User System Interface CSC Fall 2007 Instructor: Robert E. Beck

AKA Human Computer Interaction CSC

Introductions (1)  Information sheet Information sheet Information sheet  Questionnaire: student information  Questions 1.Who invented the computer mouse? When? Where? 2.What battery operated devices do you have with you tonight? 3.What (computer-based) POS systems do you typically encounter as a customer in a standard week? 4.If you went west on US 30, which is Lancaster Avenue in front of Villanova, until it (US 30) ended, where would you be?

Introductions (2)  Name  If working –For what company? –In what capacity?  Describe the user interface of the first computer you used.

Battery Operated Devices  Cell phone  Laptop  Watch  Car remote –2-button: lock/unlock, panic –3-button: lock, unlock, panic –4-button: lock, unlock, trunk, panic  Digital camera

Goals  Developing design principles  Investigating models and theories  Creating evaluation processes –Experimentation –Opinion  Outlining an effective design process—interface engineering  Proposing interface designs

Themes (1)  Hierarchy of design principles  Models  Theories (or theory)  Awareness –Mental models –Common interactions –Microsoft vs. others –General knowledge

Themes (2)  Multidisciplinary approach  Frontiers of HCI  Definitions, use of words  Examples

Strategies (Ways of Knowing)  Create concept maps for reading assignments –Combine individual maps  Slip-of-paper (SOP) questions and surveys –Summarize results  Lectures, sometimes  Discussion, always  Argumentation, when appropriate

Strategies (2)  Examples  Careful reading of research and survey articles  PowerPoint as a guide –Light on dark? Dark on light? –Posted after class on course web site

Activities  Research project –Report –Presentation –Poster  Article presentation  Web-based project  Exercises  Experiments  Exam – in two parts –Second part: December 19

Responsibilities  Attendance  Reading  Team support  Dialog with classmates and instructor

Hot Topics Burning Questions Time for your thoughts  Pair up by twos  For the next few minutes, write down as many issues or problems in user- system interaction as you can.

Issue Summary  How do we do this?

Hot Areas; Burning Issues The List  Too much information on screen  User friendliness  Taking human cognition into consideration  Unnecessary functionality; design overkill  System wide consistency; uniformity of appearance  Compatibility across applications  Proper widgets for input  Informative error handling  Understandable system navigation

The List (2)  Balance between dynamic and static elements on web pages  Categorizing data  Design for the intended users  Performance of application: speed, accuracy, user confidence  Transition from older to newer designs  Use of appropriate color schemes  Handling screen settings  Providing appropriate feedback to user  Accessibility for people with disabilities

Hot Topics: Others’ Ideas  CHI 2005 topics CHI 2005 topics CHI 2005 topics  CHI 2007 topics  HCIL presentations  Interactions

Landscape of the Field  Taxonomy  Ontology

Sources  ACM Digital Library  Conference proceedings (MSC 159)  The Web—but be careful  The course web site course web sitecourse web site  University HCI labs, e.g. –U of Maryland  Popular press –Information Week –Financial Times  Falvey Library reference desk

Contacts  PhiCHI – Philadelphia region chapter of SIGCHI PhiCHI  SIGCHI – ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction SIGCHI

Conferences  ACE – Computer Entertainment Technology  AVI – Advanced Visual Interfaces  CHI – Computer Human Interaction  CSCW – Computer Supported Cooperative Work  DSV-IS  HCI International  HCIL Symposium (U Maryland) HCIL Symposium (U Maryland) HCIL Symposium (U Maryland)  HICS  Hypertext

Conferences (2)  IDC  Interact  IUI – Intelligent User Interfaces  IVA  SG – Smart Graphics  SIGIR – Information Retrieval  UIST – User Interface Software Technology  User Modeling  World Wide Web

Tools  Concept maps: –  EndNote  Task models: –ConcurTaskTrees Environment ConcurTaskTrees EnvironmentConcurTaskTrees Environment  Help compiler  Treemap: –

Eras of HCI  Holes  Command lines  Menus and characters  Widget objects and bit maps

What to Study: Potential Topics  Tiny interfaces: Cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, ultramobile PCs, house systems, POS systems  Gesture-based input; pen interfaces  Intelligent interfaces (cf. IUI)  Task analysis (e.g. buying a ticket)  Collaboration tools/systems (cf. CSCW)  Personalization; recommender systems  Friendly forms  Creating digital libraries  Mashup tools

Reading a Research Paper  Expect to find –Abstract –Introduction –Description of experiment –Discussion of results –Conclusion –Proposals for future work –References

Reading (2)  Try the abstract—though it may be too abstract, too condensed.  Read the introduction until you get confused.  Read the conclusion.  Look at the reference list—hoping to find papers you already know about.  Check the headings and first few lines of the middle sections for ease of understanding.

Reading (3)  Examples: –MacKenzie: Unipad text entry MacKenzie: Unipad text entryMacKenzie: Unipad text entry –MacKenzie: Text entry errors MacKenzie: Text entry errorsMacKenzie: Text entry errors

Next Time  Read Wigdor & Balakrishnan, Tilt Text: using tilt for text input to mobile phones. (You can get a copy of the paper from the ACM Digital Library.)  Evaluate its structure and content as a research paper.  Identify design principles for user interfaces based on the paper.  Hand in your solution to the table exercise. table exercise.table exercise.

Next Time (2)  Install EndNote on your computer and record the references from the Wigdor paper in it. –EndNote has been available for loan from the library. Check with the Reference Desk  Install the CMAP software on your computer and capture the principal ideas of today’s lecture in it.

Next Time (3)  How would you find out where US 30 ends using various computer systems?  What is the difference between taxonomy and ontology?  How is the field of HCI divided?

The Future of HCI Take a few minutes to read John Canny’s introduction to the July/August 2006 issue of HCI.  Do Canny’s views match our ideas?  What did he miss?  What did we miss?

Handouts  John Canny, The Future of HCI, from HCI, 4(2006), July/August