Human-computer interaction

Draft

Definition

• Human-computer interaction (HCI) is the study and the design of interaction between people and computers.

• 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. [http://sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html (Hewett et al., 2004).

• Design methodologies in HCI aim to create user interfaces that are usable, i.e. that can be operated with ease and efficiency. However, an even more basic requirement is cognitive usability, ie. that the user interface be useful allowing the user to complete relevant tasks within a task environment.

Design methodologies

Analysis

• e.g. Ethnography

Design

• User-centered designs (UCD), e.g. participatory design

A typical HCI related design tasks/elements

1. User needs analysis
   • Define the analysis framework and methodology
   • Define contents and concepts
   • Acquire and categorize mental representations
2. Define the interface "language"
3. Prototype creation
4. Usability and cognitive ergonomics testing

Interaction design

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Interaction design principles

Ladly outlines some guidelines in designing interactions:

• Visibility - knowing the stat of an object and the choices available
• Feedback - timely, in an appropriate mode (aural, visual, etc.), yet not distracting from task
• Affordance - use object whose actual properties are in accordance with its perceived properties (e.g. an icon depicting a switch should turn something on or off)
• Mapping - make use of the relationship between objects and their environment (e.g. placing a menu bar at the top of an application window)
• Constraints - limit the possible interactions physically, semantically (context-related meaning), logically, or culturally (learned conventions)
• Habituation - the use of the system should become internalized to the point that the user only thinks of the task, not the system

A cognitive interactive interface should invoke and respond to only one action from the user. (Ladly, 2004)

Links

• Interaction-design.org Encyclopedia Contains some good introductory articles regarding various HCI domains. Good place to start.
• Wikipedia: Human computer interaction
• HCI Bibliography 'Lots of pointers (e.g. an index of 34000 articles, pointers to introductory books, some on-line texts)

References

• Hewett, Baecker, Card, Carey, Gasen, Mantei, Perlman, Strong and Verplank (2004). ACM SIGCHI Curricula for Human-Computer Interaction, Chapter 2: Human-Computer Interaction HTML - retrieved 17:47, 9 June 2006 (MEST).

• Paul Dourish, Implications for Design, CHI 2006 paper, PDF

• Martha Ladly, (2004) Interaction Design Workshop: Part One workshop presentation at [www.banffcentre.ca/bnmi/ Banff New Media Institute] (audio presentation PDF