User System InterfaceCSC 8570-001

Fall 2010Instructor: Robert E. Beck

Introductions (1)

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. What process would you use to find the latitude and

longitude of the statue of Gregor Mendel on the plaza in front of the Mendel Science Center?

Introductions (2)

Name If working

– For what company?– In what capacity?

If a full-time student– Plans after graduation

Describe the user interface of the first computer you used.

Battery Operated Devices Cell phone Watch Calculator Laptop iPod Remote car key Bluetooth headset iPhone, droid, Blackberry, windows mobile Remote house security Flashlight Laser pointer Pedometer

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. Apple 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

– Edited during class– 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 14

Responsibilities

Attendance Reading Team support Dialog with classmates and instructor

Hot TopicsBurning 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 IssuesThe List

Errors made through inadvertent gestures, e.g. iPad, Wii Bad default choices; not checking device properties, e.g.

zoom setting Discrepancies between presentation and function, e.g. bad

choice of icons Error cost of wrongly pressed, chosen widgets. Non-intuitive interfaces to systems, e.g. synching iPod and

iTunes System time-outs Discoverability of functionality, especially advanced

features Foreshadowing completion of tasks

Hot Topics: Others’ Ideas

CHI 20XX 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 University HCI labs, e.g.

– U of Maryland www.cs.umd.edu/hcil Popular press

– Information Week– Financial Times

Falvey Library reference desk

Sources (2)

Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

Jeff Johnson, GUI Bloopers 2.0: Common User Interface Design Don'ts and Dos

Jakob Nielsen, Designing Web Usability

Contacts

PhillyCHI – Philadelphia region chapter of SIGCHI

SIGCHI – ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction

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) 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: – http://cmap.ihmc.us

EndNote Task models:

– ConcurTaskTrees Environment Help compiler Treemap:

– http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemap-history/

Tools (2)

UISK: User Interface Sketching Tool NodeXL

What Do We Mean

when we write USI HCI GUI DMI IUI SUSI

What Do We Mean By

User System Interface Human Computer Interaction Graphical

Direct Manipulation

Eras of HCI

Holes Command lines Menus and characters Widget objects and bit maps Small devices

iPad

A new small device Issues of design and user interaction?

– Discoverability of functionality– Easy to learn elementary functionality– Lack of multitasking, only single window– Keyboard design– Accidental gesture interpretation– Inconsistent interfaces across apps

(extends to all software)

iPad(5)

– Displaying non-mobile web sites– Pinch zoom– Scroll to end?– Is it trying to be a computer?

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 Web-based interfaces to systems, to information, for

task completion

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– Soukoreff and Mackenzie

: Metrics for 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.

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)

What is the difference between taxonomy and ontology?

How is the field of HCI divided?