HUMAN COMPUER INTERACTION ISSUES

Human Compuer Interaction Issues

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION3

INTERFACE STYLES4

END-USER SEARCHING7

QUERY FORMULATION8

RELEVANCE FEEDBACK10

BROWSING12

CONCLUSION13

REFERENCES14

Human Compuer Interaction Issues

Introduction

The final principal says that the design needs to be highly interactive and cycles of 'design-test with users-redesign' should not be uncommon. There is no one right solution for users and so designers should aim to produce an evolving system which enhances the users' needs on every iteration. Perlman (1988) constructed a typical user-centred design cycle:The user's needs and capabilities are collected in a synthesised manner, and it is this that dominates early design. The primary techniques of gaining this information are task analysis, requirement analysis and usability tests. A conceptual model of the system can be developed with this information . Part of the conceptual model involves the decision of dialogue type, to be used between user and system, and this shapes the systems image. The conceptual design of an interface generally involves creating sketches on screens which demonstrate the representational aspects. Users should test these sketches to establish their appropriateness. For example, a design team may need to check that material so it can be easily recognised by users. As the design develops it will be transformed through various forms of specification and prototypes through to implementation. Design principles, standards and guidelines will guide the process and it will be supported by computer-based prototyping techniques and design tools. The step in early design aims to synthesise interface and systems analysis by taking the task descriptions, interaction types and the user profile, and arriving at a strategic decision about what style or more likely styles, of interface are to be employed. Interfaces should serve people and hence when selecting the type, user requirements should be the primary focus of designers, followed by system requirements. The decision steps are: i) the level of support and sophistication of which the dialogue should provide should be tailored to the user profile. ii) One or more interface styles should be selected which are appropriate for the support and sophistication required. iii) The interface tasks need to be matched against the systems requirements and the type of interface should be categorised. iv) The appropriate interface design styles need to be selected. If there is a clash between user and system requirements then trade-off decisions will have to be taken. The user profile specifies the level of support needed and the degree of sophistication and these measures can be found by assessing the familiarity, frequency of usage, general ability and user's knowledge of computer operation. Obviously a highly sophisticated package with little support is needed for the user who scores positively, and for a naive user who is not familiar, hasn't yet used a system, has minimal ability and knowledge needs a very basic package with much support. Hence, these levels have been matched appropriately to the interface characteristics of sophistication and support. Highly skilled expert users who use a system frequently will require a sophisticated interface to fulfil the complicated functions which they wish to undertake and to give them ...