Kotebe Metropolitan University

College of Natural and Computational science

Department of Computer Science

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION (HCI)

LECTURE SLIDES

BY: HAILIEYESUS.K
 Human Computer Interaction(HCI)

Outlines
 Definition of HCI
 Goals of HCI
 Historical Background of HCI
 Introduction
Definition
 Human-computer interaction is a discipline
concerned with the design, evaluation and
implementation of interactive computing systems for
human use and with the study of major phenomena
surrounding them.

 HCI is emerged discipline concerned basically on the

interaction between human beings and the computing
environment.
 Cont.

 Man-machine-interaction (MMI) and computer-human-

interaction (CHI) are alternative names for human-
computer-interaction (HCI), all concerned about the
interaction between people (user) and the computer.

 HCI is the scientific study of the interaction between

people, computers, and the work environment.
 Cont.

The term HCI was adopted in mid-1980s:

 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM):
“discipline 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

the ways these influence each other. We study HCI to
determine how we can make this computer technology
more usable by people” (1998)
 Cont.

 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)
 Cont.
Human:
Individual user, a group of users working together, a sequence
of users in an organization
Computer:
Desktop computer, large-scale computer system, Pocket PC,
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
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)
 Examples of interactive
computing systems

o Single PC - capable of displaying web pages

o Embedded devices, for example in cars and in
cell phones
o Handheld Global Positioning Systems for
outdoor activities
HCI is all about:

 Understanding the users

 Understanding users tasks
 Understanding the surrounding environment
 GUI requirements gathering and analysis
 Design prototype
 Evaluate the system
SCOPE OF HCI
The scope of HCI includes:
 The problems people have with computers
 The impact of computers upon people in both
individual and organizational contexts
 The determinants of utility, usability and
acceptability
 The appropriate allocation of tasks between
computers and people
 Cont.

 Modeling the user as an aid to better system design

 Harmonizing the computer to the characteristics and needs
of the user.
 Due to wider scope, the tendency is towards general
principle rather than specific system.
Cont.
Goals of HCI
 The focus of HCI is on the design, implementation, and
evaluation of interactive computer-based system.
 It is also concerned about with multidisciplinary study of
various issues affecting this interaction.
 Ensuring safety, utility, effectiveness, efficiency,
accessibility, and usability of systems is the focal concern
of HCI.
 Cont.

Generally the goal of HCI is to develop or improve the

o Safety
o Utility
o Effectiveness
o Efficiency
o Usability
o Appeal

. . . of systems that include computers

 Safety
 Protecting the user from dangerous conditions and
undesirable situations
Users operators should interact with computer-based
systems remotely.
E.g. Nuclear energy plant or bomb-disposal
Medical equipment in intensive care unit (ICU)
Data Prevent user from making serious errors by reducing
risk of wrong keys/buttons being mistakenly activated or
protection of files from tampering ,privacy and security
etc.…
 Utility and effectiveness
 Utility: what services a system provide
e.g. Ability to print documents
 it is also extent of providing the right kind of functionality
so that users can do what they need or 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
 Cont.

 Effectiveness: concern a user’s ability to accomplish a

desired goal or to carry out work
e.g.
How to enter the desired information
How to print a report

 Utility and effectiveness are distinct

A system might provide all necessary services, but if
users can’t find the services items, the system lacks
effectiveness
 Cont.

 Efficiency: a measure of how quickly users can accomplish

their goals or finish their work using the designed system.
 Usability: ease of learning and ease of use.
 Appeal: how well the user likes the system
First impression
Long-term satisfaction
 Cont.

There are different definitions given for usability:

 “a measure of the ease with which a system can be
learned and used, its safety, effectiveness and
efficiency, and attitude of its users towards it”
(Preece et al., 1994)

 “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)
 Cont.

Usability can also be considered/defined/ as:

o Ease of learning
o Ease of use
o Appeal/ attitude
o How well users like the system
o First impressions
o Long-term satisfaction
Cont.
Reading Assignment
How can we measure usability ?
HCI Benefits:

 Gaining market share

 Improving productivity
 Lowering support costs
 Reducing development cost
 Definition of UI/user interface/

 The UI is a component of a computer or it’s software which can be

visualized, heard, touched, interacted with, run and understood by
common people of the computer.
The two main elements
 Input: In an interaction with computer the user provides
information to it. Input devices like keyboard, mouth, scanner, a
person’s figure, person's voice.
 Output: is the processed data/information sent to the user as a result
of the desired function performed upon their input. Output devices
like monitor, speaker, printer.
 Importance of UI

 When a good UI is provided, the knowledge related to the

internal working of the computer system will be less
concern
 Another way of demonstrating the importance of good UI
design is to show tangible benefits in terms of money .e.g.
for Business:
 Higher staff productivity
 Lower staff turnover
 Higher staff morale
 Higher job satisfaction
 Require very less user training
 Characteristics of effective UI

 Characteristics of effective UI(easy and simple)

 Clear and Simple Interface: Preventing user errors by providing ease of
learning and use.
 Consistent Interface: The interface applies the previously learned
knowledge in performing new tasks
 User-controlled Interface: All the operations of the interface are initiated
and controlled by the user itself.
 Direct Interface: There is a direct r/n b/n the action and the object present
in the screen.
 Forgiving: The action performed by the user should be reversible.
 Provide feedback: after performing a task, an immediate feedback must
be given to the user.
 Aesthetic: Every element of the screen must be displayed in a pleasant
manner.
 Fields that HCI builds on (1)
o Computer Science
- Implementation of software
o Engineering
- Faster, cheaper equipment
o Ergonomics
- Design for human factors
o Graphic design
- Visual communication
oTechnical writing
- Textual communication
 Fields that HCI builds on (2)
o Linguistics, artificial intelligence
– Speech recognition, natural language processing
o Cognitive psychology
– Perception, memory, mental models
o Sociology
– How people interact in groups
o Anthropology
– Study of people in their work settings
History of HCI

 Understanding HCI history is largely about

understanding a series of paradigm shifts.
What are Paradigms?
These are predominant theoretical frameworks or scientific
world views
o e.g., Aristotelian, Newtonian, Einsteinian (relativistic)
paradigms in physics
History of HCI
The initial paradigm
• Batch/collection/ processing

Impersonal computing
Example Paradigm Shifts

• Batch processing
• Time-sharing

Interactive computing
Example Paradigm Shifts

• Batch processing
@#$% !
• Timesharing
• Networking

???

Community computing
Example Paradigm Shifts

• Batch processing
C…P… filename Move this file here,
• Timesharing
dot star… or was and copy this to there.
• Networking it R…M?
• Graphical displays
% foo.bar
ABORT
dumby!!!

Direct manipulation
Example Paradigm Shifts

• Batch processing
• Timesharing
• Networking
• Graphical display
• Microprocessor

Personal computing
Example Paradigm Shifts

• Batch processing
• Timesharing
• Networking
• Graphical display
• Microprocessor
• WWW

Global information
 Example Paradigm Shifts
 Batch processing
 Timesharing
 Networking
 Graphical display  A symbiosis/interaction/ of
physical and electronic worlds
 Microprocessor in service of everyday
 WWW activities.

 Ubiquitous(any where)
Computing(from desk top to
mobile computing).e.g. PDA,
tablets etc.
 History of HCI Cont.
 Digital computer grounded in ideas from 1700’s & 1800’s
 Technology became available in the 1940’s and 1950’s
E.g. Vannevar Bush
“As We May Think” - 1945 Atlantic Monthly

“…publication has been extended far beyond our present

ability to make real use of the record.”

37
 Cont.
Bush
• Postulated Memex device
• Can store all records/articles/communications
• Large memory
• Items retrieved by indexing, keywords, cross references
• Can make a trail of links through material
• etc.
• Envisioned as microfilm, not computer
• After this so many scholars try to come up with different devices or
technologies that contribute for the emergence of HCI as
discipline.
Thank you!