Interaction

Human Computer Interaction

 Interaction
• interaction models
• translations between user and system
• ergonomics
• physical characteristics of interaction
• interaction styles
• the nature of user/system dialog
• context
• – social, organizational, motivational
 Models of Interaction
• Include:
• Norman model
• Abowd and Beale framework
 Donald Norman’s model
• Seven stages
• – user establishes the goal
• – formulates intention
• – specifies actions at interface
• – executes action
• – perceives system state
• – interprets system state
• – evaluates system state with respect to goal
• concentrates on user’s view of the interface
Donald Norman’s model
 Donald Norman’s model
• Using Norman’s model to evaluate systems, Some systems
are harder to use than others
• Gulf of Execution :
• user’s formulation of actions ≠ actions allowed by the system
• Gulf of Evaluation
• user’s expectation of changed system state ≠ actual presentation
of this state
 Donald Norman’s model
• Humans can make slips and mistakes when using the system, and fail at some stage
of the model.
• slip
• understand system and goal
• correct formulation of action
• incorrect action
• mistake
• may not even have right goal!
• Fixing things?
• slip – better interface design
• mistake – better understanding of system
 Abowd and Beale framework
• extension of Norman…
• their interaction framework has 4 parts
• user
• input
• system
• output
 Abowd and Beale framework
• user intentions
• Inputs - translated into actions at the interface
• translated into alterations of system state
• reflected in the output display
• interpreted by the user
• The framework is generally for understanding interaction
• not restricted to electronic computer systems
• identifies all major components involved in interaction
• allows comparative assessment of systems
• It’s an abstraction
 Ergonomics
• Study of the physical characteristics of interaction
• Ergonomics good at defining standards and guidelines for
constraining the way we design certain aspects of systems
 Ergonomics - Examples
• arrangement of controls and displays
• e.g. controls grouped according to function or frequency of use, or sequentially
• surrounding environment
• e.g. seating arrangements adaptable to cope with all sizes of user
• health issues
• e.g. physical position, environmental conditions (temperature, humidity),
lighting, noise,
• use of colour
• e.g. use of red for warning, green for okay, awareness of colour-blindness etc.
 Industrial Interfaces
• Context matters!
• Office interface vs. industrial interface?
 Glass interfaces

• industrial interface:
• traditional … dials and knobs
• now … screens and keypads
• glass interface
• cheaper,
• more flexible,
• multiple representations,
• precise values
• – not physically located, loss of context, complex interfaces
• may need both
 Indirect manipulation
• office– direct manipulation
• – user interacts with artificial world
• industrial – indirect manipulation
• user interacts with real world through interface
• issues ..
• Feedback – types and format of feedback
• Delays – is it fast or slow?
 Interaction Styles
• command line interface
• menus
• natural language
• question/answer and query dialogue
• form-fills and spreadsheets
• WIMP
• point and click
• three–dimensional interfaces
 Command Line Interface
• suitable for repetitive tasks
• better for expert users than novices
• offers direct access to system functionality
• command names/abbreviations should be meaningful!
• E.g. Unix systems
 Menus
• Set of options displayed on the screen
• Options visible
• less recall - easier to use
• rely on recognition so names should be meaningful
• Selection by:
• numbers, letters, arrow keys, mouse
• combination (e.g. mouse plus accelerators)
• Often options hierarchically grouped
• sensible grouping is needed
• Restricted form of full WIMP system
 Kinds of Menus

• Menu Bar at top of screen (normally), menu

• drags down
• pull-down menu - mouse hold and drag down menu
• drop-down menu - mouse click reveals menu
• fall-down menus - mouse just moves over bar!
• Contextual menu appears where you have
• pop-up menus - actions for selected object
• pie menus - arranged in a circle
• easier to select item (larger target area)
• quicker (same distance to any option)
• … but not widely used!
 Kinds of Menus
• Cascading menus
• hierarchical menu structure
• menu selection opens new menu
• and so in ad infinitum
• Keyboard accelerators
• key combinations - same effect as menu item
• two kinds
• active when menu open – usually first letter
• ctive when menu closed – usually Ctrl + letter

• usually different !!!

 Menus design issues

• which kind to use

• what to include in menus at all
• words to use (action or description)
• how to group items
• choice of keyboard accelerators
 Natural Language
• Familiar to user
• speech recognition or typed natural language
• Problems
• vague
• ambiguous
• hard to do well!
• Solutions
• try to understand a subset
• pick on key words
 Query interfaces
• Question/answer interfaces
• user led through interaction via series of questions
• suitable for novice users but restricted functionality
• often used in information systems
• Query languages (e.g. SQL)
• used to retrieve information from database
• requires understanding of database structure and language
syntax, hence requires some expertise
 Form-fills
• Primarily for data entry or data retrieval
• Screen like paper form.
• Data put in relevant place
• Requires
• good design
• obvious correction facilities
 Spreadsheets
• First spreadsheet VISICALC, followed by Lotus 1-2-3
• MS Excel most common today
• sophisticated variation of form-filling.
• grid of cells contain a value or a formula
• formula can involve values of other cells e.g. sum of all cells in this
column
• user can enter and alter data spreadsheet
• maintains consistency
 Point and click interfaces
• used in ..
• multimedia
• web browsers
• hypertext
• just click something!
• icons, text links or location on map
• minimal typing
 WIMP Interfaces
• WIMP - Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers … or windows,
icons, mice, and pull-down menus!
• default style for majority of interactive computer systems,
especially PCs and desktop machines
 Buttons
• Special kinds include:
Radio buttons
• set of mutually exclusive choices
Check boxes
• set of non-exclusive choices
 Toolbars
• long lines of icons …… but what do they do?
• fast access to common actions
• often customizable:
• choose which toolbars to see
• choose what options are on it
 Dialogue Boxes
• Dialogue boxes
• information windows that pop up to inform of an
important event or request information.
• e.g: when saving a file, a dialogue box is displayed to
allow the user to specify the filename and location. Once
the file is saved, the box disappears.
 Interactivity
• easy to focus on looks, but what about feel?
 Speech-Driven Interfaces
• rapidly improving … … but still inaccurate
• To have robust dialogue you need… interaction of course!
• e.g. airline reservation: reliable “yes” and “no”
• system reflects back its understanding, “you want a ticket from
New York to Boston?”
 Look and Feel
• WIMP systems have the same elements:
• windows, icons, menus, pointers, buttons, etc.
• but different window systems … behave differently
• e.g. MacOS vs Windows menus (same looking button =
different actions)
• appearance + behavior = look and feel
 Initiative
• who has the initiative? – who forces/does the action
• old question–answer scenario – computer
• WIMP interface – user
• WIMP exceptions …pre-emptive parts of the interface
• modal dialog boxes (interrupts)
• come and won’t go away!
• good for errors, essential steps
• but use with care
 Context of Interaction
• Interaction affected by social and organizational context
• other people
• desire to impress, competition, fear of failure
• Motivation behind action
• fear, allegiance, ambition, self-satisfaction
• inadequate systems
• cause frustration and lack of motivation
 Physical Design
• There are many constraints that affect the physical
design:
• ergonomic – minimum button size
• physical – high-voltage switches are big
• legal and safety – high cooker controls
• context and environment – easy to clean
• aesthetic – must look good
• economic – … and not cost too much!
The End