WHAT IS A USER INTERFACE?

Usability Engineering: Process,

Products, and Examples
Chapter 1

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HUMAN COMPUTER
0B

INTERACTION: AN OVERVIEW

 What is Human Computer Interaction (HCI)?

 Importance of HCI
 Good and Poor Design Examples
 What are involved in HCI design?

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HUMAN COMPUTER
INTERACTION (HCI)
Human:
The end user of a program
The others in the organization

Computer:
The machine the program runs on
Often split between clients and server

Interaction:
The user tells the computer what they want
The computer communicates results

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 WHAT IS HCI?

The study of bridge between them, which includes

 Observation of interactions between people & computers, e.g., Find

examination papers via our library Web
 Analysis of the involved interactions, e.g., Are all the steps involved
are necessary?
 Human consequences after interacting with computers, e.g., Can
the user perform his task? Does he enjoy working with the
computer?

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 WHAT IS HCI? CONT….

• Concerned with the design, evaluation & implementation of interactive

computer systems for human use & with the study of major phenomena

surrounding them” (1992)

• Dix: HCI is study of people, computer technology and these these

influence each determine how we can make more usable by people” (1998)

• 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.” (2002)

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WHY HCI ?

• Now, computer are cheap and used by non-technical people

(different backgrounds, needs, knowledge, skills)

• Computer and software manufacturers have noticed the

importance of making computer “user-friendly”: easy to use, save
people time, etc.

• How to achieve “user-friendliness” in computer design?

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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 GOALS

HCI develop or improve

•Safety
•Utility
•Effectiveness
•Efficiency
•Usability
•Appeal

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GOOD DESIGN AND BAD DESIGN

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WHAT IS A USER INTERFACE?
 The user interface is the boundary between the user and the
functioning part of the system.
 The interface may greatly disguise the inner workings of the system.
 It may use metaphors to express the kinds of tasks that someone can do
with the system.

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COMMON OBJECTS AND THE
USER INTERFACE

 Everyday Things Have a User Interface

 For most users, the user interface “is” the object.
 Users rarely consider an object separately in terms of its functionality
and its user interface.

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WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM
EVERYDAY OBJECTS
 Poorly designed user interfaces can impair a user’s ability to use an
object.
 Potentially true even if the functionality is very good.

 When an interface is poor, it often reflects an inappropriate design

process.

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PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY
THINGS
 Norman’s Psychology of Everyday Things
 Allows us to consider the user interfaces of everyday things.

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HOW DO USERS KNOW WHAT
TO DO WITH AN INTERFACE?
 Objects provide subtle perceptual cues to tell us
 What part of the object to operate (i.e., what is the interface).
 What we are supposed to do with the interface.
 How our interaction is constrained by the interface and the
interface’s.
 What is supposed to happen when we operate the interface.

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PERCEPTIBILITY OF SALIENT
CUES FROM THE INTERFACE
 For us to perceive subtle clues about an interface, the important parts
must be salient.
 The interface must provide the appropriate information for achieving
relevant tasks.

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USER MODELS OF DEVICES

 We process the information from a device through whatever

existing internal mental model we have about this kind of device.
 We call this a “mental model” of the device.
 Mental models help us to make predictions about a device.

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USER MODELS OF DEVICES

 The following information is incorporated into our mental

models of devices.
 What do you perceive you can do with the user interface?
 What are the limitations of the user interface?
 What is supposed to happen when we operate the interface?

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 IN-CLASS EXERCISE

 Consider an everyday object in the class room.

 Answer the following questions.
 What is the user interface?
 How do you operate the device?
 How is the operation constrained?
 How is the user input to the interface related to the expected function of
the object?

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ACCURACY OF OUR MENTAL
MODEL
 How do we know that our mental model fits the device?
 Feedback is a mechanism by which users can adjust their mental models.

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FEEDBACK EXAMPLES

 What type of feedback is provided by some everyday devices?

 Cell phone
 Gasoline pump

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CONCLUSIONS

 Everyday devices have a user interface.

 Information perceived from the user interface in
concert with the user’s knowledge is used to form
a mental model of the device and its operation.
 Feedback from the user interface is a way that
users can check and evolve their mental models.
 Everyday devices can be designed well or poorly
for the user and the task.
 We cannot evaluate their design independently of
either the user’s background or the context of the
task.
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