General Framework

HCI Lecture 1:
Principles and Guidelines Task
Articulation Performance
Input
Barbara Webb Human Computer
Observation Output Presentation
Interface
Environment

Complex problem: we dont have a full theory of the parts, or

their interactions

Note that a particular desired outcome may be best achieved by
changing any one of these factors or interactions.
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Related fields HCI in the design process

"Human-computer interaction is a discipline concerned with the
Waterfall model

design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing
systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena
surrounding them." Association for Computing Machinery
Equivalent terms are CHI and MMI
Usability Engineering focuses on design and implementation process

Earlier fields of Human Factors & Ergonomics
More stress on physical issues; and on optimising (work) processes;
concerns interaction with all kinds of human artifacts

User Interface Design
Focus on interface, i.e. tends to assume deeper function is fixed

User/Human Centred Design
Approach to software engineering with user focus at all stages
Participatory Design explicitly includes users in design process

Interaction Design
Wider scope than computer, and more emphasis on
cognitive/experiential factors than traditional HF.
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HCI in the design process Design Rules for HCI

The spiral lifecycle model (Boehm, 1988): importance of
Many sets of rules have been proposed
iteration in good design to encapsulate understanding and best
practice
Fig 9.9 in Sharp, Preece & Rogers, 2007, p.451 Operate at various levels

principles
abstract design rules

Agile development e.g. eXtreme Programming an interface should be easy to navigate
(agilemanifesto.org): emphasises tight iteration in short
guidelines
timescales, close collaboration with customer advice on how to achieve principle
may conflict; understanding theory helps resolve
Fig 9.14 in Sharp, Preece & Rogers, 2007, p.458 use colour to highlight links

standards
specific rules, measurable
MondoDesktop links are RGB #1010D0

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Design Rules for HCI Design Rules for HCI

ISO 9241, Ergonomics of Human System Interaction, adopts Shneidermans 8 Golden Rules (1987):
traditional usability categories with specific measures, e.g.:
1. Strive for consistency
2. Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
3. Offer informative feedback
4. Design dialogs to yield closure
5. Offer error prevention and simple error
6. Permit easy reversal of actions
7. Support internal locus of control
8. Reduce short-term memory load

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Design Rules for HCI Design Rules for HCI

Normans 7 Principles (1988): Nielsens 10 Usability Heuristics (1994):

1. Use both knowledge in the world and knowledge in 1. Visibility of system status
the head. 2. Match between system and the real world
2. Simplify the structure of tasks. 3. User control and freedom
3. Make things visible. 4. Consistency and standards
4. Get the mappings right. 5. Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from
errors
5. Exploit the power of constraints, both natural and 6. Error prevention
artificial.
7. Recognition rather than recall
6. Design for error. 8. Flexibility and efficiency of use
7. When all else fails, standardize. 9. Aesthetic and minimalist design
10. Help and documentation

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Consolidate the three lists here. Mark any you dont understand with * Usability Principles from Dix Chapter 7

E.g. Consistency (Nor 7,Shn 1, Nie 4)
Learnability

the ease with which new users can begin effective interaction and
achieve maximal performance

Flexibility
the multiplicity of ways the user and system exchange information

Robustness
the level of support provided to the user in determining successful
achievement and assessment of goal-directed behaviour

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Learnability (1 & 2) Learnability (3)

Predictability determinism and operation visibility Familiarity: match the interface to users expectations:

System behaviour is observably deterministic:
how prior knowledge applies to new system
Non-deterministic delays should be avoided guessability of the system
Operation effect determinable by interaction history - e.g. regions on the screen which denote buttons should be shaded

operation visibility: to give a three-dimensional appearance

user actions should be matched by a response

logical constraints should be used to indicate available actions:
knowledge of task and of other systems

use of metaphor (e.g. tab-stops in word-processor)
Synthesisability: the user can assess effect of past actions
use of natural language syntax

Users like Direct Manipulation (DM) interfaces because of their
promise of immediate honesty, but sometimes have to satisfied
with eventual honesty

Command Line (CL) interfaces are never honest:

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Learnability (4 & 5) Flexibility (1 & 2)

Consistency likeness in input/output behaviour arising from Dialogue initiative: give user control of the dialogue flow
similar situations or task objectives user should be able to abandon, suspend or resume tasks at any

challenge (and danger): consistency not self-contained point
consistency within screens minimise system pre-emptive dialogue and maximise user pre-
consistency within applications emptive dialogue
consistency within desktop

. . .
Multi-threading: provide support for simultaneous tasks

Examples: consistent patterns in layout; same short-cut keys

concurrent vs. interleaving; multimodality
for similar action; same placement for recurrent menu options
Always place the Quit command as the last item in the leftmost
provide multiple task contexts
menu
Generalizability extending specific interaction knowledge to
new situations

a form of consistency?

UI standards and guidelines assist/enforce generalizability
applications should offer the Cut/Copy/Paste operations whenever
possible
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Flexibility (3) Flexibility (4 & 5)

Task migratability: negotiability of function allocation between Substitutability: equivalence for different forms of input
user and system expression
People get bored doing routine tasks and stop concentrating dont force users to refer to objects by name if they can point to
automate routine tasks, but dont fix function allocation them

Customisability: interface is capable of being adapted to suit

different needs
provide choice of methods; allow short cuts; permit users to change
system features -- deferred design
People are better at Machines are better at
Detecting small sensory inputs Responding quickly to signals
Improvising and using flexible Following procedures repeatedly,
procedures precisely
Reasoning inductively Reasoning deductively
Selective information recall Total information recall
Exercising judgement Following orders
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Robustness (1) Robustness (2)

Observability: user should be able to evaluate the internal state Recoverability: support for undoing errors
of the system from its perceivable representation
ability of user to take corrective action once an error has been

E.g., Where3What of navigation: recognized
W
reachability
W
here am I? immediate honesty wrt system state

W
here am I going? operation predictability user should be able to undo back to any point

supported by reducing scope for making errors
W
here have I been? synthesisability

hat can I do now? predictability

avoid free-form input where possible
validate input immediately, allowing correction

. . . and ability of user to understand errors
error messages should be concise, informative, specific,
constructive
Better error message
Poor error message The requested URL http://www.xyz.com/blah.html
Error 404: document not found is not valid.
This may be because the URL is incorrect or
because the information pointed to no longer
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Robustness (3) Robustness (4)

Responsiveness: feedback should be commensurate with action Task conformance: interface functionality should match common

sensitivity to delay depends on context: user tasks
Echoing input < 0.1 secs
Few general purpose commands, long methods, simple
Page turning < 0.5 secs
Many highly tuned commands, short methods, complex
String search < 4 secs Identify core tasks and provide a command for each one

But core task set tends to grow over time, language becomes
Provide time affordances if baroque as command lexicon expands
delays are unpredictable
A. Acceptance UNIX CL, once based upon a small set of composable
B. Initiation and
commands, now has over 700; 10% account for 90% of all
Heartbeat usage
C. Scope Word command lexicon now includes text formatting,
D. Remainder
drawing, annotating, WWW related commands, etc.
E. Progress
F. Completion

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Where do these rules come from? References/Further Reading

Many seem like common sense - but often violated
Dix et al., 3rd ed: chapter 7
Home exercise: pick one everyday object and one piece of software
and assess with respect to these rules
H. Sharp, Y. Rogers & J. Preece (2007) Interaction Design. John

Some are grounded in our understanding of how humans Wiley & Sons, Chichester. (See also www.id-book.com)
perceive, think and learn (c.f. next lectures)
Shneiderman (1987) Designing the user interface: strategies for

Some are the result of empirical study (e.g. Nielsens heuristics effective human computer interaction. Addison-Wesley, Reading
are based on factor analysis of 249 usability problems) MA.

Some are derived from particular characterisations of the nature
D.A. Norman (1988) The Design of Everyday Things. Doubleday,
of human action (e.g. Normans principles are closely related to New York.
his theory of action)
Nielsen (1994) Enhancing the explanatory power of usability

Some are collections of experience (e.g. Shneidermans rules) heuristics. Proceedings of the ACM CHI94 Conference (see also

In this course we will study the background and justification of www.useit.com)
these rules and elaborate on how they can be applied in specific
contexts.

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