Human Computer InteractionCITB 243

Chapter 1What is HCI

Rozita Ismail

Universiti Tenaga Nasional

Contents

• Describe what is HCI

• Technological change

• The challenge of HCI

• The goals of HCI

• HCI and its evolution

• The importance of HCI

What is HCI

– Definitions HCI 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, 1992, p.6)

[A] set of processes, dialogues and actions through which human user employs and interacts with a computer. (Baecker and Buxton,1987,p.40)

What is HCI (cont’d)

Human-computer interaction is about designing computer systems that support people so that they can carry out their activities productively and safely. (Preece 1994)

• It is a study of the relationships or interaction which exits between human users and the computer systems they use to perform their various tasks.

Technological change: different design needs

• For computer to be widely accepted and used effectively they need to be well designed.

• Computers should be designed for the needs and capabilities of the people for whom they are intended.

• The designer should think beyond merely what capabilities the system should have.

• The designer needs to consider the interaction that goes on between users and a computer system.

Technological change (cont’d)

• It means: An input language for user An output language for the machine A protocol for interaction

• In 1970s, a new term for user interface – Man-Machine Interaction. Moran defined as ‘those aspects of the system that the users comes in contact with’

Technological change (cont’d)

• The term Human-Computer Interaction was adopted in 1980s – describing the new field of study. It concerns not just the interface design but all aspects that relate to the interaction between humans and computers.

Technological Change (cont’d)

• Two key principles that help to ensure good HCI: (Donald Norman,1988)

– Visibility– Affordance

• Visibility – range in which we can see clearly in any conditions

• Affordance – the design suggest their functionality

The Challenge of HCI

• How to keep abreast of changes in technology.

• How to ensure that their designs offer good HCI as harnessing the potential functionality of the new technology

The Goals of HCI

• Provide an understanding of both the human user and the computer system, means the interaction must be easy and satisfying.

• To produce usable, effective, efficient and safe systems as well as functional systems.

• Enhance the quality and efficiency of interaction between human and computers

• To make technology easier to learn and use.

The Goals of HCI (cont’d)

• To understand users, it is necessary to understand the processes, capabilities and predilections that they might bring to the tasks they perform.

• To understand what the computer can do for users and how it might best communicate with them.

• To understand the user’s task and how it might best be accomplished using the computer system.

HCI and Its Evolution

• Figure 1 shows the disciplines that affected HCI.• Figure 2 shows the factors that affected HCI• Figure 3 shows the main topics that make up the

discipline of HCI– HCI takes place within a social and organizational

context.

– Different kinds of applications are required for different purposes.

HCI and Its Evolution

Figure 1

HCI and Its Evolution

Figure 2

HCI and Its Evolution

Figure 3

HCI and Its Evolution

• History

– Electronic computers first appeared in the 1950s and 60s – extremely expensive

– Things began to change in the late 1970s and early 80s – the size became smaller and cheaper

– 1981 – IBM Corp. introduce the first IBM Personal Computer, targeted for home users and small business use. It costs less and more people were able to purchase.

NEW PHENOMENOMNon-experts began using computers

HCI and Its Evolution

• For this group of people, computers were similar to cars and telephone – like a tool to assist them in their work.

• For them, knowledge of a computer’s internal workings was not interesting. They want to use it.

• Because of this trend, the computer and software manufacturer started considering the benefits of creating products that were user- friendly.

HCI and Its Evolution

• The researchers began to study these problems, and they managed to relate with the human factors and ergonomics.

• 1982, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) approved a special interest group for Human-Computer Interaction (SIGCHI) – goals: to promote the use of human factors in the human computer interaction.

• Today : interactive computing system.

The Importance of HCI

• Computers are now widely used by people who may be experts in their particular field, but they are not computer experts. This means that systems have to be user friendly. Systems should also consider some aspects of the cost:– The cost of software is high and the competitive

edge is more difficult to achieve. The interface to a system might give it this edge.

The Importance of HCI (cont’d)

• The cost to train users is high, therefore, a system which is easy and natural to use will save money in the long run, since the training time will be kept to a minimum.

• The cost of human error can be high. Systems that are transparent ought to reduce the likelihood of error or to aid error recovery.

The Importance of HCI (cont’d)

• Productivity– Improvement in work performance

– Customer satisfaction – related to improvement of usability.

• The aim of HCI should be to build computer applications that are jargon free and easy to use to the degree that all the user sees is the task and not the computer system at all.

Key points

• Computers are used by a different kinds of people, so it is important to design HCI that supports the needs, knowledge and skills of intended users.

• HCI is concerned with understanding, designing, evaluating, and implementing interactive computing systems for human use.

• The goals of HCI are to develop the safety, utility, effectiveness, efficiency, and usability of systems that include computers.

Exercise

• What is the difference between the terms ‘user interface’ and ‘human-computer interaction’?

• What are some of the ways that working practices may change as a result of introducing new technology?