In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Week-II: Introduction of HCI-(Part II)

Human Computer Interaction

8th March 2021

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 Historical Perspective
 Second World War provided the momentum for studying the
interaction between humans and machines

 Traditionally, ergonomists have been concerned primarily with the

physical characteristics of machines and systems, and how these
affect user performance.

 Human Factors are concerned with user performance in the

context of any system, whether computer, mechanical or manual.

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 Historical Perspective
 During the technology explosion of 1970s when computer use started
becoming widespread, the notion of the user interface, also known as the
Man-Machine Interface (MMI), became a general concern to both system
designers and researchers.

 User interface refers to the elements of the system the user comes into
contact with, when interacting with the system.

 Computer companies realized that if they could improve the physical

aspects of the user interface, they would be successful in the market-
place

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 Historical Perspective
 In the mid-1980s, the term Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) was
adopted as a means of describing this.

 The term acknowledged that the focus was broader than just the
design of the user interface, and was concerned with all those
aspects that relate to the interaction between users and computers
 e.g. working practices, social interactions, user characteristics ,
training issues, health hazards, organizational issues , etc.

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What is HCI?
“A discipline concerned with the design, evaluation &
implementation of interactive computer systems for human use &
with the study of major phenomena surrounding them”
(ACM-1992)

“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 through people”
(Dix-1998)

“HCI is the study and practice of usability. It is about

understanding and creating software and other technology that
people will want to use and will find it effective when used.”
(Carroll-2002)
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Key Ingredients

 Human: Individual user, a group of users working together in an

organization
 Computer: Desktop computer, large-scale computer system, smart phone,
embedded system (e.g., photocopier, microwave oven), software (e.g search
engine, word processor)
 User Interface: Parts of the computer that the user contacts with, e.g. screen,
mouse, keyboard, switch button, knob
 Interaction: Usually involve a dialog with feedback & control throughout
performing a task (e.g., user invokes “print” command and then interface
replies with a dialog box)
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 Why HCI?
 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)

 Computer and software manufacturers have noticed the

importance of making computers “user-friendly”: easy to use, save
people time, etc.
▪ e.g., Is your washing machine user-friendly?

 They also desire good user experience

▪ e.g., Do you feel satisfaction when using your smart phone?

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HCI Scope

 Use & Context: Find application areas for computers

 Human: Study psychological & physiological aspects e.g.,
study how a user learns to use a new product, study human
typing speed
 Computer: Hardware & software offered e.g., input &
output devices, speed, interaction styles, computer graphics
 Development: Design, implementation & evaluation

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HCI Scope

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Interaction Vs Interface

 Interaction is the dialog between user and

computer
 Interface is the vehicle for dialog
 We seek a common language for:
– Defining the interface objects users interact with
– The way we map these objects onto manipulations of
data within the interactive system/application

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Understanding Interaction

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Example Of HCI-I

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Example Of HCI-II

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Example of HCI-III

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Usability

 Interactive products are easy to learn,

effective to use, and enjoyable from the
user's perspective.
 It involves optimizing the interactions people
have with interactive products to enable
them to carry out their activities in their
everyday life.

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Usability (Cont. )

“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. ”
(ISO 9241-11 )

“Usability is hence more than just about whether

users can perform tasks easily (ease-of-use). It also
deals with user satisfaction for a website to be usable,
it has to be engaging and aesthetically pleasing, too”
(ISO 9241 Ergonomics of Human System Interaction )
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Eason’s Causal Framework:

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 Goals of HCI
 HCI concerns the selection of the most appropriate input devices
and output devices for a particular interface or task

 Determine the best style of interaction, such as direct

manipulation, natural language (speech, written input), WIMP
(windows, icons, menus, pointers), etc.

 Develop or improve (Usability) = Safety, Utility, Effectiveness,

Efficiency, and Appeal of systems that include computers

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Goals of HCI

Question:

Does the system prevent users from making

serious errors and, if they do make an error,
does it permit them to recover easily?

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 Goals of HCI (Safety)
Protecting the user from dangerous conditions and undesirable situations

Users
▪ Nuclear energy plant or bomb-disposal – operators should interact with
computer-based systems remotely
▪ Medical equipment in intensive care unit (ICU)
Data
▪ Prevent user from making serious errors by reducing risk of wrong
keys/buttons being mistakenly activated
▪ Ensure privacy (protect personal information such as address) & security
(protect sensitive information such as passwords, VISA card numbers)
▪ Provide user with means of recovering errors
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Safety Concern (Example)

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Goals of HCI

Question:

Does the system provide an appropriate set of

functions that enable users to carry out all their
tasks in the way they want to do them?

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Goals of HCI (Utility)

Extent of providing the right kind of functionality so that users can

do what they want to do

High utility
Scientific calculator provides many mathematical
operations, built-in formulae, and is programmable

Low utility
Software drawing tool does not allow free-hand
drawing but supports polygon shape drawing

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Goals of HCI

Question:
Is the system capable of allowing people to
learn well, carry out their work efficiently,
access the information they need, buy the
goods they want, and so on?

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Goals of HCI (Effectiveness)
 Effectiveness is a very general goal and refers to
how good a system is at doing what it is supposed
to do.
 Concern a user’s ability to accomplish a desired goal
or to carry out work
 e.g. Find a master thesis in our library Web

 Is there Any difference between utility and

effectiveness?

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 Consider a shopping Web that provides all the
information, instruction and server-side support
required to perform an on-line purchase.
 However, the users cannot figure out how to find
the items they want to buy.
 Therefore efficiency should be considered

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Goals of HCI

Question:
Once users have learned how to use a system
to carry out their tasks, can they sustain a high
level of productivity?

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Goals of HCI (Efficiency)

A measure of how quickly users can accomplish their

goals or finish their work using the system
 Find a book “human computer interaction” in our
library Web
 How about a master thesis whose author’s last
name is “Cheng”?
 How about the newest book in the subject of
“human computer interaction”?

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Goals of HCI (Appeal)

How well the user likes the system

 First impression
 Long-term satisfaction

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Good Vs Bad Designs

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Good Design:
 Good design is one that fills the gap between business
goals and user needs (by following a process).
 Good design is one that is tailored for the human use,
and not one that is only functional or usable.

“Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than

poor design, in part because good designs fit our
needs so well that the design is invisible.”
(Don Norman)

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Example-I

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Example-II

Elevator controls and labels on the bottom row all look the
same, so it is easy to push a label by mistake instead of a
control button

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Example-III

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Example-IV

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Example (Miscellaneous)

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What do you think?

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 Problems of bad user interface
 User frustration and dissatisfaction
(Computer Rage 1999)

 Loss of productivity efficiency and money

(Passport agency delays)

 Safety and user interface

- The three mile island nuclear power plant disaster
- Following were the some interface problems that were investigated
 A light indicated that a valve had been closed, when in fact it was not
 The light indicator was obscured by a caution tag attached to other controller
valve

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What to design

Take into account

– who the users are
– what activities are being carried out
– where the interaction is taking place

Optimize the interactions users have with a product

such that they match users’ activities and needs

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Understanding Users’ Need
 Need to take into account what people are good and bad at

 Consider what might help people in the way they currently do

things
 Think through what might provide quality user experiences

 Listen to what people want and get them involved

 Use tried and tested user-centered methods

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 User-Centered Design
 An iterative design process in
which designers focus on the
users and their needs in each
phase of the design process.

 Design teams involve users

throughout the design
process via a variety of
research and design
techniques, to create highly
usable and accessible
The User-Centred Design Approach
products for them. (adapted from ISO, 2010).

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 UCD: Iterative or Sequential?
 UCD is an iterative process that focuses on an understanding of the users
and their context in all stages of design and development
 Designers use a mixture of investigative methods and tools (e.g.,
surveys and interviews) and generative ones (e.g., brainstorming) to
develop an understanding of user needs.
 ethnographers, psychologists, software and hardware engineers
 as well as domain experts, stakeholders and the users themselves

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Principles and Design Activities

Principles of UCD (ISO 1997)

1. The active involvement of users
2. An appropriate allocation of function b/w user and system
3. The iteration of design solutions
4. Multidisciplinary design teams

Essential UCD activities (ISO 1997)

5. Understand and specify the context of use
6. Specify the user and organizational requirements
7. Produce design solutions (prototypes)
8. Evaluate design with users against requirements
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Voice Mail System: Case study
Possible interaction in voice mail system

Step-I: After picking up the handset we get “beep, beep, beep,

there is a message”

Step-II: As written in the instructions we type ’41’ and get the

answer “You have reached the Hilton Brussels City voice message
center. Please enter the room number for which you would like to
leave a message”

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 Voice Mail System: Case study
Possible interaction in voice mail system

Step-III: After waiting and checking the instructions again we press

*, enter our room number and press # to get the answer “You have
reached the mailbox for room 106. To leave a message type in your
password”
We type in our room number again and the system replies “Please
enter the room number again and then your password”

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Voice Mail System: Problems
 Infuriating

 Confusing

 Inefficient (too many steps for basic tasks)

 Difficult to use

 Has no means of letting you know how many messages at a glance.

 You have to pick up the handset to find out and then go through a series of steps to

listen to them

 Not obvious what to do

 Instruction provided partially by the system and partially by card beside the phone.

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 Benefits of HCI
 Gaining market share
People intend to buy/use products with higher usability ƒ
 e.g., Google’s search engine has the largest market share because
it is easy to use with higher efficiency

 Improving productivity
Employees in a company perform their jobs in a faster manner
 e.g., A Cafe uses a business management system (BMS) to
increase productivity, food photos are available on cashier display
and operators do not need to memorize food codes, automatic
collection of sales information at all shop saves staffing cost

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Benefits of HCI
 Lowering support costs
If the product is not usable, calls to customer support can be
enormous
 e.g., If a washing machine is difficult to use even after reading
the instruction manual, many users will call the customer
service and the cost per call can be over $100
 Reducing development cost
Avoid implementing features users don’t want and creating
features that are annoying or inefficient
 e.g., If there are too many unnecessary confirmation dialog
boxes in using a word processor, it is likely this product needs
to be redeveloped
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Workforce in HCI
 Interactive / Interaction Designers
People involved in the design of all the interactive aspects of a product
 Usability Engineers
People who focus on evaluating products using usability methods and
principles
 UI Designers
People experienced in user-centered design methodologies
 Web Designers
People who develop and create the visual design of websites, such as
layouts & animations
 User Experience Designers
People who do all the above

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HCI and Academic Disciplines

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Q&A