Lecture:4 The interactionWHAT IS INTERACTION interaction is a kind of action whi objects have an effect on eatin other * By interaction we mean any communication between a user and computer. * Communication user system -The purpose of an interactive system is to aid a user in accomplishing goals from some application domain. Domain: an area of expertise and knowledge in some real-world activity. the area of work under study e.g. graphic design, authoring and process control in a factory Task: the operation to manipulate the concepts of a domain. how you go about doing it ultimately in terms of operations or actions e.g. ... select fill tool, click over triangle Goal: goal is ultimate result, which you want to achieve after performing some specific tasks. what you want to achieve e.g. create a solid red triangle An intention is a specific action required meet the goal. Task analysis involves the identification of the problem space for the user of an interactive system in terms of the domain, goals, intentions and tasks.The interactive cycle can be divided into two major phases: execution and evaluation. These can then be subdivided into further stages, seven in all. Based on the Norman's model the most influential model in Human—Computer Interaction in understanding of the interaction between human user and computer. Viewing the HCI as cycle is an accurate representation with respect to both the user and the system (computer and program) point of views. nand Normans states that human action has two aspects, evaluation. These can then be subdivided into further stages,» The stages in Norman’s model of interaction are as follows: ° . . . ° user establishes the goal formulates intention specifies actions at interface executes action perceives system state interprets system state evaluates system state with respect to goal and intention. * Norman’s model concentrates on user’s view of the interfaceExecution and Evaluation loop goal . ‘ execution evaluation OP system user establishes the goal formulates intention specifies actions at interface executes action perceives system state interprets system state evaluates system state with respect to goalAWN I aAUY execution ; evaluation system user establishes the goal formulates intention specifies actions at interface executes action perceives system state interprets system state evaluates system state with respect to goal. 7 7a| ef ic E . ~ goal ——e » ae evaluation system formulates intention specifies actions at interface executes action perceives system state interprets system state evaluates system state with respect to goalexecution/evaluation loop goal execution f “Y system A evaluation perceives system state interprets system state evaluates system state with respect to goalImagine you are sitting reading in evening. You decide you need more light: That is you establish the goal to get light. From there you form an intention to switch on the desk lamp, ‘You specify the actions required, to reach over and press the lamp switch.(Ask somebody, do it myself) ‘You may ask them to switch on the light for you. When you have executed the action you perceive the result, either the light is onor it isn’t. You interpret this, know based on your of the world. For example, if the light does not come on you may interpret this as indicating the bulb is not plugged into the mains, and you will formulate new goals to deal with this. If the light does come on, you will evaluate the new state according to the original goals — is there now enough light? If so, the cycle is complete. If not, you may formulate a new intention to switch on the main ceiling light as well.The interaction framework breaks the system into four main components. The nodes represent the four major components in an interactive system the System, the User, the Input and the Output. Each component has its own language. The system and user are each described by means of a language that can express concepts relevant in the domain of the application. The system’s language is referred as the core language and the user’s language is referred as the task language. The core language describes computational attributes of the domain relevant to the system state, whereas the task language describes psychological attributes of the domain relevant to the user state.The only way the user can manipulate the machine is through the input, and so the task must be articulated within the input language, The input language is translated into the core language as operations to be performed by the system. The system then transforms itself as described by the operations There are four main translations involved in the interaction: Articulation, performance, presentation and observation. : Interaction > translation between languagesStudy of the physical characteristics of interaction : * how the controls are designed, the physical environment in which the interaction takes place and the layout and physical qualities of the screen. * Ergonomics is the process of designing or arranging workplaces, products and systems so that they fit the people who use them.* surrounding environment * e.g. seating arrangements adaptable to cope with all sizes of user * health issues * e.g. physical position, environmental conditions (temperature, humidity), lighting, noise, * use of colour * e.g. use of red for warning, green for okay, awareness of colour-blindness ete.* Ergonomics is eres with ‘the. acne of | the work environment mene * Where will the system be used? * By whom will it be used? * Will users be sitting, standing or moving about? * However, the physical environment in which the system is used may influence how will it is accepted and even the health and safety of its users. * It should therefore be considered in all designInteraction styles * Fora successful enjoyable communication interface style has its own importance. ° There are a number of common interface styles * Command-line interfaces * Menus * Natural Language * Question/answer and query dialog * Form-fills and spreadsheets * WIMP * Point and click * Three-dimensional interfacesCommand line interface ‘Way of expressing instructions to the computer d * function keys, single characters, short abbreviations, whole words, or a combination Suitable for repetitive tasks Better for expert users than novices Offers direct access to system functionality Command names/abbreviations should be meaningful! Typical example: the Unix system* Limitations of Command line Interface : ° e ° Commands and command sequences need to be remembered. Low tolerance of errors by the interface. High memory and typing demands. Error messages and online assistance are hard to provide due to diverse possibilities. * Error rates are typically high. Training and practice is necessary . Commands vary between systems and are obscure.— —EEEEEEEEE —— ° Interface displays options as menu items or icons for the user fo choose from Possible user actions are listed on the screen and the user can select one of them. User indicates a choice and receives a feedback. * Menu Selection interface offers signs for user recognition. * Menusare to be effective, their names and icons are to be self-explanatory. Easy for beginner users to work on. * Too slow for expert users but this problem can be overcome by careful designing.Allows users to communicate with their system naturally Familiar to user. Speech recognition or typed natural language Users unable to remember a command or lost in a hierarchy of menus, may long for the computer that is able to understand instructions expressed in everyday words.* Question/answer interfaces * user led through interactionvia series of questions * suitable for novice users but restricted functionality * often used in information systems ° Query languages (e.g. SQL) * used to retrieve information from database * requires understanding of database structure and language syntax, hence requires some expertiseRegister Primarily for data entry or data retrieval Screen like paper form. Data put in relevant place Requires good design eee Tenerr ie erie ey foleesten eee ad facilities De oa eee ay* First spread sheet VisiCalc, followed by Lotus 1-2-3, MS Excel most common today - Sophisticated variation of form-filling. * Grid of cells contain a value or a formula * Formula can involve values of other cells e.g. Sum of all cells in this column ° User can enter and alter data spreadsheet maintains consistencyWIMP Interface a Currently many common. ne ‘for interactive | computing examples of the WIMP interface style, often simply called PPtidowins systems. * WIMP stands for windows, icons, menus, and pointers, and is -default interface style for the majority of interactive computer systems in use today, especially in the PC and desktop workstation .Point and click interfaces ° used in.. * multimedia * web browsers * hypertext * just click something! * icons, text links or location on map * minimal typingThree dimensional interfaces ° virtual reality ° ‘ordinary’ window systems * highlighting flat buttons ... * visual affordance * indiscriminate use [] just confusing! ° 3D workspaces ... or sculptured * use for extra virtual space ° light and occlusion give depth ° distance effectsElements of the wimp interface windows, icons, menus, pointers +++ Se celaey toolbars,FAVORITES J Desktop ® Documents © Downloads tel Movies J2 Music @ Pictures DEVICES tet Pinaca App Store ApoCleaner Automator Calculator OSX > 9 Appiicabons 84 items, 73.14 CB available Art Text 2 Lite (i) Calendar Status-bare Areas of the screen that behave as if they were independent * Can contain text or graphics * Can be moved or resized * Can overlap and obscure each other, or can be laid out next to one another (tiled) Scrollbars * Allow the user to move the contents of the window up and down or from side to side Title bars * describe the name of the window° Small picture or image ° Represents some object in the interface * often a window or action » Windows can be closed down (iconised) * small representation of many accessible windows * Icons can be many and various * highly stylized * realistic representations.* Important component * WIMP style relies on pointing and selecting things ° Uses mouse, track pad, joystick, trackball, cursor keys or keyboard shortcuts ° Wide variety of graphical images \ ' + 7* Choice of operations or services offered on the screen * . . : Sq Save as Web Page... Required option selected with ae pointer a , Web Page Preview Page Setup... Print Preview Print... ‘Share With Send To Twitter Facebook 1.C\..\The Microsoft Word UI Customi... 2 ° problem -—take a lot of screen space * solution— pop-up: menu appears when needed* Menu Bar at top of screen (normally), menu drags down © pull-down menu - mouse hold and drag down menu * drop-down menu - mouse click reveals menu ° fall-down menus - mouse just moves over bar! * Contextual menu appears where you are * pop-up menus - actions for selected object * pie menus - arranged in a circle * easier to select item (larger target area) * quicker (same distance to any option) ... but not widely used!* Cascading menus * hierarchical menu structure menu selection opens new menu and so in ad infinitum * Keyboard accelerators * key combinations - same effect as menu item * Two kinds * Active when menu open — usually first letter * Active when menu closed — usually Ctrl, Alt, winkey... + letter * usually different !!!Menus design issues * which kind to use * what to include in menus at all * words to use (action or description) ° how to group items choice of keyboard acceleratorsButtons * Individual and isolated regions within a display that can be selected to invoke an action ° Special kinds * radio buttons — set of mutually exclusive choices * check boxes — set of non-exclusive choicesToolbars ¢ long lines of icons ... ... but what do they do? * fast access to common actions * often customizable: * choose which toolbars to see * choose what options are on it* Information windows that pop up to inform of an important event or request information. * e.g: when saving a file, a dialogue box is displayed to allow the user to specify the filename and location. Once the file is saved, the box disappears.Thank You!