Human Computer Interaction

(HCI)
Prepared by: M. Salman Khan
Know the User
 Know the user [1]
• Two most important issues of usability are:
users’ tasks and their individual characteristics
or differences
• An analysis of 92 published comparisons on
hypertext usability found that the top 4 largest
effects were due to users’ individual differences
• It is therefore important to have understanding
about users
Major ways of classifying users [1]
Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Novice – Experienced users:

• This dimension varies from novice to experienced
users and some users in between
• The transition from novice to experienced users
takes a learning curve.
• Some interfaces are intended for experts, some
for novice users, and some for both.
• For example, shortcut commands as part of
menu or sub-menu.
Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [3]

• Learning Curve
Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Most Users are Perpetual Intermediates

 Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Most Users are Perpetual Intermediates (cont.)

• People don’t like to be incompetent, and beginners, by definition, are
incompetent. Learning and improving is rewarding, so beginners
become intermediates very quickly— or they drop out altogether
• The difficulty of maintaining a high level of expertise also means that
experts come and go rapidly
• A well-balanced user interface devotes the bulk of its efforts to
satisfying the perpetual intermediate . At the same time, it provides
mechanisms so that both of its beginners and experts can be effective
• However, some products can be optimized for experts (for example
medical devices) or beginners (for example kiosks in museums)
 Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Most Users are Perpetual Intermediates (cont.)

What Beginners Need:
• A new user must grasp the concepts and scope of the product quickly or he
will abandon it.
• He may not recall from use to use exactly which command is needed to act
on a particular object, but he will definitely remember the relationships
between objects and actions—the important concepts.
• Requires extra help from program, but it can come in their way once they
become intermediate users.
• Guided tours
• When the product starts then some dialogues guiding about the basics of the
product, its main features
• Dialogue boxes must be explanatory and come with convenient cancel button
 Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Most Users are Perpetual Intermediates (cont.)

What Experts Need:
• However, they will definitely demand faster access to their
regular working set of tools, which may be quite large. In
other words, experts want shortcuts to everything.
• Expert users constantly, aggressively seek to learn more
and to see more connections between their actions and
the product’s behavior and representation. Experts
appreciate new, powerful features.
 Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]
Most Users are Perpetual Intermediates (cont.)
What Intermediates Need:
• Perpetual intermediates need access to tools. They don’t need
scope and purpose explained to them because they already
know these things. ToolTips are the perfect perpetual
intermediate idiom
• Perpetual intermediates know how to use reference materials.
Online help is a perpetual intermediate tool for them.
• The knowledge that advanced features are there is reassuring
to the perpetual intermediate, convincing him that he made
the right choice investing in this product
Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Ignorant– Knowledgeable users about a domain:

• Information for knowledgeable users are not too
much detailed, for example, what the system is
doing and what different options mean
• Ignorant user needs detailed information at each
level.
• You must need to understand that for which users
the system is being developed.
Major ways of classifying users (cont.) [2]

Minimal– Extensive Computer Experience:

• The interfaces for the extensive users of
computers must be different from home user,
for example, Web page creator.
 Principle: Know The User
•Corollary: if you think you know the user, think again
•Diversity across multiple dimensions: age, gender, physical

and cognitive abilities, education, culture or ethnicity,

training, motivation, goals, personality
• Two types of user knowledge:
1. Interface — knowledge of the technology that
“presents” the system image
2. Domain — knowledge of the real-world activities that
your user interface seeks to accomplish
Other important ways of classifying users [3]

• Age
• Gender
• Spatial memory
• Reasoning abilities
• Learning styles (abstract vs. concrete
examples), etc.
 Human-Computer Interfaces
• Home lighting and security systems use
human-computer interfaces.
• Communication devices, automatic teller
machines (ATMs), personal organizers, medical
devices and monitors, educational toys,
exercise machines, and so on all make use of
the human-computer interface.
 References
[1] Lecture Notes of Prof. Keith Andrews,
Available at: www.iicm.tugraz.at/hci
[2] “About Face 3.0, the Essentials of Interaction
Design”, by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, and
David Cronin, Third Edition
[3] “Usability Engineering” by Jakob Nielsen,
1993, Morgan Kaufmann Press