Connecting with Computer Science, 2e Chapter 11 The Human-Computer InterfaceConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 2 Objectives • In this chapter you will: – Learn the origins of human-computer interface development – Learn about human interaction technologies – Learn the foundations of human interface design – Understand how to build an effective user interface – Discover how contemporary design experts create cutting-edge technologies – Find out what human emotion has to do with good designConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 3 Why You Need to Know About...The Human-Computer Interface • Putting off user interface design – System and engineering needs drive development – Easy to blame the user for problems • RTFM: Read the Fabulous Manual • Cannot expect excellent results from poorly designed technologyThe Evolving Interface • Technology not performing as intended – Bank glass exit doors – Burners on a stove • Users and interface design: second-level status • Reasons for not focusing on users – System-first development approach – No team member with user interface design skills – Established development processes – Developers protecting their turf – Believe extra steps result in increased costs Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 4The Evolving Interface (cont’d.) • Consumer involvement in software development – Example: beta releases – No correlation with addressing user needs • Obtaining skills required to address spoken and unspoken user needs – Team approach • User interface – Handles interaction between technology and user – Consists of what user’s senses perceive • What the user can manipulate to operate technology Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 5Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 6 User Interface Technologies • Human-computer interface technologies – Mouse, keyboard, screen, and GUI – Computer input • Voice, leg movements, biochemical changes, pulse and respiration rates, and eye movements – Computer feedback • Visual display, sound, movement, and heat • “Multimodal” interfaces have many interaction modesConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 7 User Interface Technologies (cont’d.) • Gaze system: users’ eye movements as input • Voice-recognition technology: recognizes human speech and processes instructions – Systems designed to interact with many users • Must accommodate many different voices • Limit number of phrases understood: grammar – Natural-language processing • Being able to recognize “normal” conversationConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 8 Figure 11-2, Gaze systems in action Courtesy of Päivi Majaranta and Harri Rantala from the Tampere Unit for Computer-Human Interaction at the University of Tampere, Finland User Interface Technologies (cont’d.)Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 9 User Interface Technologies (cont’d.) • Haptics technologies: users feel response – Examples: Wii and aviation – Allow direct neural connection to the body • Advanced prosthetic limbs – Remote operations (“haptic teleoperation”): flying remote drones, operating on a patient in another location, controlling an underwater robot – Virtual reality technologies: training people • User interfaces for sensing input – Tracking eye, head, body movements; sensing neural output; measuring brain activity; and othersConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 10 Figure 11-3, An example of haptics technology Courtesy of Arto Hippula (left) from the Tampere Unit for Computer-Human Interaction at the University of Tampere, Finland, and author David Ferro (right) User Interface Technologies (cont’d.)Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 11 Foundations of User Interface Design • Perfect user interface will never exist – Designers bring personal factors into their work – Designers tend to design for physical capabilities • Models, metaphors, and analogies – Distinguished from one another – All describe the technology mental viewConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 12 Foundations of User Interface Design (cont’d.) • Models allow users to: – Predict what will happen given certain input – Find causes for the system’s behavior – Determine what actions cause changes they want – Serve as a device for recalling relationships between actions and events • Mapping a model to another similar device – Get similar results • Everyone involved in the development process has his or her own modelConnecting with Computer Science, 2e 13 Foundations of User Interface Design (cont’d.) • Superstitious behavior – Users with incomplete information on how to use a technology create an incorrect model of the way a technology works • Created by not bringing mental models into some accord or not incorporating everyone’s expectations • Consistency in the user interface is importantHuman Psychology in Human-Computer Interaction • Sensory storage – Where sensory information is first processed by the human brain before passing it to short-term memory • Handles a lot of information simultaneously • Cannot store it for long • Information paid attention to is moved into higher memory functions – Buffer storing all sensory information coming in – Examples: • Processing movies • Party: keeping an eye on surroundings Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 14Human Psychology in Human-Computer Interaction (cont’d.) • Short-term memory – Stores information after sensory system receives it • Limited to five to nine items temporarily • Information held up to 30 seconds – Tactics to retain: repetition and chunking • Example: phone numbers • Be aware of short-term memory in design – Avoid moving users to another page requiring information from previous page – Avoid placing pop-up windows over information users need Connecting with Computer Science, 2e 15Human Psychology in Human-Computer Interaction (cont’d.) • Long-term memory – Stores information on a semipermanent basis • Potentially limitless amount • Retrieving information is difficult – Tactics to retain: mnemonics and chunking • Examples: – Storytellers –
View Full Document
Unlocking...