Intro.
Human computer interface design is a practice that began in the early 1980's, initially as a facet of computer science that embraced cognitive science, the study of the mind and it's processes, and human factors engineering, the application of knowledge about human strengths and weaknesses to the design of technology.
Before the late 1970's, only information technology professionals and hobbyists interacted with computers, while personal computing did not emerge until the end of the decade. The types of personal computing introduced were:
Concept of Usability.
As personal computing took off, it highlighted the imperfections of computers with respect to usability for those new users who wanted to use computers as tools. Because of the lack of knowledge, the non-professional computer user was often subjected to mysterious commands and system dialog.
Overlapping with HCID was documentation development, which also demanded usability for the non-professional. They must be able to follow along and understand the documentation so they could use it for their specific needs. An example for usability in documentation is this how-to guide that emphasized support for self-directed action and for recovering from error:
Human computer interface design is a practice that began in the early 1980's, initially as a facet of computer science that embraced cognitive science, the study of the mind and it's processes, and human factors engineering, the application of knowledge about human strengths and weaknesses to the design of technology.
Before the late 1970's, only information technology professionals and hobbyists interacted with computers, while personal computing did not emerge until the end of the decade. The types of personal computing introduced were:
- Personal software (productivity applications, such as text editors and spreadsheets, and interactive computer games)
- Personal computer platforms (operating systems, programming languages, and hardware)
Concept of Usability.
As personal computing took off, it highlighted the imperfections of computers with respect to usability for those new users who wanted to use computers as tools. Because of the lack of knowledge, the non-professional computer user was often subjected to mysterious commands and system dialog.
Overlapping with HCID was documentation development, which also demanded usability for the non-professional. They must be able to follow along and understand the documentation so they could use it for their specific needs. An example for usability in documentation is this how-to guide that emphasized support for self-directed action and for recovering from error:
As technology progressed, development in computer science pointed to the same conclusion: The way forward for computing entailed understanding and better empowering users.
Human computer interface design does this by understanding and creating software and other technology that people will want to use, will be able to use, and will find effective when used.
Human computer interface design does this by understanding and creating software and other technology that people will want to use, will be able to use, and will find effective when used.
Interaction of User and Computer.
In the diagram below, the user interacts directly with hardware for the human input and output and interacts with the computer over this software interface using the given input and output hardware.
The other sections will go more in depth with respect to the different types of hardware and software that has existed throughout the years, and what types might soon exist.
In the diagram below, the user interacts directly with hardware for the human input and output and interacts with the computer over this software interface using the given input and output hardware.
The other sections will go more in depth with respect to the different types of hardware and software that has existed throughout the years, and what types might soon exist.