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Chapter one

FOUNDATIONS OF HCI

The Human: I/O channels - Memory - Reasoning and problem solving; The computer:
Devices - Memory - processing and networks; Interaction: Models - Frameworks -
Ergonomics - Styles - Elements - Interactivity - Paradigms.

Introduction

In the past, computers were expensive & used by technical people only. Now, computers
are cheap and used by non-technical people (different backgrounds, needs, knowledge,
skills). Therefore, Computer and software manufacturers have noticed the importance of
HMI.

Definition of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

 Human-computer interaction (commonly referred to as HCI) researches the design

and use of computer technology, focused on the interfaces between people (users)
and computers.
 Researchers in the field of HCI both observe the ways in which humans interact
with computers and design technologies that let humans interact with computers
in novel ways.
 HCI is the study of relationships between human and computers/computer
mediated information. HCI has three components: the human, the interaction, and
the computer
 The term HCI was adopted in mid-1980s: Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM): “discipline concerned with the design, evaluation & implementation of
interactive computer systems for human use & with the study of major phenomena
surrounding them”.
 Dix: “HCI is study of people, computer technology and the ways these influence
each other. We study HCI to determine how we can make this computer
technology more usable by people”.

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 Carroll: “HCI is the study and practice of usability. It is about understanding
and creating software and other technology that people will want to use, will be
able to use, and will find effective when used.”
 As noted, HCI is both an academic discipline studying the way technology impacts
human activity and also a design discipline aimed at designing that technology for
maximum effectiveness. It draws on many results from other disciplines such as
psychology and sociology, but also has its own methods and techniques.

Usability

Usability is one of the core issues in HCI. There are various definitions, most notably in
ISO 9241 11 it is defined as: “The extent to which a product can be used by specified
users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a
specified context of use.”

The key terms in this definition are:

 Effectiveness–Can the user achieve their goals with accuracy?

 Efficiency –Can this be achieved with minimal resources: time, physical, and
mental effort?
 Satisfaction–Do users feel comfortable or happy in doing this?

For many years satisfaction has been largely ignored, but more recently affective issues
such as motivation, trust, enjoyment, and engagement have become increasingly
important. The concept of usability is quite broad. At the lowest level there is the visual
layout of information and controls on a screen or on a physical appliance and their
immediate behavior.

At a higher level one also has to take into account the whole social and organizational
context: the people who will use the system being designed, their beliefs and values, the
purpose and constraints of the design.

Historical background

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is an area of research and practice that emerged in
the late 1970s and early 1980s, initially as an area in Computer Science. HCI has

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expanded rapidly and steadily for three decades, attracting professionals from many other
disciplines and incorporating diverse concepts and approaches.

1970s- The rise of the Personal Computer

The broad project of cognitive science, which incorporated cognitive psychology, artificial
intelligence, linguistics, cognitive anthropology, and the philosophy of mind, had formed
at the end of the 1970s.

1980s- Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Graphical User Interface (GUI) is the interface that is designed for the easier
understanding of the users of the computers. Before GUI, there was a command prompt
by which command was given to the computers.

GUI started the graphical interface which is easy to use, understand, visualize, and it
improved the working environment.

1990s- The Internet and Collaborative works

The Internet started journey in 1990s. So, communications among people became easier.
In the consequence of this, many new technologies arrived for better communication.

2000s- Mobile Computing and Beyond

Mobile phones, PDA (Personal Development Assistance), and Smart Phones are ruling
the present world. They offer a wide range of services to the people such as SMS, MMS,
multimedia, games, email, internet, chatting, video conference, GPS etc. Now days the
HCI is used in the area of Cognitive Science. With the help of the Internet, medical
facilities can be provided remotely. Different interactive interfaces are designed those can
be used for the cognitive rehabilitations.

User

By "user", we may mean an individual user, a group of users working together. An

appreciation of the way people's sensory systems (sight, hearing, touch) relay information
is vital. Also, different users form different conceptions or mental models about their

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interactions and have different ways of learning and keeping knowledge and. In addition,
cultural and national differences play a part.

Computer

When we talk about the computer, we're referring to any technology ranging from desktop
computers, to large scale computer systems. For example, if we were discussing the
design of a Website, then the Website itself would be referred to as "the computer".
Devices such as mobile phones or VCRs can also be considered to be ―computers.

Interaction

There are obvious differences between humans and machines. In spite of these, HCI
attempts to ensure that they both get on with each other and interact successfully. In order
to achieve a usable system, you need to apply what you know about humans and
computers, and consult with likely users throughout the design process. In real systems,
the schedule and the budget are important, and it is vital to find a balance between what
would be ideal for the users and what is feasible in reality.

User interface:

Definition of the User Interface When users interact with a computer system, they do so
via a user interface (UI). The user interface is a component of a computer or its software
which can be visualized, heard, touched, interacted with, run and understood by the
common people or users of the computer. A computer system has the combination of
hardware and software components that receive input from, and communicate output to,
a user to support his or her performance of a task.

The two main elements of the user interface are:-

Input:

 In an interaction with a computer the user provides information to it.

 The data is received by the computer through input devices like keyboard, mouse,
trackball, a person's finger in case of touch-screens and person's voice in case of
oral commands.

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Output:

This deals with the processed information sent to the users as a result of their input.

The output is displayed in such a way that the users can view it with their eyes on the
display screen (monitor), they can hear from speakers through voice and sound.

They can even make a copy of the information provided to them with the help of printers.

Thus output shows how the computer responds to the users request with the help of its
output devices. Hence, the user's output becomes the computer's input and user's input
becomes computer output.

The Goals of HCI

The goals of HCI are to produce usable and safe systems, as well as functional systems.
In order to produce computer systems with good usability, developers must attempt to:

 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.

Underlying the whole theme of HCI is the belief that people using a computer system
should come first. Their needs, capabilities and preferences for conducting various
tasks should direct developers in the way that they design systems. People should not
have to change the way that they use a system in order to fit in with it. Instead, the
system should be designed to match their requirements.

Usability

Usability is one of the key concepts in HCI. It is concerned with making systems easy to
learn and use. A usable system is:

 easy to learn
 easy to remember how to use
 effective to use
 efficient to use
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 Safe to use
 enjoyable to use

Factors in HCI

There are a large number of factors which should be considered in the analysis and
design of a system using HCI principles. Many of these factors interact with each other,
making the analysis even more complex. The main factors are listed in the table below:
Organization Factors
 Training, job design, politics, roles, work organization
 Environmental Factors
 Noise, heating, lighting, ventilation
 Health and Safety Factors

The User

 Cognitive processes and capabilities

 Motivation, enjoyment, satisfaction, personality, experience
 Comfort Factors
 Seating, equipment, layout.

User Interface

 Input devices,
 output devices,
 dialogue structures,
 use of color,
 icons,
 commands,
 navigation,
 graphics,
 natural language,
 user support, multimedia,

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Task Factors: Easy, complex, novel, task allocation, monitoring, skills

Constraints: Cost, timescales, budgets, staff, equipment, buildings

System Functionality: Hardware, software, application

Productivity Factors: Increase output, increase quality, decrease costs, decrease

errors, increase innovation

Disciplines contributing to HCI

The field of HCI covers a wide range of topics, and its development has relied on
contributions from many disciplines. Some of the main disciplines which have contributed
to HCI are:

Computer Science

 technology
 software design, development & maintenance
 User Interface Management Systems (UIMS) & User Interface Development
Environments (UIDE)
 prototyping tools
 graphics

Cognitive Psychology

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

Social Psychology

 social & organizational structures

Ergonomics/Human Factors

 Hardware design

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 display readability

Linguistics

 natural language interfaces

Artificial Intelligence

 intelligent software Engineering & Design

 graphic design
 engineering principles