ITIS 6010/8010 Principles of Human Computer Interaction Dr. Heather Richter

Agenda Course Info & Syllabus Course Overview Introductions HCI Overview Ethics IDEO Video Project discussion

Course Information Books Human Computer Interaction, 3 rd edition, by Dix, Finlay, Abowd, Beale. (DFAB) The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman, (DOET) Web Overview Grading and Policies Syllabus and Lectures Assignments Swiki

Course Information Grading for % Participation 50% Project More details to come… 20% Midterm 20% Final

Course Information Grading for % Participation 50% Project More details to come… 10% Assignment 15% Midterm 15% Final

8010 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 4 parts, each 12.5% 3-4 people per group, graded as a group Original interface design and evaluation Each part due by class time on the due date Project notebook on Swiki with each write up

Course Aims Consciousness raising 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 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, groupware, ubiquitous computing

How to do well Time and effort 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 Ph.D. in C.S. from Georgia Tech in May 2005 HCI, Ubiquitous Computing, and Software Engineering focus Contact info: preferred, put 6010 or 8010 in title Office: 305E Woodward Office Hours: Thursday 4-6pm By appointment

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 Basic definition: The interaction and interface between a human and a computer performing a task What tasks? Write a document, calculate monthly budget, learn about places to live in Charlotte, drive home… Tasks might be work, play, learning, communicating, etc. etc. …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

Famous Quotations “It is easy to make things hard. It is hard to make things easy.” – Al Chapanis, 1982 “Learning to use a computer system is like learning to use a parachute – if a person fails on the first try, odds are he won’t try again.” – anonymous

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

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

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 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

It’s HARD! Design is more difficult when the designer takes responsibility. Think about the user(s), the situation and make the system appropriate. Co-evolution makes it even harder.

Working with People Issues of rights, respect, ethics YOU will be observing and talking to people to: Gather requirements Get initial design feedback Perform evaluations of your design Important to be professional with any interaction with potential users

Why an issue? Usability testing can be arduous; privacy is important Each person should know and understand what they are participating in: what to expect, time commitments what the potential risks are how their information will be used Must be able to stop without danger or penalty All participants to be treated with respect

IRB, Participants, & Ethics Institutional Review Board (IRB) Federal law governs procedures Reviews all research involving human (or animal) participants Safeguarding the participants, and thereby the researcher and university Not a science review (i.e., not to asess your research ideas); only safety & ethics

Ethics Certification Ethics is not just common sense Training being standardized to ensure even and equal understanding of issues Go get your certification:

Recruiting Participants Who you are recruiting Must fit user population (validity) How you are recruiting Must adequately disclose purpose and tasks Compensation Does compensation fit task? Reasonable expectations? Note: Maintaining proper ethics applies to all participants, even friends and family

Consent Why important? People can be sensitive about this process and issues Errors will likely be made, participant may feel inadequate May be mentally or physically strenuous What are the potential risks (there are always risks)? Examples? “Vulnerable” populations need special care & consideration Children; disabled; pregnant; students (why?)

Study procedures and materials Match what consent form states Only deception when necessary and not harmful Only necessary information is gathered Participant is not unduly burdened Privacy of the gathered data Data to be stored anonymously, securely, and/or destroyed

Attribution Theory Studies why people believe that they succeeded or failed--themselves or outside factors (gender, age differences) Make sure participants do not feel that they did something wrong, that the errors are their problem

Respecting your participants Be well prepared so participant’s time is not wasted Make sure they know you are testing software, not them Explain procedures without compromising results Make them aware they can quit anytime Make sure participant is comfortable Session should not be too long Maintain relaxed atmosphere Never indicate displeasure or anger State how session will help you improve system (“debriefing”) Don’t compromise privacy (never identify people, only show videos with explicit permission)

UNCC On-line tutorial Guidelines Consent procedures and template forms Protocol application forms IRB Protocol 101 Training 1/31: 10am, 2/1: 5pm, 2/2: 10am & 5pm

Agenda Course Info & Syllabus Course Overview Introductions HCI Overview Ethics IDEO Video Project discussion

Project Structure Group project – 3 or 4 people Worth 50% of grade, 12.5% per part Design and evaluate an interface 1 - Understand the problem 2 - Design alternatives 3 - Prototype & evaluation plan 4 – Evaluation

Project Groups 3-4 people You decide Diverse is best! Consider schedules, habits, etc. Cool name Form by end of class next week

Project topics Group-oriented picture frame Microsoft Interface Design Imagine Cup Problem of your choice

Programming requirements Leverage team expertise Full functionality is NOT intention But good evaluation requires authentic experience

Project advice Think of someone else Avoid being biased by your intuitions Think off the desktop too! Mobile, handheld, environmental Think everyday Home Think about people first, then technology

Previous Projects System for organizing and showcasing art Mall kiosk Friend Finder on a cell phone System to assist real estate agents with directions and details for showing houses System for assisting anesthesiologists Campus companion University remote control for a hotel room Money tracker in your wallet

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 History & Paradigms, more project planning Read: DFAB 4 Activity: project brainstorm Start to form groups Think about project topics