Human Computer InteractionCSC 4730-100

User System InterfaceCSC 8570-001

Fall 2012Instructor: Robert E. Beck

Introductions (1) Name If working

– For what company?– In what capacity?

If a full-time student– Plans after graduation

Describe the user interface of the first computer you used.

Introductions (2) Information sheet Questionnaire: student information Questions

1. Who invented the computer mouse? When? Where?2. What (computer-based) POS systems do you typically

encounter as a customer in a standard week?3. What process would you use to find the latitude and

longitude of the statue of Gregor Mendel on the plaza in front of the Mendel Science Center?

Goals Developing design principles Investigating models and theories Creating evaluation processes

– Experimentation– Opinion

Outlining an effective design process—interface engineering

Proposing interface designs

Themes (1) Hierarchy of design principles Models Theories (or theory) Awareness

– Mental models– Common interactions– Microsoft vs. Apple vs. others– General knowledge

Themes (2) Breadth and depth: USI, HCI, UX, UE,

UIST, UIMS, IUI, SUSI, GUI, DMI Tasks vs. actions Multidisciplinary approach Frontiers of HCI Definitions, use of words Examples

Strategies (Ways of Knowing) Create concept maps for reading

assignments– Combine individual maps

Slip-of-paper (SOP) questions and surveys– Summarize results

Lectures, sometimes Discussion, always Argumentation, when appropriate

Strategies (2) Examples Careful reading of research and

survey articles PowerPoint (or Keynote) as a guide

– Edited during class– Posted after class on course web site

Activities Research project

– Report– Presentation– Poster

Article presentation Web-based project Exercises Experiments Exam – in two parts

– Second part: December 18

Responsibilities Attendance Reading Team support Dialog with classmates and instructor

Battery Operated Devices Step 1: Make a list of all the battery operated devices you

have with you this evening. Step 2: Pair up by threes and check your lists with one

another. Add any devices you forgot and create a union list.

Step 3: Choose the device from your combined list that has the simplest interface design.

Step 4: For this device, describe the interactions and their effects that a user can have with this device.

Step 5: Report your group’s findings to the class.

Battery Operated Devices (2) Keyless car entry Headphones Smart phone iPad Windows laptop MacBook Pro Pedometer

Hot TopicsBurning Questions

Time for your thoughts Pair up by twos For the next few minutes, write down

as many issues or problems in user-system interaction as you can.

Issue Summary How do we do this?

Hot Areas; Burning IssuesThe List

Extra steps needed to close Android web browser Not being able to determine the state of a

system. Example: Meeting Planner Not allowing direct manipulation (especially cut

and paste) methods to include information in Facebook

Noticeable response time delay for “simple” operations

Poor order of choices when starting a system. Example: Craig’s List

Overcomplicated systems—too many buttons or other widgets on a single screen, too long a path of choices to accomplish a task. Example: Novasis registration system

“Undercomplicated” systems—too few buttons, causing features to be hidden

List (2) Lack of backwards compatibility in system

versions Lack of data retention, or other cause, for

returning a system to its previous state. Example: not reopening tabs on a browser.

Unexpected results or functionality. Example: a standard sequence of operations produces an unanticipated result. Example: in MS Excel, right click between two rows doesn’t insert as expected

Using input devices or actions in non-standard, hence difficult ways. Example: menu navigation by arm waving with KINECT.

Hot Topics: Others’ Ideas CHI 20XX topics HCIL presentations Interactions

Landscape of the Field Taxonomy Ontology

Sources ACM Digital Library

– Conference proceedings, especially The Web—but be careful The course web site University HCI labs, e.g.

– U of Maryland www.cs.umd.edu/hcil Popular press

– Information Week– Financial Times

Falvey Library reference desk

Sources (2) Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think: A

Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

Jeff Johnson, GUI Bloopers 2.0: Common User Interface Design Don'ts and Dos

Jakob Nielsen, Designing Web Usability

Contacts PhillyCHI – Philadelphia region

chapter of SIGCHI SIGCHI – ACM Special Interest Group

on Computer Human Interaction

Conferences ACE – Computer Entertainment Technology AVI – Advanced Visual Interfaces CHI – Computer Human Interaction CSCW – Computer Supported Cooperative

Work DSV-IS HCI International HCIL Symposium (U Maryland) HICS Hypertext

Conferences (2) IDC Interact IUI – Intelligent User Interfaces IVA SG – Smart Graphics SIGIR – Information Retrieval UIST – User Interface Software Technology User Modeling World Wide Web

Tools Concept maps:

– http://cmap.ihmc.us EndNote Task models:

– ConcurTaskTrees Environment Help compiler Treemap:

– http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemap-history/

Tools (2) UISK: User Interface Sketching Tool NodeXL

What Do We Mean By User System Interface Human Computer Interaction Graphical

Direct Manipulation

Eras of HCI Holes Command lines Menus and characters Widget objects and bit maps Small devices Gesture input

iPad A newish smallish device Issues of design and user interaction?

– Discoverability of functionality– Easy to learn elementary functionality– Lack of multitasking, only single window– Keyboard design– Accidental gesture interpretation– Inconsistent interfaces across apps

(extends to all software)

iPad(5)– Displaying non-mobile web sites– Pinch zoom– Scroll to end?– Is it trying to be a computer?

What to Study: Potential Topics Tiny interfaces: Cell phones, smartphones, PDAs,

ultramobile PCs, house systems, POS systems Gesture-based input; pen interfaces Intelligent interfaces (cf. IUI) Task analysis (e.g. buying a ticket) Collaboration tools/systems (cf. CSCW) Personalization; recommender systems Friendly forms Creating digital libraries Mashup tools Web-based interfaces to systems, to information, for

task completion

Reading a Research Paper Expect to find

– Abstract– Introduction– Description of experiment– Discussion of results– Conclusion – Proposals for future work– References

Reading (2) Try the abstract—though it may be too

abstract, too condensed. Read the introduction until you get

confused. Read the conclusion. Look at the reference list—hoping to find

papers you already know about. Check the headings and first few lines of

the middle sections for ease of understanding.

Reading (3) Examples:

– Mackenzie: Unipad text entry– Soukoreff and Mackenzie

: Metrics for text entry errors

Next Time Read Wigdor & Balakrishnan, Tilt Text:

using tilt for text input to mobile phones. (You can get a copy of the paper from the ACM Digital Library.)

Evaluate its structure and content as a research paper.

Identify design principles for user interfaces based on the paper.

Hand in your solution to the table exercise.

Next Time (2) Install EndNote on your computer

and record the references from the Wigdor paper in it.– EndNote has been available for loan

from the library. Check with the Reference Desk

Install the CMAP software on your computer and capture the principal ideas of today’s lecture in it.

Next Time (3) What is the difference between

taxonomy and ontology? How is the field of HCI divided?

Buttons What should the syntax of a button be?

– Syntax? What’s that?– Does the question need to be rephrased?

What should the semantics of a button be?– Semantics? What’s that?– And in the new phrasing?