IT 2622 (HCI)

● Privacy and Security issues:

identification theft, medical information,
viruses, spam, national security
USABILITY OF INTERACTIVE
SYSTEMS INDIVIDUAL USER LEVEL

INDIVIDUAL USER LEVEL

USABILITY OF INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS

● Routine processes: tax return
preparation

INTRODUCTION ● Decision support: a doctor’s diagnosis

and treatment
● Education and training: encyclopedias,
The Interdisciplinary Design Science of
drill-and-practices exercises, simulations
Human- Computer Interaction (HCI)
● Leisure: music and sports information
combines knowledge and methods
● User generated content: social
associated with professionals including:
networking web sites, photo and video
● Psychologists (incl. Experimental,
share sites, user communities
Educational, Social and Industrial
● Internet-enabled devices and
Psychologists)
communication
● Computer Scientists
● Instructional and Graphic Designers
COMMUNITIES
● Technical Writers
● Human Factors and Ergonomics Experts ● Business use: financial planning,
● Anthropologists and Sociologists publishing applications
● Industries and professions: web
RAMIFICATIONS resources for journals, and career
opportunities
What are the Ramifications? ● Family use: entertainment, games and
● Success Stories: Microsoft, Linux, communication
Amazon.com, Google ● Globalization: language and culture
● Competition: Firefox vs. Internet
Explorer
● Copyright Infringement Suits - Apple vs.
Microsoft (Windows) and Napster vs.
The music industry
● Mergers: AOL and Time Warner
● Corporate Takeovers: IBM's seizure of
Lotus

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 USABILITY - Include tasks which are only
performed occasionally. Common

● Usability is the extent to which a tasks are easy to identify.

product can be used by specified users - Functionality must match need or

to achieve specific goals with else users will reject or underutilize

effectiveness, efficiency, and the product.

satisfaction in a specified context of use. 2. ENSURE RELIABILITY

Effectiveness is fundamental as it is - Actions must function as specified

about achieving the intended goal(s) - Database data displayed must

reflect the actual database

USER-FRIENDLY - Appease the user’s sense of mistrust

- The system should be available as

● A gadget that is user-friendly is easy to often as possible

use. User-friendly devices can be used - The system must not introduce

quickly, even if you haven't used errors

anything like it before. - Ensure the user’s privacy and data

security by protecting against
SHOULD IMPROVING THE USER’S QUALITY unwanted access, destruction of
OF LIFE AND THE COMMUNITY ALSO BE data, and malicious tampering
OBJECTIVES?
3. PROMOTE

Yes, improving the user's quality of life and - Standardization

contributing to the well-being of the - Integration

community are often considered important - Consistency

objectives in various contexts, such as - Portability

business, governance, and social initiatives. 4. COMPLETE PROJECTS ON TIME AND

WITHIN BUDGET

● Social responsibility - Late or over budget products can

● Long-term sustainability create serious pressure within a

● Economic impact company and potentially mean

● Customer satisfaction dissatisfied customers and loss of

● Quality of workforce business to competitors

● Brand image
USABILITY MEASURES

GOALS FOR REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS

● Define the target user community and

1. ASCERTAIN THE USER’S NEEDS class of tasks associated with the

- Determine what tasks and subtasks interface

must be carried out ● ISO 9241 Ergonomics of HCI focuses on

effectiveness, efficiency, and
satisfaction

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● 5 Human factors central to community - The basic trade off is getting
evaluation feedback early and perhaps less
- Time to learn: How long does it take expensively in the development
for typical members of the process versus having a more
community to learn relevant tasks? authentic interface evaluated
- Speed of performance: How long
does it take to perform relevant USABILITY MOTIVATIONS
benchmarks?
- Rate of errors by users: How many Many interfaces are poorly designed and
and what kinds of errors are made this is true across domains
during benchmark tasks?
- Retention over time: Frequency of ● Life-critical systems
use and ease of learning help make ● Industrial and commercial systems
for better user retention ● Office, home and entertainment
- Subjective satisfaction: Allow for applications
user feedback via interviews, ● Exploratory, creative and cooperative
free-form comments and systems
satisfaction scales. ● Socio-technical systems

LIFE-CRITICAL SYSTEMS

● Air traffic control, nuclear reactors,

power utilities, police and fire dispatch
systems, medical equipment
● High costs, reliability and effectiveness
are expected
● Lengthy training periods are acceptable
despite the financial cost to provide

● Trade-offs in design options error-free performance and avoid the

frequently occur low frequency but high cost errors

- Changes to the interface in a new ● Subject satisfaction is less than an issue

version may create consistency due to well motivated users

problems with the previous version,

but the changes may improve the INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL USE

interface in other ways or introduce

● Banking, insurance, order entry,
new needed functionality
inventory management, reservation,
● Design alternatives can be evaluated
billing, and point-of-sales systems
by designers and users via mockups
● Ease of learning is important to reduce
or high-fidelity prototypes
training costs

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● Speed and error rates are relative to
cost
● Speed of performance is important
because of the number of transactions
● Subjective satisfaction is
important to limit operator burnout
● With these applications, the computer
should be transparent so that the user
can be absorbed in their task domain
fairly SOCIAL-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS
● Complex systems that involve many

OFFICE, HOME, AND ENTERTAINMENT people over long time periods

APPLICATIONS ● Voting, health support, identity
verification, crime reporting
● Word processing, electronic mail,
● Trust, privacy, responsibility, and
computer conferencing, and video game
security are issues
systems, educational packages, search
● Verifiable sources and status feedback
engines, mobile devices, etc.
are important
● Ease of learning, low error rates, and
● Ease of learning for novices and
subjective satisfaction are paramount
feedback to build trust
due to use is often discretionary and
● Administrators need tools to detect
competition fierce
unusual patterns of usage
● Infrequent use of some applications
means interfaces must be intuitive and
PHYSICAL ABILITIES AND PHYSICAL
easy to use; online help is important WORKPLACES
● Choosing functionality is difficult
because the population has a wide ● Basic data about human dimensions

range of both novice and expert users comes from research in anthropometry

Competition cause the need for low cost ● There is no average user, either

● Competition cause the need for low cost compromises must be made or multiple

● New games and gaming devices versions of a system must be created

- For example, Nintendo Wii ● Physical measurement of human

dimensions are not enough, take into

EXPLORATORY, CREATIVE, AND account dynamic measures such as

COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS reach, strength or speed

● Web browsing, search engines, artist

toolkits, architectural design, music UNIVERSAL USABILITY
composition, video editing, and
scientific modeling systems ● Screen-brightness preferences vary
● Collaborative work substantially, designers customarily
● Benchmarks are hard to describe for provide a knob to enable user control
exploratory tasks and device users ● Account for variances of the user
population's sense perception

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● Vision: depth, contrast, color blindness, - Search, imagery, and sensory
and motion sensitivity memory
● Touch: keyboard and touchscreen - Learning, skill development,
sensitivity knowledge acquisition, and concept
● Hearing: audio clues must be distinct attainment
● Workplace design can both help and
hinder work performance ● They also suggest this set of factors
affecting perceptual and motor
The standard ANSI/HFES 100-2007 Human performance:
Factors Engineering of Computer - Arousal and vigilance
Workstations (2007) list these concerns - Fatigue and sleep deprivation
- Work-surface and display-support - Perceptual (mental) load
height - Knowledge of results and feedback
- Clearance under work surface for - Monotony and boredom
legs - Sensory deprivation
- Work-surface width and depth - Nutrition and diet
- Adjustability of heights and angles - Fear, anxiety, mood, and emotion
for chairs and work surfaces - Drugs, smoking, and alcohol
- Posture - seating depth and angle; - Physiological rhythms
back-rest height and lumbar support But note, in any application, background
- Availability of armrests, footrests, experience and knowledge in the task
and palm rests domain and the interface domain play key
roles in learning and performance.
COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL ABILITIES
PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES
● The human ability to interpret sensory
input rapidly and to initiate complex ● There is no set taxonomy for identifying
actions makes modern computer user personality types
systems possible. ● Designers must be aware that
● The journal Ergonomics Abstracts offers populations are subdivided and that
this classification of human cognitive these subdivisions have various
processes: responses to different stimuli
- Long-term and semantic memory ● Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- Short-term and working memory - Extroversion versus introversion
- Problem solving and reasoning - Sensing versus intuition
- Decision making and risk - Perceptive versus judging
assessment - Feeling versus thinking
- Language communication and
comprehension

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USERS WITH PHYSICAL CHALLENGES

● Designers must plan early to

accommodate users with disabilities
● Early planning is more cost efficient
than adding on later
● Business must comply with the
“Americans With Disabilities” Act for
some applications

OLDER ADULT USERS

● Including the elderly is fairly easy

- Designers should allow for variability
within their applications via settings
for sound, color, brightness, font
sizes, etc. with less distracting
animation

GOALS FOR OUR PROFESSION

Potential research topics

● Reducing anxiety and fear of computer
usage
● Graceful evolution
● Specification and implementation of
interaction
● Direct manipulation
● Social media participation
● Input devices
● Online assistance
● Information exploration

CONCLUSION

Usability is a critical aspect of

human-computer interaction (HCI) and
plays a fundamental role in the design and
functionality of digital systems,
applications, and websites.