Human Computer

Interaction
By: AMINA SABA
IISAT
Table of content

 Introduction to the course

 Importance
 Course Plan
 Assessment Plan
 Introduction to HCI
 Background
 Definition
 Importance of Human, Computer and the Interaction
Introduction to the course

 Importance
 Deals with and combination of the different fields
 Cognitive study
 Psychology
 Logical thinking
 Design Principles
 Reasoning
 Computers and Interfaces
Assessment Plan

 Exam Types
 Mid-term Exams 25%
 Final Exams 50 %
Assessment Plan

 Sessional Marks 25%

 2 assignments
 4 quiz
 Final projects/ Presentation
 Class participation
Course Plan

 HEC outline
 16 weeks plan to complete the HEC outline
 Before and After mid work division
 Week-wise plan
Course Plan

 HEC recommended Material

 Recommended books
 Course slides
Required Tools

 Figma
 R-Studio
Introduction to HCI
Background

 HCI is undoubtedly a multi-disciplinary subject. The ideal designer of an

interactive system would have expertise in a range of topics: psychology
and cognitive science to give her knowledge of the user’s perceptual,
cognitive and problem-solving skills

 ergonomics for the user’s physical capabilities; sociology to help her

understand the wider context of the interaction; computer science and
engineering to be able to build the necessary technology
Background

 when we talk about human–computer interaction, we do not necessarily

envisage a single user with a desktop computer. By user we may mean
an individual user, a group of users working together, or a sequence of
users in an organization, each dealing with some part of the task or
process.

 By computer we mean any technology ranging from the general

desktop computer to a large-scale computer system, a process control
system or an embedded system.

 By interaction we mean any communication between a user and

computer, be it direct or indirect.
Background

 The interface is not something that can be plugged in at the last minute;
its design should be developed integrally with the rest of the system.

 It should not just present a ‘pretty face’, but should support the tasks
that people actually want to do, and forgive the careless mistakes. We
therefore need to consider how HCI fits into the design process.
Definition

 According to IEEE Xplore, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is the

design and implementation of interactive computing systems for human
use. HCI is a multidisciplinary field that involves research, engineering,
design, and implementation of computer technology and related human
interaction

 Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary field that

studies the interaction between people and computers, and designs
computer systems to be user-friendly. International standards for HCI
define general principles for user-centered design and user interface
design. ISO 13407:1999
Definition
Definition
Importance of Human, Computer and the
Interaction
The Human

 The human, the user, is, after all, the one whom computer systems are
designed to assist.

 The model comprises three subsystems: the perceptual system,

handling sensory stimulus from the outside world, the motor system,
which controls actions, and the cognitive system, which provides the
processing needed to connect the two. (Moran and Newell )

 The human, unlike the computer, is also influenced by external factors

such as the social and organizational environment, and we need to be
aware of these influences as well.
The Human

 A person’s interaction with the outside world occurs through information

being received and sent: input and output.

 There are five major senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Of
these, the first three are the most important to HCI. Taste and smell do
not currently play a significant role in HCI
The Human(Human Memory)

 It is generally agreed that there are three types of memory or memory

function: sensory buffers, short-term memory or working memory, and
long-term memory.
Human Memory (Sensory memory)

 The sensory memories act as buffers for stimuli received through the
senses

 A sensory memory exists for each sensory channel: iconic memory for
visual stimuli, echoic memory for aural stimuli and haptic memory for
touch.

 Information received by sensory memories is quickly passed into a more

permanent memory store, or overwritten and lost.
Human Memory (Short-term memory)

 Short-term memory or working memory acts as a ‘scratch-pad’ for

temporary recall of information.

 Short-term memory can be accessed rapidly, in the order of 70 ms.

However, it also decays rapidly, meaning that information can only be
held there temporarily, in the order of 200 ms

 Short-term memory also has a limited capacity. the average person can
remember 7 ± 2 digits.
Human Memory (Short-term memory)

 A generalization of the 7 ± 2 rule is that we can remember 7 ± 2 chunks

of information. Therefore chunking information can increase the short-
term memory capacity.

 The limited capacity of short-term memory produces a subconscious

desire to create chunks, and so optimize the use of the memory. The
successful formation of a chunk is known as closure.
Human Memory (Short-term memory)
Human Memory (Long-term memory)

 long-term memory is our main resource. Here we store factual

information, experiential knowledge, procedural rules of behavior – in
fact, everything that we ‘know’.

 There are two types of long-term memory: episodic memory and

semantic memory.
Human Memory (Long-term memory)

 Episodic memory represents our memory of events and experiences in a

serial form. It is from this memory that we can reconstruct the actual
events that took place at a given point in our lives.

 Semantic memory, on the other hand, is a structured record of facts,

concepts and skills that we have acquired. The information in semantic
memory is derived from that in our episodic memory, such that we can
learn new facts or concepts from our experiences.
Human Memory (Long-term memory)
The Computer

 A computer system comprises various elements, each of which affects

the user of the system.
 n Input devices for interactive use, allowing text entry, drawing and
selection from the screen
 text entry: traditional keyboard, phone text entry, speech and handwriting –
pointing: principally the mouse, but also touchpad, stylus and others – 3D
interaction devices.
The Computer

 Output display devices for interactive use

 different types of screen mostly using some form of bitmap display
 large displays and situated displays for shared and public use
 digital paper may be usable in the near future.
The Computer

 Virtual reality systems and 3D visualization which have special

interaction and display devices
 Various devices in the physical world
 physical controls and dedicated displays
 sound, smell and haptic feedback
 sensors for nearly everything including movement, temperature, bio-signs.
The Computer

 Paper output and input: the paperless office and the less-paper office
 different types of printers and their characteristics, character styles and fonts
 scanners and optical character recognition
The Computer

 Memory
 short-term memory: RAM
 Long-term memory: magnetic and optical disks
 capacity limitations related to document and video storage
 access methods as they limit or help the user.
The Computer

 Processing
 the effects when systems run too slow or too fast, the myth of the infinitely
fast machine
 limitations on processing speed – networks and their impact on system
performance.
THE INTERACTION

 n Interaction models help us to understand what is going on in the

interaction between user and system. They address the translations
between what the user wants and what the system does.

 The dialog between user and system is influenced by the style of the
interface.

 The interaction takes place within a social and organizational context

that affects both user and system.
THE INTERACTION

 Interaction involves at least two participants: the user and the system.
Both are complex, as we have seen, and are very different from each
other in the way that they communicate and view the domain and the
task.

 The use of models of interaction can help us to understand exactly what

is going on in the interaction and identify the likely root of difficulties.
THE INTERACTION--Norman’s cycle

The stages in Norman’s model of interaction are as follows:

1. Establishing the goal.
2. Forming the intention.
3. Specifying the action sequence.
4. Executing the action.
5. Perceiving the system state.
6. Interpreting the system state.
7. Evaluating the system state with respect to the goals and intentions.
The interaction framework
The interaction framework
The interaction framework

 Grouping controls together logically (and keeping opposing controls

separate)
 The exact organization that this will suggest will depend on the domain
and the application, but possible organizations include the following:
 functional controls and displays are organized so that those that are functionally
related are placed together
 sequential controls and displays are organized to reflect the order of their use in
a typical interaction (this may be especially appropriate in domains where a
particular task sequence is enforced, such as aviation)
 frequency controls and displays are organized according to how frequently they
are used, with the most commonly used controls being the most easily
accessible.
The interaction framework
The interaction--color

 Colors used in the display should be as distinct as possible and the

distinction should not be affected by changes in contrast.

 Blue should not be used to display critical information. If color is used as

an indicator it should not be the only cue: additional coding information
should be included.
The interaction--color

 The colors used should also correspond to common conventions and

user expectations. Red, green and yellow are colors frequently
associated with stop, go and standby respectively.

 Therefore, red may be used to indicate emergency and alarms; green, normal
activity; and yellow, standby and auxiliary function.
The interaction--color

 we should remember that color conventions are culturally determined.

 For example, red is associated with danger and warnings in most western
cultures, but in China it symbolizes happiness and good fortune.
 The color of mourning is black in some cultures and white in others.

 Awareness of the cultural associations of color is particularly important in

designing systems and websites for a global market.
INTERACTION STYLES

 There are a number of common interface styles including:

 command line interface
 menus n natural language
 question/answer and query dialog
 form-fills and spreadsheets
 WIMP
 point and click
 three-dimensional interfaces.
Summary

 Course Plan and Introduction

 HCI introduction
 Background
 Human
 Computer
 Interaction