1.

Introduction to HCI

1. Introduction to HCI
What is Human-Computer
Interaction (HCI)?
 The study of how people interact with
computers and to what extent computers are
or are not developed for successful
interaction with human beings
 A significant number of major corporations
and academic institutions now study HCI

1. Introduction to HCI
What is Human-Computer
Interaction (HCI)?
 HCI consists of three parts:
 the user
 the computer itself
 the ways they work together – the interaction

1. Introduction to HCI
Goals of HCI
 understand the factors that determine how
people use technology
 develop tools and techniques to enable
building suitable systems
 achieve efficient, effective, and safe
interaction
 put people first

1. Introduction to HCI
 Systems Analysis and
Design, 8th Ed., Kendall
and Kendall

1. Introduction to HCI
What is Interaction Design
(IxD)?
 designing interactive products to support
people in their everyday and working lives
 it is about creating user experiences that
enhance and extend the way people work,
communicate and interact

1. Introduction to HCI
Usability goals
 all about finding out what works in the world
and what doesn’t (www.useit.com)
 A usable system is:
 effective to use (effectiveness)
 efficient to use (efficiency)
 safe to use (safety)
 have good utility (utility)
 easy to learn (learnability)
 easy to remember how to use (memorability)
1. Introduction to HCI
 Effectiveness is a very general goal and
refers to how good a system is at doing what
it is supposed to do
 Efficiency refers to the way a system
supports users in carrying out their tasks
 Safety involves protecting the user from
dangerous conditions and undesirable
situations

1. Introduction to HCI
 Utility refers to the extent to which the
system provides the right kind of functionality
so that users can do what they need or want
to do
 Learnability refers to how easy a system is
to learn to use
 Memorability refers to how easy a system is
to remember how to use, once learned.

1. Introduction to HCI
Why is usability important?
 Many everyday systems and products seem
to be designed with little regard to usability.
 This list contains examples of interactive
products:
 mobile phone, computer, personal organizer,
remote control, soft drink machine, coffee
machine, ATM, ticket machine, library information
system, the web, photocopier, watch, printer,
stereo, calculator, videogame etc….

1. Introduction to HCI
Why is usability important?
 How many interactive products are actually easy,
effortless, and enjoyable to use?
 For example, a photocopier might have buttons
like these on its control panel:

1. Introduction to HCI
1. Introduction to HCI
Activity 1
 How does making a phone call differ when
using:
 a public phone box
 a cell phone?
 How have these devices been designed to
take into account (a) the kind of users, (b)
type of activity being supported, and (c)
context of use?

1. Introduction to HCI
Answers to Activity 1 (a)
 Public phones
 designed to be used by the general public
 many have Braille embossed on the keys and
speaker volume control to enable people who are
blind and hard of hearing to use them
 Cell phones
 intended for all user groups, although they can be
difficult to use for people who are blind or have
limited manual dexterity

1. Introduction to HCI
Answers to Activity 1 (b)
 Most phone boxes
 designed with a simple mode of interaction: insert
card or money and key in the phone number
 Cell phones
 more complex mode of interaction
 How can users save phone numbers in an
address book?

1. Introduction to HCI
Answers to Activity 1 (c)
 Phone boxes
 intended to be used in public places
 designed to give the user a degree of privacy and
noise protection through the use of hoods and booths
 Cell phones
 designed to be used any place and any time
 however, little consideration has been given to how
such flexibility affects others who may be in the same
public place (e.g., sitting on trains and buses).

1. Introduction to HCI
Factors affecting usability

 format of input
 style of feedback
 visibility
 affordance

1. Introduction to HCI
Visibility and Affordance
 Visibility is the mapping between a control
and its effect
 Affordance of an object is the sort of
operations and manipulations that can be
done to it
 The important factor for design is perceived
affordance – what a person thinks can be
done with an object

1. Introduction to HCI
 Systems Analysis and
Design, 8th Ed., Kendall
and Kendall

1. Introduction to HCI
 User experience goals
As well as focusing primarily on improving efficiency
and productivity at work, interaction design is
increasingly concerning itself with creating systems
that are:
 satisfying  aesthetically pleasing
 enjoyable  supportive of
 fun creativity
 entertaining  rewarding
 helpful  emotionally fulfilling
 motivating 1. Introduction to HCI
1. Introduction to HCI
Activity 2
 Below are a number of proposed interactive
products. What do you think are the key
usability goals and user experience goals for
each of them?
 a mobile device that allows young children to
communicate with each other and play
collaborative games
 a video and computer conferencing system that
allows students to learn at home
1. Introduction to HCI
Answer to Activity 2, bullet 1
 Such a collaborative device should be
 Easy to use
 Effective
 Efficient
 Easy to learn and use
 Fun and
 Entertaining

1. Introduction to HCI
Answer to Activity 2, bullet 2
 Such a learning device should be
 Easy to learn
 Easy to use
 Effective
 Motivating and
 Rewarding

1. Introduction to HCI
HCI Practice

 understand (analyze), design, evaluate and

1. Introduction to HCI
Evolution of HCI
 Human factors engineering (Frank Gilbreth,
post World War 1) Aircraft cockpits (World
War 2) – emphasis switched to perceptual
and decision making capabilities
 Symbiosis (J.C.R. Licklider, 1960’s)
 Cognitive psychology (Donald Norman and
many others, late 1970’s, early 1980’s)
 Development of GUI interface (Xerox, Apple,
early 1980’s)
1. Introduction to HCI
 Field of HCI came into being (mid 1980’s) – key
principles of User Centred Design and Direct
Manipulation emerged.
 Development of software design tools (e.g
Visual Basic, late 1980’s, early 1990’s)
 Usability engineering (Jakob Neilsen, 1990’s) -
mainly in industry rather than academic
research.
 Web usability (late 1990’s) – the main focus of
HCI research today.
1. Introduction to HCI
Factors
Should be considered in the analysis and design of a system using
HCI principles

1. Introduction to HCI
The relationship between IxD,
HCI and other approaches

1. Introduction to HCI
Disciplines

 Computer Science
 Cognitive Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Ergonomics/Human Factors
 Linguistics
 Artificial Intelligence
 Philosophy, Sociology & Anthropology
 Engineering & Design
1. Introduction to HCI
Computer Science

 technology
 software design, development &
maintenance
 UIMS & UIDEs
 prototyping tools
 graphics

1. Introduction to HCI
Cognitive Psychology

 information processing
 capabilities
 limitations
 cooperative working
 performance prediction

1. Introduction to HCI
Other Disciplines

 social & organizational structures

1. Introduction to HCI
Working together as a
multidisciplinary team
 Bringing together so many people with
different backgrounds and training has meant
 many more ideas being generated
 new methods being developed
 more creative and original designs being
produced

1. Introduction to HCI
 Downside:
 The more people there are with different backgrounds
in a design team, the more difficult it can be to
communicate and progress forward the designs being
generated
 Why?
 People with different backgrounds have different
perspectives and ways of seeing and talking about the
world
 What one person values as important others may not
even see

1. Introduction to HCI
1. Introduction to HCI
What this means in practice
 confusion, misunderstanding, and
communication breakdowns can often
surface in a team
 The various team members may have
different ways of talking about design and
may use the same terms to mean quite
different things
 Other problems can arise when a group of
people is "thrown" together who have not
worked as a team
1. Introduction to HCI
Activity 3
 In practice, the makeup of a given design
team depends on the kind of interactive
product being built. Who do you think would
need to be involved in developing:
 a public kiosk providing information about the
exhibits available in a science museum?
 an interactive educational website to accompany
a TV series?

1. Introduction to HCI
Answer to Activity 3, bullet 1
 graphic and interaction designers, museum
curators, educational advisors, software
engineers, software designers, usability
engineers, ergonomists

1. Introduction to HCI
Answer to Activity 3, bullet 2
 TV producers, graphic and interaction
designers, teachers, video experts, software
engineers, software designers, usability
engineers

1. Introduction to HCI
Who else will be involved in
both systems?
 Since both systems are being developed for
use by the general public, representative
users, such as school children and
parents, should be involved

1. Introduction to HCI