involved in:
 Using computer systems
 Designing computer systems
 HCI knowledge is important for understanding what computer systems are
about…..and designing better ones

Who contributes to HCI

 Computer scientists
 Modeling, specifying and analyzing interaction
 Psychologists
 User as perceiver, thinker
 Software engineers
 Interaction design is part of overall system development

ISiM
5620902.doc Created by Chethan. M

 Knowledge of users, tasks necessary to capture and understand

requirements
 Linguists and philosophers
 Interaction as communicative and conceptual activity
 Artificial Intelligence researchers
 Interactive systems exhibiting (simulating) intelligent behavior
 Ergonomists
 Interaction is physical as well as conceptual
 Sociologists and anthropologists
 Interaction as social activity

So…what really is HCI?

 There would be no justifications for the field of HCI if human beings did
not make errors in their use of machines
 Many systems are difficult to use but people are adaptable where there
may be conflict between safety and efficiency
• example: going to a car mechanic
 So HCI is :
• Selection and design of devices
• Selection and design of interaction styles
• Selection and development of tools and methods
• Design of the environment where a computer is used
• The tasks to be carried out using the computer
• Organizational impact of a computer system
• The training requirements
• Initial and continuing
• The designs of support material, manuals, on-line help …..
• The attitudes and expectations of users
• Safety issues

 The goals of HCI are to develop or improve the

 Safety
 Utility
 Effectiveness
 Efficiency
 Usability
 Appeal
Of systems that include computers

The Goals of HCI

 Safety : safety of the user & safety of the data
 Utility: services that the system provides

ISiM
5620902.doc Created by Chethan. M

 Effectiveness: user’s ability to accomplish a desired goal or to carry out

work
 Efficiency: measure of how quickly users can accomplish goals or finish their
work using the system
 Usability: ease of learning and ease of use
 Appeal: how well users like the system (first impression, long-time
considerations)
Priority among the above six aspects varies depends on the type of systems or
website you are creating.

So…what is the problem?

 Mismatch between user and computer
 Often the user has to adopt to the computer
 Terminology used is that of computer instead of user
 Computer function rather than task oriented

 Physical limitations
 Height, reach, eyesight, hearing
 Sensitivity to temperature and humidity
 Sensitivity to lighting conditions

 Human information processing limitations

 Short term memory limitations
 Syntactic vs. semantic memory
 Recognition easier than recall
 Reasoning frequently illogical
 Affected by fatigue

 Resistance to change
 How is change managed?
 Who is involved
 Technology in search of a solution
 Disruption of existing social order

 Building for whom?

 Designers build for themselves
 Poor understanding of users, tasks, organizations
 Poorly specified problems
 Poorly realized solutions
 Poor support in-house and externally

Solving the problems

 Minimizing errors and maximizing performance
 So we need to understand

ISiM
5620902.doc Created by Chethan. M

 The human sensory system

 The human motor system
 Cognitive capabilities
 Design of controls
 Layout of workspaces
 Human computer interaction
 Personnel selection and training

The contributing areas in HCI:

ISiM
5620902.doc Created by Chethan. M

ISiM
5620902.doc Created by Chethan. M

References:

1. Human-Computer Interaction, Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Keith Andrews –

5/2008
2. Human-Computer Interaction, Marilyn Turnamianv – Lucent
technologies.
3. Human-Computer Interaction, Sutthisak Phongthanapanich

ISiM