Interacting with the world

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Interacting with the world

• Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction

Stefan Smagula Lecturer, Univ. of Texas at
Austin stefan.smagula_at_gmail.com
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What is information?

• Information is the difference that makes a
  difference.
• -Gregory Bateson

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Designing the flow
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SBC DataCommerce v. 1.0 (wireframe)
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SBC Yahoo! Connection Manager v. 1.0 Mac OS X

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To Err is Human

• Errorswhat types of errors are there?
• Whose fault are these errors?

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Storing and retrieving information

• Segment 1 Visualizing information
• History of information design (Tufte)
• Importance of perspective (Hockney excerpt)
• Perspective Machines
• Art as form of information design
• Current trends in info. visualization
• Organic info. design (Ben Fry)
• Nested treemaps (Schneiderman Wattenberg)
• Zoom bloom interfaces (Rao Raskin)
• Mapping Human Genome (to come)

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Interacting with the human-built environment

• Segment 2 Earliest Information Technologies
• Counting and Writing Technologies
• Bone Tallies Sumerian Tokens
• Concrete abstract counting
• How did counting writing come about?
• What were some results?
• Literacy Numeracy
• Masters and slaves

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What is this course about?

• Segment 3 Human-Computer Interaction
• Basic ideas that make computers work (excerpt
  from Pattern on the Stone by Hillis)
• Turing machines (back-end)
• Boolean logic (back-end)
• Algorithms heuristics
• Principles of user-centered design
• Donald NormanMake it visible!
• But what about interacting with computers?
• Is it different from interacting with a phone?

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Human Computer Interaction Basic principles

• The following principles underlie all user
  interface and information architecture
  activities. The relative priority of each
  principle depends on the specific situation.
• 1) Design for Visibility make the application's
  identity and main functionality visible at a
  glance.

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Human Computer Interaction Basic principles

• 2) Design for Efficiency allocate more space to
  what is important at the moment, take advantage
  of input device constraints (Fitts's law). Make
  interactions and displays consistent,
  standardized, simple, and complete.
• 3) Put user in control the user has power to
  control the way she selects items, and completes
  tasks.

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Human Computer Interaction Basic principles

• 4) Take advantage of constraints Make it
  impossible for users to commit errors. Example A
  floppy disk won't fit into its drive when
  sideways or upside down. Fittss Law the speed
  and accuracy of a click is related to two
  factors distance pointer must travel, and hit
  area
• 5) Match user's mental model bridge the gap
  between the user's mental model and the
  implementation model. Design for the user's
  intentions and goals, not for the way the system
  will process the user's input.

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Human Computer Interaction Basic principles

• 5) Promote understanding presentation and
  interaction need to be utterly consistent in
  order to be easy to understand and learn. Make
  unusual functions discoverable.
• 6) Design for Errors Most errors can be avoided
  (validate on client, effective use of
  constraints, etc.). When an unavoidable error
  takes place, handle it gracefully provide user
  advice on how to overcome the error in the user's
  language, or even better, make the correction,
  then ask permission from the user to keep that
  correction.

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Human Computer Interaction Basic principles

• 7) Make System State Visible where am I now,
  what am I doing? What is happening now? What do I
  need to do? Where may I go, where can I do, where
  have I been already? How many more steps are
  there?
• 8) Support Universal Accessibility Ensure the
  system is universally accessible include support
  of todays user agents (browsers, screen readers,
  etc.), and plan for support of tomorrows user
  agents (cell phones, PDAs, etc.)

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Human Computer Interaction Basic principles

• 9) Apply the principles and techniques of
  information design
• small multiples
• micro-macro displays
• layering separation
• effective use of color to convey information,
  etc.
• Aesthetics matter attractive devices are
  actually more effective.

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What is to come?

• Next Theme Social Interfaces Ethics
• Begin reading Social Life of Information
• What are ethical dimensions of technology? What
  guidelines for human-machine ethics can we
  devise?
• First, do no harm
• Be transparent
• Be respectful
• Be self-limiting
• Etc.

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What are some Questions to consider?

• Theme Social Interfaces
• What are social dimensions of technology?
• Blogging as social medium (reflect on your own
  experience as bloggers)
• Social Interfaces of everyday applications
  (email, cell phones, IM)
• How did the social interface of the bone tally
  differ from that of the token?