ITIS 6400/8400 Principles of Human Computer Interaction Dr. Heather Richter Lipford Heather.Lipford@uncc.edu

Agenda Course Info & Syllabus Course Overview Introductions HCI Overview IDEO Video Some history

Course Information Books Web Human Computer Interaction, 3rd edition, by Dix, Finlay, Abowd, Beale. (DFAB) The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman, 2002. (DOET) Web http://www.sis.uncc.edu/~richter/classes/2008/6400/index.html Overview Grading and Policies Syllabus and Lectures Assignments Wiki: http://hci.sis.uncc.edu:8080/itis6400-spring08/

Course Information Grading for 6400 10 points Participation 10 points Assignments 50 points Project More details to come… 15 points Midterm 15 points Final

Course Information Grading for 8400 10 points Participation 20 points Assignments 50 points Project More details to come… 15 points Midterm 15 points Final

Assignments Design critique and advice Evaluation analysis 8400: additional topic research and presentation

8400 Assignment Additional reading on a more focused theory or research topic Teach or present the topic – 30 minutes in class At least 20 minutes of presentation 2 page (or so) summary and study guide posted to the Swiki See web pages for suggestions

Group project 3-4 people per group, graded as a group 3 parts: requirements, design, evaluation Original interface design and evaluation Each part due by class time on the due date Project notebook on Swiki with each write up Theme: The environment and sustainability

Course Aims Consciousness raising Design critic Learn Design Process Make you aware of HCI issues Design critic Question bad HCI design - of existing or proposed Learn Design Process Software interfaces and beyond Improve your HCI design & evaluation skills Go forth and do good work! Introduction to theory and research topics in HCI

Course Overview Requirements Gathering Design Evaluation How do you know what to build? Human abilities Design How do you build the best UI you can? Evaluation How do you make sure people can use it? Also cognitive and contextual models, interface paradigms, design guidelines, web and visual design, and advanced topics

How to do well Time and effort Attention to detail Communication Do the reading and prepare for class Attend class and participate Spend time on project Attention to detail Communication Tell me what you learned and why you made decisions

Introductions – Dr. Heather Richter Lipford Ph.D. in C.S. from Georgia Tech in May 2005 HCI, Ubiquitous Computing, and Software Engineering focus Contact info: Email preferred, put 6400 or 8400 in title Office: 305E Woodward Office Hours: Wednesday 5:30-6:30pm, Thursday 11am-12pm By appointment

TA- Sahiba Dugal Current Masters student in Computer Science Computer Engineering undergraduate degree Office hours – by appointment Email: sdugal@uncc.edu Office: 330A Woodward

Introductions – Your Turn Name, student status, specialization Previous HCI/interface experience? A product/device/application you Love to use and why Hate to use and why

Now let’s get started What is Human-Computer Interaction?

HCI The interaction and interface between a human and a computer performing a task Tasks might be work, play, learning, communicating, etc. etc. Write a document, calculate monthly budget, learn about places to live in Charlotte, drive home… …not just desktop computers!

Why do we care? Computers (in one way or another) now affect every person in our society Tonight - count how many in your home/apt/room We are surrounded by unusable and ineffective systems! Its not the user’s fault!! Product success may depend on ease of use, not necessarily power You will likely create an interface for someone at some point Even if its just your personal web page

Goals of HCI Allow users to carry out tasks Safely Effectively Efficiently Enjoyably

Usability Combination of Ease of learning High speed of user task performance Low user error rate Subjective user satisfaction User retention over time

Design Evaluation Both subjective and objective metrics Some things we can measure Time to perform a task Improvement of performance over time Rate of errors by user Retention over time Subjective satisfaction

UI Design / Develop Process User-Centered Design Analyze user’s goals & tasks Create design alternatives Evaluate options Implement prototype Test Refine IMPLEMENT

Know Thy Users! Physical & cognitive abilities (& special needs) Personality & culture Knowledge & skills Motivation Two Fatal Mistakes: Assume all users are alike Assume all users are like the designer

Design is HARD! “It is easy to make things hard. It is hard to make things easy.” – Al Chapanis, 1982 Its more difficult than you think Real world constraints make this even harder

Some inspiration: IDEO http://www.ideo.com/

A brief history Vannevar Bush, As We May Think, 1945 Described in an essay his vision of the future, where he describes a device he names the memex for storing every document, record, and communication a person ever sees. Where it can be quickly retrieved, and annotated. He also envisioned a small camera that could quickly and easily take photos of whatever a person sees. Vannevar Bush, As We May Think, 1945

Innovator: Vannevar Bush Faculty at MIT Director of Office of Scientific Research & Development Coordinate WWII effort with 6,000 scientists “As We May Think” - 1945 Atlantic Monthly Postulated Memex device Stores all records/articles/communications Items retrieved by indexing, keywords, cross references (now called hyperlinks) (Envisioned as microfilm, not computer) http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer/bushf.htm

Paradigms Predominant theoretical frameworks or scientific world views e.g., Aristotelian, Newtonian, Einsteinian (relativistic) paradigms in physics HCI paradigm shifts Which are true shifts? What are the future paradigms?

The basic timeline… ? User Productivity ? Time WIMP (Windows) Command Line Batch ? 1940s – 1950s 1960s – 1970s 1980s - Present Time

In the Beginning – Computing in 1945 Picture from http://piano.dsi.uminho.pt/museuv/indexmark.htm Batch processing: sequential, computer had one task at a time No real interaction once was started on a run Used punch cards or serial tape to provide instructions Harvard Mark I Picture from http://piano.dsi.uminho.pt/museuv/indexmark.htm 55 feet long, 8 feet high, 5 tons Jason Hong / James Landay, UC Berkeley, Picture from http://piano.dsi.uminho.pt/museuv/indexmark.htm

Batch processing Computer had one task, performed sequentially No “interaction” between operator and computer after starting the run Punch cards, tapes for input Serial operations

Paradigm: Networks & time-sharing (1960’s)  Command line  teletype increased accessibility interactive systems, not jobs text processing, editing email, shared file system Need for HCI in the design of programming languages

The Ubiquitous Glass Teletype 24 x 80 characters Up to 19,200 bps (Wow - was big stuff!) Construction: Monitor + detachable keyboard Display: 24x80 or 14x132 character cells, optional 24x132 Character matrix: 7x9 with descenders Screen size: 12" diagonal (8" x 4.5" active display) Character set: Complete US ASCII (128 codes) Keys: 65 keys in ANSI X4.14-1971 typewriter layout http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/vt100.html Auxiliary keypad: 18 keys (digits, arrows, function keys) Visual indicators: 7 LEDs Interface: RS-232/V.24, optional 20mA Current Loop Flow control: Xon/Xoff Communication Speeds: 75,110,150,300,600,1200,2400,4800,9600,19200 bps Dimensions: 14.5"x18"14.25" (monitor), 3.5"x18"x8" (keyboard) Minimum table depth: 20.25" Weight: 41 pounds Source: http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/vt100.html

Innovator: Ivan Sutherland Technological advance: Video display units SketchPad - 1963 PhD thesis at MIT Hierarchy - pictures & subpictures Constraints Icons Copying Light pen input device Recursive operations More suitable medium than paper - picture worth a thousand words Sutherland’s SketchPad as landmark system Start of Direct Manipulation Computers used for visualizing and manipulating data

Innovator: Douglas Englebart Landmark system/demo: hierarchical hypertext, multimedia, mouse, high-res display, windows, shared files, electronic messaging, groupware, teleconferencing, ... Invented the mouse http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/1968Demo.html

Paradigm: Personal Computer Small, powerful machine dedicated to an individual Importance of networks and time-sharing Also: Laser printer (1971, Gary Starkweather) Ethernet (1973, Bob Metcalfe)

Paradigm: WIMP / GUI Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers Graphical User Interface Multitasking – can do several things simultaneously Has become the familiar GUI interface Computer as a “dialogue partner” Xerox Alto, Star; early Apples

PCs with GUIs Xerox PARC - mid 1970’s Alto local processor, bitmap display, mouse Precursor to modern GUI, windows, menus, scrollbars LAN - Ethernet

Xerox Star - 1981 First commercial PC designed for “business professionals” desktop metaphor, pointing, WYSIWYG, high degree of consistency and simplicity First system based on usability engineering Paper prototyping and analysis Usability testing and iterative refinement

Xerox Star - 1981 Commercial flop $15k cost closed architecture lacking key functionality (spreadsheet)

Apple Macintosh - 1984 “The computer for the rest of us” Aggressive pricing - $2500 Not trailblazer, smart copier Good interface guidelines 3rd party applications High quality graphics and laser printer

Paradigm: Hypertext Think of information not as linear flow but as interconnected nodes Non-linear browsing structure Around since the 1960’s

Paradigm: WWW Two Key Components URL Browser Tim Brenners-Lee did both 1991 first text-based browser Marc Andreesen created Mosaic (first graphic browser, 1993)

(Some of the) key technological advances / paradigm shifts Time-sharing & networks Video display units Programming toolkits Personal computing Windows Metaphors Direct manipulation Language vs. action (agents) Hypertext / WWW Multi-modality Ubiquitous computing Sensor-based & context-aware computing

(Some of the) key people & events Vannevar Bush Douglas Engelbart Ivan Sutherland J.C.R. Licklider Alan Kay Ted Nelson Mark Weiser Events Founding of Xerox PARC Lisa / Macintosh

What Next? What are the next paradigm shifts? What are the next technical innovations? Who knows? Maybe you do

Paradigm?: Mobile Computing Devices used in a variety of contexts Laptop, cell phones, PDAs How do devices communicate? How to get information to each device when needed? How to take advantage of context?

Paradigm?: VR & 3D Interaction Create immersion by Realistic appearance, interaction, behavior Draw on spatial memory, two-handed interaction

Paradigm?: Ubiquitous Computing Person is an occupant of a computationally-rich environment Computers with ourselves, on our walls, in our appliances, etc. How to do the “right” thing for the people in the environment? Can no longer neglect macro-social aspects

Course ReCap To make you notice interfaces, good and bad You’ll never look at doors the same way again To help you realize no one gets an interface right on the first try Yes, even the experts Design is HARD To teach you tools and techniques to help you iteratively improve your designs Because you can eventually get it right

Next time Skim Chapter 4 in DFAB for paradigm info Design process and project information Read DFAB 5.1-5.4 and chapter 6 Come prepared to do project brainstorming