CS/PSY 6750 Human-Computer Interaction

John Stasko Fall 2002

Agenda
Introductions Course Administratia HCI Overview
Objectives Principles

Semester project preview

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Introductions
Instructor
John Stasko Computing & GVU

HCI -Info. Interfaces

Info. visualization Peripheral awareness Software agents Software visualization
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Introductions
TA
Jeremy Goecks HCI PhD student

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Introductions
Instructor for other section
Bruce Walker Psychology & GVU

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Introductions
Your turn
Demographics

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Course Information
Books Web
Syllabus Assignments Co-web HCI resources Related courses
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Course Information
Grading
Mid-term & final exams (32%) Group project, 4 parts (40%)
More to come next time...

Homeworks (21%)
One week to do, likely 3

Short Homeworks (4%)

One day to do, likely 4

Participation (3%)
Class involvement and peer review
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Advice
Learn from and use the past
Look to previous courses, courses elsewhere, info on the web,
Content, lectures, projects,

Go further
Move beyond lectures & book Further courses Step into research
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Why We Are Here

Look at human factors that affect software design and development Central Topic: User interface design
Not just a software interface on a desktop monitor!

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HCI
What is it?
Can you define/describe it?

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HCI
What happens when a human and a computer get together to perform a task
task - write document, calculate budget, solve equation, learn about Bosnia, drive home,...

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Why is this important?

1. Computers (in one way or another) now affect every person in society
Increasing % utilize computers in work

2. Product success may depend on ease of use, not necessarily power

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Course Aims
1. Consciousness raising
Make you aware of these issues

2. Design critic
Question bad design

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Goals of HCI
Allow users to carry out tasks
Safely Effectively Efficiently Enjoyably
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Usability
Important issue Combination of
Ease of learning High speed of user task performance Low user error rate Subjective user satisfaction User retention over time
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Key Historical Event (Personal)

Grad school in 84 John Sculley, Mac

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Moving Forward
How do we improve interfaces?
1. Change attitude of software professional 2. Draw upon fast accumulating body of knowledge regarding H-C interface design 3. Integrate UI design methods & techniques into standard software development methodologies now in place
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Improving Interfaces
Know the User!
Physical abilities Cognitive abilities Personality differences Skill differences Cultural diversity Motivation Special needs
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Two Crucial Errors

Assume all users are alike Assume all users are like the designer

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Course Overview
Human abilities Evaluation (without users) Design Dialog & interaction Evaluation (with users) Special topics
CSCW, InfoVis, Ubicomp, Agents
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Group Project
Design and evaluate an interface
0 1 2 3 4 Team formation & topic choice Understand the problem Design alternatives Prototype & evaluation plan Evaluation

Main 4 parts worth 10% each

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Details
Part 0 - Topic definition
Identify team & topic, create web notebook

Part 1 - Understanding the problem

Describe tasks, users, environment, social context What are implications for design?

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Details
Part 2 - Design alternatives
Storyboards, mock-ups for multiple different designs Explain decisions

Part 3 - System prototype & eval plan

Semi-working interface functionality Plan for conducting evaluation
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Details
Part 4 - Evaluation
Conduct evaluation with example users Characterize whats working and whats not

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Project Teams
4 people
You decide Diverse is best! Consider schedules

Cool name Help getting members on Monday

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Presentations
Informal poster session
Feedback on ideas, both class periods After part 2 Other students and expert gallery

Formal project presentation

Final week of classes 10-15 minute summary
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Project Topics
Set of possibilities
Max of 2 teams per topic First-come, first-served By next Wednesday Set up web notebook

Real client
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Topic Ideas

(Old ones)

Mobile/handheld (cars, tour guides, etc.) Wedding planner GIS Calendar agent (speech) Audio / Web sites Domain that you know well Browse old projects for more ideas...
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What Makes a Good Project

Access to domain experts & users Real clients Interesting human issues Rich domain for design

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Upcoming
History of HCI
Also project info

Video on HCI history

Start reading...

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