This article is about the interaction between users and computers at the user interface. For direct communication pathway between a human or animal brain (or brain cell culture) and an external computer or machine device, please see Brain-computer interface. Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the study of interaction between people (users) and computers. It is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design and several other fields of study. 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. The following definition is given by the Association for Computing Machinery[1]:
- "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 also sometimes referred to as man–machine interaction (MMI) or computer–human interaction (CHI).
Goals
A basic goal of HCI is to improve the interactions 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.
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.
Differences with related fields
HCI differs with human factors in that there is more of a focus on users working with computers rather than other kinds of machines or designed artifacts, and an additional focus on how to implement the (software and hardware) mechanisms behind computers to support human-computer interaction. HCI also differs with ergonomics in that there is less of a focus on repetitive work-oriented tasks and procedures, and much less emphasis on physical stress and the physical form or industrial design of physical aspects of the user interface, such as the physical form of keyboards and mice. More discussion of the nuances between these fields is at [2]
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.[2]
Some Notes on 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 with 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 marketers 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. See [3] for more discussion.
Human Computer Interface
The human/computer interface can be described as the point of communication between the human user and the computer. The flow of information between the human and computer is defined as the loop of interaction. The loop of interaction has several aspects to it including:
- Task Environment: The conditions and goals set upon the user.
- Machine Environment: The environment that the computer is connected i.e a laptop in a college student's dorm room.
- Areas of the Interface: Non-overlapping areas involve processes of the human and computer not pertaining to their interaction. While the overlapping areas, only concern themselves with the processes pertaining to their interaction.
- Input Flow: Begins in the task environment as the user has some task that requires using their computer.
- Output: The flow of information that originates in the machine environment.
- Feedback: Loops through the interface that evaluate, moderate, and confirm processes as they pass from the human through the interface to the computer and back.
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 '95, CHI '96, CHI '97, CHI '98, CHI '99, CHI 2000, CHI 2001, CHI 2002, CHI 2003, CHI 2004, CHI 2005, CHI 2006, CHI 2007, CHI 2008
There are also dozens of other smaller, regional or specialized HCI-related conferences held around the world each year, the most important of which include:
Special Purpose
- UIST: ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology.
- CSCW: ACM conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work.
- ECSCW: European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Alternates yearly with CSCW.
- ICMI: International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces.
- MobileHCI: International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services.
- DIS: ACM conference on Designing Interactive Systems.
- NIME: International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression.
- HRI: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction.
- IUI: International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces.
Regional and General HCI
- INTERACT: IFIP TC13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Biennial, alternating years with AVI.
- AVI: International Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces. Held biennially in Italy, alternating years with INTERACT.
- HCI International: International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction.
- HCI: British HCI Conference.
- OZCHI: Australasian HCI Conference.
- IHM: Annual French-speaking HCI Conference.
- Graphics Interface: Annual Canadian computer graphics and HCI conference. The oldest regularly scheduled conference for graphics and human-computer interaction.
- NordiCHI: Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Biennial.
See also
Footnotes
Further reading
- Academic overview of the field by many authors:
- Historically important classic:
- Overview of history of the field:
- Academic journals:
- Behaviour & Information Technology [3]
- International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
- Human-Computer Interaction [4] [5]
- Collection of key papers:
- Ronald M. Baecker, Jonathan Grudin, William A. S. Buxton, Saul Greenberg (Eds.) (1995): Readings in human–computer interaction. Toward the Year 2000. 2. ed. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco 1995 ISBN 1-558-60246-1
- Treatments by one or few authors, often aimed at a more general audience:
- Textbooks that could be used in a classroom:
- See also List of user interface literature
- See also readings on hcibib.org
External links
da:HCI de:Mensch-Computer-Interaktion es:Interacción del hombre con la computadora fr:Interface homme-machine ko:인간과 컴퓨터 상호작용 it:Interfaccia umano-macchina ja:マンマシンインタフェース no:Menneske–maskin-interaksjon nl:Mens-computerinteractie pl:Interakcja człowiek-komputer pt:Interação homem-computador ru:Человеко-компьютерное взаимодействие sv:MDI
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