SHRI JAI NARAIN P.

G COLLEGE
(ASSOCIATED COLLEGE LUCKNOW UNIVERSITY – ACREDITED ‘A’ GRADE BY NAAC)

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER
SCIENCE
(SESSION: 2022 – 2025)

ASSIGNMENT TOPIC

HUMAN &
COMPUTER
INTERACTION

SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED TO

NAME: VAIBHAV SINGH KRITI JAISWAL MA’AM

CLASS: B.Sc.CS
YEAR: 3RD
SEM: 5TH
ROLL NO: 2210404010646
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

Objectives:

 To facilitate communication between students of psychology, design, and computer

science on user interface development projects.
 To provide the future user interface designer with concepts and strategies for making
design decisions.
 To expose the future user interface designer to tools, techniques, and ideas for
interface design.
 To introduce the student to the literature of human-computer interaction.
 To stress the importance of good user interface design.
UNIT - I

Introduction: Importance of user Interface – definition, importance of good design. Benefits

of good design. A brief history of Screen design, The graphical user interface – popularity of
graphics, the concept of direct manipulation, graphical system, Characteristics, Web user –
Interface popularity, characteristics- Principles of user interface.

UNIT – II

Design process – Human interaction with computers, importance of human characteristics

human consideration, Human interaction speeds, and understanding business junctions.

UNIT – III

Screen Designing: Design goals – Screen planning and purpose, organizing screen elements,
ordering of screen data and content – screen navigation and flow – Visually pleasing
composition – amount of information – focus and emphasis – presentation information
simply and meaningfully – information retrieval on web – statistical graphics – Technological
consideration in interface design.

UNIT – IV

Windows – New and Navigation schemes selection of window, selection of devices based
and screen based controls, Components – text and messages, Icons and increases –
Multimedia, colors, uses problems, choosing colors.

UNIT – V
Software tools – Specification methods, interface – Building Tools, Interaction Devices –
Keyboard and function keys – pointing devices – speech recognition digitization and
generation – image and video displays – drivers.

TEXT BOOKS : 1. The essential guide to user interface design, Wilbert O Galitz, Wiley
DreamaTech. 2. Designing the user interface. 3rd Edition Ben Shneidermann , Pearson
Education Asia.

REFERENCES: 1. Human – Computer Interaction. ALAN DIX, JANET FINCAY, GRE GORYD,
ABOWD, RUSSELL BEALG, PEARSON. 2. Interaction Design PRECE, ROGERS, SHARPS. Wiley
Dreamtech, 3. User Interface Design, Soren Lauesen , Pearson Education.

OUTCOMES:

After completing this course students must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and
ability on

1. To understand the GUI & UI.

2. How to make a good design and information about design process.

3. Components involved in designing a process or GUI

S. No

1
Unit
I
INDEX Topic

Introduction: Importance of user Interface

Page no

2 I The graphical user interface 6

3 I Web user – Interface popularity 12

4 I characteristics- Principles of user interface 17

5 II Design process- Human interaction with computers 23

6 II Importance of human characteristics human consideration 25

7 II Human interaction speeds 29

8 II understanding business junctions 30

9 III Screen Designing: Design goals 32

10 III Screen navigation and flow 33

11 III Information retrieval on web 40

12 III statistical graphics 41

13 III Technological consideration in interface design 43

14 IV Windows – New and Navigation schemes selection of window 44

15 IV Components 47

16 V Software tools 86

17 V interface – Building Tools 87

18 V Interaction Devices 88

19 V speech recognition digitization and generation 94

 INTRODUCTION

Human–computer interaction (HCI), alternatively man–machine interaction (MMI) or computer–

human interaction (CHI) is the study of interaction between people (users) and computers.
• With today's technology and tools, and our motivation to create really effective and usable
interfaces and screens.

DEFINITION
• "Human-computer interaction is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and
implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major
phenomena surrounding them."

GOALS

• A basic goal of HCI is

– to improve the interactions between users and computers
– By making computers more usable and receptive to the user's needs.
• A long term goal of HCI is
– to design systems that minimize the barrier between the human's cognitive model of
what they want to accomplish and the computer's understanding of the user's task
DEFINING THE USER INTERFACE

 User interface, design is a subset of a field of study called human-computer interaction

(HCI).

 Human-computer interaction is the study, planning, and design of how people and computers
work together so that a person's needs are satisfied in the most effective way.
 HCI designers must consider a variety of factors:
o What people want and expect, physical limitations and abilities people possess,
o How information processing systems work,
o What people find enjoyable and attractive.
o Technical characteristics and limitations of the computer hardware and software must
also be considered.
 The user interface is to the part of a computer and its software that people can see, hear, touch,
talk to, or otherwise understand or direct.
 The user interface has essentially two components: input and output.
 Input is how a person communicates his / her needs to the computer.
o Some common input components are the keyboard, mouse, trackball, one's finger, and
one's voice
 Output is how the computer conveys the results of its computations and requirements to
the user.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 1

 o Today, the most common computer output mechanism is the display screen, followed
by mechanisms that take advantage of a person's auditory capabilities: voice and
sound.
 The use of the human senses of smell and touch output in interface design still remain largely
unexplored.
 Proper interface design will provide a mix of well-designed input and output mechanisms that
satisfy the user's needs, capabilities, and limitations in the most effective way possible.
 The best interface is one that it not noticed, one that permits the user to focus on the
information and task at hand, not the mechanisms used to present the information and perform
the task.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DESIGN

With today's technology and tools, and our motivation to create really effective and usable
interfaces and screens, why do we continue to produce systems that are inefficient and
confusing or, at worst, just plain unusable? Is it because:

• We don't care?
• We don't possess common sense?
• We don't have the time?
• We still don't know what really makes good design?
• But we never seem to have time to find out what makes good design, nor to properly apply it.
After all, many of us have other things to do in addition to designing interfaces and screens.
• So we take our best shot given the workload and time constraints imposed upon us. The
result, too often, is woefully inadequate.
• Interface and screen design were really a matter of common sense , we developers would
have been producing almost identical screens for representing the real world.

THE IMPORTANCE THE OF USER INTERFACE

 A well-designed interface and screen is terribly important to our users. It is their

window to view the capabilities of the system.
 It is also the vehicle through which many critical tasks are presented. These tasks often have a
direct impact on an organization's relations with its customers, and its profitability.
 A screen's layout and appearance affect a person in a variety of ways. If they are confusing and
inefficient, people will have greater difficulty in doing their jobs and will make more mistakes.
 Poor design may even chase some people away from a system permanently. It can also lead to
aggravation, frustration, and increased stress.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 2

 The Benefits of Good Design
 Poor clarity forced screen users to spend one extra second per screen.
• Almost one additional year would be required to process all screens.
• Twenty extra seconds in screen usage time adds an additional 14 person years.
 The benefits of a well-designed screen have also been under experimental scrutiny for
many years.
• One researcher, for example, attempted to improve screen clarity and readability
by making screens less crowded.
• Separate items, which had been combined on the same display line to conserve
space, were placed on separate line sin stead.
• The result screen users were about 20 percent more productive with the less
crowded version.
 Proper formatting of information on screens does have a significant positive effect on
performance.
• In recent years, the productivity benefits of well-designed Web pages have also
been scrutinized.
 Training costs are lowered because training time is reduced.
 Support line costs are lowered because fewer assist calls are necessary.
 Employee satisfaction is increased because aggravation and frustration are reduced.
 Ultimately, that an organization's customers benefit because of the improved service
they receive.
 Identifying and resolving problems during the design and development process also has
significant economic benefits
 How many screens are used each day in our technological world?
 How many screens are used each day in your organization? Thousands? Millions
 Imagine the possible savings. Proper screen design might also, of course, lower the
costs of replacing "broken" PCs.

INTRODUCTION OF THE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

• The Xerox systems, Altus and STAR, introduced the mouse and pointing and selecting
as the primary human-computer communication method.

• The user simply pointed at the screen, using the mouse as an intermediary.

• These systems also introduced the graphical user interface as we know it a new concept
was born, revolutionizing the human-computer interface.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 3

 A BRIEF HISTORY OF SCREEN DESIGN

• While developers have been designing screens since a cathode ray tube display was first
attached to a computer, more widespread interest in the application of good design
principles to screens did not begin to emerge until the early 1970s, when IBM introduced
its 3270 cathode ray tube text-based terminal.
• A 1970s screen often resembled the one pictured in Figure.
It usually consisted of many fields (more than are illustrated here) with very cryptic and
often unintelligible captions.

• It was visually cluttered, and often possessed a command field that challenged the user to
remember what had to be keyed into it.
• Ambiguous messages often required referral to a manual to interpret.
• Effectively using this kind of screen required a great deal of practice and patience.
• Most early screens were monochromatic, typically presenting green text on black
backgrounds.
• At the turn of the decade guidelines for text-based screen design were finally made
widely available and many screens began to take on a much less cluttered look through
concepts such as grouping and alignment of elements, as illustrated in Figure 1.2.
• User memory was supported by providing clear and meaningful field captions and by
listing commands on the screen, and enabling them to be applied, through function keys.
Messages also became clearer.
• These screens were not entirely clutter-free, however. Instructions and reminders to the
user had to be inscribed on the screen in the form of prompts or completion aids such as
the codes PR and Sc.
• Not all 1980s screens looked like this, however. In the 1980s, 1970s-type screens were
still being designed, and many still reside in systems today.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 4

 • The advent of graphics yielded another milestone in the evolution of screen design, as
illustrated in Figure above.
• While some basic "design principles did not change, groupings and alignment, for
example, Borders were made available to visually enhance groupings and buttons and
menus for implementing commands replaced function keys.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 5

  Multiple properties of elements were also provided, including many different font sizes and styles,
line thicknesses, and colors.

 The entry field was supplemented by a multitude of other kinds of controls, including list boxes,
drop-down combination boxes, spin boxes, and so forth.

 These new controls were much more effective in supporting a person's memory, now simply
allowing for selection from a list instead of requiring a remembered key entry.

 Completion aids disappeared from screens, replaced by one of the new listing controls. Screens
could also be simplified, the much more powerful computers being able to quickly present a new
screen.

 In the 1990s, our knowledge concerning what makes effective screen design continued to expand.
Coupled with ever-improving technology, the result was even greater improvements in the user-
computer screen interface as the new century dawned.

THE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

 A user interface is a collection of techniques and mechanisms to interact with something.

 In a graphical interface the primary interaction mechanism is a pointing device of some kind.

 This device is the electronic equivalent to the human hand. What the user interacts with is a
collection of elements referred to as objects.

 They can be seen, heard, touched, or otherwise perceived.

 Objects are always visible to the user and are used to perform tasks.

 They are interacted with as entities independent of all other objects.

 People perform operations, called actions, on objects. The operations include accessing and
modifying objects by pointing, selecting, and manipulating. All objects have standard resulting
behaviors.

THE POPULARITY OF GRAPHICS

• A graphical screen bore scant resemblance to its earlier text-based colleagues.

• Older text-based screen possessed a one dimensional
• Graphic screens assumed a three-dimensional look.
• Controls appeared to rise above the screen and move when activated.
• Information could appear, and disappear, as needed.
• Text could be replaced by graphical images called icons.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 6

 • These icons could represent objects or actions
• selection fields such as radio buttons, check boxes, list boxes, and palettes coexisted with the
reliable old text entry field
• More sophisticated text entry fields with attached or dropdown menus of.
• Objects and actions were selected through use of pointing mechanisms.
• Increased computer power.
• User's actions to be reacted to quickly, dynamically, and meaningfully.
• WIMP interface: windows, icons, menus, and pointers.
• Graphic presentation is much more effective than other presentation methods.
• Properly used, it reduces the requirement for perceptual and mental information recoding and
reorganization, and also reduces the memory loads.
• It permits faster information transfer between computers and people by permitting more visual
comparisons of amounts, trends, or relationships; more compact representation of information;
• Graphics also can add appeal or charm to the interface and permit greater customization to
create a unique corporate or organization style.

GRAPHICAL SYSTEMS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

• Reduce the memory requirements.

• More effective use of one's information.
• Dramatically reduce system learning requirements.
• Experience indicates that for many people they have done all these things.

ADVANTAGES

• Symbols recognized faster than text

• Faster learning
• Faster use and problem solving
• Easier remembering
• More natural
• Exploits visual/spatial cues
• Fosters more concrete thinking
• Provides context
• Fewer errors
• Increased feeling of control
• Immediate feedback
• Predictable system responses
• Easily reversible actions
• Less anxiety concerning use
• More attractive
• May consume less space
• Replaces national languages

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 7

 • Easily augmented with text displays
• Smooth transition from command language system

DISADVANTAGES

 Greater design complexity.

 Learning still necessary
 Replaces national languages
 Easily augmented with text displays
 Smooth transition from command language system
 Lack of experimentally derived design guidelines
 use a pointing device may also have to be learned
 Working domain is the present
 Human comprehension limitations
 Window manipulation requirements
 Production limitations
 Few tested icons exist
 Inefficient for touch typists
 Inefficient for expert users
 Not always the preferred style of interaction
 Not always fastest style of interaction
 Increased chances of clutter and confusion
 May consume more screen space
 Hardware limitations

THE CONCEPT OF DIRECT MANIPULATION

The system is portrayed as an extension of the real world: It is assumed that a person is already
familiar with the objects and actions in his or her environment of interest.

The system simply replicates them and portrays them on a different medium, the screen.

A person has the power to access and modify these objects, among which are windows.

A person is allowed to work in a familiar environment and in a familiar way, focusing on the data,
not the application and tools
The physical organization of the system, which most often is unfamiliar, is hidden from view and is
not a distraction.

Continuous visibility of objects and actions: Like one's desktop, objects are continuously visible.
Reminders of actions to be performed are also obvious, labeled buttons replacing complex syntax and
command names.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 8

 Cursor action and motion occurs in physically obvious and natural ways. One problem in direct
manipulation, however, is that there is no direct analogy on the desk for all necessary windowing
operations.

A piece of paper on one's desk maintains a constant size, never shrinking or growing. Windows can do
both. Solving this problem required embedding a control panel, a familiar concept to most people, in a
window's border.

This control panel is manipulated, not the window itself. Actions are rapid and incremental with
visible display of results; the results of actions are immediately displayed visually on the screen in
their new and current form.

Auditory feedback may also be provided. The impact of a previous action is quickly seen, and the
evolution of tasks is continuous and effortless. Incremental actions are easily reversible.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

A graphical system possesses a set of defining concepts. Included are sophisticated visual
Presentation, pick-and click interaction, a restricted set of interface options, visualization, object
orientation, extensive use of a person's recognition memory, and concurrent performance of
functions.

Sophisticated Visual Presentation:

• Visual presentation is the visual aspect of the interface. It is what people see on the screen.
• The sophistication of a graphical system permits displaying lines, including drawings and
icons.
• It also permits the displaying of a variety of character fonts, including different sizes and
styles.

• The display of 16 million or more colors is possible on some screens. Graphics also permit
animation and the presentation of photograph and motion video.

The meaningful interface elements visually presented to the user in a graphical System include
windows (primary, secondary, or dialog boxes), menus (menu bar, pull down, pop- up, cascading),
icons to represent objects such as programs or files, assorted screen-based controls (text boxes, list
boxes, combination boxes, settings, scroll bar and buttons), and a mouse pointer and cursor.

The objective is to reflect visually on screen the real world of the user as realistically, meaningfully,
simply, and clearly possible.

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 A graphical system possesses a set of defining concepts. Included are sophisticated visual
presentation, pick-and click interaction, a restricted set of interface options, visualization, object
orientation, extensive use of a person's recognition memory, and concurrent performance of functions.

Restricted Set of Interface Options: The array of alternatives available to the user is what is presented
on the screen or may be retrieved through what is presented on the screen, nothing less, and nothing
more. This concept fostered the acronym WYSIWYG.

Pick-and-Click Interaction: Elements of a graphical screen upon which some action is to be performed
must first identified.

o The motor activity required of a person to identify this element for a proposed action is
commonly referred to as pick, the signal to perform an action as cue.

o The primary mechanism for performing this pick-and-click is most often the mouse and its
buttons.

o The user moves the mouse pointer to the relevant element (pick) and the action is signaled
(click).

o Pointing allows rapid selection and feedback. The hand and mind seem to work smoothly and
efficiently together.

o The secondary mechanism for performing these selection actions is the keyboard most systems
permit pick-and-click to be performed using the keyboard as well.

Visualization: Visualization is a cognitive process that allows people to understand Information that
is difficult to perceive, because it is either too voluminous or too abstract.

Presenting specialized graphic portrayals facilitates visualization.

• The best visualization method for an activity depends on what People are trying to learn from
the data.
• The goal is not necessarily to reproduce a really graphical image, but to produce one that
conveys the most relevant information.
• Effective visualizations can facilitate mental insights, increase productivity, and for faster and
more accurate use of data.

Object Orientation: A graphical system consists of objects and actions. Objects are what people see
on screen. They are manipulated as a single unit.

• Objects can be composed of sub objects. For example, an object may be a document. The
document's sub objects may be a paragraph, sentence, word, and letter.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 10

 • A collection is the simplest relationship-the objects sharing a common aspect.
• A collection might be the result of a query or a multiple selection of objects. Operations can be
applied to a collection of objects.
• A constraint is a stronger object relationship. Changing an object in a set affects some other
object in the set.
• A document being organized into pages is an example of a constraint. A composite exists when
the relationship between objects becomes so significant that the aggregation itself can be
identified as an object.
• Examples include a range of cells organized into a spreadsheet, or a collection of words
organized into a paragraph.
• A container is an object in which other objects exist. Examples include text in a document or
documents in a folder.

A container often influences the behavior of its content. It may add or suppress certain properties or
operations of objects placed within it, control access to its content, or control access to kinds of
objects it will accept. These relationships help define an object's type. Similar traits and behaviors
exist in objects of the same object type.

Another important object characteristic is persistence. Persistence is the maintenance of a state once
it is established. An object's state (for example, window size, cursor location, scroll position, and so
on) should always be automatically preserved when the user changes it.

Use of Recognition Memory: Continuous visibility of objects and actions encourages use of a
person's more powerful recognition memory. The "out of sight, out of mind" problem is eliminated

THE WEB USER INTERFACE

The expansion of the World Wide Web since the early 1990s has been truly amazing. Once simply a
communication medium for scientists and researchers, its many and pervasive tentacles have spread
deeply into businesses, organizations, and homes around the world.
Unlike earlier text-based and GUI systems that were developed and nurtured in an organization's
Data Processing and Information Systems groups, the Web's roots were sown in a market-driven
society thirsting for convenience and information.
Web interface design is essentially the design of navigation and the presentation of information. It is
about content, not data.

Proper interface design is largely a matter of properly balancing the structure and relationships of menus,
content, and other linked documents or graphics. The design goal is to build a hierarchy of menus and pages
that feels natural, is well structured, is easy to use, and is truthful.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 11

 The Web is a navigation environment where people move between pages of information, not an
application environment. It is also a graphically rich environment.

Web interface design is difficult for a number of reasons. First, its underlying design language,
HTML, was never intended for creating screens to be used by the general population.

Its scope of users was expected to be technical. HTML was limited in objects and interaction styles
and did not provide a means for presenting information in the most effective way for people.

Next, browser navigation retreated to the pre-GUI era. This era was characterized by a "command"
field whose contents had to be learned, and a navigational organization and structure that lay hidden
beneath a mostly dark and blank screen.

GUIs eliminated the absolute necessity for a command field, providing menus related to the task and
the current contextual situation.

Browser navigation is mostly confined to a "Back" and "Forward" concept, but "back-to where" and
"forward-to where" is often unremembered or unknown.

Web interface design is also more difficult because the main issues concern information Architecture
and task flow, neither of which is easy to standardize.

It is more difficult because of the availability of the various types of multimedia, and the desire of
many designers to use something simply because it is available.

It is more difficult because users are ill defined, and the user's tools so variable in nature.

The ultimate goal of a Web that feels natural, is well structured, and is easy to use will reach fruition.

THE POPULARITY OF THE WEB

While the introduction of the graphical user interface revolutionized the user interface, the Web has
revolutionized computing.

• It allows millions of people scattered across the globe to communicate, access information,
publish, and be heard

• It allows people to control much of the display and the rendering of Web pages
• Aspects such as typography and colors can be changed, graphics turned off, and decisions
made whether or not to transmit certain data over non secure channels or whether to accept or
refuse cookies.
• Web usage has reflected this popularity. The number of Internet hosts has risen dramatically
• In 1984, hosts online exceeded 1,000;
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 12
 • In 1987, 10,000;
• In 1989,100,000,
• In 1990, 300,000;
• In 1992 hosts exceeded one million.
• Commercialization of the Internet saw even greater expansion of the growth rate. In 1993,
Internet traffic was expanding at a 341,634 percent annual growth rate. In 1996, there were
nearly 10 million hosts online and 40 million connected people (PBS Timeline).
• User control has had some decided disadvantages for some Web site owners as well.
• Users have become much more discerning about good design.
• Slow download times, confusing navigation, confusing page organization, disturbing
animation, or other undesirable site features often results in user abandonment of the site for
others with a more agreeable interface.
• People are quick to vote with their mouse, and these warnings should not go unheeded.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 13

 GUI VERSUS WEB PAGE DESIGN
• GUI and Web interface design do have similarities. Both are software designs, they are used by
people, they are interactive, they are heavily visual experiences presented through screens, and
they are composed of many similar components.

• Significant differences do exist.

CONCEPT GUI WEB

• User hardware variations limited

• User hardware characteristics well defined.
• Screens appear exactly as specified.
• User hardware variations enormous.
• Screen appearance influenced by hardware being used.

GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

• User hardware variations limited
• User hardware characteristics well defined.
• Screens appear exactly as specified.
• Data and applications

Typically created and used by known and trusted sources.

Properties generally known.

Typically placed into system by users or known people and organizations.

Typically organized in a meaningful fashion.

A notion of private and shared data exists:

• Install, configure, personalize, start, use, and upgrade programs.

• Open, use, and close data files.
• Fairly long times spent within an application. Familiarity with applications often achieved.
• Controlled and constrained by program.
• Windows, menus, controls, data, tool bars, messages, and soon.
• Many transient, dynamically appearing and disappearing.
• Presented as specified by designer. Generally standardized by toolkits and style guides
• Through menus, lists, trees, dialogs, and wizards. Not a strong and visible concept.

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 • Constrained by design.
• Generally standardized by toolkits and
• Style guides. User Focus • Data and applications • Information and navigation
• Enables maintenance of a better sense of context. Restricted navigation paths.
• Multiple viewable windows Interactions such as clicking menu choices, pressing buttons,
selecting list choices, and cut/copy/paste occur within context of active program.
• Nearly instantaneous.
• Typically prescribed and constrained by toolkit.
• Visual creativity allowed but difficult.
• Little significant personalization.
• Unlimited capability proportional to sophistication of hardware and software. Targeted to a
specific audience with specific tasks. Only limited by the amount of programming
undertaken to support it
• Major objective exists within and across applications. Aided by platform toolkit and design
guidelines. Universal consistency in GUI products generally created through toolkits and
design guidelines.
• Integral part of most systems and applications. Accessed through standard
mechanisms. Documentation, both online and offline,
• Usually provided.
• Personal support desk also usually provided
• Seamless integration of all applications into the platform environment a major objective.
• Toolkits and components are key elements in accomplishing this objective
• Tightly controlled in business systems, proportional to degree of willingness to invest
resources and effort

WEB

• User hardware variations enormous.

• Screen appearance influenced by hardware being used.
• Information and navigation
• Full of unknown content.
• Source not always trusted.
• Often not placed onto the Web by users or known people and organizations.
• Highly variable organization.
• Privacy often suspects

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 • Link to a site, browse or read pages, fill out forms, register for services, participate in
transactions, download and save things.
• Movement between pages and sites very rapid. Familiarity with many sites not
established.
• Infinite and generally unorganized.
• Two components, browser and page.
• Within page, any combination of text, images, audio, video, and animation.
• May not be presented as specified by the designer dependent on browser, monitor, and
user specifications.
• Little standardization
• Through links: bookmarks, and typed URLs. Significant and highly visible concept.
• Few constraints, frequently causing a lost “sense of place “Few standards.
• Typically, part of page design, fostering an lack of consistency
• Poorer maintenance of a sense of context. Single-page entities.
• Unlimited navigation paths.
• Contextual clues become limited or are difficult to find.
• Basic interaction is a single click. This can cause extreme changes in context, which may
not be noticed.
• Quite variable, depending on transmission speeds, page content, and so on. Long times
can upset the user
• Fosters a more artistic, individual, and unrestricted presentation style.
• Complicated by differing browser and display capabilities, and bandwidth limitations.
• Limited personalization available.
• Limited by constraints imposed by the hardware, browser, software, client support, and
user willingness to allow features because of response time, security, and privacy
concerns
• No similar help systems.
• The little available help is built into the page. Customer service support, if provided,
oriented to product or service offered.
• Apparent for some basic functions within most Web sites (navigation, printing, and so
on.)
• Sites tend to achieve individual distinction rather than integration.
• Susceptible to disruptions caused by user, telephone line and cable providers, Internet
service providers, hosting servers, and remotely accessed sites.

PRINCIPLES OF USER INTERFACE DESIGN

• An interface must really be just an extension of a person. This means that the system and
its software must reflect a person's capabilities and respond to his or her specific needs.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 16

 • It should be useful, accomplishing some business objectives faster and more efficiently
than the previously used method or tool did.
• It must also be easy to learn, for people want to do, not learn to do.
• Finally, the system must be easy and fun to use, evoking a sense of pleasure and
accomplishment not tedium and frustration.
• The interface itself should serve as both a connector and a separator
• A connector in that it ties the user to the power of the computer, and a separator in that it
minimizes the possibility of the participants damaging one another.
• While the damage the user inflicts on the computer tends to be physical (a frustrated
pounding of the keyboard), the damage caused by the computer is more psychological.
• Throughout the history of the human-computer interface, various researchers and writers
have attempted to define a set of general principles of interface design.
• What follows is a compilation of these principles. They reflect not only what we know
today, but also what we think we know today.
• Many are based on research, others on the collective thinking of behaviorists working
with user interfaces.
• These principles will continue to evolve, expand, and be refined as our experience with
Gills and the Web increases.

PRINCIPLES FOR THE XEROX STAR

• The design of the Xerox STAR was guided by a set of principles that evolved over its
lengthy development process. These principles established the foundation for graphical
interfaces.

• Displaying objects that are selectable and Mani pulable must be created.
• A design challenge is to invent a set of displayable objects that are represented
meaningfully and appropriately for the intended application.
• It must be clear that these objects can be selected, and how to select them must be Self-
evident.
• When they are selected should also be obvious, because it should be clear that the
selected object will be the focus of the next action. Standalone icons easily fulfilled this
requirement.
• The handles for windows were placed in the borders.
• Visual order and viewer focus: Attention must be drawn, at the proper time, to the
important and relevant elements of the display. Effective visual contrast between various
components of the screen is used to achieve this goal. Animation is also used to draw
attention, as is sound.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 17

 Feedback must also be provided to the user. Since the pointer is usually the focus of viewer
attention, it is a useful mechanism for providing this feedback (by changing shapes).
• Revealed structure: The distance between one's intention and the effect must be
minimized. Most often, the distance between intention and effect is lengthened as system power
increases. The relationship between intention and effect must be, tightened and made as apparent
as possible to the user. The underlying structure is often revealed during the selection process.
• Consistency: Consistency aids learning. Consistency is provided in such areas as
element location, grammar, font shapes, styles, and sizes, selection indicators, and
contrast and emphasis techniques.
• Appropriate effect or emotional impact: The interface must provide the appropriate
emotional effect for the product and its market. Is it a corporate, professional, and
secure business system? Should it reflect the fantasy, wizardry, and bad puns of
computer games?
• A match with the medium: The interface must also reflect the capabilities of the device
on which it will be displayed. Quality of screen images will be greatly affected by a
device's resolution and color-generation capabilities.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
• The design goals in creating a user interface are described below.
• They are fundamental to the design and implementation of all effective interfaces,
including GUI and We bones.
• These principles are general characteristics of the interface, and they apply to all
aspects.
• The compilation is presented alphabetically, and the ordering is not intended to imply
degree of importance.

Aesthetically Pleasing

Provide visual appeal by following these presentation and graphic design principles:
• Provide meaningful contrast between screen elements.
• Create groupings.
• Align screen elements and groups.
• Provide three-dimensional representation.
• Use color and graphics effectively and simply.

Clarity

The interface should be visually, conceptually, and linguistically clear, including

• Visual elements
• Functions

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 18

 • Metaphors
• Words and Text

Compatibility
Provide compatibility with the following:
- The user
- The task and job
- The Product
- Adopt the User’s Perspective
Configurability
Permit easy personalization, configuration, and reconfiguration of settings.
- Enhances a sense of control
- Encourages an active role in understanding
Comprehensibility
A system should be easily learned and understood: A user should know the following:
- What to look at
- What to do
- When to do it
- Where to do it
- Why to do it
- How to do it
The flow of actions, responses, visual presentations, and information should be in a sensible
order that is easy to recollect and place in context.
Consistency
A system should look, act, and operate the same throughout. Similar components should:
- Have a similar look.
- Have similar uses.
- Operate similarly.
• The same action should always yield the same result
• The function of elements should not change.
• The position of standard elements should not change.

Control
The user must control the interaction.
- Actions should result from explicit user requests.
- Actions should be performed quickly.
- Actions should be capable of interruption or termination.
- The user should never be interrupted for errors
• The context maintained must be from the perspective of the user.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 19

 • The means to achieve goals should be flexible and compatible with the user's skills,
experiences, habits, and preferences.
• Avoid modes since they constrain the actions available to the user.
• Permit the user to customize aspects of the interface, while always providing a Proper
set of defaults
Directness
Provide direct ways to accomplish tasks.
- Available alternatives should be visible.
- The effect of actions on objects should be visible.
Flexibility
A system must be sensitive to the differing needs of its users, enabling a level and type of
performance based upon:
- Each user's knowledge and skills.
- Each user's experience.
- Each user's personal preference.
- Each user's habits.
- The conditions at that moment.
Efficiency
Minimize eye and hand movements, and other control actions.
- Transitions between various system controls should flow easily and freely.
- Navigation paths should be as short as possible.
- Eye movement through a screen should be obvious and sequential.
- Anticipate the user's wants and needs whenever possible.
Familiarity
• Employ familiar concepts and use a language that is familiar to the user.
• Keep the interface natural, mimicking the user's behavior patterns.
• Use real-world metaphors.
Forgiveness
• Tolerate and forgive common and unavoidable human errors.
• Prevent errors from occurring whenever possible.
• Protect against possible catastrophic errors.
• When an error does occur, provide constructive messages.
Predictability
• The user should be able to anticipate the natural progression of each task.
o Provide distinct and recognizable screen elements.
o Provide dues to the result of an action to be performed.
• All expectations should be fulfilled uniformly and completely.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 20

 Recovery
A system should permit:
- Commands or actions to be abolished or reversed.
- Immediate return to a certain point if difficulties arise.
Ensure that users never lose their work as a result of:
- An error on their part.
- Hardware, software, or communication problems
Responsiveness
The system must rapidly respond to the user's requests provide immediate
Acknowledgment for all user actions:
- Visual.
- Textual
- Auditory.
Transparency
Permit the user to focus on the task or job, without concern for the mechanics of the interface.
- Workings and reminders of workings inside the computer should be invisible to the
user.
Simplicity
Provide as simple an interface as possible.
Five ways to provide simplicity:
- Use progressive disclosure, hiding things until they are needed
- Present common and necessary functions first
- Prominently feature important functions
- Hide more sophisticated and less frequently used functions.
- Provide defaults.
- Minimize screen alignment points.
- Make common actions simple at the expense of uncommon actions being made
harder.
- Provide uniformity and consistency.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 21

 UNIT-II

HUMAN INTERACTION WITH COMPUTERS

Understanding How People Interact with Computers Characteristics of computer systems, past and
present, that have caused, and are causing, people problems. We will then look at the effect these
problems have –
• Why people have trouble with computers
• Responses to poor design
• People and their tasks

Why People Have Trouble with Computers

• Extensive technical knowledge but little behavioral training.

• With its extensive graphical capabilities.
• Poorly designed interfaces.
• What makes a system difficult to use in the eyes of its user?
• Use of jargon
• Non-obvious design
• Fine distinctions
• Disparity in problem-solving strategies
• an "error-preventing" strategy
• Design inconsistency

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Typical psychological responses to poor design are:

• Confusion: Detail overwhelms the perceived structure. Meaningful patterns are difficult
to ascertain, and the conceptual model or underlying framework cannot be understood
or established.

• Annoyance: Roadblocks that prevent a task being completed, or a need from being
satisfied, promptly and efficiently lead to annoyance. Inconsistencies in design slow
computer reaction times, difficulties in quickly finding information, out dated
information, and visual screen distractions are a few of the many things that may annoy
users.

• Frustration: An overabundance of annoyances, an inability to easily convey one's

intentions to the computer, or an inability to finish a task or satisfy a need can cause
frustration. Frustration is heightened if an unexpected computer response cannot be
undone or if what really took place cannot be determined: Inflexible and unforgiving

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 22

 systems are a major source of frustration.

• Panic or stress: Unexpectedly long delays during times of severe or unusual pressure
may introduce panic or stress. Some typical causes are unavailable systems or long
response times when the user is operating under a deadline or dealing with an irate
customer.

• Boredom: Boredom results from improper computer pacing (slow response times or
long download times) or overly simplistic jobs.

• These psychological responses diminish user effectiveness because they are severe
blocks to concentration.

--Thoughts irrelevant to the task at hand are forced to the user’s attention, and
necessary concentration is impossible.

--The result, in addition to higher error rates, is poor performance, anxiety, and
dissatisfaction Physical.

• Psychological responses frequently lead to, or are accompanied by, the following
physical reactions.

• Abandonment of the system: The system is rejected and other information sources are
relied upon. These sources must, of course, be available and the user must have the
discretion to perform the rejection.

– In business systems this is a common reaction of managerial and professional

personnel. With the Web, almost all users can exercise this option.

• Partial use of the system: Only a portion of the system's capabilities are used, usually
those operations that are easiest to perform or that provide the most benefits.
Historically, this has been the most common user reaction to most computer systems.
Many aspects of many systems often goon used.

• Indirect use of the system: An intermediary is placed between the would-be user and
the computer. Again, since this requires high status and discretion, it is another typical
response of managers or others with authority.

• Modification of the task: The task is changed to match the capabilities of the system.
This is a prevalent reaction when the tools are rigid and the problem is unstructured, as
in scientific problem solving.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 23

 • Compensatory activity: Additional actions are performed to compensate for system
inadequacies. A common example is the manual reformatting of information to match
the structure required by the computer. This is a reaction common to workers whose
discretion is limited, such as clerical personnel.

• Misuse of the system: The rules are bent to shortcut operational difficulties. This
requires significant knowledge of the system and may affect system integrity.

• Direct programming: The system is reprogrammed by its user to meet specific needs.
This is a typical response of the sophisticated worker.

• These physical responses also greatly diminish user efficiency and effectiveness. They
force the user to rely upon other information sources, to fail to use a system's complete
capabilities, or to perform time-consuming "work-around" actions

IMPORTANT HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS IN DESIGN

• Importance in design is perception, memory, visual acuity, fovea and peripheral vision,
sensory storage, information processing, learning, skill, and individual differences.
• Perception
• Proximity
• Similarity
• Matching patterns
• Succinctness
• Closure
• Unity
• Continuity
• Balance
• Expectancies
• Context
• Signals versus noise
• Memory: Memory is not the most stable of human attributes, as anyone who has forgotten
why they walked into a room, or forgotten a very important birthday, can attest.
• -Short-term, or working, memory.
- Long-term memory
- Mighty memory
- Sensory Storage
• Mental Models: As a result of our experiences and culture, we develop mental models
of things and people we interact with.
• A mental model is simply an internal representation of a person's current understanding

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 24

 of something. Usually a person cannot describe this mental mode and most often is
unaware it even exists.
• Mental models are gradually developed in order to understand something, explain
things, make decisions, do something, or interact with another person.
• Mental models also enable a person to predict the actions necessary to do things if the
action has been forgotten or has not yet beaten countered.
• Movement Control: Once data has been perceived and an appropriate action decided
upon, a response must be made.
• In many cases the response is a movement. In computer systems, movements include
such activities as pressing keyboard keys, moving the screen pointer by pushing a
mouse or rotating a trackball, or clicking a mouse button

THE IMPLICATIONS IN SCREEN DESIGN

• Learning: Learning, as has been said, is the process of encoding in long-term memory
information that is contained in short-term memory.
• It is a complex process requiring some effort on our part. Our ability to learn is
important-it clearly differentiates people from machines.
• Given enough time people can improve the performance in almost any task. Too often,
however, designers use our learning ability as an excuse to justify complex design.
• A design developed to minimize human learning time can greatly accelerate human
performance.
• People prefer to stick with what they know, and they prefer to jump in and get started.
Unproductive time spent learning is something frequently avoided.
• Skill: The goal of human performance is to perform skillfully. To do so requires linking
inputs and responses into a sequence of action. The essence of skill is performance of
actions or movements in the correct time sequence with adequate precision. It is
characterized by consistency and economy of effort.
• Economy of effort is achieved by establishing a work pace that represents optimum
efficiency.
• It is accomplished by increasing mastery of the system through such things as
progressive learning of shortcuts, increased speed, and easier access to information or
data.
• Skills are hierarchical in nature, and many basic skills may be integrated to form
increasingly complex ones. Lower-order skills tend to become routine and may drop
out of consciousness.
• System and screen design must permit development of increasingly skillful
performance.
• Individual Differences: In reality, there is no average user. A complicating but very
advantageous human characteristic is that we all differ-in looks, feelings, motor

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 25

 abilities, intellectual abilities, learning abilities and speed, and soon.
• In a keyboard data entry task, for example, the best typists will probably be twice as
fast as the poorest and make 10 times fewer errors.
• Individual differences complicate design because the design must permit people with
widely varying characteristics to satisfactorily and comfortably learn the task or job, or
use the Website.
• In the past this has usually resulted in bringing designs down to the level of lowest
abilities or selecting people with the minimum skills necessary to perform a job.
• But technology now offers the possibility of tailoring jobs to the specific needs of
people with varying and changing learning or skill levels. Multiple versions of a system
can easily be created.
• Design must provide for the needs of all potential users

HUMAN CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGN

• The User's Knowledge and Experience

The knowledge possessed by a person, and the experiences undergone, shape the design
of the interface in many ways. The following kinds of knowledge and experiences
should be identified.
• Computer Literacy - Highly technical or experienced, moderate computer experience,
or none
• System Experience - High, moderate, or low knowledge of a particular system and its
methods of interaction
• Application Experience - High, moderate, or low knowledge of similar systems

HUMAN CONSIDERATIONS IN DESIGN

• Task Experience - Other Level of knowledge of job and job tasks

• Systems Use - Frequent or infrequent use of other systems in doing job
• Education - High school, college, or advanced degree
• Reading Level - Less than 5th grade, 5th-12th, more than 12thgrade
• Typing Skill - Expert (135 WPM), skilled (90 WPM), good (55 WPM), average (40
WPM), or "hunt and peck" (10WPM).
• Native Language or Culture- English, another, or several.

JOB/TASK/NEED

• Type of System Use - Mandatory or discretionary use of the system.

• Frequency of Use - Continual, frequent, occasional, or once-in-a-lifetime use of
system.
• Task or Need importance - High, moderate, or low importance of the task being performed.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 26

 • Task Structure - Repetitiveness or predictability of tasks being automated, high,
moderate, or low.
• Social Interactions - Verbal communication with another person required or not
required.
• Primary Training - Extensive or formal training, self training through manuals, or no
training.
• Turnover Rate - High, moderate, or low turnover rate for jobholders
• Job Category - Executive, manager, professional, secretary, clerk
• Lifestyle - For Web e-commerce systems, includes hobbies, recreational pursuits, and
economic status
PSYCHOLOCICAL CHARCTERISTICS

• Attitude - Positive, neutral, or negative feeling toward job or system.

• Motivation - Low, moderate, or high due to interest or fear.
• Patience - Patience or impatience expected in accomplishing goal.
• Expectations - Kinds and reasonableness.
• Stress Level - High, some, or no stress generally resulting from task performance.
• Cognitive Style - Verbal or spatial, analytic or intuitive, concrete or abstract.

PHYSICAL CHARACTRISTICS

• Age Young middle aged or elderly.

• Gender Male or Female.
• Handiness Left, right or ambidextrous.
• Disabilities Blind, defective vision, deafness, motor handicap.

HUMAN INTERACTION SPEEDS

• The speed at which people can perform using various communication methods has been
studied by a number of researchers.

• Reading: The average adult, reading English prose in the United States, has a reading
speed in the order of 250-300 words per minute. Proof reading text on paper has been
found to occur at about 200 words per minute, on a computer monitor, about 180 words
per minute.
• One technique that has dramatically increased reading speeds is called Rapid Serial
Visual Presentation, or RSVP. In this technique single words are presented one at a
time in the center of a screen. New words continually replace old words at a rate set by
the reader. For a sample of people whose paper document reading speed was 342 words
per minute? (With a speed range of 143 to 540 words per minute.) Single words were

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 27

 presented on a screen in sets at a speed sequentially varying ranging from 600 to 1,600
words per minute. After each set a comprehension test was administered.

READING

• Prose text - 250-300 words per minute.

• Proof reading text on paper - 200 words per minute.
• Proofreading text on a monitor - 180 words per minute.

LISTENING

• Speaking to a computer: 150-160 words per minute.

• After recognition corrections: 105 words per minute.

KEYING

• Typewriter
Fast typist: 150 words per minute and higher Average typist: 60-70 words per
minute
• Computer
Transcription: 33 words per minute Composition: 19 words per minute
• Two finger typists
Memorized text: 37 words per minute Copying text: 27 words per minute
• Hand printing
Memorized text: 31 words per minute. Copying text: 22 words per minute.
UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS JUNCTIONS

• Business definition and requirements analysis

--Direct methods
--Indirect methods
--Requirements collection guidelines
• Determining basic business functions
--Developing conceptual modes
--Understanding mental models
--Users new mental model
• Design standards or style guides
--Value of standards and guidelines
--Document design
--Design support and implementation
• System training and documentation
-- Training

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 28

 --Documentation

DIRECT METHODS

• Individual Face-to-Face Interview

• Telephone Interview or Survey
• Traditional Focus Group
• Facilitated Team Workshop
• Observational Field Study
• User-Interface Prototyping
• Usability Laboratory Testing
• Card Sorting for Web Sites
• A technique to establish groupings of information for Websites

INDIRECT METHODS

• MIS Intermediary
• Paper Surveyor Questionnaire
• Electronic Surveyor Questionnaire
• Electronic Focus Group
• Marketing and Sales
• Support Line
• E-Mail or Bulletin Board
• User Group
• Competitor Analyses
• Trade Show
• Other Media Analysis
• System Testing

DETERMINING BASIC BUSINESS JUNCTIONS

• Major system functions are listed and described, including critical system inputs and outputs.
A flowchart of major functions is developed. The process the developer will use is summarized
as follows: Gain a complete understanding of the user's mental model based upon:
• The user's needs and the user's profile.
• A user task analysis.
• Develop a conceptual model of the system based upon the user's mental model. This
includes:
• Defining objects.
• Developing metaphors

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 29

 Unit-III

SCREEN DESIGNING

What screen users want

• an orderly clean clutter free appearance
• An obvious indication of what is being shown and what should be done with it.
• Expected information located where it should be.
• A clear indication of what relates to what.
• Plain and simple English
• A clear indication of when an action can make a permanent change in data

Design goals
• Reduce visual work
• Reduce intellectual work
• Reduce memory work
• Reduce mentor work
• Eliminate burdens or instructions.

SCREEN PLANNING AND PURPOSE

Each screen element

• Every control
• All text
• Screen organization
• All emphasis
• Each color
• Every graphic
• All screen animation
• All forms offered back

Must
• Have meaning to screen users
• Serve a purpose in performing task organizing screen elements

Consistency
• Provide real world consistency
• Provide internal consistency

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 30

 • Operational and navigational procedures
• Visual identity or theme
• Component
• Organization
• Presentation
• Usage
• Locations
• Follow the same conventions
• Deviate only when there is clear benefit to user

ORDERING OF SCREEN DATA & CONTENT

• Divide information into units that are logical, meaningful and sensible.
• Organize by interrelationships between data or information.
• Provide an ordering of screen units of elements depending on priority.
• Possible ordering schemes include
• Conventional
• Sequence of use
• Frequency of use
• Function
• Importance
• General to specific.
• Form groups that cover all possibilities.
• Ensure that information is visible.
• Ensure that only information relative to task is presented on screen.
• Organizational scheme is to minimize number of information variables.
• Upper left starting point
• Provide an obvious starting point in the screen’s upper left Corner.

SCREEN NAVIGATION AND FLOW

• Provide an ordering of screen information and elements that:

 is rhythmic guiding a person’s eye through display
 Encourages natural movement sequences.
 Minimizes pointer and eye movement distances.

• Locate the most important and most frequently used elements or controls at top left.
• Maintain top to bottom, left to right flow.
• Assist in navigation through a screen by

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 31

  Aligning elements
 Grouping elements
 Use of line borders
• Through focus and emphasis, sequentially, direct attention to items that are
 Critical
 Important
 Secondary
 Peripheral
• Tab through window in logical order of displayed information.
• locate command button at the end of the tabbing order sequence,
• When groups of related information must be broken and displayed on separate screens,
provide breaks at logical or natural points in the information flow.
• In establishing eye movement through a screen, also consider that the eye trends to
move sequentially, for example–
 From dark areas to light areas
 From big objects to little objects
 From unusual shapes to common shapes.
 From highly saturated colors to unsaturated colors.

• These techniques can be initially used to focus a person’s attention.

• Maintain top to bottom, left to right through the screen. This top to bottom orientation is
Recommended for information entry for the following reasons–

 Eye movements between items will be shorter.

 Control movements between items will be shorter.
 Groupings are more obvious perceptually.
 When one’s eyes moves away from the screen and then back, it returns to
about same place it left, even if it is seeking next item in sequence.
• Most product style guides recommend a left to right orientation.
• Our earliest display screens reflected this left to right entry orientation.
• Top to bottom orientation is also recommended for presenting displays of read only
information that must be scanned.

VISUALLY PLEASING COMPOSITION

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 32

 • Provide visually pleasing composition with the following qualities–

 Balance
 Symmetry
 Regularity
 Predictability
 Sequentially
 Economy
 Unity
 Proportion
 Simplicity
 Groupings

Balance: Create screen balance by providing an equal weight of screen elements, left
and right, top and bottom.
Balance Instability

Symmetry: Create symmetry by replicating elements left and right of the screen
centerline.

Symmetry Asymmetry

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 33

 Regularity: Create regularity by using consistently spaced column and row starting points for
widgets. Also use elements similar in size shape, color and spacing.
Regularity Irregularity

Predictability: Create predictability by being consistent and following conventional orders or

arrangements.

Predictability Spontaneity
Control Control
icon Title Bar icons
Menu Bar
Button Button Button

Control Control Control Title Bar

Menu Bar
Control Control Control Control Control
icon

Control icons Control

Button Button Button

Sequentiality: Provide sequentiality by arranging elements to guide the eye through the screen in an
obvious, logical, rhythmic, and efficient manner.

Sequentiality Randomness

Economy: Provide economy by using as few styles, display techniques, and colors as possible.
Economy Intricacy

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBB

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX QQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQ
ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZ

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 34

 Unity: Create unity by using similar sizes, shapes, or colors for related information. Also by leaving
less space between elements of a screen than the space left in the margins.

Unity Fragmentation

Proportion: Create windows and groupings of data or text with aesthetically pleasing proportions.

Square
1:1

Square-root
of two Square-root
1:1.414 of three
1:1.732

Golden
rectangle Double
1:1.618 square
1:2

Simplicity: Optimize the number of elements on a screen, within the limits of clarity. Minimize the
alignment points, especially horizontal and vertical.
Simplicity Complexity

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 35

 Groupings: GROUPING USING BORDERS
• Provide functional groupings
• Create spatial groupings
• Provide meaningful titles for each grouping
• Incorporate line borders
• Do not exceed three-line thickness
• Create lines consistent in height and length
• For adjacent groupings with borders wherever possible
• Use rules and borders sparingly

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 36

 Amount of Information

• Present the proper information for the task

• Present all the information necessary for performing an action or making a decision on one
screen, whenever possible.
• Restrict screen or window density levels to no more than about 30 percent

Focus & Emphasis: Visually emphasize the

• Most prominent element
• Most important elements
• Central idea or focal point
• Deemphasize less important elements
• To ensure that too many screen elements are emphasized
• Screen clutter
• Using too many emphasize techniques
• To provide emphasis use techniques such
as: Higher brightness
• Reverse polarity
• Larger and distinctive font
• Underlining
• Blinking
• Line rulings
• Contrasting colors

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 37

 • Larger size
• Positioning
• Isolation
• Distinctiveness
• White space

Provide information Simply & Meaningfully

• Provide legibility
• Provide readability
• Present information in usable form
• Utilize contrasting display features
• Create visual lines
• Be consistent

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL ON WEB

• The most sought-after web commodity is content.

• Behavior is often goal driven.
• Reading is no longer a linear activity.
• Impatience.
• Frequent switching of purpose.
• Web users access site for different reasons: a focused search for a piece of information
or an answer less focused for browsing or surf.
• High tech capabilities, fancy graphics do not compensable for inefficient or poor
content.
• Initial focus on attention
• Page perusal
• Scanning guidelines
• Browsing
• Browsing guidelines
• Searching
• Problems with search facilities
• Search facility guidelines
• Express the search
• Progressive search refinement
• Launch the search
• Present meaningful results
• Provide meaningful headings and subheadings.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 38

 Provide meaningful titles
• Concisely write the text.
• Use bullets/number
• Array information in tables
• Presentation
– Key information in words or phrases
– Important concepts

STATISTICAL GRAPHICS
• A statistical graphic is data presented in a graphical format.
• A well-designed statistical graphic also referred to as chart or graph.
• Use of statistical graphics
- Reserve for material that is rich, complex or difficult.
• Data Presentation
• emphasize the data
• Minimize non data elements
• Minimize redundant data
• Fill the graph’s available area with data.
• Show data variation
• Provide proper context for data interpretation.
• Scales and shading
- Place ticks to marks scales on the outside edge of each axis.
- Employ a linear scale.
- mark scales at standard or customary intervals
- Start a numeric scale at zero.
- Display only a single scale on axis.
- Provide aids for scale interpretation.
- Clearly label each axis.
- Provide scaling consistency
- Consider duplicate axis for large scale data.
- Proportion
- Lines
- Labeling
- Title
- Interpretation of numbers

TYPES OF STATISTICAL GRAPHS

 curve and line graphs
 Single graph

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 39

  Four or five maximum
 Label identification
 Legend
 Tightly packed curves
 Important or critical data
 Comparing actual and projected data
 Data differences
 Surface charts
 Ordering
 Coding schemes
 Labels
 Scatter plots
 two dimensions
 Consistent intervals
 multiple datasets
 Significant points
 Bar graphs
 consistent orientation
 Meaningful organization
 Bar spacing
 Differentiation
 Important or critical data
 Related bar ordering
 Reference index
 labeling
 Segmented or stacked bars.
 Data category ordering
 Large segments
 Coding schemes
 labeling
 Flowcharts
 Order of steps
 Orientation
 Coding conventions
 Arrows
 Highlighting
 One decision at each step
 Consistently order and word all choices
 Pie chart

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 40

 TECHNOLOGICAL CONSIDERATION -INTERFACE DESIGN

Graphical systems

• Screen design must be compatible with the capabilities of the system–

• system power
• Screen size
• Screen resolution
• Display colors
• Other display features
• Screen design must be compatible with the capabilities of the
• Platform compatibility
• development and implementation
• Platform style guide
• Browser compatibility
Monitor size and
resolution Fonts
– Color
– Bandwidth
– Version
• Other considerations
o Downloading
o Currency
o Page printing
o Maintainable

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 41

 UNIT-IV

SELECT THE PROPER KINDS OF WINDOWS

A window is an area of the screen that contains a particular view of some area of the computer
or some portion of a person’s dialog with the computer.

Navigation Goals:

 A well designed navigation system facilitates quick & easy navigation between
components whose structure & relationship are easily comprehensible.
 For the user, answers to the following questions must be obvious at all times during an
interaction: Where am I now? Where did I come from? Where can I go from here? How can I
get there quickly?
 General system navigation guidelines include the following.
 Control
For multilevel menus, provide one simple action to:

o Return to the next higher-level menu.

o Return to the main menu.
o Provide multiple pathways through a menu hierarchy whenever possible.
 Menu Navigation Aids
To aid menu navigation & learning, provide an easily accessible:

o Menu map or overview of the menu hierarchy.

o A “look ahead” at the next level of choices, alternatives that will be presented when
a currently viewed choice is selected.
o Navigation history.

ii. Web Site Navigation:

 In designing a Web Site Navigation scheme there are two things to take in consideration:
o Never assume that users know as much about a site as the site designers do.
o Any page can be an entry point into the website.
 Web site navigational design includes:
o Web site organization Divide content into logical fragments, units or chunks.

Establish a hierarchy of generality or importance.

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  Components of a Web Navigation System to move between Web site information
fragments necessitates the creation of navigation links.

General link guidelines are:

-Sensible
-Available
-Obvious & Distinctive
-Consistent
-Textual
-Provide multiple navigation paths

 Browser Command Buttons Hide the split between the browser & the Web site application by
including navigational controls within the application.
 Web Site Navigation Bars
oProvide a global navigation bar at the top of each page.
oProvide a local category or typical links navigation bar on the left side of a page.
 Textual Phrases
Provide a mix of textual phrase links: -In explicit menus. -Embedded within page text.

 Graphical Images or Icons

Graphical images or icons may appear in an array in the form of a navigation bar or be individually
located at relevant points in a page.

 Command Buttons

Command buttons may appear in an array in the form of a navigation bar or be individually located
at relevant points in a page.
Selection of Window:
Window Characteristics

 A name or title, allowing it to be identified.

 A size in height & width (which can vary).
 A state, accessible or active or not accessible.
 Visibility–the portion can be seen.
 A location relative to the display boundary.
 Presentation–its arrangement with respect to other windows.
 Management capabilities.
 Highlighting.

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  The function, task or application to which it is dedicated.

1. Attraction of Windows

 Presentation of Different Levels of Information.

 Presentation of Multiple Kinds of Information.
 Sequential Presentation of Levels or Kinds of Information.
 Access to Different Sources of Information.
 Combining Multiple Sources of Information.
 Performing More Than One Task.
 Reminding.
 Monitoring.
 Multiple Representations of the Same Task.

2. Constraints in Window System Design

 Historical Considerations
 Hardware Limitations
 Human Limitations

3. Window Management

 Single-Document Interface

It’s a single primary window with a set of secondary windows.

 Multiple-Document Interface

It’s a technique for managing a set of windows where documents are opened into windows.
Contains:
-A single primary window called the parent.
-A set of related document or child windows, each also essentially a primary window.
4. Organizing Window Functions

 Window Organization–organize windows to support user tasks.

 Number of Windows–minimize the number of windows needed to accomplish an objective.

5. Window Operations
I. Active window

 A window should be made active with as few steps as possible.

 Visually differentiate the active window from other windows.

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ii. Opening a window

 Provide an iconic representation or textual list of available windows.

 If more than one object is selected & opened, display each object in a separate window. Designate
the last window selected as the active window.

iii. Sizing windows

 Provide large-enough windows to present all relevant & expected information for the task.

iv. Window placement

 Position the window so it is entirely visible.

v. Window separation

 Crisply, clearly & pleasingly demarcate a window from the background of the screen on which
it appears.

vi. Moving a window

 Permit the user to change the position of all windows.

Vii. Resizing a window

 Permit the user to change the size of primary windows.

Select the Proper Device-Based Controls

Device-based controls, often called input devices, are the mechanisms through which people
communicate their desires to the system.

Identify the characteristics and capabilities of device-based control

• Graphic tablet
• Light pen
• Touch screen
• Voice
• Mouse
• Keyboard

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Graphic (Touch) Tablet
• Description
– Pressure-, heat-,light-, or light-blockage-sensitive horizontal surfaces that lie
on the desktop or keyboard
– May be operated with fingers, light pen, or objects like pencil
• Advantages
– Direct relationship between hand and pointer movement in terms of direction
and speed
– Does not obscure vision of screen
– More comfortable horizontal operating plane
• Disadvantage

46
 – Movement is indirect, in a plane different from screen
– Requires hand to be removed from keyboard
– Requires different hand movements to use
– Finger may be too large for accuracy with small objects

Touch Screen
• Advantages
– Direct relationship between hand and pointer movement in terms of direction
and speed
– Movement is direct, in the same plane as screen
– Requires no additional desk space
• Disadvantage
– Finger may obscure part of screen
– Finger may be too large for accuracy with small objects
– Requires moving the hand far from the keyboard to use
– Very fatiguing to use for extended period of time
– May Damage the screen
Light Pen
• Description
– A special surface on a screen sensitive to the touch of a special stylus pen
• Advantage
– Direct relationship between hand and pointer movement in terms of direction,
distance, and speed
– Movement is direct, in the same plane as screen
– Requires minimal additional desk space
– Stands up well in high-use environments
– More accurate than finger touching
• Disadvantage
– Hand may obscure part of screen
– Requires picking it to use
– Requires moving the hand far from the keyboard to use
– Very fatiguing to use for extended period over time
Voice

• Description
– Automatic speech recognition by the computer
• Advantage
– Simple and direct
– Useful for people who cannot use a keyboard

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 – Useful when the user’s hands are occupied
• Disadvantage
– High error rates due to difficulties in
• Recognizing boundaries between spoken words
• Blurred word boundaries due to normal speech patterns
– Slower throughput than with typing
– Difficult to use in noisy environment
– Impractical to use in quiet environment

Mouse
• Advantage
– Direct relationship between hand and pointer movement in terms of direction,
distance, and speed.
– Permit a comfortable hand resting position
– Selection mechanisms are included on mouse
– Does not obscure vision of the screen
• Disadvantage
– Movement is indirect, in a plane different from screen
– Requires hand to be removed from keyboard
– Requires additional desk space
– May require long movement distances
– Requires a degree of eye-hand coordination
Mouse Usage Guidelines
• Provide a “hot zone” around small or thin objects that might require extremely fine
mouse positioning
• Never use double-clicks or double drags as the only means of carrying out essential
operations
• Do not use mouse plus keystroke combinations
• Do not require a person to point at a moving target

Keyboard
• Advantage
– Familiar
– Accurate
– Does not take up additional desk space
– Very useful for
• Entering text and alphanumeric data
• Inserting in text and alphanumeric data
• Keyed shortcuts accelerators

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 • Keyboard mnemonics equivalents

• Disadvantage
– Slow for non-touch-typists
– Slower than other devices in pointing
– Requires discrete actions to operate
– No direct relationship between finger or hand movement.

Keyboard Guidelines
• Provide keyboard accelerators
– Assign single keys for frequently performed, small-scale tasks
– Use standard platform accelerators
– Assign Shift-key combinations for actions that extend or are complementary
to the actions of key or key combination used without the Shift-key
– Assign Ctrl-key combinations for
• Infrequent actions
• Tasks that represent larger-scale versions of the task assigned to the unmodified
Key
• Provide keyboard equivalents
– Use standard platform equivalents
– Use the first letter of the item description
– Provide window navigation through use of keyboard keys

• Provide keyboard accelerators

– Assign single keys for frequently performed, small-scale tasks
– Use standard platform accelerators
– Assign Shift-key combinations for actions that extend or are complementary
to the actions of key or key combination used without the Shit-key
– Assign Ctrl-key combinations for
• Infrequent actions
• Tasks that represent larger-scale versions of the task assigned to the unmodified key
• Provide keyboard equivalents
– Use standard platform equivalents
– Use the first letter of the item description
– Provide window navigation through use of keyboard keys
• Provide keyboards for tasks involving

49
 – Heavy text entry and manipulation
– Movement through structured arrays consisting of few discrete objects
• Provide an alternative pointing device for graphical or drawing tasks
– Mouse: pointing, selecting, drawing, and dragging
– Joystick: selecting and tracking
– Trackball: pointing, selecting and tracking
– Touch screen pointing and electing
– Graphic tablet pointing selecting, drawing, and dragging
• Provide touch screens under the following conditions
– The opportunity for training is minimal
– Targets are large, discrete and spread out
– Frequency of use is low
– Desk space is at premium
– Little or no text input requirement exists
• Consider user characteristics and preferences Provide keyboards for touch typists
• Minimize eye and hand movements between devices
Pointer Guidelines

• The pointer
– Should be visible at all times
– Should contrast well its background
– Should maintain its size across all screen locations and during movement
• Shape of pointer
– Should clearly indicate its purpose and meaning
– Should be constructed of already defined shapes
– Should not be used for any other purpose other than its already defined
meaning
• Use only as many shapes as necessary to inform the user about current
location and status
• Animation should not distract

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Choose the Proper Screen Based Controls
Screen Based controls, often simply called controls and sometimes called widgets. By definitions,
they are graphic objects that represent the properties or operations of other objects.

Operable Controls
• Operable controls are those that permit the entry, selection, changing, or editing of a
particular value, or cause a command to be performed.
– Buttons
– Text entry/read-only, selection, combination entry/selection
– Specialized controls
Buttons
• Description
– A square or rectangular-shaped control with a label inside that indicates action
to be accomplished
– The label may consist of text, graphics, or both
• Command Buttons
• Toolbars

Command Buttons (Usage and Label)

• Use to provide fast access to frequently used or critical commands (for windows
with a menu bar)
• Use to provide access to all necessary commands (for windows without a menu
bar)
• Use single-word labels whenever possible (Use two –three words for clarity, if
necessary)

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 • Use mixed-case letters with the first letter of each significant label word
capitalized.
• Do not number labels
• Center the label within the button borders
• Provide consistency in button labeling across all screens
• Restrict the number of buttons on a window to six or fewer
• Provide as large as button as feasible and maintain consistent button heights and
widths

Command Buttons (Location and Layout)

• Buttons exiting a dialog, and usually closing the window, should be positioned
horizontally and centered across the lower part of the window
• For a button invokes a dialog or expands the dialog, position it centered and
aligned vertically along the right side of the window
• Do not provide alignment with other screen controls. Maintain alignment and
spacing only within the buttons themselves
• Position the buttons within windows before locating the other window controls

Command Buttons (Location and Layout)

• If a button has a contingent relationship to another control, position it adjacent to the

related control

• Buttons found on more than one window should be consistently positioned

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Command Buttons (Organization)

• Most frequent actions to the left or top

• Keep related buttons grouped together
• Exception: Buttons containing excessively long labels may be wider
• Windows Recommends
– An affirmative action the left or above
– The default first
– OK and Cancel next to each other
– Help last

Command Buttons (Intent Indicators)

• No intent indicator is necessary, when a button causes an action to be immediately
performed

• When a button leads to a cascading dialog, include and ellipsis (…)

• When a button leads to a menu, include a triangle pointing in the direction the menu
will appear after the label

• When a button leads to and expanding dialog, include a double arrow(>>)

• When a button has a contingent relationship to another control, include a single arrow

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 pointing at the control

Command Buttons (Expansion and Defaults)

• Gray buttons after Expansion or when not applicable
• When a window is first displayed, provide a default action, If practical
• A default should be the most likely action:
– A confirmation
– An application of the activity being performed
– A positive action such as OK
– If a destructive action is performed (such as a deletion) the default should be
Cancel
• Indicate the default action by displaying the buttons with a bold or double border

Command Buttons (Keyboard Equivalents, Accelerators)

• The mnemonic should be the first character of the button’s label
• If duplication exists in first characters, use another character in the label
• Designate the mnemonic character by underlining it
• Assign a keyboard accelerator to each button to facilitate keyboard selection

Command Buttons (Scrolling and Button Activation)

• Use buttons to move between multi-page forms, not scroll bars Label buttons
Next and Previous
• Highlight the button in some visually distinctive manner when the point is
resting on it and the button is available for selection

Toolbars (Usage, Structure and size)

• Provide easy and fast access to most frequently used commands or options
across multiple screens
• Provide buttons of equal size
• Create a meaningful and unique icon
• Center the image within the button
• Create a meaningful label

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 • Provide the smaller size as the default size with a user option to change it

Toolbars (Organization and Location)

• Place the most frequently used actions to the left or the top
• Keep related buttons grouped together
• Separate potentially destructive buttons from frequently chosen selections
• Permit user to reconfigure the button organization
• Position main features and functions bar horizontally across top of window just below
menu bar
• Position subtask and sub features bars along sides of window
• Permit the location of the bar to be changed by the user

Toolbars (Active items, Button Activation and Customization)

• Make only currently available toolbar items available
• Temporarily not available items by displaying grayed out
• Highlight the button in some visually distinctive manner when the pointer is resting
on it
• Call attention to the button in another visually distinctive manner when it has been
activated or pressed
• Permit toolbars to be turned off by user
• Allow the customizing of toolbars

Text Entry/Read-Only Controls (Captions)

For entry boxes

• Place a colon (:) immediately following the caption.
• For single fields, caption can be located in front of upper left corner of the box.
• For multiple fields, position the caption upper left of the box. For read-only boxes
• If the data field is long or about the same length, center the caption above the
displayed textbox.
• If the data is alphanumeric, short, or quite variable in length, left-justify the caption
above the displayed.
• If the data field is numeric and variable in length, right justify the caption above the
displayed.

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Selection Controls
• Radio Buttons
• Checkboxes
• Palettes
• List Boxes
• List View Controls
• Drop-down/Pop-up List Boxes
Radio Buttons

• When a choice is selected

– The option is highlighted
– Any existing choice is automatically un highlighted and deselected

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 • Purpose
– To set one item from a small set of option (2 to8)
• For mutually exclusive choices (that is, only can be selected)
• Most useful for data and choices that are
– Discrete
– Small and fixed in number
– Not easily remembered
– Most easily understood when the alternatives can be seen together and
compared to one another
– Never change in content
• Do not use
– For commands
Radio Buttons (Defaults and Structure)

• If there is a default selection, designate it as the default and display its button filled in.
Else, display all the buttons without setting adopt
• When a multiple selection includes choices, display the buttons in another unique
manner, such as gray shadow
• Left-align the buttons and choice descriptions
• A columnar orientation is the preferred unless vertical space on the screen is limited
• Enclose the buttons in a border to visually strengthen the relationship
Radio Buttons (Organization, Related Control)

• Arrange selection in expected order or follow other patterns (frequency of

occurrence, sequence of use, or importance)
• Position any control related to a radio button immediately to the right of the choice
description. End the label with an arrow
Radio Buttons (Keyboard Equivalents and Selection and Indication)

• Assign a keyboard mnemonic to each choice description by underlining the

applicable letter in the choice description
• Highlight the selection choice in some visually distinctive way when the cursor’s
resting on it
• When a choice is selected, distinguish it visually from the unselected choices
• If there is a default choice, display the selected choice as set in the control
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Radio Buttons

Check Boxes

58
 Each option acts as a switch and can be either “on” or “off”
– When an option is selected, a mark (X) appears within the square box, or the
box is highlighted in some other manner
– Otherwise the square is unselected or empty(off)
• Each box can be
– Switched on or off independently
– Used alone or grouped insets
!!Other properties are similar to the radio button’s properties!! Palettes

• Acontrolconsistingofaseriesofgraphicalalternatives.Thechoicesthemselves are
descriptive, being composed of colors, patterns, or images
• To set one of a series of mutually exclusive options presented graphically or
pictorially
• Usually consume less screen space than textual equivalents
• Do not use
– Where the alternatives cannot be meaningfully and clearly represented
pictorially
– Where words are clearer than images
– Where the choices are going to change
• Create boxes of equalize
• Position the boxes adjacent to, or butted up against another
• A columnar orientation is the preferred manner
• Top to button, left to right ordering by expected order, frequency of occurrence,
sequence of use or alphabetically
• Display it less brightly than the other choices, if a choice is not available
• Highlight the choice in some visually distinctive way when the pointer is resting

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 • When a choice is selected, distinguish it visually from the unselected choices

List Boxes

• A permanently displayed box-shaped control containing a list of attributes or objects

from which
– A single selection is made (mutually exclusive), or
– Multiple selections are made (non-mutually exclusive)
• Unlimited number of choices
• If the list content change, items will be hard to find
• Good for data that are
– Best represented textually
– Not frequently selected
– Large in number
– Fixed in list length
• Clearly and meaningfully describe the choices available
• Present in mixed case
• Left-align into columns
• Require no more than 40 page-downs to search a list
– If more are required, provide a method for using criteria
• Must be long enough to display 6-8 choices
– If it is the major control within a window, the box may be larger
• When box can’t made wide enough to display longest entry
– Break the long entries with an ellipsis (…)
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 – Provide horizontally scrolling
• Order in a logical and meaningful way to permit easy browsing (allow user to change
the sort order will be great)
• If a particular choices is not available in the current context, omit, gray or dimity
• Enclose the choices in a box with a solid border
• Use mixed-case
• Preferred position of the control caption is above upper-left
• When a list box is disabled, display its caption as gray out
• Highlight the selection choice when the pointer is resting on

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Drop-Down/Pop-up List Boxes

• Unlimited number of choices

• When displayed, all choices may not always be visible, requiring scrolling
• Use drop-down/pop-up when
– Screen space or layout consideration makes radio buttons or single- selection
list boxes impractical
– Do not use a drop-down list if it important that all options be seen together.

• Provide a visual cue that a box is hidden by including a downward pointing arrow,
or other meaningful image
• ! Other properties are the same as List boxes!
Combination Entry/Selection Controls and Other Operable Controls
• Spin Boxes
• Combo Boxes

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 • Drop-down/Pop-up Combo Boxes
• Slider

Spin Boxes

• A single line field followed by two small, vertically arranged buttons (pointing up and
pointing down arrow)
• Selection/entry is made by
– Using the mouse to point at one of directional buttons
– Keying a value directly into field itself
• Consumes little screen spaces
• Useful only for certain kinds of data
• The spin box should be wide enough to display the longest entry or choice
• Caption is mixed-case letters
• Position the caption to the left of the box

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Combo Boxes

• A single rectangular text box entry field, beneath which is a larger rectangular list box
(resembling a drop-down list box)
• The text box permits a choice to be keyed within it
• As text is typed into the text box, the list scrolls to the nearest match
• Also, when an item in the list box is selected, that item is placed within the text box

Drop-down/Pop-up combo Boxes

• A single rectangular text box with a small button to the side and an associated hidden
list of options
• Selection are made by using the mouse or keyboard
• The information keyed doesn’t not have to match
• Unlimited number of entries and choices
• Flexible, permitting selection or typed entry
• Requiring scrolling

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 • Proper usage
– Where screen is limited
– For data and choices that are
• Best represented textually
• Frequently changed
• Large in number
Drop-down/Pop-up combo Boxes

• Provide a visual cue that a list box is hidden by including a downward-pointing

• Other properties are the same as Drop-down/Pop-up List Box!!

Slider
• A scale exhibiting degrees of a quality on continuum
• To make a setting when a continuous qualitative adjustment is acceptable
• Spatial representation of relative setting
• Not as precise as an alphanumeric indication
• Proper usage:
– When an object has a limited range of possible settings
– When the range of values discontinuous
– When graduations are relatively fine

Custom Controls

• Presentation controls
– Provide details about other screen elements or controls or assist in giving the screen
structure
• Static Text Fields

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 • Group boxes
• Column Headings
• ToolTips
• Balloon Tips
• Progress indicators
Task Best Control If Screen Space Constraints Exist
 Mutually Exclusive Radio Buttons Drop-down/Pop-up List Box
 Not Mutually Exclusive Check Boxes Multiple-Selection List Box
 Select or Type a Value
 Text Entry Field
 Radio Buttons with “Other”
 Drop-down Combo Box
 Setting a Value within a Range
 Spin Button Text Box

Write Clear Text and Message Words

Do not use technical words, made-up words or terms file spec, abed, or spool, Ungroup or
dear chive
• Do not use abbreviations or acronyms
– Always use the fully spelled-out form the first time it is encountered in the
interface
• Consider not the usage of contradictions or short forms (won’t vs. will not, un- -
nests), Complete words is preferred
• Positive terms (avoid the prefix “ire-” “in-” “dies-” adnoun-”)
• Simple action words
• Multiple-word phrases are more readable if the entire phrase is on one line
• Abbreviation, mnemonics, and acronyms should not include punctuation

Sentences and Messages

• Brief and simple
• Directly and immediately usable (Should not search through reference)
• Affirmative statement is easier to understand than negative statements
• Active voice is usually easier to understand than passive voice
• Main topic at the beginning

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 • Use the same grammatical structure for elements of sentences
• Imply that the system is awaiting the user’s direction, not that the system is directing
the user
• Negative tones or actions, or threats are not very friendly (“Numbers are illegal” vs.
“Months must be entered by name”)
• Encouraging message would be better than insulting message
• Should remain factual and informative, and should not attempt humor or punishment

Messages
• Screen messages is classified into two categories
– System messages:
• Generated by the system to keep the user informed of the system’s state
and activities
– Instructional messages (prompting message):
• tell the user how to work with, or complete the screen displayed
System Messages
• Status messages
– Providing information concerning the progress of a lengthy operation
– Usually contains a progress indicator and a short message
• Informational messages (notification messages)
– This kind of message is usually identified by an “I” icon to the left of the
message
• Warning messages
– They are usually identified by an“!”
– The user must determine whether the situation is in fact a problem and may be
asked to advise the system whether or not to proceed (A deletion request by a
user is any action that commonly generates a warning messages)
System Messages
• Critical messages (Action messages)
– Call attention to conditions that require a user action before the system can
proceed
– Some products use a “Do Not” symbol while others use a “Stop” sign. An X in
a circle used by Microsoft Windows
• Question messages
– A question message asks a question and offers a choice of options for selection
– It is designated by a “?” icon proceeding the message text
Writing Message Box Text

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 • Title bar: Clearly identify the source of the message
– The name of the object to which it refers
– The name of the application to which it refers
– Do not include an indication of message type
– Use mixed case in the headline style
• Message box: Provide a clear and concise description of the condition of the
condition causing the message box to be displayed
– Use complete sentences with ending punctuation
– Show only message box about the cause of condition in single message
– Make the solution an option offered in the message
– Use the word “Please “conservatively
• Do not exceed two or three lines
• Center the message text in window
• Include the relevant icon identifying the type of message

Message Box Controls

• Command Buttons:
– If a message requires no choices to be made, include an OK button
– If a message requires a choice to be made
• OK and Cancel buttons only when the user has the options continue or
cancel
• Yes and No buttons when the user must decide how to continue
• If these choices are too ambiguous, label with the name of specific
actions
– If a message describes an interrupted process, provide Stop button
– If a message offer a chance to cancel a process, provide a Cancel button
– If more details about a message must be presented, provide a Help button
– Display only one message box for a specific condition
• Close Box:
– Enable the title bar Close only if the message includes a Cancel button

Instructional Messages
• Provide instructional information at the depth of detail needed by the user
– Accessing instruction through a Help function is the best solution
• Location it at strategic position on the screen

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 • Display it in a manner that visually differentiates it from other screen elements
• In writing, follow all relevant writing guideline for words, sentences, and messages

Create Meaningful Graphics, Icons and Images

Creating Images

 Create familiar and concrete shapes

 Create visually and conceptually distinct shapes
 Incorporate unique features of an object
 Do not display within a border
 Clearly reflect object represented
 Simple reflect object represented, avoiding excessive detail
 Create as a set, communicating relationships to one another through common shapes
 Provide consistency in icon type
 Create shapes of the proper emotional tone

Creating Images
• Create familiar and concrete shapes
• Create visually and conceptually distinct shapes
• Incorporate unique features of an object
• Do not display within a border
• Clearly reflect object represented
• Simple reflect object represented, avoiding excessive detail
• Create as a set, communicating relationships to one another through common shapes
• Provide consistency in icon type
• Create shapes of the proper emotional tone

Icons

• Icons are most often used to represent objects and actions with which users can
interact

• Icons may stand alone on a desktop or in a window, or be grouped together in a

toolbar

• A secondary use of a icon is to reinforce important information, a warning icon in a

dialog message box

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 Characteristics of Icons

• Syntactic refers to a icon’s physical structure

– Shape, Color, Size
– Similar shapes and colors can be used to classify a group of related icons

• Semantics is the icon’s meaning

– What does it refer – a file, a waste basket, or some other objects?

• Pragmatics is how the icons are physically produced and depicted

– Is the screen resolution enough to illustrate?

• Syntactic, semantics and pragmatics determine an icon’s effectiveness and usability

Influences on Icon Usability

• Provide icons that are

– Familiar
– Clarity
– Simple
– Consistent
– Directness of the meaning
– Efficient
– Discriminate able from others

• Also consider the

– Context in which the icon issued
– Expectancies of users
– Complexity of task
Choosing Icons

• A Successful Icon
– Looks different from all other icons

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 – Is obvious what it does or represents
– Is recognizable when no larger than 16 pixels square
– Look as good in black and white as in color

• Size
– 16x16, 24x24, 26x26, 32x32 pixels 16-and-256 color version
– Use colors from the system palette

• Provide as large a hot zone as possible

– With stylus or pen: 15 pixels square
– With mouse: 20 pixels square
– With finger: 40 pixels square
Choosing Images

• Use existing icons when available

• Use images for nouns, not verbs

• Use traditional images

• Consider user cultural and social norms

Creating Images

• Create familiar and concrete shapes

• Create visually and conceptually distinct shapes

– Incorporate unique features of an object
– Do not display within a border

• Clearly reflect object represented

• Simple reflect object represented, avoiding excessive detail

• Create as a set, communicating relationships to one another through common shapes

• Provide consistency in icon type

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 • Create shapes of the proper emotional tone

Creating Images

• Create familiar and concrete shapes

• Create visually and conceptually distinct shapes

– Incorporate unique features of an object
– Do not display within a border

• Clearly reflect object represented

• Simple reflect object represented, avoiding excessive detail

• Create as a set, communicating relationships to one another through common shapes

• Provide consistency in icon type

• Create shapes of the proper emotional tone

Drawing Images

• Providing consistency in shape over varying sizes

• Do not use triangular arrows in design to avoid confusion with other system symbols

• When icons are used to reflect varying attributes, express these attributes as meaning
meaningfully as possible

• Provide proper scale and orientation

• Use perspective and dimension whenever possible

• Accompany icon with a label to assure intended meaning Icon Animation and
Audition

• Animation

– Use
• To provide feedback
• For visual interest

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 – Make it interruptible or independent of user’s primary interaction
– Do not use it for decoration
– Permit it to be turned off by the user
– For fluid animation, present images at 16++ frames/second

• Auditions
– Consider auditory icons
The design Process

• Define the icon’s purpose and use

• Collect, evaluate, and sketch ideas

• Draw in black and white

• Draw using an icon-editing utility or drawing package

• Test for users

– Expectations
– Recognition
– Learning

• Test for clarity

• Register new icons in the system’s registry

Graphics in Web

• Use Graphics to
– Supplements the textual content, not as a substitute for it
– Convey information that can’t be effectively accomplished using text
– Enhance navigation through
• Presenting a site overview
• Identifying site pages
• Identifying content areas

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Images

– Limit the use of graphics that take long time to load

– Coordinate the graphics with all other page elements

• Use standard images, image internationalization

• Provide descriptive text or labels with all images

• Distinguish navigational images from decorative images

• Minimize

– The number of presented images

– The size of presented images
– Image animation
– Number of colors

• GIF, JPEG is preferred

Photographs/Pictures

• Use when every aspect of the images is relevant

• Use JPEG format

• On the initial page

– Display a small version
• A thumbnail
• Zoom-in on most relevant detail

– Link to larger photos showing as much detail as needed

Video

• To show the proper way to perform a task

• To provide a personal message

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• To grab attention

• Never automatically download a video into a page

• Provide controls (playing, pausing, and stopping)

• Considering using
– Existing video
– Audio only
– A slide show with audio
Diagrams

• To show the structure of objects

• To show the relationship of objects

• To show the flow of a process or task

• To reveal a temporal or spatial order

Animation

• To explain ideas involving a change in

– Time
– Position

• To illustrate the location or state of a process

• To show continuity in transitions

• To enrich graphical representations

• To aid visualization of 3-Dstructures

• Provide a freeze frame and stop mode

• Avoid distracting animation

Audition
Uses as a supplement to text and graphics

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• To establish atmosphere

• To create a sense of place

• To teach

• To sample

• The content should be simple

• Provide audio controls
Combining Mediums
• Use sensory combination that work best together
– Auditory text with visual graphics
– Screen text with visual graphics
• Both the visual and auditory information should be totally relevant to the task being
performed
• Visual and auditory textual narrative should be presented simultaneously
• Considering downloading times when choosing media
• Testing
– Legibility
– Comprehensibility
– Acceptance

Choose the Proper Colors

Color Uses
• Use color to assist in formatting
– Relating elements into grouping
– Breaking apart separate groupings of information
– Highlighting or calling attention to important information

• Use color as visual code to identify

– Screen captions and data
– Information from different sources

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 – Status of information
• Use color to
– Realistically portray natural objects

– Increase screen appeal Possible Problems with Color

• High Attention-Getting Capacity
– Viewer might associate, tie together, screen elements of same color
– Result in confusing, slower reading
• Interference with Use of Other Screens
• Varying Sensitivity of the Eye to Different Colors
– Viewing red and blue  Eye fatigue
• Color-Viewing Deficiencies
• Cross-Disciplinary and Cross-Cultural Differences
– For financial mangers - Corporate qualities or reliability
– For health care professionals –Death
– For nuclear reactor monitors – Coolness or water

– For American movie audiences – Tenderness or Pornography Choosing Colors

for Categories of Information
• Color chosen to organize information or data on a screen must aid the transfer of
information from the display to the user, Some examples of using color code

– If decisions are made based on the status of information on the screen, color-
code the types of status the information

– Screen searching is performed to locate information of particular kind, color-

code for contrast

– If the sequence of information use is constrained or ordered, use color to

identify the sequence

– If the information on a screen is crowded, use color to provide visual grouping

• Never rely on color as the only way of identifying a screen element
• Always consider how spatial formatting, highlighting, and messages may also be
useful

Color in Context

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 • Color are subject to contextual effects
• Small adjacent colored images may appear to the eye to merge or mix
• A color on a dark background will look lighter and brighter than the same color on a
light background
• Colors also change as light levels change
Usage

• Design for monochrome first or in shades of black, white and gray

• Doing this will permit the screen to be effectively used:

– By people with a color-viewing deficiency
– On monochrome displays
– In conditions where ambient lighting distorts the perceived color
– If the color ever fails

• Use colors conservatively

– Do not use color where other identification techniques, such as location, are available

Discrimination and Harmony

• Select 4-5 colors for best absolute discrimination

– Red, yellow, green, blue, and brown

• Select 6-7 colors for best comparative discrimination

– Orange, yellow-green, cyan, violet, and magenta

• Choose harmonious colors

– One color plus two colors on either side of its complement
– Three colors at equidistant point around the color circle

• For extended viewing or older viewers, use brighter colors

Emphasis

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• To draw attention or to emphasize elements, use bright or highlighted colors or use less bright
colors for deemphasize

– The perceived brightness of colors from most to least is white, yellow, green, blue, red
• To emphasize separation, use contrasting colors
– Red and green, blue and yellow
• To convey similarity, use similar colors
– Orange and yellow, blue and violet

Common Meanings
• To indicate that actions are necessary, use warm colors
– Red, orange, yellow
• To provide status or background, use cool colors
– Green, blue, violet, purple
• Conform to human expectation
– Red: Stop, fire, hot, danger
– Yellow: Caution, slow, test
– Green: Go, OK, clear, vegetation, safety
– Blue: Cold, water, calm, sky, neutrality
– Gray, White: Neutrality
– Warm colors: Action, response required, spatial closeness
– Cool colors: Status, background information, spatial remoteness
• Typical implications of color with dramatic portrayal are
– High illumination: Hot, active, comic situations
– Low illumination: Emotional, tense, tragic, romantic situations
– High saturation: Emotional, tense, hot, comic situations
– Warm colors: Active, leisure, recreation, comic situations
– Cool colors: Efficiency, work, tragic and romantic situations

• Proper use of color also requires consideration of the experiences and expectation of
the screen viewers

Location and Ordering

• In the center of the visual field, use red and green For peripheral viewing, use blue,
yellow, black, and white
• Use adjacent colors that differ by hue and value or lightness for a sharp edge and
maximum differentiation

• Order colors by their spectral position

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 – Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet Foregrounds and Backgrounds
• Foregrounds
– Use colors that highly contrast with the background color
– For text or data
• Black on light-color background of low intensity (no bright white)
• Desiderated spectrum colors such as white, yellow, or green on dark
background
• Warmer more active colors
– To emphasize an element, highlight it in a light value of the foreground color,
pure white, or yellow
– To deemphasize and element, lowlight it in a dark value of the foreground
color

Foregrounds and Backgrounds

• Backgrounds
– Use colors that do not compete with the foreground
– Use
• Light-colored backgrounds of low intensity: Off-white or light gray
• De saturated colors
• Cool, dark colors such as blue or black
• Colors on the spectral extreme end
– Blue, black, gray, brown, red, green, and purple
Foregrounds and Backgrounds
• Backgrounds
– Use colors that do not compete with the foreground
– Use
• Light-colored backgrounds of low intensity: Off-white or light gray
• De saturated colors
• Cool, dark colors such as blue or black
• Colors on the spectral extreme end
– Blue, black, gray, brown, red, green, and purple

Gray Scale
• For fine discrimination use a black-gray-white scale

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 – Recommend values
• White: Screen background, text located in any black area
• Light gray: Background of a Pushbutton area
• Medium gray: Icon background area, Menu drop shadow, Window
Drop shadow, inside area of system icons, Filename bar
• Dark gray: Window boarder
• Black: Text, Window title bar, Icon border, Icon elements,
Ruled lines

Text in Color

• Text in color is not as visible as it is in black

• When switching text from black to color
– Double the width of lines
– Use bold or larger type:
• If originally 8 to 12 points, increase by 1 to 2points

• If originally 14 to 24 points, increase by 2 to 4points

• Check legibility by squinting at text

– Too-light type will recede or even disappear

Choosing color for web pages

 Always minimize the number of presented colors for faster downloading
 Always consider color in context, never in isolation

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  Use similar or same color schemes throughout a Web site  help the user maintain a
sense of place
 Foreground colors should be a different as possible from background colors
 The most recommended foreground text color is black presented on a light-colored
background of low intensity (off white or light gray)
 Use dark backgrounds when establishing contrast between an area of the screen and the
main screen body Choosing color for web pages
 High intensity colors as back-ground such as red, magenta and bright green) must be
avoided
 When choosing foreground and background colors, ensure that contrasting
combinations are selected
 Use a uniform color in large screen areas
 Large areas of the same color download faster
 For smaller element, the more contrast is required
 Use flat Web-safe colors
 Select color that can be easily reproduced in black and white

Use of Color to Avoid

 Relying exclusively on color (Spatial Formatting and component locations)
 Too many colors at onetime
 Highly saturated, spectrally extreme colors together
 Red/blue and yellow/purple
 Yellow/blue, green/blue and red/green
 Low-brightness color for extended viewing or older viewer
 Colors of equal brightness
 Colors lacking contrast
 Fully saturated colors for frequently read screen components
 Use of Color to Avoid
 Pure blue for text, thin lines, and small shapes
 Colors in small areas
 Colors for fine details
 Black, gray, and white will provide better resolution
 Other colors for large area or attracting attention
 Non-opponent colors
 Red/yellow or green/blue
 Recommend: Red/green or yellow/blue
 Red and green in the periphery of large-scale displays
 Yellow and blue are much better

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Use of Color to Avoid

• Adjacent colors only differing in the amount of blue they posses

• Single color distinctions for color-deficient user

• Using colors in unexpected ways

• Using color to improve readability of densely packed text

– Recommend using space lines

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 UNIT-V
Software tools

Specification Methods
• Design requires a good notation to record and discuss alternate possibilities:

– The default language for specifications in any field is natural language, e.g.,
English
– Communication medium, e.g., sketchpad, or blackboard
• Natural-language specifications tend to be:
– lengthy
– vague
– ambiguous
• Therefore, often are difficult to prove:
– correct
– consistent
– complete

• Backus-Naur Form (a.k.a. Backus Normal Form or BNF)

– high-level components are described as non-terminal
– specific strings are described as terminals

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 • Multiparty grammars
• Multiparty grammars are effective for text oriented command sequences
• Transition Diagram
– a set of nodes that represents system states and a set of links between the nodes
that represents possible transitions
• State Charts

Interface-Building Tools:
Features of Interface-Building Tools.

• User Interface Independence

– Separate interface design from internals
– Enable multiple user interface strategies
– Enable multiple platform support
– Establish user interface architect role
– Enforce standards
• Methodology & Notation
– Develop design procedures
– Find ways to talk about design
– Create project management
• Rapid Prototyping
– Try out ideas very early
– Test, revise, test, revise, ...
– Engage end users, managers, and others

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 • Software Support
– Increase productivity
– Offer some constraint & consistency checks
– Facilitate team approaches
– Ease maintenance
User interface mockup tools
• Examples
– Paper and pencil
– Word processors
– Slide-show software
– Macromedia Director, Flash mix, or Dreamweaver

• Visual Editing
– Microsoft Visual Studio
– Borland J Builder

Finding the right tool is a tradeoff between six main criteria:

• Part of the application built using the tool.

• Learning time
• Building time
• Methodology imposed or advised
• Communication with other subsystems
• Extensibility and modularity

Interaction Devices- Keyboard

Layouts QWERTY layout
– 1870 Christopher Latham Sholes

– good mechanical design and a clever placement of the letters that

slowed down the users enough that key jamming was infrequent

– put frequently used letter pairs far apart, thereby increasing finger
travel distances

Dvorak layout
– 1920
– reduces finger travel distances by at least one order of magnitude

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 – Acceptance has been slow despite the dedicated efforts of some
devotees

– it takes about 1 week of regular typing to make the switch, but most
users have been unwilling to invest the effort

ABCDE style

– 26 letters of the alphabet laid out in alphabetical order no typists will

find it easier to locate the keys
Additional keyboard issues

– IBM PC keyboard was widely criticized because of the placement of a

few keys
• backslash key where most typists expect SHIFT key
• placement of several special characters near the ENTER key
– Number pad layout
– wrist and hand placement
Keys
– 1/2 inch square keys
– 1/4 inch spacing between keys
– slight concave surface
– matte finish to reduce glare finger slippage
– 40- to 125-gram force to activate
– 3 to 5 millimeters displacement
– tactile and audible feedback important

– certain keys should be larger (e.g. ENTER, SHIFT,CTRL)

– some keys require state indicator, such as lowered position or light

indicator (e.g. CAPS LOCK)
– key labels should be large, meaningful, permanent
– some "home" keys may have additional features, such as deeper cavity
or small raised dot, to help user locate their fingers properly (caution -
no standard for this)

Function keys

– users must either remember each key's function, identify them from the

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 87

 screen's display, or use a template over the keys in order to identify
them properly
– can reduce number of keystrokes and errors

– meaning of each key can change with each application placement on

keyboard can affect efficient use
– special purpose displays often embed function keys in monitor bezel
– lights next to keys used to indicate availability of the function, or
on/off status

– Typically, simply labeled F1, F2, etc, though some may also have
meaningful labels, such as CUT, COPY, etc.

– frequent movement between keyboard home position and mouse or

function keys can be disruptive to use

– alternative is to use closer keys (e.g. ALT or CTRL) and one letter to
indicate special function

Cursor movement keys

– up, down, left, right
– some keyboards also provide diagonals
– best layout is natural positions

– inverted-T positioning allows users to place their middle three fingers

in a way that reduces hand and finger movement
– cross arrangement better for novices than linear or box
– typically include typeamatic (auto-repeat)feature
– important for form-fill-in and direct manipulation

– Other movements may be performed with other keys, such as TAB,

ENTER, HOME, etc.
Keyboard and keypads for small devices
– Wireless or foldable keyboards
– Virtual keyboards
– Cloth keyboards
– Soft keys
– Pens and touch screens

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Pointing Devices
Pointing devices are applicable in six types of interaction tasks:
1. Select:
– User chooses from a set of items.
– Used for traditional menu selection, identification of a file in a
directory, or marking of a part in an automobile design.
2. Position:
– User chooses a point in a one-, two-, three-, or higher-dimensional
space
– Used to create a drawing, to place a new window, or to drag a block of
text in a figure.
3. Orient:
– User chooses a direction in a two-, three-, or higher-dimensional space.
– Direction may simply rotate a symbol on the screen, indicate a
direction of motion for a spaceship, or control the operation of a robot
arm.
4. Path:
– User rapidly performs a series of position and orient operations.
– May be realized as a curving line in a drawing program, the
instructions for a cloth cutting machine, or the route on a map.
5. Quantify:
– User specifies a numeric value.
– Usually a one-dimensional selection of integer or real values to set
parameters, such as the page number in a document, the velocity of a
ship, or the amplitude of a sound.
6. Text:
– User enters, moves, and edits text in a two-dimensional space. The
– Pointing device indicates the location of an insertion, deletion, or
change.
– More elaborate tasks, such as centering; margin setting; font sizes;
highlighting, such as boldface or underscore; and page layout.
Direct-control pointing devices light pen
– enabled users to point to a spot on a screen and to perform a select,
position, or another task
– it allows direct control by pointing to a spot on the display
– incorporates a button for the user to press when the cursor is resting on
the desired spot on the screen
– light pen has three disadvantages: users' hands obscured part of the
screen, users had to remove their hands from the keyboard, and users

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 89

 had to pick up the light pen

Touch screen
– allows direct control touches on the screen using a finger
– early designs were rightly criticized for causing fatigue, hand-
obscuring-the- screen, hand-off-keyboard, imprecise pointing, and the
eventual smudging of the display
– lift-off strategy enables users to point at a single pixel
– the users touch the surface
– then see a cursor that they can drag around on the display
– when the users are satisfied with the position, they lift their fingers off
the display to activate
– can produce varied displays to suit the task
– are fabricated integrally with display surfaces

Tablet PCs and Mobile Devices:

• Natural to point on the LCD surface
• Stylus
• Keep context in view
• Pick up & put down stylus
• Gestures and handwriting recognition

Indirect pointing devices

• mouse
– the hand rests in a comfortable position, buttons on the mouse are easily
pressed, even long motions can be rapid, and positioning can be precise
• trackball
– usually implemented as a rotating ball 1 to 6 inches in diameter that moves
cursor

• joystick
– are appealing for tracking purposes

• Graphics tablet
– A touch-sensitive surface separate from the screen

• Touchpad

– built-in near the keyboard offers the convenience and precision of a touch
screen while keeping the user's hand off the display surface

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 • Human-factors variables
– speed of motion for short and long distances
– accuracy of positioning
– error rates
– learning time
– user satisfaction
• Other variables
– cost
– durability
– space requirements
– weight
– left- versus right-hand use
– likelihood to cause repetitive-strain injury
– compatibility with other systems

Comparison of pointing devices

• Some results
– direct pointing devices faster, but less accurate
– graphics tablets are appealing when user can remain with device for long
periods without switching to keyboard
– mouse is faster than isometric joystick
– for tasks that mix typing and pointing, cursor keys a faster and are preferred by
users to a mouse
– muscular strain is low for cursor keys
• Fit’s Law
– Index of difficulty = log2 (2D /W)
– Time to point = C1 + C2 (index of difficulty)
– C1 and C2 and constants that depend on the device
– Index of difficulty is log2 (2*8/1) = log2(16) = 4bits
– A three-component equation was thus more suited for the high-precision
pointing task:
– Time for precision pointing = C1 + C2 (index of difficulty) + C3 log2 (C4 /W)

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 91

 Novel devices
• Foot controls
• Eye-tracking
• Multiple-degrees-of-freedom devices
• Data Glove
• Hap tic feedback
• Bimanual input
• Ubiquitous computing and tangible user interfaces
• Handheld devices

Speech and auditory interfaces

• Speech recognition still does not match the fantasy of science fiction:
– demands of user's working memory
– background noise problematic
– variations in user speech performance impacts effectiveness
– most useful in specific applications, such as to benefit handicapped
users
• Discrete word recognition
– recognize individual words spoken by a specific person; can work with 90-
to98- percent reliability for 20 to 200-wordvocabularies
– Speaker-dependent training, in which the user repeats the full vocabulary
once or twice
– Speaker-independent systems are beginning to be reliable enough for
certain commercial applications
– been successful in enabling bedridden, paralyzed, or otherwise disabled
people
– also useful in applications with at least one of the following conditions:
• speaker's hands are occupied
• mobility is required
• speaker's eyes are occupied
• harsh or cramped conditions preclude use of keyboard
– voice-controlled editor versus keyboard editor
• lower task-completion rate
• lower error rate
– use can disrupt problem solving
• Continuous-speech recognition
– Not generally available:
• difficulty in recognizing boundaries between spoken words

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 • normal speech patterns blur boundaries
• many potentially useful applications if perfected
• Speech store and forward
– Voice mail user scan
• receive messages
• replay messages
• reply to caller
• forward messages to other users, delete messages
• archive messages
• Systems are low cost and reliable.
• Voice information systems

– Stored speech commonly used to provide information about tourist

sites, government services, after-hours messages for organizations
– Low cost
– Voice prompts
– Deep and complex menus frustrating

– Slow pace of voice output, ephemeral nature of speech, scanning

and searching problems
– Voicemail
– Handheld voice recorders
– Audio books
– Instructional systems

• Speech generation

– Michaels and Wiggins (1982) suggest that speech generation is

"frequently preferable" under these circumstances:

• The message is simple.

• The message is short.
• The message will not be referred to later.
• The message deals with events in time.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 93

 • The message requires an immediate response.
• The visual channels of communication are overloaded.
• The environment is too brightly lit, too poorly lit, subject to
severe vibration, or otherwise unsuitable for transmission of
visual information.
• The user must be free to move around.
• The user is subjected to high G forces or anoxia

Audio tones, audio libation, and music

– Sound feedback can be important:
• to confirmations
• offer warning
• for visually impaired users
• music used to provide mood context, e.g. in games
• can provide unique opportunities for user, e.g. with
simulating various musical instruments

Displays – Small and Large

• The display has become the primary source of feedback to the user
from the computer
– The display has many important features, including:
• Physical dimensions (usually the diagonal dimension and depth)
• Resolution (the number of pixels available)
• Number of available colors, color correctness
• Luminance, contrast, and glare
• Power consumption
• Refresh rates (sufficient to allow animation and video)
• Cost
• Reliability
Usage characteristics distinguish displays:
• Portability
• Privacy
• Saliency
• Ubiquity
• Simultaneity Display technology
• Monochrome displays
– are adequate, and are attractive because of their lower cost
• RGB shadow-mask displays

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 – small dots of red, green, and blue phosphors packed closely
• Raster-scan cathode-ray tube(CRT)
– electron beam sweeping out lines of dots to form letters
– refresh rates 30 to 70 per second
• Liquid-crystal displays(LCDs)
– voltage changes influence the polarization of tiny capsules of liquid
crystals
– flicker-free
– size of the capsules limits the resolution
• Plasma panel
– rows of horizontal wires are slightly separated from vertical wires by
small glass-enclosed capsules of neon-based gases
• Light-emitting diodes(LEDs)
– certain diodes emit light when a voltage is applied
– arrays of these small diodes can be assembled to display characters
• Electronic ink
– Paper like resolution

– Tiny capsules with negatively and positively charged particles

• Braille displays
– Pins provide output for the blind
• Large displays
– Informational wall displays
– Interactive wall displays
– Multiple desktop displays
• Heads-up and helmet mounted displays

– A heads-up display can, for instance, project information on a

partially silvered widescreen of an airplane or car
– A helmet/head mounted display (HMD) moves the image with the
user
– 3D images

Mobile device displays

• Currently mobile devices used for brief tasks, except for game playing
• Optimize for repetitive tasks
• Custom designs to take advantage of every pixel
• Data Lens allows compact overviews

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION Page 95

 • Web browsing difficult
• Okay for linear reading, but making comparisons can be difficult

Animation, image, and video

• Accelerated graphics hardware
• More information shared and downloaded on the web
• Scanning of images and OCR
• Digital video
• CDROMS and DVDs
• Compression and decompression through MPEG
• Computer-based videoconferencing

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