User System Interface CSC 8570-001

1. User System InterfaceCSC 8570-001 Spring 2009 Instructor: Robert E. Beck

2. Introductions (1) • Information sheet • Questionnaire: student information • Questions • Who invented the computer mouse? When? Where? • What battery operated devices do you have with you tonight? • What (computer-based) POS systems do you typically encounter as a customer in a standard week? • 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?

3. 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.

4. Battery Operated Devices • Cell phone • Laptop computer • Calculator • Headphones • One switch: on/off. Marking? • Wireless mouse: • Two buttons, scroll wheel?, ball • IPod (or other MP3 player) • Watch • Four buttons • Remote car entry • Three buttons

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

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

7. Themes (2) • Multidisciplinary approach • Frontiers of HCI • Definitions, use of words • Examples

8. 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

9. 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

10. Activities • Research project • Report • Presentation • Poster • Article presentation • Web-based project • Exercises • Experiments • Exam – in two parts • Second part: May 5

11. Responsibilities • Attendance • Reading • Team support • Dialog with classmates and instructor

12. 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.

13. Issue Summary • How do we do this?

14. Hot Areas; Burning IssuesThe List • Usability and clarity of interface components • Intuitiveness of actions required • Transparency of interaction • Meaningful feedback (closure) of operations • Conformity to standards • Consistency within and across systems • Safety from (user-caused) errors • Effective error handling • Minimum error cost • Accessibility of systems • Users with disabilities • Effective system security • Speed of response relative to complexity of operation

15. The List (2) • Flexibility of interactions • Multiple paths to the user’s goal • Aesthetics of the interface • Free from clutter • Free from distractions • Availability of system information • Effective help system • Clear user guides and tutorials • Affordability [economy of system resources] • Localization of interface in time and space

16. The List (3) • Security of use • Availability of input/output • Physical integrity of devices • Tactile response • Scalability • Memory of use • Undo and redo

17. Hot Topics: Others’ Ideas • CHI 200X topics • HCIL presentations • Interactions

18. Landscape of the Field • Taxonomy • Ontology

19. 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

20. 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

21. Contacts • PhillyCHI – Philadelphia region chapter of SIGCHI • SIGCHI – ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction

22. 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

23. 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

24. Tools • Concept maps: • http://cmap.ihmc.us • EndNote • Task models: • ConcurTaskTrees Environment • Help compiler • Treemap: • http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/treemaps/

25. Tools (2) • UISK: User Interface Sketching Tool

26. What Do We Mean when we write • USI • HCI • GUI • DMI • IUI • SUSI

27. User System Interface Human Computer Interaction Graphical Direct Manipulation What Do We Mean By

28. Eras of HCI • Holes • Command lines • Menus and characters • Widget objects and bit maps • Small devices

29. 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

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

31. 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.

32. Reading (3) • Examples: • MacKenzie: Unipad text entry • MacKenzie: Text entry errors

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. Next Time (3) • What is the difference between taxonomy and ontology? • How is the field of HCI divided?

36. 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?

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