Human–computer interaction

Human–computer interaction (HCI), alternatively man–machine interaction (MMI) or computer–human interaction (CHI), is the study of interaction between people (users) and computers. It is an interdisciplinary subject, relating computer science with many other fields of study and research. Interaction between users and computers occurs at the user interface (or simply interface), which includes both software and hardware, for example, general purpose computer peripherals and large-scale mechanical systems, such as aircraft and power plants.

Terminology

• HCI vs MMI. MMI has been used to refer to any man–machine interaction, including, but not exclusively computers. The term was used early on in control room design for anything operated on or observed by an operator, e.g. dials, switches, knobs and gauges.

• HCI vs CHI. The acronym CHI (pronounced kai), for computer–human interaction, has been used to refer to this field, perhaps more frequently in the past than now. However, researchers and practitioners now refer to their field of study as HCI (pronounced as an initialism), which perhaps rose in popularity partly because of the notion that the human, and the human's needs and time, should be considered first, and are more important than the machine's. This notion became increasingly relevant towards the end of the 20th century as computers became increasingly inexpensive (as did CPU time), small, and powerful. Since the turn of the millennium, the field of human-centered computing has emerged as an even more pronounced focus on understanding human beings as actors within socio–technical systems.

• Usability vs Usefulness. Design methodologies in HCI aim to create user interfaces that are usable, i.e. that can be operated with ease and efficiency. However, an even more basic requirement is that the user interface be useful, i.e. that it allows the user to complete relevant tasks.

• Intuitive and Natural. Software products are often touted by marketeers as being "intuitive" and "natural" to use, often simply because they have a graphical user interface. Many researchers in HCI view such claims as unfounded (e.g. a poorly designed GUI may be very unusable), and some object to the use of the words intuitive and natural as vague and/or misleading, since these are very context-dependent terms.

• Data Density and Information Absorption. The rapid growth in the density of computer screen real estate has created an opportunity to accelerate "information absorption" to much higher levels. Classic "data density" on a computer is 50-100 data points, recent advances in data visualization enable thousands of data points to be presented in forms which can be rapidly absorbed. Interfaces such as virtual reality will give further growth to the potential density of information presented..

Goals

A basic goal of HCI is to improve the interaction between users and computers by making computers more usable and receptive to the user's needs. Specifically, HCI is concerned with:

• methodologies and processes for designing interfaces (i.e., given a task and a class of users, design the best possible interface within given constraints, optimizing for a desired property such as learnability or efficiency of use)
• methods for implementing interfaces (e.g. software toolkits and libraries; efficient algorithms)
• techniques for evaluating and comparing interfaces
• developing new interfaces and interaction techniques
• developing descriptive and predictive models and theories of interaction

A long term goal of HCI is to design systems that minimize the barrier between the human's cognitive model of what they want to accomplish and the computer's understanding of the user's task (see CSCW).

Professional practitioners in HCI are usually designers concerned with the practical application of design methodologies to real-world problems. Their work often revolves around designing graphical user interfaces and web interfaces.

Researchers in HCI are interested in developing new design methodologies, experimenting with new hardware devices, prototyping new software systems, exploring new paradigms for interaction, and developing models and theories of interaction.

Design methodologies

A number of diverse methodologies outlining techniques for human–computer interaction design have emerged since the rise of the field in the 1980s. Most design methodologies stem from a model for how users, designers, and technical systems interact. Early methodologies, for example, treated users' cognitive processes as predictable and quantifiable and encouraged design practitioners to look to cognitive science results in areas such as memory and attention when designing user interfaces. Modern models tend to focus on a constant feedback and conversation between users, designers, and engineers and push for technical systems to be wrapped around the types of experiences users want to have, rather than wrapping user experience around a completed system.

• User-centered design: User-centered design (UCD) is a modern, widely practiced design philosophy rooted in the idea that users must take center-stage in the design of any computer system. Users, designers, and technical practitioners work together to articulate the wants, needs, and limitations of the user and create a system that addresses these elements. Often, user-centered design projects are informed by ethnographic studies of the environments in which users will be interacting with the system.

• Principles of User Interface Design: These are seven principles that may be considered at any time during the design of a user interface in any order, namely Tolerance, Simplicity, Visibility, Affordance, Consistency, Structure and Feedback.

Academic conferences

One of the top academic conferences for new research in human-computer interaction, especially within computer science, is the annually held ACM's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, usually referred to by its short name CHI (pronounced kai, or khai). CHI is organized by ACM SIGCHI Special Interest Group on Computer–Human Interaction. CHI is a large, highly competitive conference, with thousands of attendants, and is quite broad in scope.

• CHI 2008
• CHI 2007
• CHI 2006
• CHI 2005
• CHI 2004

There are also dozens of other smaller, regional or specialized HCI-related conferences held around the world each year, a few examples of which include

• HCI International
• FMIS: International Workshop on Formal Methods for Interactive Systems
• UIST: ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
• NIME: International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression
• Australian HCI Conference
• British HCI Conference

Interdisciplinary aspects

Combined with computer science and information technology are fields including:

• Aesthetics
• Anthropology
• Artificial intelligence
• Cognitive science
• Computer vision
• Design
• Ergonomics
• Human factors
• Information security
• Library and information science
• Philosophy
• Phenomenology
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Sociology
• Speech–Language Pathology

See also

• HCI curriculum
• Interaction Design
• Topics in human–computer interaction
• Ubiquitous computing
• Universal usability
• Usability Engineering
• User interface

References

• Ronald M. Baecker, Jonathan Grudin, William A. S. Buxton, Saul Greenberg (1995): Readings in human–computer interaction. Toward the Year 2000. 2. ed. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco 1995 ISBN 1-558-60246-1
• William S. Bainbridge, ed. (2004): Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human–Computer Interaction. 2 volumes. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire. http://www.berkshirehci.com. ISBN 0-9743091-2-5
• Stuart K. Card, Thomas P. Moran, Allen Newell: The Psychology of Human–Computer Interaction. Erlbaum, Hillsdale 1983 ISBN 0-89859-243-7
• Alan Dix, Janet Finlay, Gregory D. Abowd, and Russell Beale (2003): Human–Computer Interaction. 3rd Edition. Prentice Hall, 2003. http://hcibook.com/e3/ ISBN 0-13046-109-1
• Manuel Imaz and David Benyon (2007). Designing with Blends: Conceptual Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction and Software Engineering. The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-09042-1
• Julie A. Jacko and Andrew Sears (Eds.). (2003). Handbook for Human Computer Interaction. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates. ISBN 0-8058-4468-6
• Brad A. Myers: A brief history of human–computer interaction technology. Interactions 5(2):44-54, 1998, ISSN 1072-5520 ACM Press. http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/274430.274436
• Jakob Nielsen: Usability Engineering. Academic Press, Boston 1993 ISBN 0-12-518405-0
• Donald A. Norman: The Psychology of Everyday Things. Basic Books, New York 1988 ISBN 0-465-06709-3
• Jef Raskin: The humane interface. New directions for designing interactive systems. Addison-Wesley, Boston 2000 ISBN 0-201-37937-6
• Helen Sharp, Yvonne Rogers & Jenny Preece: Interaction Design: Beyond Human–Computer Interaction, 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2007 ISBN 0-470-01866-6
• Ben Shneiderman and Catherine Plaisant: Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human–Computer Interaction. 4th ed. Addison Wesley, 2004 ISBN 0-321-19786-0
• Bruce Tognazzini: Tog on Interface. Addison-Wesley, Reading 1991 ISBN 0-201-60842-1
• Barry Wellman and Caroline Haythornthwaite (Eds.). The Internet in Everyday Life. Blackwell, Oxford 2002 ISBN 0-631-23508-6

External links

• Bad Human Factors Designs
• EServer TC Library: HCI
• The HCI Bibliography Over 34,000 publications about HCI.
• HCI in Popular Culture
• Human-Centered Computing Education Digital Library
• Interaction-Design.org Open-content, peer-reviewed encyclopedia.
• Usability Views
• Useit.com: Jakob Nielsen on Usability and Web Design

Organizations

• HCI Webliography List of HCI Organizations Links to about 100 HCI organizations, worldwide
• ACM SIGCHI Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction.
• Usability Professionals' Association
• Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
• British HCI Group
• Usability Matters