Chapter 1

Introduction
Humancomputer interaction (HCI), alternatively
manmachine interaction (MMI) or computer
human interaction (CHI) is the study of interaction
between people (users) and computers.
Intro
What is a user interface?
Why do we care about design?




We see this all the time.
Whats good about the design of this error box?
The user knows there is an error
Whats poor about the design of this error box?
Discouraging
Not enough information
No way to resolve the problem (instructions or contact info)
What is Human Computer Interaction
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



Human-computer interaction

Human-computing interaction (HCI)
concerns the study of the design, evaluation,
and implementation of the interfaces between
computing devices and people

HCI also often refers to the interaction itself

HCI has three components: the human, the
interaction, and the computer

Human
Humans are limited in their capacity to process information.
This has important implications for Design
Information is received and responses given via a number of
input and output channels:
Visual Channel
Auditory Channel
Haptic Channel
Movement
Information is stored in memory:
Sensory Memory
Working Memory
Long-Term Memory

Input/Output channels

Vision
Two stages in vision
physical reception of stimulus
processing and interpretation of stimulus

The physical apparatus: the eye
mechanism for receiving light and transforming it into
electrical energy
light reacts from objects; their images are focused
upside-down on retina
retina contains
rods for low light vision and cones for color vision
ganglion cells
detect pattern and movement

Hearing
Provides information about environment: distances,
directions, objects etc.
Physical apparatus:
outer ear | protects inner and amplifies sound
middle ear | transmits sound waves as vibrations to
inner ear
inner ear | chemical transmitters are released and
cause impulses in auditory nerve
Sound
pitch | sound frequency
loudness | amplitude
timbre | type or quality
Hearing (cont)
Humans can hear frequencies from 20Hz to
15kHz

Auditory system filters sounds - can attend to
sounds over background noise.
Touch

Provides important feedback about environment.
May be key sense for someone who is visually
impaired.
Stimulus received via receptors in the skin:
thermoreceptors - heat and cold
nociceptors - pain
mechanoreceptors - pressure (some instant, some
continuous)
Some areas more sensitive than others e.g. fingers.

Movement

Time taken to respond to stimulus: reaction
time + movement time

Movement time - dependent on age, fitness
etc.

Reaction time - dependent on stimulus type:
auditory - 150 ms
visual - 200ms
pain - 700ms
Memory
There are three types of memory function.

Memory
Sensory memory
Three types:
iconic - visual stimuli
echoic - aural stimuli
haptic - touch stimuli
Constantly overwritten.
Information passes from sensory to STM
by attention.

Memory
Short-term memory (STM)
Scratch-pad for temporary recall
rapid access - 70ms
rapid decay - 200ms
calculate 35 x 6 in your head
limited capacity of memory
Short-term memory (STM)
chunking composite items
Recency effect - easier to remember items most
recently added to STM



Memory
Long-term memory (LTM)
Repository for all our knowledge
slow access - 1/10 second
slow decay, if any
huge or unlimited capacity
Two types
episodic events and experiences
semantic - structured memory of facts,
concepts, skills
Information in semantic LTM derived from episodic
LTM.
Long-term memory (cont.)
Semantic memory structure
provides access to information
represents relationships between bits of information
supports inference
Model: semantic network
inheritance - child nodes inherit properties of parent
nodes.
relationships between bits of information.
supports inference through inheritance.
Computer
There is not much difference in Human and
Computer
Computer consist of
Input Devices
Output Devices
Memory
Processing

Computer can be Mobile,Microwave Oven or VCRs
etc.

Input devices
There exist a wide
range of common
devices for achieving
input
Keyboard, mouse,
digitizer, microphone,


Advanced input devices
Some devices are not quite so
common
Touch screens, handwriting
recognition
Eye tracking (using infrared
sensors) and gesture tracking
(e.g. using magnetic sensors or
computer vision) are two
advances input systems

Display devices
Many common display devices
Monitors and VDUs, speakers, printers
Display devices are commonly separated into
Hard copy, which has physical permanence
Soft copy, which is transient and intangible
Advanced display devices being developed
continually
E-paper/E-ink
Retinal display
Analog and digital IO
Computers are machines that store and process
digital information
Humans are organisms that send and receive
information in a continuously varying analog
format
Any input device must convert from human
analog information to computerized digital
information
Similarly, display devices must convert from digital to
analog information
Explicit and implicit input
Most conventional computer systems rely
primarily on explicit input
For example typed into a keyboard or spoken into a
microphone
Increasingly context-aware systems (e.g.
location-based services) make use of implicit
input
For example, a user arriving at a bus stop is
interpreted as a implicit input
Interaction
HCI is concerned with joint performance of Task by
Human & Computer
Communication between The User and The System

Physical Interaction
Interaction Devices
Conceptual Interaction
Interaction Styles

Human-computer interaction
HCI tackles questions concerning how people
interact with computers
Are computers intuitive or complicated?
Are computers rewarding or frustrating?
How can computers be made accessible to everybody
(eg different physical abilities, different languages
etc.)?
To what extent can computer interaction be
standardized?
Are computers user-friendly?
What does it mean to be user-friendly?
Human-computer interaction
A basic goal of HCI is
to improve the interactions between users and computers
by making computers more usable and receptive to the user's
needs.
A long term goal of HCI is
to design systems that minimize the barrier between the human's
cognitive model of what they want
to accomplish and the computer's understanding of the user's task
Goals
Goals
The main goal of HCI is Usability
It is a measure of the effectiveness, efficiency and
satisfaction with which specified user can achieve
specified goals in a particular environment
Specifically, HCI is concerned with:
1. Methodologies and processes for designing interfaces
2. Methods for implementing interfaces
3. Developing new interfaces and interaction techniques
4. Developing descriptive and predictive models and
theories of interaction


Goals
A usable System is:
Easy to Learn
Easy to Remember how to Use
Effective to Use
Efficient to Use
Safe to Use
Enjoyable To Use
Defining the User Interface

User interface, design is a subset of a field of study
called human-computer interaction (HCI).
Human-computer interaction is the study, planning, and
design of how people and computers work together so
that a person's needs are satisfied in the most effective
way.
.

Defining the User Interface

HCI designers must consider a variety of factors:
what people want and expect, physical limitations and
abilities people possess,
how information processing systems work,
what people find enjoyable and attractive.
Technical characteristics and limitations of the computer
hardware and software must also be considered.
The user interface is
the part of a computer and its software that people can
see, hear, touch, talk to, or otherwise understand or
direct.
The user interface has essentially two components: input
and output.
Input is how a person communicates his / her needs to the
computer.
Some common input components are the keyboard,
mouse, trackball, one's finger, and one's voice.
Output is how the computer conveys the results of its
computations and requirements to the user.
Today, the most common computer output mechanism is the display
screen, followed by mechanisms that take advantage of a person's
auditory capabilities: voice and sound.

The use of the human senses of smell and touch output in
interface design still remain largely unexplored.

Proper interface design will provide a mix of well-designed
input and output mechanisms that satisfy the user's needs,
capabilities, and limitations in the most effective way
possible.

The best interface is one that it not noticed, one that
permits the user to focus on the information and task at
hand, not the mechanisms used to present the information
and perform the task.


User Interfaces

The human computer interface (HCI) is what allows the
user to communicate with the computer and is often
called simply the user interface.

The three main types of user interface are;

Command-driven
Menu-driven
Graphical or GUI.


Command-driven user interfaces
To use a command-driven system to communicate with the
computer, the user has to type in special command words.

Disk Operating System, or DOS is an example.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\JE\My Documents\ICT\ User
Interfaces.ppt


Advantages and Disadvantages of
Command driven.
Disadvantages:
Difficult if you dont know command.
Command-driven systems can be very unfriendly and
confusing.

Advantages:
They can be quick to use as long as the user knows
the correct commands.
Menu-driven user interfaces
Menu-driven systems offer the user lists of options which they can select by
pressing a particular key on the keyboard.
F1 Load new program
F2 Run program
F3 List files on disc
F4 Backup options
ESC Quit
Main Menu
Backup Options
F2 Make backup copy
F3 Main Menu
F1 Restore a file
F2 Pressed
Make Backup Copy
Enter name of file
fred.txt
Select drive
A C
OK
F4 Pressed
CANCEL



The main advantage of menu-driven systems is that
they are easy to use.

The main disadvantage of menu-driven systems is
getting to one particular option can often involve
working through many different menu screens.

Advantages and Disadvantages.

Graphical user interfaces GUI
The most widely used type of graphical user interfaces
are WIMP systems.

WIMP stands for Windows Icons Menu Pointer. Options are
represented by small pictures or 'icons' arranged inside
rectangular boxes called windows.


Advantages and Disadvantages of GUIs
Advantages:
They are very easy to use, especially for a beginner.

Disadvantage:
Require a lot of RAM
Take up a lot of hard disc space.


User interface design
A good user interface should be user-friendly
Consistency in operation, screen layout etc.
Colors should be chosen carefully e.g. that are easy to
see
Sound can be used to do things such as alerting the user
to problems but it should also be possible to turn it off
On-line help is often a useful feature
The Importance of the User Interface

A well-designed interface and screen is terribly important
to our users. It is their window to view the capabilities of
the system.

It is also the vehicle through which many critical tasks are
presented. These tasks often have a direct impact on an
organization's relations with its customers, and its
profitability.

A screen's layout and appearance affect a person in a
variety of ways. If they are confusing and inefficient,
people will have greater difficulty in doing their jobs and
will make more mistakes.

Poor design may even chase some people away from a
system permanently. It can also lead to aggravation,
frustration, and increased stress.

Systems Engineering Goals

Achieve required performance by operator,
control and maintenance personnel
Minimize skill and personnel requirements and
training time
Achieve required reliability of personnel-
equipment combinations
Foster design standardization within and among
systems

Systems Engineering Goals

Proper functionality
Reliability
Availability
Security
Data Integrity
Standardization
Integration
Consistency
Portability
User-Interface Design Goals

Time to learn
Speed of performance
Rate of user errors
Retention over time
Subjective satisfaction

Motivation for Human Factors in Design
Life-critical systems

Air traffic control, nuclear reactor operations, power utility
control, space stations, police-fire dispatch, military
command operations, medical instrument control, etc.

Industrial and Commercial applications

Banking, insurance, order entry, inventory management,
airline and hotel reservation, car rental, utility billing,
credit card systems, point of sales systems, etc.

Motivation for Human Factors in Design
Office, home and entertainment applications

Personal computing applications, games, educational
packages, information retrieval, e-mail, conferencing,
accounting applications, etc.

Exploratory, creative and cooperative systems

Distributed web databases, collaborative writing,
statistical hypothesis formation, business decision
making, etc.