Weekly Questions 3

1 - What is human-computer interaction (HCI), and which disciplines contribute to it?

• Human-computer interaction is the process of humans interacting with and engaging with computer systems, as well as the study of it. It primarily focuses on the interfaces between user & system, and creating new & better ways that interactions can happen.
• It combines principles of design, psychology, communication, and computer science to create a useful and usable product.

2 - What is the difference between a system being useful and being usable? Can you give an example of a system that is usable but not useful for a particular person or task?

• If a system is useful, it has all the necessary features for its required purpose or task, whereas if it is usable, it can be utilized in a way that is easy, effective, and simple to use.
• Systems can be both, neither, or one or the other. For example, a calculator app that can only perform addition & subtraction could be very intuitively designed & simple to use, making it usable, but not very useful for operations beyond that.
• Conversely, a calculator with multiple different operations both common & rare may be useful, but if everything is arranged randomly with no pattern, it becomes unusable.

3 - Find an everyday interface that is confusing to use. What is the person trying to do, and which design decision causes difficulty? Suggest one improvement.

• One example of an interface that can be confusing to use is the MacBook interface (for a person unfamiliar with the system), due to a few reasons, such as the menu bar for every app sitting inconspicuously at the top, being hidden by default, and blending in seamlessly with the background.
• This was likely done to make it look more visually “clean” & add more screen space, but it may be confusing for people who are used to different operating systems.
• There is an option to make it visible for the full time, but a possible improvement might be to make it bigger & more obvious so that it is easier to find and less easy to forget.

4 - What is a prototype, and how can testing one with users help a designer? What is one thing that asking, “Do you like it?”, would not tell you?

• A prototype is a simple, early version of a system or product that is created in order to test the design concepts and receive feedback on it. Prototyping is necessary as it ensures that the basic features of the system work before it can be fully developed, and having a real-world model allows for more specific feedback & comments to be received, such as possible improvements that can be made.

5 - Find one example of interaction beyond a keyboard and mouse, such as voice input or a tangible interface. Who might benefit, and how would you test whether it helps them?

• One example of human-computer interaction is tangible user interfaces (TUIs), which is when the user holds, touches or moves physical real-world objects, like tokens, in order to interact with a digital system.
• They are said to reduce cognitive load, being easier to use and more intuitive for young children & people with disabilities.
• To test this, the interface would need to be tested against other interface options with the target demographic, and it should receive specific feedback from members of said demographic, in order to identify the benefits & drawbacks.

References & Websites

• What Is Human-Computer Interaction and How Does It Work? | Coursera
• Useful, Usable, and Used: Why They Matter to Designers | IxDF
• Usability vs Usefulness: Key Aspects of a Product’s UX | UXtweak
• Prototyping in Human-Computer Interaction(HCI) - GeeksforGeeks
• What are tangible user interfaces (TUIs), and how do they enhance UX? | by Aesha Panchal
• Accessibility Testing - Software Testing - GeeksforGeeks