Tugas I
Kuliah Interaksi
Manusia Komputer
Dosen :
Caca E. Supriana, S.Si., MT.
Teknik
Informatika Universitas Pasundan
2015
What is Human Computer Interaction (HCI) ?
The
term human–computer interactionhas only
been in widespread use since the early 1980s, but has its roots in more
established disciplines. Systematic study of human performance began in earnest
at the beginning of the last century in factories, with an emphasis on manual
tasks. The Second World War provided the impetus for studying the interaction
between humans and machines, as each side strove to produce more effective
weapons systems. This led to a wave of interest in the area among researchers,
and the formation of the Ergonomics Research Society in 1949. Traditionally,
ergonomists have been concerned primarily with the physical characteristics of
machines and systems, and how these affect user performance. Human Factors incorporates
these issues, and more cognitive issues as well. The terms are often used interchangeably,
with Ergonomics being the preferred term in the United Kingdom and Human
Factors in the English-speaking parts of North America. Both of these disciplines
are concerned with user performance in the context of any system, whether computer,
mechanical or manual. As computer use became more widespread, an increasing
number of researchers specialized in studying the interaction between people
and computers, concerning themselves with the physical, psychological and theoretical
aspects of this process. This research originally went under the name man–machine interaction , but this
became human–computer interaction in
recognition of the particular interest in computers and the composition of the
user population!
Another
strand of research that has influenced the development of HCI is information
science and technology. Again the former is an old discipline, pre-dating the introduction
of technology, and is concerned with the management and manipulation of
information within an organization. The introduction of technology has had a profound
effect on the way that information can be stored, accessed and utilized and,
consequently, a significant effect on the organization and work environment.
Systems
analysis has traditionally concerned itself with the influence of technology in
the workplace, and fitting the technology to the requirements and constraints
of the job. These issues are also the concern of HCI. HCI draws on many
disciplines, as we shall see, but it is in computer science and systems design
that it must be accepted as a central concern. For all the other disciplines it
can be a specialism, albeit one that provides crucial input; for systems design
it is an essential part of the design process. From this perspective, HCI
involves the design, implementation and evaluation of interactive systems in
the context of the user’s task and work.
However,
when we talk about human–computer interaction, we do not necessarily envisage a
single user with a desktop computer. By
user we may mean an individual user, a group of users working together,
or a sequence of users in an organization, each dealing with some part of the
task or process. The user is whoever is trying to get the job done using the
technology. By computer we mean any
technology ranging from the general desktop computer to a large-scale computer
system, a process control system or an embedded system. The system may include
non-computerized parts, including other people. By interaction we mean any
communication between a user and computer, be it direct or indirect. Direct
interaction involves a dialog with feedback and control throughout performance
of the task. Indirect interaction may involve batch processing or intelligent
sensors controlling the environment. The important thing is that the user is
interacting with the computer in order to accomplish something.
Who is involved in HCI ?
HCI is
undoubtedly a multi-disciplinary subject. The ideal designer of an interactive system
would have expertise in a range of topics: psychology and cognitive science to
give her knowledge of the user’s perceptual, cognitive and problem-solving skills;
ergonomics for the user’s physical capabilities; sociology to help her
under-stand the wider context of the interaction; computer science and
engineering to be able to build the necessary technology; business to be able
to market it; graphic design to produce an effective interface presentation;
technical writing to produce the manuals, and so it goes on. There is obviously
too much expertise here to be held by one person (or indeed four!), perhaps
even too much for the average design team.
Indeed,
although HCI is recognized as an interdisciplinary subject, in practice people
tend to take a strong stance on one side or another. However, it is not
possible to design effective interactive systems from one discipline in
isolation. Input is needed from all sides. For example, a beautifully designed
graphic display may be unusable if it ignores dialog constraints or the
psychological limitations of the user.
We want
to encourage the multi-disciplinary view of HCI but we too have our ‘stance’,
as computer scientists. We are interested in answering a particular question.
How do principles and methods from each of these contributing dis-ciplines in
HCI help us to design better systems ? In this we must be pragmatists rather
than theorists: we want to know how to apply the theory to the problem rather
than just acquire a deep understanding of the theory. Our goal, then, is to be multi-disciplinary
but practical. We concentrate particularly on computer science, psychology and
cognitive science as core subjects, and on their application to design; other
disciplines are consulted to provide input where relevant.
Theory and HCI
Unfortunately
for us, there is no general and unified theory of HCI that we can present.
Indeed, it may be impossible ever to derive one; it is certainly out of our reach
today. However, there is an underlying principle that forms the basis of our own
views on HCI, and it is captured in our claim that people use computers to accomplish
work. This outlines the three major issues of concern: the people, the computers
and the tasks that are performed. The system must support the user’s task,
which gives us a fourth focus, usability: if the system forces the user to
adopt an
unacceptable
mode of work then it is not usable.
There
are, however, those who would dismiss our concentration on the task, saying
that we do not even know enough about a theory of human tasks to support them
in design. There is a good argument here. However, we can live with this
confusion about what real tasks are because our
understanding
of tasks at the moment is sufficient to give us direction in design. The user’s
current tasks are studied and then supported by computers, which can in turn
affect the nature of the original task and cause it to evolve. To illustrate,
word processing has made it easy to manipulate paragraphs and reorder
documents, allowing writers a completely new freedom that has affected writing
styles. No longer is it vital to plan and construct text in an ordered fashion,
since free-flowing prose can easily be restructured at a later date. This
evolution of task in turn affects the design of the ideal system. However, we
see this evolution as providing a motivating force behind the system
development cycle, rather than a refutation of the whole idea of supportive
design.
This
word ‘task’ or the focus on accomplishing ‘work’ is also problematic when we think
of areas such as domestic appliances, consumer electronics and e-commerce.There
are three ‘use’ words that must all be true for a product to be successful; it must
be:
useful – accomplish what is
required: play music, cook dinner, format a document;
usable – do it easily and
naturally, without danger of error, etc.;
used – make people want to use
it, be attractive, engaging, fun, etc.
The last
of these has not been a major factor until recently in HCI, but issues of motivation,
enjoyment and experience are increasingly important. We are certainly even
further from having a unified theory of experience than of task. The question
of whether HCI, or more importantly the design of interactive sys-tems and the
user interface in particular, is a science or a craft discipline is an
inter-esting one. Does it involve artistic skill and fortuitous insight or
reasoned methodical science ? Here we can draw an analogy with architecture.
The most impressive struc-tures, the most beautiful buildings, the innovative
and imaginative creations that provide aesthetic pleasure, all require
inventive inspiration in design and a sense of artistry, and in this sense the
discipline is a craft. However, these structures also have to be able to stand
up to fulfill their purpose successfully, and to be able to do this the architect
has to use science. So it is for HCI: beautiful and/or novel interfaces are artistically
pleasing and capable of fulfilling the
tasks required – a marriage of art and science into a successful whole. We want
to reuse lessons learned from the past about how to achieve good results and
avoid bad ones. For this we require both craft and science. Innovative ideas
lead to more usable systems, but in order to maximize the potential benefit
from the ideas, we need to understand not only that they work, but how and why
they work.
This
scientific rationalization allows us to reuse related concepts in similar
situations, in much the same way that architects can produce a bridge and know
that it will stand, since it is based upon tried and tested principles. The
craft–science tension becomes even more difficult when we consider novel systems.
Their increasing complexity means that our personal ideas of good and bad are
no longer enough; for a complex system to be well designed we need to rely on something
more than simply our intuition. Designers may be able to think about how one
user would want to act, but how about groups ? And what about new media? Our
ideas of how best to share workloads or present video information are open to debate
and question even in non-computing situations, and the incorporation of one version
of good design into a computer system is quite likely to be unlike anyone else’s
version.
Different
people work in different ways, whilst different media color the nature of the
interaction; both can dramatically change the very nature of the original task.
In order to assist designers, it is unrealistic to assume that they can rely on
artistic skill and perfect insight to develop usable systems. Instead we have
to pro-vide them with an understanding of the concepts involved, a scientific
view of the reasons why certain things are successful whilst others are not,
and then allow their creative nature to feed off this information: creative
flow, underpinned with science; or maybe scientific method, accelerated by
artistic insight. The truth is that HCI is required to be both a craft and a
science in order to be successful.
Source :
Human Computer Interaction, Alan
Dix cs., 3rd edition, Pearson Prntice-Hall, 2004
Tugas :
1. Baca dan
pahami.
2. Terjemahkan
ke dalam Bhs. Indonesia dan rangkumlah.
3. Tulis
rangkuman, tulis tangan dengan rapi menggunakan ballpoint hitam dalam kertas A4
maks. 2 lembar.
4. Tulis
Nama, NRP dan tanda tangan mhs. pada awal rangkuman.
5. Dikumpulkan
pada pertemuan berikutnya, terlambat mengumpulkan tidak akan dinilai !
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