history and future of human computer interaction (hci) and interaction design

the field of HCI: some bits and pieces of its history aga szóstek(at)gmail.com

what is HCI?

engineering, computer science

psychology, sociology,

ethnography

design

HCI

what is interaction design?

-  Human Computer Interaction -  User Centred Design -  User Experience -  Experience Design -  Service Design -  Design Thinking

-  Human Computer Interaction -  User Centred Design -  User Experience -  Experience Design -  Service Design -  Design Thinking

„Interaction design”: Preece, Sharp, Rogers

-  Human Computer Interaction -  User Centred Design -  User Experience -  Experience Design -  Service Design -  Design Thinking

-  Human Computer Interaction -  User Centred Design -  User Experience -  Experience Design -  Service Design -  Design Thinking

a short history of the HCI

before it all happened

basic calculating devices first appeared in antiquity

the first mechanical calculating aid was invented in the 17th century

the word: computer was first recorded to be used in1613 by R. B. Gent in Yong Mans Gleanings “I haue read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer breathed, and he reduceth thy dayes into a short number.”

(source: Oxford Dictionary)

the word first was applied to human computers: people who performed calculations often as employment

Konrad Zuse (1910-1995) -  1936: construction of an automatic

machine (Z1) with a binary mechanical memory, a mechanical calculation unit and a programming unit

-  1939: construction of a Z2 version with a still mechanical memory but with a relay-operated electromechanical calculating unit

-  1941: an electromechanical computer (Z3) submitted in to an audience of engineers and scientists

-  1944: construction of Z4 with a mechanical memory

-  up to 1951 this machine remained the only working computer in Europe

ENIAC (1943) - the first electronic numerical integrator and computer in the US

mainframe computers

the dawn

memex design sketch (1945)

DEC PDP-1 (1959)

SketchPad by Ivan Sutherland at MIT (1963)

first mouse by Douglas C. Engelbard at Stanford (1964)

NLS demo (1968)

first HCI wave (1980s)

-  computer scientists interested in changes in ways people interact with information systems

-  psychologists interested in implications of these changes

-  rigid guidelines -  focus on the ergonomics and human factors -  anthropometry, mainly quantitative -  interaction between a single person and a computer -  lab studies -  task-oriented experiments -  usability testing and experimental psychology

Xerox Star (1981)

1988 Donald Norman’s first book on user centered design

1995 Jakob Nielsen's 10 general principles for interaction design called "heuristics" as they are broad rules of thumb and not specific usability guidelines

Some fundamental problems: -  experimental setups capable of explaining

behaviors in constrained situations -  difficult to generalize to new contexts and tools -  ecological considerations -  impossible to analyze group behavior

second wave (1990s)

-  “from human factors to human actors” (Bannon, 1986) -  focused on theory on work settings and interaction

within communities of practice -  situated action, distributed cognition and activity theory

as important sources of theoretical reflection -  field studies, more and more qualitative -  context based -  rigid guidelines, formal methods, and systematic testing

exchanged for proactive methods such as participatory design workshops, prototyping and contextual inquiries

Kitchen stories style of research

World Wide Web (1990)

Ubiquitous Computing, Mark Weiser (1991)

basic structure of human activity by Engestrom (1987)

the notion of boundary objects

Some more fundamental problems: -  context undefined -  users as designers -  pragmatism versus emotions -  role of the design process

third wave (2000s)

-  expanding the reach to homes and larger environments

-  wide technology application -  working on emotions and experiences -  users as active participants and not passive subjects -  importance of cultural differences -  following a solid design process -  non-rational thinking supported (intuition, talent, etc.) -  design as a way to innovate -  phenomenology

2005 Donald Norman’s book „Emotional design”

iPhone

UX over time

pleasurable troublemakers

in retrospect…

this is one view on it…

…how about a different one?

Altair 880 (1975): focus on making technology work while bringing more functionality

iPhone (2007): making technology not only work

but work beautifully and flow

IBM Simon (1993): first smartphone

the third milestone?

technology working together as an ecosystem

the end of focusing on individual devices

integrating technology in a seamless manner

changing interaction

wearable senses

adaptable environments

robotics

we aready have examples of it…

role of interaction designer

research

design

user researcher

interaction designer

references Sharp, Helen. Interaction design. John Wiley & Sons, 2003. Koskinen, Ilpo, et al. Design research through practice: From the lab, field, and showroom. Elsevier, 2011. Norman, Donald A. The design of everyday things. Basic books, 2002. Norman, Donald A. Emotional design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. Basic books, 2004. Buxton, Bill. "The long nose of innovation." Insight 11 (2008): 27. Bødker, Susanne. "When second wave HCI meets third wave challenges." Proceedings of the 4th Nordic conference on Human-computer interaction: changing roles. ACM, 2006. www.ideo.com www.beyond.com