Week 2: Introduction of HCI

HCI is short form of Human-Computer Interaction and is the study and the practice of usability. It is about understanding and creating software and other technology that people will want to use, will be able to use, and will find effective when used.

HCI also tries to provide us with all understanding of the computer and the person using it, so as to make the interaction between them more effective and more enjoyable.

The goals of HCI

- Ensuring usability.

The bottom-line benefits of more usable software system to business users include:

• Increased productivity

• Decreased user training time and cost

• Decreased user errors

• Increased accuracy of data input and data interpretation

• Decreased need for ongoing technical support

- To achieve usability, the design of the user interface to any interactive product, needs to take into  account and be tailored around a number of factors, including:

• Cognitive, perceptual, and motor capabilities and constraints of people in general

• Special and unique characteristics of the intended user population in particular

• Unique characteristics of the users’ physical and social work environment

• Unique characteristics and requirements of the users’ tasks, which are being supported by the software

• Unique capabilities and constraints of the chosen software and/or hardware and platform for the product

By WONG SOON HAN