June 2010 Edition
Computer Science Department, University of Cape Town
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The study of Human-Computer Interaction has developed into a discipline in its own right over the last ten years or so.
Long before HCI people were studying how humans and systems (machines, processes and so on) worked together. In the Second World War, for example, weapons developers were interested in making their products more effective (!).
There has been a lot of work into the ergonomics of the machines, environments and systems that humans are involved in. The Ergonomics Society in the UK recently celebrated its 50th birthday (it was founded in 1949).
Ergonomics (which is sometimes also known as Human Factors) is mainly concerned with making sure that the physical aspects of a system fit well with a human’s capabilities and limitation:
Car design: are the cars controls – steering wheel, dashboard, pedals etc – well placed for the drivers?
Product design : is this tool easy to handle?
Workplace: is the lighting good; is the desk and seat adjustable to suit the users?
As more and more computer systems were introduced, people began to get involved in thinking about the way in which humans relate and interact with these new environments. Initially this new area of work was called man-machine interaction; it is now much more aptly named human-computer interaction.
Many universities and technology companies (e.g. Xerox, Apple, and Microsoft) have research labs that are dedicated to improving interaction by amongst other things -
Finding out key aspects that affect the quality of interaction.
Developing new technologies (e.g. handwriting recognition) for interaction.
Developing models and tools which system builders can use to build better interfaces.
Evaluating the impact of alternative interaction approaches on usability.
Organisations that build interactive systems need HCI professionals to help them do a better job. Some examples of HCI in practice are:
A HCI Lab in a consumer electronic manufacturer. Here, the HCI specialists are involved in the design and evaluation of a range of consumer products from mobile phones to video-recorders. They work with the software developers and industrial designers to explore the best designs for good interactivity.
Usability consultants. Several organisations have recently emerged which offer a range of usability services to their clients.
Software engineers with HCI training. Most computer science courses at universities throughout the world now include some instruction on HCI. The hope is that this education will bring awareness of the importance of good user-centred design and promote skills in people who are directly involved in building systems.
Using the Web and a good search engine like Google find sites belong to the human factors/ HCI specialists in the following companies: IBM, Microsoft and Google. Spend sometime looking at each site.
What types of work do they do?
What kinds of people do they want to recruit?
HCI draws on a wide range of disciplines as we will see during this course. They include:
Psychology
Sociology
Information systems
Product design
Computer science
Its natural ‘home’ though is computer science where it is a central concern.
What contributions do you think that each of the following professional might bring to the field of HCI?
Psychologists
Sociologists
Information systems experts
Product designers
Computer scientists
Answer to this question can be found at the end of the chapter.