What is a User Interface, again? A Survey of Definitions of User Interface: Our shared and implicit understanding of the concept of User Interface
Article No.: 2, Pages 1 - 7
Abstract
A central object of study in Human-Computer Interaction is the User Interface (UI). The number of websites, papers, books, videos, and articles that attempt to explain the concept, attests this. In this study a collection of definitions of User Interface was assembled and classified seeking to identify parallels. Several queries were used in Google, Bing, digital libraries, and other sources. With more than 130 entries collected, we found that most of them concentrate in the elements of physical-sensorial contact between humans and artifacts. We called them thin definitions because they overlook elements of processing in the side of the computer, and perception, thinking, and understanding in the human side. Thick definitions, that dig deeper into the concept, considering human and machine capabilities as part of the UI, are less numerous but important to study, advance, and promote. We will argue for the need of a new definition and propose one.
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- What is a User Interface, again? A Survey of Definitions of User Interface: Our shared and implicit understanding of the concept of User Interface
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Published In
November 2022
52 pages
ISBN:9781450399043
DOI:10.1145/3565494
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Published: 26 December 2022
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MexIHC '22
MexIHC '22: Mexican International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
November 16 - 18, 2022
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