EXPLORING

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION

Farhan Nadim Iqbal

ATHE Level-4, Diploma in Computing
Department of Information Technology
AIMS Academy, Sylhet, Bangladesh

10.5281/zenodo.10212300
EVALUATE THE PRINCIPLES OF HCI (1.1)

What is Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)?

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a field of study where researchers study
how a human end-user interacts with digital computers with the help of various
interfaces. Furthermore, HCI researchers are involved in the design and
enhancement of user-centric technologies, enabling humans to interact smoothly
with computers. They do this by following several HCI principles which will be
discussed in the coming slides. For instance, the act of operating our smartphones
by directly touching their screens is termed as human-to-computer interaction,
and the touch-sensitive glass on our phones serves as the interface between
humans and computers, known as a Human-Computer Interface. The term
“Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) was first coined by Stuart K. Card, Allen
Newell, and Thomas P. Moran in their 1983 book “The Psychology of Human-
Computer Interaction (Wikipedia, 2021). Systems developed without following
HCI principles are not operationally feasible and reliable.
PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION (HCI)

PERCEPTION and ATTENTION:

Perception refers to the cognitive process through which individuals, including humans and other
living beings, utilize their senses and mental faculties to comprehend the world they perceive. In
the context of Human-Computer Interaction, perception is the process where humans try to
interpret and understand the data presented to them by computers and digital interfaces
(Papantoniou, 2015). An example of perception is us, humans, trying to understand the context
of a messed-up spreadsheet file we received from someone. Attention is a cognitive process
through which individuals decide to focus on specific incidents or stimuli, while fully or partially
ignoring others. When we humans do this, we direct our cognitive resources and mental efforts to
those specific events or stimuli. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, if specific digital
information is designed in such a way that indicates its information is important, it will attract our
attention (Wickens, 2021). For instance, suppose you are the network administrator of an
organization that has an internal network and a public network. They use the public network to
connect their contractors and guests while the internal one is used for organizational operations.
One day, you see an alert in the network monitoring system that there is an intruder in the
internal network. This will cause you to take swift action as you pay attention to the intrusion
alert.
There is also a major drawback present since attention and perception are related to each other.
If we demonstrate a lack of attention to an event or incident, we struggle to perceive its context
and even make mistakes or mishandle the situation.
NORMAN’S THEORY OF INTERACTION

Professor Donald Norman’s theory of human-computer interaction is based on user-

centric system design, where he views the interaction as a cycle with two components;
execution and evaluation. He further separated the execution components into four parts
and the evaluation components into three parts (Norman, 1988):
 Execution: Defining and Forming the intention, determining the action, and executing
it.
 Evaluation: Identifying, comprehending, and assessing the state of the system
For instance, when we want to write an article or a story using our computers, we know
that we have to do it in a word processing program like Microsoft Word. So we click or tap
on the icon of the software to launch it. As it launches, we begin writing our article or story.
After finishing it, we ascertain that our text shows up on the screen and proofread it for
any errors. Taking feedback from the proofreader, we determine whether or not our work
is up to our expected standards. Systems developed without following this theory have the
ability to frequently confuse humans by making them commit frequent human errors.
HICK-HYMAN’S LAW

Hick-Hyman's law, named after psychologists William Edmund Hicks and Ray Hyman,
refers to a principle of response selection. According to this law, when individuals are
faced with an abundance of choices, their decision-making and response time
increase exponentially. Furthermore, the law suggests that response time also rises
when choices are presented in a disorganized manner (The Interaction Design
Foundation, 2021). Hick-Hyman’s law is disadvantageous when people are aware of
what they want to do despite being presented with choices. This reduces decision-
making time significantly.

The formula for Hick-Hyman’s Law is defined as follows:

RT = a + b log2 (n)

Where “RT” is the reaction time, “(n)” is the number of stimuli present, and “a” and
“b” are arbitrary measurable constants that depend on the task that is to be carried
out and the conditions under which it will be carried out.
FITTS’ LAW

Fitts' Law, coined after psychologist Paul Fitts, is a mathematical model that pertains to human
motion and finds extensive application in fields like human-computer interaction and ergonomics.
The fundamental principle of Fitts' law is that the time needed for an individual to move a pointer
(such as a mouse cursor) to a designated target area is determined by the ratio of the distance to
the target and the size of the target. In simpler terms, the greater the distance to cover and the
smaller the target's size, the more time it will take to complete the movement (The Interaction
Design Foundation, 2020). Without Fitts’ Law, it would have been a struggling endeavour to figure
out the concept behind the design development of some aspects of the software in accordance
with human ergonomics, interaction and perception. Below are the equations proposed by Fitts to
measure the difficulty of task selection and how human performance is involved with this.

2 ∗ 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐷
𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑦 𝐼𝐷 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 ( )
𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑊
and,
𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑦 𝐼𝐷
𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐼𝑃 =
𝑀𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑀𝑇
CRITIQUE INTERFACE DESIGN USING THE PRINCIPLES OF HCI (1.2)

UNIVERSAL USER INTERFACE DESIGN:

Universal User Interface is a system design concept which proposes that the system
interface should be designed in such a way that it is usable and accessible by people
from all walks of life, including people with disabilities. The need for a specialized
design for that particular system should not arise if the system interface is designed
following the Universal User Interface Design concept.
Seven sets of principles serve as guidelines for the Universal Design of any product,
system or environment (Burgstahler, 2021). They are:

• Fair Use • Tolerance for Errors

• Flexible Accessibility • Low Physical Effort

• Simple and Natural • Appropriate Size and Space

• Perceptible Information
INTERFACES THAT SUPPORT COLLABORATION

Interfaces for certain systems should be designed in such a way that they can support
multi-user collaboration. It means that multiple users should have the ability to
collaborate on the same project (SaasWorthy, 2023).

• Real-Time Communication (RTC) • Notifications and Alert

• Task and Workflow Management • Co-Authoring and Simultaneous Editing

• User Presence and Awareness • Collaboration Analytics

• Access Control and Permission • Commenting and Annotation

• Version Control and History • User Testing and Feedback

Supporting Different Interaction Styles

The title refers to various ways a user can interact with a computer system (Soegaard,
2023). These are:

1. Command Language Interface (CLI): It is a basic interface where a system can be

manipulated and modified through only texts and some commands.
2. Form Filling: This way people enter information being asked in an entry field and
then submit it for the individual who developed the form to see.
3. Menu Selection: Most devices and software nowadays have menus that can be
interacted with.
4. Direct Manipulation (Graphical User Interface): Interacting with the graphical
elements on the screen.
DESIGNING COMPLEX INTERFACES
A system with a complex interface follows eight principles (Kaplan, 2020):

• Encourage experiential learning • Coordinate the transition between various

tools and workspaces

• Assist users in adopting more effective • Streamline complexity without sacrificing

approaches to their tasks functionality

• Offer adaptable and seamless routes within • Simplify the switch between primary and
workflows secondary information

• Facilitate users in monitoring actions and • Highlight crucial information through visual
cognitive processes emphasis
SHNEIDERMAN’S EIGHT GOLDEN RULES OF INTERFACE DESIGN

Professor Ben Shneiderman devised eight golden rules of interface design which ensure that
system interface designs are user-centric (Shneiderman, et al., 2018).

 Make sure that the user interface is consistent and simple.

 Error handling interface for the system should be very simple without any
unnecessary complications and technicalities.
 Enable frequent users to use shortcuts to get work done faster.
 User actions should be easily reversible in most cases.
 Configure the interface to provide necessary and easily readable feedback to users.
 Support internal locus of control.
 Design dialogues that are easily understandable.
 Design interfaces in such a way that users can easily become familiar with them.
NIELSEN’S HEURISTICS (PART-1)
Dr. Jakob Nielsen, PhD, devised 10 principles of user experience design in 1994 known as
Nielsen’s Heuristics, which are still in use in the present day. Below is Part-1 (Nielsen,
1994).
 The design ought to consistently provide users with relevant updates in a timely manner,
ensuring they are kept informed about ongoing events.
 Reduce the cognitive burden on the user by ensuring that elements, actions, and options
are readily visible. It should not be necessary for the user to remember information from
one section of the interface to another. All the necessary information for using the design,
such as field labels or menu items, should be easily accessible and visible when needed.
 The design ought to communicate in a way that users understand. Employ language,
expressions, and ideas that are familiar to the user, rather than using specialized terms.
Adhere to everyday practices, presenting information in a natural and organized manner.
 Hidden from inexperienced users, shortcuts can enhance the interaction speed for expert
users, ensuring that the design accommodates both novice and experienced individuals.
Users should be given the ability to customize commonly performed actions.
 Users frequently engage in unintended actions and require a conspicuously labelled
"emergency exit" that enables them to swiftly abandon the undesired action without the
need for a protracted procedure.
NIELSEN’S HEURISTICS (PART-2)
Dr. Jakob Nielsen, PhD, devised 10 principles of user experience design in 1994 known as
Nielsen’s Heuristics, which are still in use in the present day. Below is Part-2 (Nielsen,
1994).
 Interfaces should avoid including irrelevant or infrequently required information. Each
additional piece of information within an interface competes with relevant information, thereby
reducing its prominence.
 Consistency is essential, so users don't need to speculate about the equivalence of various
words, situations, or actions. The system should adhere to both platform and industry norms.
 Error messages should be written in simple language without the use of error codes, clearly
identifying the issue at hand, and offering helpful suggestions for resolving it.
 Effective error messages hold significance; however, optimal designs take proactive measures
to avoid issues altogether. This can be achieved by either eradicating circumstances prone to
errors or proactively examining for such conditions and providing users with a confirmation
option prior to finalizing their actions.
 Ideally, the system should be self-explanatory and require no further clarification.
Nevertheless, it might be essential to offer instructional materials to aid users in
comprehending how to accomplish their objectives.
CRITICIZING A BANKING APPLICATION’S INTERFACE
For this part of the presentation, we will criticize the Bkash Banking application which
follows almost all the principles mentioned in the previous slides except the multi-
user collaboration functionality as it is an application that holds sensitive financial
data. This application is very interactive, easy to understand, and offers various
options. It even follows Shneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules and Nielsen’s Heuristics.
EVALUATE USER INTERACTION WHEN USING DIFFERENT IT
APPLICATIONS (1.3)
Users can interact with various IT Applications in many ways. They are:

 HCI INTERACTION STYLES

 THE INTERACTION DESIGN PROCESS
 USER ANALYSIS
 EVALUATING INTERFACES AGAINST REQUIREMENTS
HCI INTERACTION STYLES

There are many human-computer interaction (HCI) styles. Some of these are (Microsoft Corporation, 2021):

Keyboard and Mouse Interaction: Using a keyboard and mouse, it is possible for us to type and navigate programs such
as browsers, word processors, etc. However, from time to time, we can feel our fingerbones getting fatigued when we
use this interaction method frequently.
Touch Screen Interaction: Touch Screen interaction is when we navigate and operate a digital device by touching its
display. However, the downside is that such devices tend to be inoperable when the touchscreen display malfunctions.
Touchpad Interaction: Touchpad interaction is when we use a flat-surface pointing device to control our phones or
computers by touching it with our fingers. However, the downside is that touchpads may sometimes become
unresponsive due to heavy usage or its surface may break.
Voice Interaction: Voice interaction is when we use our voice to control a computer, converse with it or with our friends
and relatives through software and a microphone. The drawback is that sometimes, even with a high-quality
microphone, there are chances that the computer won’t properly be able to process what we said because of feedback
or background noise issues.
Stylus (Pen) interaction: Stylus (Pen) Interaction is the process of us interacting with our digital devices using a digital
pen. Using this, we can handwrite, sign or even draw precisely on our devices as we do on paper. The drawback is that
most of these do not have proper grips and is powered by a battery which can run out when you are doing something
important.
Gaze Interaction (Eye-Tracking Technology): Gaze interaction is mostly used to control a security system or a
computer. We scan the retina of our eyes to gain access to a secure facility while a specialized camera can be used to
track the movement of our eyes to control our computers. However, the major disadvantage is that moving eyes like that
constantly can lead to severe eyestrains and/or headaches.
INTERACTION DESIGN PROCESS

There are several stages in the design process of a system that can be interacted with
by a user. These are:
Determining the user’s requirements to analyze how this system can be used and what
processes can it accomplish is a critical first phase of this process. Afterwards, the
design of the interface following several principles, rules and heuristics mentioned
before in this slide should be commenced. As the development of the prototype is
finished, it should be sent to a small range of users so that the interface can be tested
and feedback can be gathered from users regarding their experience. Upon the success
of the prototype, necessary changes should be made and the design should be sent to
the developers to actually implement and deploy it in a software system (The
Interaction Design Foundation, 2021).
However, it is important to note that there might be some non-technical users who are
very unreasonable. They might demand the release of the actual program immediately
after seeing the prototype and dealing with such situations can turn out to be very
resource and time-consuming for the development teams (Sommerville, 2016).
USER ANALYSIS

In this stage, user requirements are analyzed through the form of

requirements engineering. Requirement Engineering is the process of
determining functional and non-functional requirements, eliciting, specifying,
validating, and managing the requirements. This process involves specifying
the purpose and limitations of a software system. Limitations can be
operational, organizational, financial, time-related, developmental or
implementation-related (Sommerville, 2016). After this, the developers focus
on developing a user-centric system whose end-users will easily be able to
understand, navigate, and perceive its interface without many issues while
maintaining the simplicity and responsiveness of the system (Filipova & Vilão,
2018).
EVALUATING INTERFACES AGAINST REQUIREMENTS

User Interfaces can be easily evaluated by following either an Empirical Evaluation or

following Heuristics Evaluation (Cognitive Group, 2012).
Empirical Evaluation is the process of evaluating a user interface with the help of
actual users and gathering their feedback while heuristics evaluation is the process of
evaluating a user interface with the help of Dr. Jakob Nielsen’s 10 principles of user
interface design formally known as Nielsen’s Heuristics (Cognitive Group, 2012).

Heuristic evaluation’s major drawback is that it can be time-consuming and expensive

as multiple experts can be needed to evaluate the interface and they can also evaluate
the interface based on past experiences. Meanwhile, empirical evaluation’s
shortcoming is that users can provide inaccurate data and they can also provide data
by referring to another individual’s opinions instead of their own.
DESIGN OBJECTIVES TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM INTERFACE:

UI Design Objectives:

1. The interface should be of a simple, minimalistic and user-centric design

2. The interface should be consistent from the start to the end.
3. The interface should provide clear updates on users’ actions, system actions and
errors.
4. These updates should be in a language that even a normal user can understand.
(Less technical terms)
5. Elements, icons, and shortcuts in the interface should easily be recognizable,
matching with the real world.
6. The interface should be self-explanatory so that even an inexperienced user can
learn to navigate and use it.
7. Shortcuts to regular actions should easily be visible.
8. Assistance option should always be presented clearly.
PRINCIPLES TO DESIGN AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM INTERFACE:

Principles:
We will now develop documentation for the user interface and the features that comes
with it, making sure that the UI has been designed following several fundamental
principles and processes such as Nielsen’s Heuristics, Shneiderman’s Eight Golden
Rules of Interface Design, etc. It is necessary to develop a prototype for the application
we will make or overhaul the interface of as this will serve as the reference point and
guideline for the final product. A UI prototype is just an illustration.
To conclude, if the above-mentioned processes are followed, a system interface is
bound to turn out as something efficient and usable and the next design team will be
able to easily figure out how to proceed.
EXAMPLE OF USABILITY AND HEURISTIC TESTING OF A SYSTEM’S
INTERFACE
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