Introduction to

Human Computer Interaction

(HCI)
Chapter 1
What is HCI?

• In the past, man-machine interaction (MMI)

• HCI is the study of people & computing and the way they influence each other

• Human + Computer + Interaction

• Usability is the main concept in HCI

• Usability is concerned with making systems safe, easy to learn and easy to
use
Cockpit WW II
The Goals of HCI

• Increase individual & organizational productivity

• Improve safety & Reduce health hazards

• Reduce costs associated with the development of user interfaces

Computer

In the 1950/60s:

• Computing resources were expensive

• Computers operated by highly trained professionals

1970s: Personal computer & Command Line Interface (CLI)
1980s: Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Xerox Star. The first commercial attempt at a mouse based GUI.

1984: Macintosh & GUI
1987: Window 1.0 & 2.0
In the 1990/2000s

• Computing resources are cheap

• Computers are operated by non-computer experts

Present-future : Ubiquitous / Pervasive Computing
User Interface (UI)

• It is the part of the product/system/software that user SEE, HEAR & TOUCH

• Eg. in a STANDARD PC, the UI may consists of the following:

• SCREEN, KEYBOARD, MOUSE, SPEAKERS

• In other systems, the UI may consists of:

• MICROPHONE (voice input)

• BUTTONS (eg. ON/OFF and CANCEL on printers, remote controller, etc)

• LIGHTS (modem, ATM, air-conditioner, etc)

• HAND-TRACKING GLOVE which detects user fingers’ movements

• EYE TRACKER that can trace where the user eyes are looking at
 EYE TRACKER

HAND-TRACKING GLOVE
Human

• The user (human) is the one whom computer systems are designed to assist.
So , we need to know user (human) capabilities and limitations.

• Humans are limited in their capacity to process information. This has

important implications for design.

• More details on coming chapter.

Interaction

• Some keywords:
• User Interface (UI)
• Usability
• User experience (UX)
Usability

• Definition: The effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified

users achieve specified goals in particular environments (ISO 9241-11:2018)

• Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to
use.

• International Standard Organisation (ISO 9241-11:2018)

• Effectiveness

• Efficiency

• Satisfaction
• Benefits of systems/software/products with GOOD
USABILITY

Benefits to the USERS Benefits to the DEVELOPERS

• Increased productivity • Minimize the cost of customer

support
• Reduce learning time
• Reduce the time needed for training
• Reduced errors
• Good reputation
• Reduced stress
Effectiveness

Effectiveness is the completeness and accuracy with which users achieve

specified goals.

• It is determined by looking at whether the user’s goals were met successfully

and whether all works are correct.

• Measurement of how well the system performs (desired output = actual

output).

• “Can users use the system to do the work they need to do?”
Efficiency

Efficiency is the resources used in relation to the results achieved. (Typical

resources include time, human effort, costs and materials.)

• Efficiency concerned primarily with how quickly a task can be

completed,while effectiveness considers how well the work is done.

• “Can experience users be productive using the system?”

• “Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?”
Satisfaction

Satisfaction is the user's physical, cognitive and emotional responses that result
from the use of a system, product or service meet the user’s needs and
expectations

• The comfort and acceptability of the work system to its users and other
people affected by its use.

• How pleasant is it to use the design?

User Experience (UX)

Person's perceptions and responses resulting from the use and/or anticipated
use of a product, system or service. (ISO 9241-210:2010)

Enjoyable
Motivating
Fun
Aesthetic
Entertaining
Rewarding
Helpful
Emotionally fulfilling

Informative

…..etc…
https://medium.com/life-at-go-jek/design-with-love-the-creative-process-behind-go-jek-redesign-
d0e2338e7f7a
Usability + UX
Effect of poor UI design/ Usability
Problem
• It is sometimes difficult to see/notice the effects of good design, but there are many
examples of the EFFECTS OF POOR UI DESIGN

• THE EFFECTS can…

• cause user to makes more errors

• cause unnecessary anxiety and inconvenience to the user

• Decrease user productivity

• makes the product difficult to use and learn

• Cause the product to be perceived to have low quality and value

How to design a
good UI with
good usability?
• This course will teach you how to DESIGN, CONSTRUCT & TEST user
interfaces (UI)

• The goal is to provide you with the needed knowledge to design a good UI for
a product/system/software

• Generally, people like systems/applications that are easy to use

• A system/software/product that is easy to use, have HIGH level of USABILITY

• Others which gives user a nightmare, have LOW level of USABILITY

Disciplines Contributing to HCI

Computer Science

- the study of construction of software.

- Provide knowledge about the capabilities and limitations of the technology.

Cognitive Psychology

- the study of how info is processed and represented in the mind.

- Provide knowledge about the capabilities and limitations of the users.

Ergonomics/human factors

- the study of human beings in relationship to their working environment

- Provide knowledge about how to design tools to suit the capacities and
capabilities of the users

- Also provide knowledge about how to design the working environment to suit
the users rather than the other way round.

Social and Organizational Psychology & Others…………..

The ideal designer of interactive systems should have expertise in a variety of

disciplines

(in other words an interactive system designer should have a wide variety of
knowledge)
• Ergonomics/human
factors
D
A

Computer Science

Cognitive Psychology

C Ergonomics/human factors

Social and Organizational

Psychology
 “It is not possible to design effective interactive systems
from one discipline in isolation”— Alan Dix

Input is needed from other disciplines because we need to

understand:
• the COMPUTER SYSTEM
• the USER and the TASKS the user is performing
• the ENVIRONMENT in which the task is being perform
HCI and Software Development

• The Development process (Traditional way)

• Follows numbers of stages in sequence

• At the beginning, the requirements for the system are

analyzed and then this information is processed and
converted into a design, which is then coded and
tested and the product is completed and becomes
operational.

• This approach to software development is called the

“WATERFALL” lifecycle model of software
development
• The development process _HCI framework

So, to make a good UI:

• focus on users and their tasks (be user centered)

• build a little(prototype), test a little (usability test)

• iterate until a good design is achieved

The essential
difference
between the
waterfall approach
and the HCI
Framework :
Iteration
 HCI Framework
Waterfall Approach • Focus on user’s need
• Development process often driven by • Analyse user’s tasks so can provide functionality
functional processing requirements to support those tasks

• deliver what the designer think what • Build prototype

the users want
• Carry out early testing & evaluation with users

• Iterate until a good design is achieved

People, Activities, Contexts, Technologies (PACT) Analysis

Before we even begin an UI design, we must first identify and understand

current situation, and assess if any possible improvements can be made.

PACT analysis looks at:

• People: Sociology, culture, biology, language, psychology, etc…

• Activity & Context: Interaction that take place in the context of some
‘community of practice’. Eg. Business community and its organisation of
information.

• Technologies: Selecting appropriate software and hardware.

Designing a train ticket machine.

• People: physical (age,height, weight), psychology(memory, mental models),

usage (expert, novices)

• Activities: time (when, frequency), complexity, safety critical, content(

information/media dealing with)

• Context: physical environment, social context (culture/language).

• Technology: input (touch screen,mouse) , output (monitor, speaker)

Thank you