Human Computer Interaction

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

The following definition is given at : "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."

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 library (computer science); 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 design.

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 computer keyboard and mouse (computing). More discussion of the nuances between these fields is at

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 ethnography 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. Pattern Language

See List of human-computer interaction topics#Interface design methods for more

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 acronym and 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.

Intuition (knowledge) 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. See Jef Raskin: Intuitive Equals Familiar. In: Communications of the ACM, vol 37, no 9, September 1994, pp. 17-18, for more discussion.

Academic conferences One of the top academic conferences for new research in human-computer interaction, especially within computer science, is the annually held Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, usually referred to by its short name CHI (conference) (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, a few examples of which include

HCI International
British HCI Conference
OZCHI: Australian HCI Conference
UIST: Association for Computing Machinery Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
NIME: International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression
IHM: Annual French-speaking HCI Conference