Week 3 / Second Lecture : Human to machine interaction. [Amirali]

What lecture taught us today was about how human can interact with machines. There will be problem when the human context and computer context mix up together.The human context involve Information processing; language, communication and interaction; ergonomics while the computer context involve input and output devices; dialogue techniques; dialogue genre; computer graphics; dialogue architecture. The gimmicks will affect the usability of an interface. People are prepared to put up with certain aspects of an interface on the computer. If there is slow download rate, it will end up with irritation and frustration.

General principles:

• Feedback to user
• The user should be in control
• Predictability
• Transparency
• Never interrupt the user
• Can I guess what the user wants?
• Error tolerance
• WYSIWYG
• Speak the user's language
• Avoid anthropomorphic interfaces
• Design should reflect the user's logic, not the constructor's logic
• The design of a button should reflect its importance
• Provide alternative ways out of a situation
• Accessibility to handicapped users
• Novices versus experienced users
• Standardization

Open standards

• Expressive Interfaces
• A well-known approach to designing affective interfaces is to use expressive icons and othergraphical elements to convey emotional states. The appearance of the icon on the screen can also be very reassuring to users, indicating that their computer is working fine. As an example, use a dynamic icons to show the state of the system/program, e.g., a recycle bin expanding when a file is placed into it.

  anthropometrism:

  
  

  As defined in the book of Interaction Studies - beyond human computer interaction by Jennifer Preece, anthropomorphism is well known that people readily attribute human qualities to their pets and their cars, and, conversely, are willing to accept human attributes that have been assigned by others to cartoon characters, robots, toys, and other inanimate objects.

  
  

  And as defined by anthropomorphism.org, anthropomorphism is the attribution of human qualities to non-humans. People attribute human qualities to toys, products, and machines, and they design toys, products, and machines to enhance this process.[ source : anthropometrism.org]