TME3423/TMI3053/TMS3843/TMT3683

Human Computer Interaction

Unit 1: Foundation of HCI

Introduction to HCI
HCI, ID, Usability and UX
The importance of HCI
Agenda
 Introduction to HCI
 HCI, ID, Usability and UX
 The importance of HCI
 Types of user interfaces
 Considerations

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 Introduction to HCI
Human
Computer
Interaction

Image credit: https://image.slidesharecdn.com/hci-150531210927-lva1-app6892/95/hci-basics-2-638.jpg?cb=1433168543 3

Introduction to HCI
 HCI’s original home is computer science, and
remains a principal area in CS, but HCI has
expanded and diversified to include other fields.
 Multidisciplinary fields of computer science,
cognitive science, and human factors engineering

 HCI’s original focus was on personal productivity

applications, due to the emergence of personal
computers in the early 1980s
 E.g. word processors, text editors, spreadsheets

 HCI emerged as more people wanted convenient

ways of interacting with computers

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Introduction to HCI
 HCI then and now

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HCI, ID, Usability and UX
 Today, the terms HCI, Interaction Design (ID) and User
Experience (UX) are often used interchangeably, but they
are NOT the same
 the difference between HCI and ID is the scope – HCI has narrower
scope
HCI ID UX
Concerns with design, Concerns with the How a user feels when
evaluation, and theory, research and interfacing with a
implementation of practice of designing product
interactive computing user experiences for all
systems for human use manner of technologies,
(ACM SIGCHI, 1992, p. systems, and products
6)

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HCI, ID, Usability and UX
 User experience (UX) is how a user feels
when interfacing with a product
 Pleasure and satisfaction
 When using it, looking at it, holding it, opening/closing it

 Every product that is used by a user has UX

 Newspapers
 Sauce bottles
 Reclining chairs
 Clothes
 Software, computer systems, smart devices, IoT

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HCI, ID, Usability and UX
 Usability refers to the product’s ease of learning and using
 Usability replaced the term “user-friendly” in the early 1990s

 A usable product is easy to learn, effective to use, and provides

an enjoyable UX

 HCI’s big focus used to be on usability, but has shifted to UX

today

 The terms usability and UX are sometimes used interchangeably

but they are NOT the same – usability is a part of UX

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HCI, ID, Usability and UX
 The core philosophy of HCI is to provide safe, usable and
efficient computing systems to everyone

 Using HCI/ID, usable systems (products) with quality UX

can be produced

 Examples of computing products with quality UX:

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The importance of HCI
 Poorly designed interfaces and interaction could lead to users
having difficulties with computer systems

 A computing product may be state-of-the-art and high end, but

if it is not usable and does not provide good UX, it is not
effective and will not be able to help those it is intended for

 If a product is not usable, and/or causes frustrations (or any of

the effects discussed), no person will use the product by
choice; as a result, the product may be rejected or abandoned,
and sales/downloads can be affected

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The importance of HCI

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The importance of HCI
 Effects of poorly designed UI – user frustration and
dissatisfaction
 Verbally and physically abusive – swearing, shouting, being violent
 Stress and frustration levels towards technology
 Computer/Internet rage
 Abandoning/stop using the product

Activity: Can you think of a system/mobile app

that frustrate you to the point you stopped using
it?

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The importance of HCI
 Effects of poorly designed UI – loss of productivity,
efficiency and money
 Users are less productive when they are frustrated with their
computer systems.
 Efficiency is compromised as more time and resources are spent in
order to complete a task.
 More money is spent to pay overtime, compensation, etc.

Activity: Is there a software that was difficult to

use that it delayed your work/productivity?

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The importance of HCI
 Effects of poorly designed UI – safety issue
 Human or environmental safety
 Both the computer system users and general public can be
affected
 Poor user interface pose danger to safety critical systems such as
aircraft system, air traffic control systems, nuclear power plants,
medical devices, etc. (E.g. No error recovery button/switch on
the interface)

Further reading: Three Miles Island Nuclear Power

Plant Disaster, United States (refer attached PDF)

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The importance of HCI
 Effects of poorly designed UI – small irritations
 Less disastrous but still problematic
 May lead to frustrations
 Think of small irritations/annoyances example when using your
personal computer/smartphone or a software

Activity: Have you ever felt irritated when using a

system/mobile app? Why?

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Summary
Introduction to HCI, ID, The Types of user Considerations
HCI Usability and importance of interfaces
UX HCI
Definition Relationship Why do we Available Designing for
Brief history between HCI, need to design interfaces for users with
ID, Usability computing the past 40 considerations
and UX systems with years of their
HCI attributes

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