Lecture 22

Chapter 12 - Human-Computer Interaction

• A key design activity is to design the user interface
• Human-computer interaction (HCI) - the study of
end users and their interaction with computers
• For every input and output the developer must consider the
interaction between the user and the computer
• Because the interaction is much like a dialog between the user and
the computer, user-interface design is often referred to as dialog
design
• The field of human computer interaction investigates
how people use computer systems, so that better
systems can be designed
• One aspect is concerned with technological innovation (e.g. better
input devices, like electronic pen etc.)
• The other aspect is concerned with the human element (e.g. how
people reason, solve problems and interact with computers) – the
most challenging aspect of HCI!
 The User Interface
• Many people think of the user interface as a
component added to the system near the end of the
development process
• This view is changing as user interfaces become
more important and systems become more
interactive
• To the end user, the user interface is the system
– The user interface is everything the end user comes into
contact with while using the system – physically,
perceptually, and conceptually
• Therefore, consideration of the user interface
should come early in the development process
 Physical Aspects of the User Interface

• Physical aspects of the user interface include the

devices the user actually touches, including the
keyboard, mouse, touch screen, keypad
• Other physical parts include reference manuals,
printed documents, data-entry forms, etc. that the
end user works with completing tasks at a
computer
• The desk space, the lighting, and the terminal
hardware also make up the physical interface for
the end user
 Perceptual Aspects of the User Interface

• Perceptual aspects of the user interface include

everything the end user sees, hears, or touches
(beyond the physical devices)
• This includes
– All the data and instructions displayed on the screen,
including shapes, lines, numbers and words, sounds
(like beeps etc.)
– Recently, computer-generated speech is another aspect
– The user “touches” objects such as menus, dialog
boxes, and buttons on the screen using a mouse
– The user touches objects such as documents, drawings,
or records of transactions
 Conceptual Aspects of the User Interface

• Conceptual aspects of the user interface include

everything the user knows about using the system
including the problem domain “things” in the
system the user is manipulating, the operations
that can be performed and the procedures followed
• To use the system, the end user must know all
these details
• User’s model (of the system)
– What the user knows about using the system, including
the problem domain”things” the user is manipulating,
the operations that can be performed and the
procedures followed when carrying out tasks
• Designer’s model (of the system)
– How the designer sees and understands the system

• Problems with user interfaces can be considered as

resulting from “mismatches” between the user’s
model of the system and the designer’s model

• Leads to attempt to study how user’s view systems

and how designer’s view systems – can be a big
gap!
 User’s Model (continued)

• Much of the user’s model is a logical model of the

system
• A logical model can be detailed so a user must
know quite a few details to operate the system
• A user’s knowledge of the requirements for the
system becomes the determinant of what the
system is, and if the user’s knowledge of the
system is part of the interface, then the user
interface must be much more than something
added at the end
 User-Centered Design
• A collection of techniques that place the user at
the center of the development process
• Treat users as “consultants” in the design process
• Three important principles
– Focus early on the users and their work
– Evaluate designs to ensure usability
– Use iterative development
• Note that in user-centered design design and
evaluation (testing of the design with end users)
are considered together
– Iterate and evaluate until a satisfactory result is
obtained (from the perspective of the end user)
 Notes on User-Centered Design

• The early focus on users and their work is

consistent with the approach to systems analysis
which emphasizes the importance of
understanding and identifying the system users
and their requirements
• In contrast, the traditional approach focuses more
on the requirements from the business point of
view – what needs to be done from a processing
perspective rather than a user perspective
• The object-oriented approach focuses more on
users and their work
– With focus on use cases, actors, scenarios etc.
– Tend to be more interactive systems
 Notes on User-Centered Design (cont.)

• As discussed in ch. 7 the automation boundary

between the user and computer is defined early
• User-centered design goes much further in
attempting to understand users
– What do they know?
– How do they prefer to work?
– What motivates them?
• Very important questions when trying to add
technology to complex areas, eg. Health care
information systems
 Principles of User-Centered Design
Continued
• Second principle of user-centered design
– To evaluate designs to ensure usability
– Usability refers to the degree to which a system is easy
to learn and use
– Ensuring usability is not easy
• There are many different types of users with different
preferences and skills to accommodate to
• If the system is too flexible, some users may feel lost
• If the system is too rigid some users will be frustrated
• Usability engineering
– Principled methods for ensuring usability
– Involves continual testing of prototypes with end users –
e.g. video analysis of end user interactions
– A very hot area currently
 Design and Evaluation Considered Together
• In past, traditionally considered as separate topics. In
recent years it is becoming recognized that interactive
systems require iterative design
• Promising approach for design of many systems (and
user interfaces in particular)
– Iterate and evaluate until a satisfactory result is obtained
• Design principles can assist but do not help structure the
process of design
• Need new design methodologies
– Rapid prototyping
– User-centered design
– Use of methods that go beyond to include continual usability
testing with representative users doing representative tasks
 Usability continued

• Usability – ease of use and learning

• These concepts are often in conflict
– An interface that is easy to learn is not always easy to
use
– Eg. Menu-based applications with multiple forms and
dialog boxes etc. are easy to learn
– Easy to learn interfaces are appropriate for systems
used infrequently
– But if system used all day by office-workers important
to make interface fast and flexible with shortcuts, hot
keys and information-intensive screens (may be harder
to learn but easier to use once learned)
 Testing for Usability

• Developers use many techniques to evaluate

interface designs to ensure usability
• Some methods
– Formal surveys
– Focus group meetings
– Design walkthroughs
– Paper and pencil evaluations
– Expert evaluations
– Formal laboratory experiments
– Informal observation
• Some methods allow collection of objective data
that can be analyzed statistically
 Example – video-based usability testing

• Method I’m using – video record subjects

(representative users of systems, e.g. doctors,
nurses) as they interact with a system and “think-
aloud”
• Record all screens on video
• Can code the video to identify problems users
have and suggestions for improvement
• Can statistically compare alternative designs
• Can provide feedback to designers to improve
design
 Usability continued

• Third principle of user-centered design

– Use iterative development – doing some analysis, then
some design then some implementation (and repeat)
• cycling through with some analysis (evaluation of the design)
then some feedback to designers and improvements, followed
by further evaluation etc.
– After each iteration the project team evaluates the work
on the system and makes changes if needed
– Iterative development keeps the focus on the user by
continually refining the system after each iteration
 Human-Computer Interaction as a Field of
Study
• User-interface design techniques and HCI as a
field of study evolved from studies of human
interaction with machines in general – human
factors engineering or ergonomics
• Formal study of human factors began in World
War II, when aerospace engineers studied the
effects of arranging controls in cockpit
• What the pilot does is the “human factor” that
engineers realized was beyond their control
• Example of the importance of the human factor
involving a minor change
– Designers switched location of the throttle and the release
handle for the ejection seat
– The result was a dramatic increase in the number of
unexplained pilot ejections!
– When under pressure, the pilots grabbed what they thought
was the throttle and ejected from the plane
– Designers dismissed the problem as need for better traning
– But problem continued!
– Became apparent that the key to the “human factor” was to
change the machine to accommodate the human rather then
trying to change the human to accommodate the machine
• Computer example in avionics – early Airbus accidents
– Too much control taken over by the computer system
 Emergence of the field of Human-Computer
Interaction
• The field of human factors was associated with
engineering, since engineers designed machines
• But engineers often found human factors frustrating
(different personality types)
• Gradually specialists emerged who drew on many
disciplines to understand people and their behavior
• Disciplines drawn on for HCI
– Cognitive psychology
– Computer science
– Social psychology
– Linguistics
– Sociology
– anthropology
 Example – Impact of HCI work from Xerox
PARC on computers
• In the 1970’s an important contribution to the field
of HCI began at Xerox Corporation
• Xerox produced high-speed photocopy machines
with ever increasing options
• Recognized the importance of making these
machines easy to use and learn
• Xerox hired people with many backgrounds – e.g.
computers, psychology, anthropology etc.
• Xerox started the Xerox Palo Alto Research
Centre (Xerox PARC) to study issues that affect
how humans operate machines
• Xerox began offering photocopy machines with
– Touch screens
– Menu-driven interfaces displaying icons like stacks of
paper, staples etc.
• Research at Xerox PARC also included work on
computers
– First object-oriented language, Smalltalk was
developed by Alan Kay at PARC
– First laser printer
– Basis of portable computing worked out at PARC as
well
• Kay developed a portable personal computing platform
(Dynabook)
– Key aspects of GUI (graphical user interfaces) also
worked out at Xerox PARC
• In late 70’s Xerox developed the first general-
purpose personal computer with a graphical user
interface – the Xerox Star
– Although it was ahead of its time and too expensive it
is a landmark in computing
– Key features of it were exploited in the early 1980’s by
Apple Computers (which was located physically next to
Xerox PARC in Silicon Valley)
– The features from the Star became part of the Apple
Lisa, which led to the Apple Macintosh
– The story doesn’t end there! – the Microsoft Windows
graphical user interface essentially evolved from the
Apple Macintosh interface (initially was a legal battle
between Apple and Microsoft over the rights)
 Field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

• The field of HCI has evolved

– Academic programs in it (through Computer Science and
Psychology programs and departments)
• Undergraduate and graduate programs
– Major conferences, journals and books
– In industry it is beginning to have a major impact
• Usability laboratories
– Eg. Hewlitt-Packard, Microsoft, Apple, American Airlines etc.
– Hire multidisciplinary staff
» Computer scientists
» Psychologists
» Graphics designers
» Ethnographers
 Metaphors for Human-Computer Interaction

• The term metaphor describes the overall “concept” you

may use to organize all the objects and actions in an
interface into a coherent whole
• Three major metaphors, or analogies in HCI
– Direct manipulation metaphor
– Desktop metaphor
– Document metaphor
• Direct manipulation metaphor
• A metaphor of HCI in which the user interacts directly with objects on
the display screen
• Objects are made visible so the user can point at them and manipulate
them with the mouse or arrow keys
• Earliest direct manipulation interfaces were word processors that let
users type in words directly into a document – in a spreadsheet (which
on the screen was conceptually similar to a paper spreadsheet)
 Direct Manipulation Metaphor (cont.)

• Early direct manipulation applications that run

using DOS (e.g. spreadsheets, word processors)
led to popularity of personal computers
• Smalltalk language developed at Xerox PARC
extended direct manipulation to all objects on the
screen
– Buttons
– Check boxes
– Scroll bars
– Slider controls
– New icons appeared – eg. Trash cans, which allowed
you to directly manipulate an object – put it in the trash
 Desktop Metaphor

• Direct manipulation coupled with object-oriented

programming eventually evolved into the desktop
metaphor
– The display screen includes an arrangement of common
desktop objects
• Notepad, a calendar, a calculator, file folders containing
documents
• Newer ones also include a telephone, an answering machine, a
CD player
• Interacting with these objects is similar to interacting with
real-world objects they represent