Human-Computer Interaction

Mart Laanpere
Tallinn University of Educational
and Social Sciences
DigitalThink lessons

Confusions related to course interface

 Orientation phase

 Buttons unexplained

 User can easily be stuck on lower levels

(discussion threads etc.)

Human-Computer Interaction
Human
– the end-user
– the others in the organisation
Computer
– hardware
– software
Interaction
– user “tells” the computer what (s)he wants
– computer communicates results
Practical implication of HCI
 Design,
 Implementation and
 Evaluation of user interfaces
Importance of HCI
 Productivity
– individual (e.g. installations, word
processing)
– organisational (changing job content,
satisfaction, working environment, power
and influence)
 Safety (e.g. nuclear plants, flight
control)
A model of HCI
Organisational
Level 3 Social goal
system

Level 2 Work

People Technology
Level 1
Disciplines, contributing to HCI
 Computer science
 Cognitive psychology
 Social & organisational psychology
 Ergonomics
 Artificial intelligence
 Linguistics
 Philosophy, sociology, anhtropology
Factors in HCI
Organisational: job design, Environmental: noise,
roles, policies, heating, lighting, ventilation,

Health: stress, The user : motivation, Comfort :

headaches satisfaction, experience seating

User interface : I/O devices, color scheme, icons, dialogue, help

Task : complexity, novelty, allocation, repetitions, monitoring

Constraints : costs, timescales, staff, equipment, building

System functionality : hardware, software, network
Productivity : output, quality, costs, errors, production time
Discuss...

… what HCI factors should be considered

while designing the Web-based
courses?
Category Factors

The user: student

The user: instructor
User interface
Organisation
Constraints
Productivity
HCI design models
 Waterfall model
 The star life cycle model
 Rapid prototyping
The waterfall model
Requirements
analysis &
specification
System &
software
design
Implementation
& unit testing
Integration
& system
testing
The star life cycle
Task analysis /
Implementation functional
analysis

Evaluation
Requirements
Prototyping specification

Conceptual design /
formal design
Rapid prototyping
From instructional design to HCI design

 Task analysis, functional analysis

 Conceptual design, based on selected
instructional strategies and tactics
 Physical design guidelines
Sketch…

… a flowchart, depicting the instructional

strategies and tactics you have selected
for you prototype lesson.
User Interface design guidelines
E.g. UI design guide from IBM Web site:
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/hci/guidelines/design/
 Principles: simplicity, support, familiarity,
obviousness, encouragement, satisfaction,
accessibility, safety, versatility, personalisation,
affinity
 Web style guidelines: specify a reason for the
site, define your audience, etc.
 Site-specific conventions: provide search &
help on the left side of every page on this site
HCI resources on the Web
 IBM HCI design guide at
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/hci/guidelines/design/
 Sun’s Web style guide: www.sun.com/styleguide
 Designing killer Web sites www.killersites.com
 Jakob Nielsen’s AlertBox at http://www.useit.com
 Graphical design and visualisation, visual literacy
 Terry Winograd, Donald Norman