Human-computer interaction (HCI) is an important area that searches

for better
and more comfortable systems to promote communication between
humans and ma-
chines. Due to the development of new technologies, the cost
decrease of technolog-
ical devices, the increase of processing speed and other factors, we
can achieve new
systems which provide new channels of communication between
persons and com-
puters.
The field of human computer interaction deals with the study, design, and evaluation of
human-machine systems with an emphasis on human capabilities and limitations as they
impact system operation. The goal of HCI and the human factors methodology is to
optimize system performance while maximizing human safety and operational
effectiveness. HCI expertise on a design team can improve the design process and lower
the overall cost of a product. A product can be designed through trial and error, which is
a lengthy and costly process, through the expert opinions of the designer, which is
hampered by their own personal preferences, or by the application of human factors
principles to the design.
More efficient to use—takes less time to accomplish a particular task
Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
• The improvement of human computer interaction is important as it allows the
users to work more efficiently and more productively.
• Easy of use and navigation can increase job satisfaction and reduce stress.

Interaction Styles - Direct

Manipulation
Creates a visual representation of
the “world of action.”
Keyboard entry of commands is
replaced by selecting,
dragging and pointing (e.g.,
Desktop Metaphor).
Pros: Users work with familiar objects in a
familiar way, reduced
time-to-learn, reduced error rate, high
retention over time, encourages
exploration
Cons: Not suitable for every scenario,
may be too complicated and
slow, may be hard to realize (program),
requires pointing devices
Skill Level: Novice and intermittent
users, possibly
experienced frequent users

Direct manipulation is a human-computer interaction style which involves continuous

representation of objects of interest, and rapid, reversible, incremental actions and
feedback. The intention is to allow a user to directly manipulate objects presented to
them, using actions that correspond at least loosely to the physical world. Having real-
world metaphors for objects and actions can make it easier for a user to learn and use an
interface (some might say that the interface is more natural or intuitive), and rapid,
incremental feedback allows a user to make fewer errors and complete tasks in less time,
because they can see the results of an action before completing the action. An example of
direct-manipulation is resizing a graphical shape, such as a rectangle, by dragging its
corners or edges with a mouse.
Direct manipulation, as well as user interface design in general, for 3D computer graphics
tasks, is still an active area of invention and innovation, as the process of generating CG
images is generally not considered to be intuitive or easy in comparison to the difficulty
of what the user wants to do, especially for complex tasks.

Instead of typing commands and allowing the operating system to act as a strange
intermediary, a direct manipulation system allows the user to feel like she is in control,
by allowing her to physically interact with files and directories, and presenting a visual
representation of the progress and end point. Schneiderman [1983] explained the central
ideas of user control:

• Visibility of Object and Actions

• Rapid, reversible, incremental actions
• Replacement of complex command-language syntax with direct, visual
manipulation of the object of interest.

Because the system is familiar and easy to use, novices are also likely to learn more
quickly. Since direct manipulation shows the progress of steps, errors occur much less
often than they do in command type systems. This fact alone gives users confidence to
explore and learn more features of the software more quickly. Because of these benefits,
direct manipulation is present in designs from word processing to video games.
A direct manipulation interface possesses several key characteristics.
a visual representation of objects and actions is presented to a person in contrast to
traditional command line languages. Further, the visual representation usually takes the
form of a metaphor related to the actual task being performed. For instance computer
files and directories represented as documents and file cabinets in a desktop publishing
system. The use of metaphors allows a person to tap their analogical reasoning power
when determining what actions to take when executing a task on the computer.
With direct manipulation, actions are rapid, incremental, and reversible with results being
immediately visible. This enhances the impression that the person is performing the task
and is in control not that the computer is responding to requests while the person waits
powerlessly wondering if the computer is doing the job correctly.

Given a thoughtful design and strong implementation, an interactive system employing

direct manipulation principles can realize many benefits. Psychology literature cites the
strengths of visual representations in terms of learning speed and retention. Direct
manipulation harnesses these strengths resulting in systems whose operation is easy to
learn and use and difficult to forget. Because complex syntax does not have to be
remembered and analogical reasoning can be used, less errors are made. When they are
made, they are easily corrected through reversible actions. Reversible actions also foster
exploration because the fear of breaking something has been diminished. Also, a person
can gain confidence and mastery because they are in control and because the system
responses are predictable and immediate.

Because these benefits of direct manipulation are also desired in VR systems, direct
manipulation principles should be drawn from when designing VR systems especially in
the use of VR's special input devices. For instance, when using a data glove, a person
should be able to select actions rapidly and easily by pointing and gesturing. Gestures
should be natural and intuitive in the particular virtual environment. Actions should be
represented visually and be incremental, immediate, and reversible to give a person the
impression of acting directly in an environment. If voice recognition is employed, care
must be taken to assist it with visual cues and complement it with hand gestures.
Otherwise, the recreation of a complex command syntax minus the keyboard is a lurking
danger.
Direct manipulation is a style of interaction which has been used by implementers of
widely varying systems. Direct manipulation permits novice users access to powerful
facilities without the burden of learning to use a complex syntax and lengthy list of
commands. Display editors use direct manipulation more than line editors. Form-fill-in is
more direct than tag fields and delimiters. Spatial data management is more direct than
query-by-example, which is more direct than SEQUEL. Computer arcade games and
Visicalc are further examples.Direct manipulation involves three interrelated
techniques:1. Provide a physically direct way of moving a cursor or manipulating the
objects of interest.2. Present a concrete visual representation of the objects of interest and
immediately change the view to reflect operations.3. Avoid using a command language
and depend? on operations applied to the cognitive model which is shown on the display.

Direct manipulation may be defined as a direct mapping between the semantic level of
the dialogue and the syntactic level. The syntax of operations should correspond to a
metaphor of the semantic change in the data and the screen representation of objects
should mirror their internal state. The classic example is the file deletion shown in Figure
1. Moving an icon around on the screen corresponds to moving the file in the file system.
When the icon is dropped into the Trash icon, the file icon disappears, and (in some
implementations) the Trash icon changes to look stuffed.
The concept of direct manipulation is usually viewed as a single characteristic of a class
of interaction styles. Here, direct manipulation is analyzed according to a detailed layered
interaction model, showing that it has quite different effects on the dialogue on the
different levels. In particular, the "no errors" claim may be true at the syntax level but not
at several of the levels above or below that level.
Furthermore, a unified framework is presented for conceptualizing Direct Manipulation,
What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG), Transparency, Immediate Command
Specification, Arcticulatory Directness, and Computational Appliances according to a
layered interaction view.

WYSIWYG

To achieve WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), there should be a direct mapping
between the goal state (what you want) and the syntax level (what you see). Remember
that the syntax level contains the two-dimensional layout of the dialogue elements on the
screen. In a WYSIWYG interface, the screen representation of objects mirrors the real
world, and the syntax of operations correspond to the desired real world action.

As an example, most mouse-based interfaces have a two-cursor problem (Brooks 1988)

where one cursor is used to point and another cursor indicates where text input will
appear. Users often confuse these two cursors because of the lack of WYSIWYG in the
interface. The pointing cursor that tracks the user's mouse movements is the user's focus
of attention ("what you see") in the syntax, but the input ("what you get") changes the
output product according to the location of the insertion mark. One possible solution to
the two-cursor problem is to follow a strict WYSIWYG interpretation of a single cursor
where input appears wherever the pointer happens to be when the user hits the keyboard
(Akscyn et al. 1988).

Changing the headers in one early graphical-interface word processor required the user to
open a special window for the header. The actual editing followed direct manipulation
principles as defined here since there was a direct mapping between the syntax for
changing the header and the semantic change in the stored header information. But the
interaction technique was not WYSIWYG since the user could not easily translate
between the syntax for changing the header and the goal of making the header look a
specific way in relation to the rest of the page. For a true WYSIWYG editing of headers,
it becomes necessary to make them editable in the main window together with the main
sequence of text in the file.

The Macintosh (pronounced /ˈmækɨntɒʃ/ MAK-in-tosh),[1] or Mac, is a series of several

lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first
Macintosh was introduced on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful
personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a
command-line interface.