Human Computer

Interaction
HCI

• Designing for HCI means

– “ensuring system functionality and usability,
providing effective user interaction support,
and enhancing a pleasant user experience”
– The overarching goal is to achieve both
organizational and individual user
effectiveness and efficiency
How Fit Affects Performance and Well-being
• Fit – a good fit between the HCI elements of the
human, the computer, and the task needs to be
performed leads to performance and well-being
• Task – tasks can be structured, and routine, or they
can be ill-defined and without apparent structure.
Some tasks are complex and they require human,
systems, and task interaction.
• Performance – refers to the combination of the
efficiency involved in performing a task and the
quality of the work that is produced by the task
• Well-being – concern for a person’s overall comfort,
safety, health; i.e. their physical as well as
psychological state
Important Terms and Definitions

• Usability – this is a term that captures the ease of learning

and the ease of use of the system and the robustness of the
system (few errors and error tolerance)
– It also speaks of the effectiveness, efficiency, and
satisfaction of the user in a particular context of use)
• Accessibility – ensuring that the needs and preferences of
the whole profile of users and the diversity of users
(including special needs) are taken care of so that all the
different users are able to use the system
• Acceptability – measures the experience of the user and
their reaction to it (whether positive or negative)
• The Goal of HCI is to ensure the interaction design results
in a system that is usable, accessible and acceptable
Usability Guidelines – Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics
• Visibility of system status
• Match between system and real world
• Users control and freedom
• Consistency and standards
• Error prevention
• Recognition rather than recall
• Flexibility efficiency of use
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from
errors
• Help and documentation
Usability Guidelines – Shneiderman’s Golden Rules
• Strive for consistency (in action sequence, layout,
terminology, command use, etc.)
• Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
• Offer informative feedback (for every user action)
• Design dialogues to yield closure (so the user knows
when they have completed task)
• Offer error prevention and simple error handling
• Permit easy reversal of actions (to reduce anxiety and
encourage exploration)
• Support internal locus of control (so the user is in
control of the system, which responds to his actions)
• Reduce short-term memory load
Human-Centred (User-Centred) Design

• To ensure the systems are usable, accessible and

acceptable, the design needs to be user-centred
• User-centred design emphasizes the importance of the
user in the whole design process where the user is the
master and the designer is the apprentice as far as the
problem and the needs are concerned.
• It also incorporates prototyping where the users test
the prototype and the test results and evaluated and
used to improve the design
• This design – test – evaluation and incorporation to
improve the design is done iteratively until the user is
satisfied with the design.
Designing for Profile and Diversity of Users

• As we think about the design of the system, there is

need to consider the different types of users (profile
of users [novice, casual and expert]), diversity
[cultural, language, literacy, special needs]
• Upon identifying these different types of users, it will
help the analyst gather the needs and preferences of
each type of users
• In the design, we will seek to consider ways that
technology can be used support the user as they carry
out the tasks
• The different types of users may well need different
support and hence different technologies
Designing for Profile and Diversity of Users (cont.)

• Novices will require a lot of support (say guidance),

while expert users will require advanced features,
shortcuts and little support – the system features and
technology support will therefore be different or each
group.
• Special needs users like the visually impaired will need
support say with large fonts and screen magnifiers
– The blind may well need Braille keyboards and screen-
reading software that speaks back the keys they are
pressing of the menus and web pages
• Users with low levels of literacy will also need special
support, and more so when the language used is not their
first language
Implementing Good HCI Practices

• The goal of the designer is to design an interface that

help users and business get the information they need
in and out of the system by addressing the following
objectives:
– Matching the user interface to the task
– Making the user interface efficient
– Providing appropriate feedback to users
– Generating usable queries
– Improving the productivity of computer users
User Interfaces

• User Interface has two main components: presentation

language, which is the computer-to-human part of the
transaction, and action language, which characterizes
the human-to-computer portion. Together, both
concepts cover the form and content of the term user
interface
Types of User Interface

• Natural-Language Interfaces
• Question and Answer Interfaces
• Menus
• Form-Fill Interfaces (Input/Output Forms)
• Command Language Interfaces
• Graphical User Interfaces
• Other types of Interfaces (e.g. pointing devices [such
as a stylus], touch-sensitive screens, speech-
recognition and synthesis
Standards to Consider for Choice of Interfaces
• The necessary training for users should be short
• Early in the training, users should be able to enter
commands without thinking about them or
without referring to a help menu or manual.
(Keeping interfaces consistent throughout
applications can help in this regard)
• The Interface should be seamless so that errors are
few and those that occur are not occurring because
of poor design
• The time that users and the system need to bounce
back from errors should be short
• Infrequent users should be able to relearn the
system quickly
Guidelines for Dialogue Design

• Meaningful communication, so that the computer

understands what people are entering and people
understand what the computer is presenting or
requesting
• Minimal user action
• Standard operation and consistency
Meaningful Communication

• System should present information clearly to the user

• Users with less skill in using the computer or doing
their tasks with a computer require more
communication
• Easy-to-use help screens should be provided
Minimal User Action (e.g.)
• Keying codes (e.g. when making s flight reservation) instead of
whole words on entry screens
• Entering only data that are not already stored on files
• Supplying the editing characters (for example slashes as date
field separators)
• Using default values for fields on entry screens
• Designing an enquiry (or change or delete) program so that the
user needs enter only first few characters of a name or item
description
• Providing keystrokes for selecting pull-down menu options
• Use radio buttons and drop-down lists to control displays of
new Web pages or to change Web forms
• Provide cursor for Web forms and other displays so that the
cursor moves to the next field when the right number of
characters has been entered
Standard Operation and Consistency (e.g. by)
• Locating titles, date, time, and operator and feedback messages
in the same places on all displays
• Exiting each program by the same key or menu item
• Canceling a transaction in a consistent way
• Obtaining help in a standardized way
• Standardizing the colors used for all displays or web pages
• Standardizing the use of icons for similar operations when
using a graphical user interface
• Using a consistent terminology in a display screen or Web site
• Providing a consistent way to navigate through a dialogue
• Using consistent font alignment, size and color on a Web page
Types of Feedback for Users

•The computer has accepted the input

•The input is in the correct form
•The input is not in the correct form
•There will be a delay in processing
•The request has been completed
•The computer is unable to complete the request
•More detailed feedback is available (and how to get
it)
Easy Navigation for Ecommerce Web Sites

• Building a collection of hierarchical links so that the

home page becomes an outline of the key topic
headings associated with the Web Site
• Placing a site map on the home and emphasizing the
link to it
• Placing a navigational bar on every inside page
(usually at the top or on the left side of the page) that
repeats the categories on used in the entry screen
End