Human Computer Interaction

Human Computer Interaction

1. ?

   • HCI is the study of how people use and interact with computers and computer-related technology, including problems that may occur and whether the use is simple or difficult, efficient or inefficient, etc. The goal is to reduce the number of usability problems and make sure that future technology and systems will be usable, efficient and useful.
   • History
     • Mankind has used technology since the beginning of history, whereas computers have been around for a very short time. In the 60's and 70's, computers were primarily used by experts, either programmers, computer scientists or people working with data entry.
     • Early Computers
       •  In those days, ergonomic experts focused on workstation design in order to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries, for instance, neck and shoulder pain, or eyestrain.
       •  In the late 70's, the use of monitors spread and new groups of professionals started to work with computers. Ever since, the use of computers has increased and currently almost all sectors of society rely on computers.
     • Today
       • Computer technology is used for increasingly complex tasks and it must support the users' cognitive (thinking) processes and professional skills. This makes the characteristics of human behaviour and human cognition central within HCI.
       • HCI is also based on the study of technology use within complex technical systems, for instance, aircrafts, process industry and nuclear power plants. In such contexts, usability, efficiency and speed are crucial for the safety of the whole system.
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     • n order to understand technology usage, we have to study the human being as well as the technology and the interaction between human and technology. HCI is therefore a multi-disciplinary field, where experts from different areas, such as, the behavioural sciences, computer science, engineering and organisational psychology, collaborate in analysing and solving problems.

2. Software Development

   • Must we Implement HCI?
     • Well, if you don't you will most likely run into problems towards the end of the development process. The developers do not know what needs the users have, i.e. what the users will use the system for and how. 
     • The chances of creating a usable system are slight if you do not know what it will be used for. Nor can usability be added to the system at the end, like frosting a cake. Instead, usability issues and occupational health issues must be addressed from the very beginning of the development process.
   • How do we integrate HCI into Software Dev
     • Focus on User Needs etc.
       • One obvious pre-requisite is that everyone in the development team agrees to focus on the users' needs, usability and occupational health aspects. If not, these aspects will be neglected.
     • Project Management
       • Furthermore, you need to know how to organise the project and development work so that HCI aspects can be integrated in practice. It takes a software development model that explicitly describes how usability issues should be addressed, usability expertise within the project team and someone being responsible for the usability of the system.
     • UCD
       • User involvement in the development process is another crucial factor, i.e. that the project applies a user-centred approach (User-Centred Design: UCD).
       • Steps
         • Analyze the Opportunity
         • Build The Context of Use
         • Create the User Experience
         • Track real-world usage and continuously improve the product
       • Is it easy to use?
         • In theory yes, but in practice no. Even projects that are truly committed to usability and the user-centred approach often run into problems.
         • Deadlines and Tight Resources
           • Deadlines are a recurring problem. When projects run out of time and/or money they have to focus on getting the functionality in place and making the system work.
           • The efforts to address usability and involve users are typically the first ones to go when time and money get tight.
           • The result is a working system, but with poor usability. It may even be practically useless to the users. There is, however, a great body of knowledge about the difficulties in user-centred design and how to overcome them in practice.   
           • Thus, it is possible to take HCI aspects into account, provided that the project is committed to usability and UCD.
       • Why Isnt it always used?
         • 1. There are several reasons, for instance, not knowing how to apply the user-centred design approach in practice.
         • 2.  lack of competence and experience in working with UCD, or the software development traditions and culture of the organisation being contrary to user-centred design.
         • 3. The models and processes typically used in software development rarely support usability activities. Consequently, usability aspects are often ignored or omitted.
         • Another problem is the resistance to user involvement and the attitude that "things will work out anyway“. Involving users is considered too time-consuming and/or too costly. The HCI field addresses such aspects.
         • HCI Research Results
           • HCI research has shown that a systematic and knowledgeable software development process with a usability focus and user involvement results in better, more efficient and more usable systems.
     • The Future
       • In the future, technology and computers will be used everywhere, in working life and in society at large; this is already happening (fridges connected to the Internet, people carrying computers (mobile phones) wherever they go, even self-parking cars).
       • Research
         • An ever increasing number of workers use computers in virtually all their work tasks. We know, from studies of occupational health problems, that more than 70% of the office workers using computers suffer from daily problems with poor usability, repetitive strain injuries, stress related disorders and other types of health complaints.
         • We also know that more than 70% of the large software development projects do not meet the requirements nor their deadlines and budgets.
       • Synopsis
         • Taken together, this shows that there are significant, unresolved problems with the efficiency of the software development process and with the way usability and health issues are addressed.
         • Nevertheless, there are a number of highly usable and useful systems. Computers and technology are a necessary and integrated part of society and they have brought great benefits to the workplace as well as to society at large. We could not cope without them. Thus, there are several HCI related problems yet to be solved.
       • Scenarios
         • Exploding Costs
           • Sky rocketing costs for IT and inefficient, complicated computer systems that fail to support the users' work and cause repetitive strain injuries and other types of problems.
         • Productivity
           • We develop good, useful and usable technology that supports skilled workers in becoming more productive and better at their work, making them feel better.

3. Evolution of Computers and UIs

   • Early Computers
     • In the early days of computer technology, computers were something exceptional. They were used for various, simple, calculations and their most important advantage was their timesaving capabilities.
     • Despite their limited use, computers were extremely expensive. In those days, computers had little impact on the work organisation and work processes. They were used to support particular tasks, in parallel and as a complement to the traditional work processes rather than replacing them. 
     • Work organisation and work processes did not depend on the computers. If the computers crashed, the workers could fall back on the traditional work processes to perform their tasks.
     • The computer-supported tasks were simple, well-defined and limited and there were few complicating factors. As a consequence, the computers generally worked the way they were supposed to, i.e. they provided adequate and functional support for the tasks they were designed for.
     • Moreover, there was little need for sophisticated and "user friendly" user interfaces since the people who used computers were usually those who built them. They had deep knowledge about the structure and internal workings of the computer and had little difficulties with using abstract and complex user interfaces.
     • Characteristics of Early Computers
       • ~Technical innovations ~Expensive machines ~Limited and well-defined area of use ~Used for limited steps in work processes only, not entire processes ~Worked the way they were supposed to ~Used by computer scientists or specialists ~Little need for adjusting the user interface to human needs and limitations
   • Current Computers
     • In the early days of computer technology, organisations and business were not subject to the rapid changes of today. The organisations and the surroundings were fairly stable. Therefore, defining tasks and processes to be supported by the computer was much easier.
     • It was also easier to predict the consequences and effects of the introduction of a particular computer system. Specifying and building a computer system was primarily a technical problem, and not so much a matter of adjusting the computer system to the organisation and the users. Computers were fairly simple constructions, and strong and robust. 
     • They could also, as mentioned above, be replaced by manual processes in the case they broke down. Given the relative simplicity of the computers and the stable circumstances, only moderate efforts were required for creating usable and efficient solutions.
     • Characteristics of Current Computers
       • ~ Used everywhere ~ Primary tool in virtually all areas and business sectors ~ Fairly inexpensive ~ Great impact on work organisations and work processes, used to support entire processes ~Used by ordinary people ~Do not work the way they are supposed to
   • Synopsis
     • Changes, including technical changes, are rapid today. This makes it very difficult to predict exactly how, where and why an IT system will be used. The work organisation, for which the system is being built, is more difficult to analyse and specify. Therefore, IT systems development has turned into a business problem and a financial problem, rather than a purely technical problem. Systems development has become organisation development rather than just the development and construction of a technical system.
     • IT systems have also become much more complex and susceptible to disturbance as compared to the early computer systems. They are unintelligible and difficult to use for the users and they often break down. It is difficult to identify the tasks that are suited for computerisation and to predict the long-term effects of computerisation and potential side effects on the work environment, on society at large, on the environment, etc. Good intentions are no longer enough for creating usable systems. It takes expertise in the social sciences as well as the humanities.
   • What does the IT System Comprise?
     • The IT system comprises more than just the computer and the software. First of all, there is the user, an inseparable part of the IT system. The interaction between the user and the computer must also be adapted to the work organisation and the tasks. The work organisation and the tasks must, on the other hand, be adapted to the users/workers and the computers.
     • In order to make the whole system run smoothly, all these relations must fit with other such relations in the organisation and contribute to the goals of the organisation. Moreover, the IT system must not conflict with the interests and values of society or of the organisation. In order to design and develop such a system, it takes more than just hardware and software design, or user interface design and user training. In order to create a usable IT system, all the components described above must be taken into account.