Human Computer Interaction – CS408 VU

LESSON 2

INTRODUCTION TO HCI – PART II

Learning Goals
The aim of this lecture is to introduce you the study of Human Computer Interaction, so that after
studying this you will be able to:
 Describe the significance of HCI, particularly adverse impact of computer technology on
humans and reasons for these adverse effects
 Describe the nature of humans and computers
 Understand the paradox of the computing phenomena
 Differentiate between focus of SE and HCI

2.1 Reasons of non-bright Aspects

Airplane + Computer
In the last lecture we were discussing the incident of airplane. Today we will look at the reason of such
a fatal incident.

+ =

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated, and ---as usual---declared the problem human
error. The navigational aid the pilots were following was valid but not for the landing procedure at Cali.
In the literal definition of the phrase, this was indeed human error, because the pilot selected the wrong
fix. However, in the larger picture, it was not the pilot’s fault at all.
The front panel of the airplane’s navigation computer showed the currently selected navigation fix and a
course deviation indicator. When the plane is on course, the needle is centered, but the needle gives no
indication whatsoever about the correctness of the selected radio beacon. The gauge looks pretty much
the same just before landing as it does just before crashing. The computer told the pilot he was tracking
precisely to the beacon he had selected. Unfortunately, it neglected to tell him the beacon the selected
was a fatal choice.
The flight computer on Flight 965 could easily have told the pilots that ROMEO was not an appropriate
fix for their approach to Cali. Even a simple hint that it was “unusual” or “unfamiliar” could have saved
the airplane. Instead, it seemed as though the computer was utterly unconcerned with the actual flight
and its passengers. It cared only about its own internal computations

Joke in Computer Industry

There is a widely told joke in the computer industry that goes like this: A man is flying in a small
airplane and is lost in the clouds. He descends until he spots an office building and yells to a man in an
open window, “Where am I?” The man replies, “You are in an airplane about 100 feet above the
ground.” The pilot immediately turns to the proper course, spots the airport and lands. His astonished
passenger asks how the pilot figured out which way to go. The pilot replies, “The answer the man gave
me was completely correct and factual, yet it was no help whatsoever, so I knew immediately he was a

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software engineer who worked for Microsoft and I know where Microsoft’s building is in relation to the
airport.”
When seen in the light of the tragedy of Flight 965, the humor of the joke is macabre, yet professionals
in the digital world tell it gleefully and frequently because it highlights a fundamental truth about
computers:
They may tell us facts but they don’t inform us
They may guide us with precision but they don’t guide us where we want to go. The flight computer on
Flight 965 could easily have told the pilots that ROMEO was not an appropriate fix for their approach to
Cali. Even a simple hint that it was “unusual” or “unfamiliar” could have saved the airplane. Instead, it
seemed as though the computer was utterly unconcerned with the actual flight and its passengers. It
cared only about its own internal computations
Communication can be precise and exacting while still being tragically wrong. This happens all too
frequently when we communicate with computers, and computers are invading every aspect of our
modern lives. From the planes we fly to just about every consumer product and service, computers are
ubiquitous, and so is their characteristically poor way of communicating and behaving. [1]

I-Drive Car Device

It takes automotive computer power to a whole new level. Computer systems provide the car with
BMW's most powerful engine, a silky smooth ride and what is supposed to be the simplest in-dash
control system available. But what is created for the sake of simplicity can often time creates the most
confusion.
Many controls are operated with a single large, multifunction knob located in the console between the
front seats. The control consists of a combination rotary and push button for selecting functions.
Confirmation of the selected mode is displayed on a dash-mounted screen.
Users can change functions -- from communications to climate control, navigation or entertainment --
by pushing the console knob forward or back, or side-to-side. By twisting the knob, they can scroll
through menus. And by clicking a button located in the middle of the knob, they can select functions.
"iDrive" takes into account the fact that comfort, communication and driver assistance functions are
only rarely adjusted while driving. The operating unit in the center console gives the driver direct access
to many other driving functions and information and communication options. Several hundred functions
can be controlled with this device.
A computer-type monitor is positioned directly within the driver's line of vision to the road ahead. The
large monitor in the center of the dashboard displays all the information the driver needs, apart from the
speedometer and tachometer, which are conventional analog instruments.
The driver slides the dial to choose between multiple control menus displayed on an in-dash LCD
screen. The driver rotates the dial to move through lists and pushes the dial axially to select a list item.
After reading that I didn't feel like I had any sort of idea what 'axially' meant, but I suppose this video
helps. What concerns me about this is the interaction with this little device requires the driver, hurtling
down the road, to look at a screen. They say there is force feedback that indicates the menu, but that's
only half the equation, because there are things in the menus. So, I'm guessing the driver needs to
memorize the menus, which are sure to be short, so think about the mental modeling here.
To really keep your eyes on the road, you have to be able to do everything by feel and pattern. Is this
easier than hot-cold air sliders, vent selection buttons and radio dials?

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It takes 15 minutes to change a Radio Channel. The fundamental flaw: you absolutely have to take your
eyes off the road to change settings. Result is constant Calls to Help Desk

Feature Shock
Every digital device has more features than its manual counterpart, but manual devices easier to use. Hi-
tech companies add more features to improve product. Product becomes complicated
Bad process can’t improve product
Computer + Bank
A computer! Whenever I withdraw cash from an automatic teller machine (ATM), I encounter the same
sullen and difficult behavior so universal with computers. If I make the slightest mistake, it rejects the
entire transaction and kicks me out of the process. I have to pull my card out, reinsert it, reenter my PIN
code, and then re-assert my request. Typically, it wasn’t my mistake, either, but the ATM computer
finesses me into a misstep. It always asks me whether I want to withdraw money from my checking,
saving, or money market account, even though I have only checking account. Subsequently, I always
forget which type it is, and the question confuses me. About once a month I inadvertently select
“savings”, and the infernal machine summarily boots me out of the entire transaction to start over the
beginning. To reject “savings”, the machine has to know that I don’t have a saving account, yet it still
offers it to me as a choice. The only difference between me selecting “saving” and the pilot of Flight
965 selecting “ROMEO” is the magnitude of the penalty.
The ATM has rules that must be followed, and I am quite willing to follow them, but it is unreasonably
computer-like to fail to inform me of them, giving me contradictory indications, and then summarily
punish me for innocently transgressing them. This behavior---so typical of computers---is not intrinsic
to them. Actually nothing is intrinsic to computers: they merely act on behalf of their software, the
program. And programs are as malleable as human speech. A person can speak rudely of politely,
helpfully or sullenly. It is as simple for a computer to behave with respect and courtesy as it is for a
human to speak that way. All it takes is for someone to describe how. Unfortunately, programmers
aren’t very good at teaching that to computers. In order to solve some of these problems, here comes the
relatively new and emerging field of Human Computer Interaction. [1]

2.2 Human verses Computer

Human species
Human beings are the most interesting and fascinating specie on planet. They are the most complex
living being on the earth. It has very much diversity in its nature. It is intelligent in its deeds. Human
beings think and decide according to their own will. Yes, they are free in nature. They like freedom.
They think on a problem dynamically and they can find many solutions that may not exist before. They
can invent. They are not only rational but they also have emotions. They also think emotionally. They
act emotionally. And fortunately or unfortunately they make mistakes. They make mistakes which some
time become fatal for them and some time they become blessing for them.

Computer species
On contrast, computers are the invention of human being. They are also complex but they are also pretty
dumb. It can also think but it can’t think on its own will, it thinks how it has been directed to think. No
doubt its speed is marvelous. It does not tire. It is emotionless. It has no feelings, no desires. It works
how it has been commanded to work. And they do not make mistakes.
Before penetration of computers in our daily life, human beings were performing their tasks at their on
responsibility. In a business domain human beings were dealing and interacting with each other’s. For
example a store manager was dealing with all the workers performing their different duties in the store.
Some one was registering the new arrivals of products, some one was numbering the products and many
more…and store manager has to interact with all these human beings. If some one was a salesperson, he
used to interact with different clients and used to deal with them according to their mood and desire. He
could judge their mood with their tone, their attitude and with their body language. He could provide
answers relevant to their questions.
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But now in this age of information technology we are expecting computers to mimic human behavior
e.g. ECommerce systems, now there is no need for a salesperson. Web sites are behaving as a
salesperson or as a shopping mal. That is now; a dumb, unintelligent and inanimate object will perform
the complex task which was performed by some human being.

2.3 Software Apartheid

Apartheid
Racial segregation; specifically: a policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination
against non-European groups in the Republic of South Africa.

Software Apartheid
Institutionalizing obnoxious behavior and obscure interactions of software-based products.
Programmers generally work in high-tech environments, surrounded by their technical peers in enclaves
like Silicon Valley. Software engineers constantly encounter their peers when they shop, dine out, take
their kids to school and relax, while their contact with frustrated computer users is limited. What’s
more, the occasional unfocused gripes of the users are offset by the frequent enthusiasm of the
knowledgeable elite. We forget how far removed our peers and we are from the frustration and inability
of the rest of the country (not to mention the world) to use interactive tools.
We industry insiders toss around the term “computer literacy”, assuming that in order to use computers;
people must acquire some fundamental level of training. We see this as a simple demand that is not hard
and is only right and proper. We imagine that it is not much to ask of users that they grasp the rudiments
of how the machines work in order to enjoy their benefits. But it is too much to ask. Having a computer
literate customer base makes the development process much easier—of their can be no doubt—but it
hampers the growth and success of the industry and of society. Apologists counter with the argument
that you must have training and a license to drive a car, but they overlook the fact that a mistake with
software generally does not. If cars were not so deadly, people would train themselves to derive the
same way they learn excel.
It has another, more insidious effect. It creates a demarcation line between the haves and have-nots in
society. If you must master a computer in order to succeed in America’s job Market beyond a burger-
flipper’s carriers, then the difficulty of mastering interactive systems forces many people into menial
jobs rather than allowing them to matriculate into more productive, respected and better-paying jobs.
Users should not have to acquire computer literacy to use computer for common, rudimentary task in
everyday life. Users should not have to possess a digital sensitivity to work their VCR, microwave oven,
or to get e-mail. What’s more, should not have to acquire computer literacy to use computer for
enterprise applications, where the user is already trained in the application domain. An accountant for
example, who is trained in the general principles of accounting, should not have to become computer
literate to use a computer in her accounting practice. Her domain knowledge should be enough to see
her through.
As our economy shifts more and more onto information bases, we are inadvertently creating a divided
society. The upper class is composed of those who have mastered the nuances of differentiating between
“RAM” and “Hard Disk”. The lower class is that who treat the difference inconsequential. The irony is
that the difference really is inconsequential to any one except a few hard-core engineers. Yet virtually
all-contemporary software forces its users to confront a file system, where your success fully dependent
on knowing the difference between RAM and disk.
Thus the term “computer literacy” becomes a euphemism for social and economic apartheid. Computer
literacy is a key phrase that brutally bifurcates our society.
But about those people who are not inclined to pander to technocrats and who can not or will not
become computer literate? These people, many by choice, but most by circumstances, are falling behind
in the information revolution. Many high-tech companies, for example, would not even consider for
employment any applicant who does not have an e-mail address. I’m sure that there are many otherwise
qualified candidates out there who cannot get the hired because they are not yet wired. Despite the
claims of the Apologists, using e-mail effectively is difficult and involves a significant level of
computer literacy. Therefore, it artificially segregates the work force. It is the model equivalent of the

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banking technique of “red lining”. In this illegal procedure, all houses in a given neighborhood are
declared unacceptable as controller for a housing loan. Although the red lines on the map are ostensibly
drawn around economic contours, they tend to follow racial lines all too closely bankers protest that
they are not racists, but the effect is the same.
When programmers speak of “computer literacy”, they are drawing red lines around ethnic groups, too,
yet few have pointed this out. It is too hard to see what is really happening because the issue is obscured
by technical mythology. It is easy to see---regardless of how true---that a banker can make a loan on one
house as easily as on another. However, it is not easy to see that a programmer can make interactive
products easy enough for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to use.
“Acceptable levels of quality for software engineers are far lower than are those for traditional
engineering disciplines”
“Software-based products not INHERENTLY hard to use wrong process is used to develop them” [1]

2.4 Software Engineering and HCI

There is a basic fundamental difference between the approaches taken by software engineers and
human-computer interaction specialists. Human-computer interface specialists are user-centered and
software engineers are system-centered.

Software engineering methodologies are good at modeling certain aspects of the problem domain.
Formal methods have been developed to represent data, architectural, and procedural aspects of a
software system. Software engineering approaches deal with managerial and financial issues well.
Software engineering methodologies are useful for specifying and building the functional aspects of a
software system.
Human-computer interfaces emphasize developing a deep understanding of user characteristics and a
clear awareness of the tasks a user must perform. HCI specialists test design ideas on real users and use
formal evaluation techniques to replace intuition in guiding design. This constant reality check improves
the final product.

Reference:
[1] The Inmates are running the asylum by Alan Cooper
[2] Human-Computer Interaction by Jenny Preece

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