Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction  

This archival journal publishes original research that spans the field of human-computer interaction. Beginning with its first issue in March, 1994, it has sought to present work of high scientific quality that contributes to practice in the present and future. The primary emphasis has been on results of broad application, but the journal considers original work focused on specific domains, on special requirements, on ethical issues -- the full range of design, development, and use of interactive systems.

ACM TOCHI. Journals>Human Computer Interaction

Trusted Interaction: User Control and System Responsibilities in Interaction Design for Information Systems  

Trust emerges from interaction. If trust in information systems is to be promoted, then attention must be directed, at least in part, to interaction design. This paper explores issues of trust in the interactions between users and systems from the perspective of interaction design. It considers a variety of pragmatic aspects in interaction design that impact user trust, including, predictability, interface stability, user control, and the match between expectations and performance. It critically examines contemporary design practices, such as adaptive interfaces, in terms of their impact on user trust.

Constantine, Larry L. Constantine and Lockwood (2006). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Interaction Design

UPA Supports Maintaining Human Engineering Standard

Standards give very specific details about all varieties of design and give insight into the best practices of an item or process.

Sachs, Baruch. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Standards

Usability Analysis of a Computer-Based Avionics System

This study evaluates the usability of computer-based avionics system using a methodology described by Schvanevelt, Berringer & Leard (2004) which calculates the accessibility of information based upon the priorities users place upon the individual information sources. We discuss some of the unique usability issues facing engineers designing hardware and software for technically-advanced avionics systems.

Hamblin, Christopher J., Shiva Naidu and Cindy Miller. Usability News (2005). Articles>Usability>Human Computer Interaction

The Usability of Subscribing to Feeds

I have always been bothered by how difficult it is to subscribe to RSS/Atom feeds. Consider the user experience -- Someone sees an orange button with an unfamiliar acronym, they click it, and the browser starts spewing undecipherable code.

Veen, Jeffrey. Veen.com (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability>RSS

Useless Memory and Email

While no one would argue that email is useless, continued inefficient management of emails makes email worse than useless—--it makes them dangerous.

Mancini, John. e-Doc (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Information Design>Email

User Attitudes Toward Corporate Style Guides: A Survey    

Little information is known on user attitudes toward corporate style guides (CSGs). A national survey shows that an overwhelming 93% of users and 85% of non-users advocate CSG usage primarily to generate consistency in documents, to save time generating documents, and to create a professional look in documents. As corporations face the future by restructuring, usually by downsizing, and by competing more in a global economy, CSG usage will be more prevalent in corporate America, as the results of this survey indicate that CSGs are an economical quality tool that benefits both the user and the corporation.

Allen, Paul R. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Style Guides

User Experience

This document outlines typical areas of concern when porting a Microsoft Windows application to Mac OS X, and provides guidance for transitioning to the Mac OS X UI.

Apple Inc. (2004). Design>User Experience>Human Computer Interaction

User Observation Testing is Mandatory

Without user observation testing, the usability of your web site is virtually unknown. Surveys are worth little, since those surveyed tend to tell you what they think you want to hear. Staff opinions are nice, but biased and they are not typical users. Heuristic (general guidelines-based) evaluation is helpful, but remains theoretical until tested on actual, representative users as they attempt to find information or perform tasks at your site.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Usability>Human Computer Interaction>Testing

Using HCI Skills to Create Online Message Help  

This panel segment focuses on applying human-computer interaction (HCI) skills to the creation of online message help information for the IBM RSl6000 product. Online message help allows users to easily understand and diagnosis errors that they receive on the job, without them ever having to pick up a message manual. The HCI skills used in creating the online help were learned in the Introduction to HCI Usability class thut Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute offered as the first class of four offered in 1996 in their newly created HCI Certificate Program.

STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Communication>Online

Visual Perception and Its Impact on Technical Communication

Past studies of visual perception have produced a wide library of information on what forms of information can be most easily absorbed by the user. In this paper, we consolidate the literature to provide guidelines on the most effective steps in text engineering, with applications in both printed documentation and website design.

Kaltenbach, Susan. EServer (2001). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Visual>Cognitive Psychology

Web Site Designs: Influences of Designer's Expertise and Design Constraints   

Nowadays, much research examines both the cognitive difficulties encountered by web site users and the development of ergonomic guidelines for designers. However, few studies examine designers’ cognitive functioning while designing web sites. We defend the idea that determining the difficulties web site designers encounter is necessary to better support their design activities, especially in making web sites easier to use. We present an experimental study that demonstrates that the designers’ levels of expertise (novice and professional) as well as the design constraints that clients prescribe influences both the number and the nature of constraints designers articulate and respect in their web site designs. Based on our study findings, we suggest ways to better support web site designers.

Chevaliera, Aline and Melody Y. Ivory. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, The (2003). Design>Human Computer Interaction

What We Can Learn from Microsoft Mojave

A pretty interface doesn’t make an application or website. Even the early releases of Microsoft Vista looked amazing. The graphics, interface, and 'look' of the system were much more impressive than XP. But looks alone don’t make the package. It lacked in usability, creating error messages and not having a standard navigation schema. Users didn’t know if they were to click a button, an image, or text to complete their task. It is important to create a standardized and intuitive interface, as well as nice looking, so that users can navigate your site or application.

Robbins, Kyle. ReEncoded (2008). Articles>User Interface>Human Computer Interaction>Microsoft Windows

Where / What Vision Systems and Visual Design

You can increase the effectiveness of your visual web designs and graphics by getting a little understanding of two human vision systems.

Quinn, Heather. evolt (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Visual

Why We Should Archive, Share, and Analyze Information About Users    

In this article, I argue that technical communicators should be creating a database of information about users. Over the past 20 years, our field has described many methods for gathering information about users, especially about how they interact with our products in their workplace to solve problems. This information about users is often applied to improving the design of a specific product; however, the information gathered is not usually saved or reused later. Through archiving, organizing, and exploring information about users, designers can become more user-centered, create better designs, train new designers, ensure access to usability information, make the most of company resources, plan future usability investigations, and build more advanced theories about users.

Houser, Rob. Technical Communication Online (2001). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

Литература по Human Computer Interaction На Русском Языке

Literature on Human Computer Interaction written in Russian.

Samoilov, Konstantin. HCI.ru (2001). (Russian) Resources>Bibliographies>Human Computer Interaction

Ссылки на Материлы по HCI

A series of links to Russian-language resources in human-computer interaction.

HCI.ru (2001). (Russian) Design>Human Computer Interaction

Учебник по Проектиране на Човеко-Машинен Интерфейс

През последните 20 години технологиите са напреднали до такава степен, че почти всеки влиза в контакт с компютър по един или друг начин. За разлика от изминалите години, когато само специалисти са използвали компютри, днес знанията и опита на различните потребители са много големи. Затова е важно начина, по който хората и компютрите си взаимодействат да е точен и ясен. Въпреки това, проектирането на точен ЧМИ не винаги е тривиално, както сочат повечето от лошо проектираните Компютърни Системи (КС). Едно от предизвикателсвата на проектирането е то да е в течение на технологичните промени и да осигурява максимална полза за човека. Главната причина, поради която много хора от бизнеса се интересуват от ЧМИ е, че те искат да спечелят, като увеличат ефективността на персонала си. Друга важна причина е сигурността: някои видове КС могат да застрашават живота, ако нямат добър интерфейс.

University of Sofia (2001). (Bulgarian) Books>Usability>Human Computer Interaction

人性的界面

我们常常看到这样的新闻报道：飞机坠毁夺走了好几百人的生命，某次工业事故导致几百万英镑的损失，某新发现的系统医疗错误致使数千病患重返医院。几个月后，公布的调查结果如下：操作机器设备时的人为错误导致了这些事故。人们使用‘人为错误’一词来表达‘操作上的错误’，而经常的情况是，这些‘人为错误’ 根本就是机器设备的人机界面设计或安装上本身固有的问题。低劣的人机界面会导致使用效率降低或者容易发生错误，严重的则会造成财产和生命损失。

Dix, Alan. uiGarden (2005). (Chinese) Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability>User Centered Design

机器与人交流的五大法则

编者：本书最后部分，作者比较了由机器开发的设计原则和由人总结的设计原则。下文中是机器对于如何与人交流的想法。

Norman, Donald A. uiGarden (2008). (Chinese) Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Research

Zebra Striping: More Data for the Case

I recently conducted a study into the helpfulness (or lack thereof) of zebra striping—the shading of alternate rows in a table or form. The study measured performance as users completed a series of tasks and found no statistically significant improvement in accuracy—and very little statistically significant improvement in speed when zebra stripes were implemented.

Enders, Jessica. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Web Design>Human Computer Interaction>User Interface

How May I Help You? An Ethnographic View of Contact-Center HCI  

This study used an applied ethnographic research method to investigate human-computer interaction (HCI) between call center agents and agent-facing software in the context of contact-center culture. Twenty semi-structured interviews were completed, along with non-participant observation at two contact centers, one that followed a user-centered design (UCD) process for software development and another that did not. Agent productivity and satisfaction at the non-UCD center were hampered by poor task-UI integration, ambiguous text labels, and inadequate UI standardization. Agents required multiple applications to complete a single task, leading to long task times and cognitive strain. In contrast, the UCD center used a unified UI that reduced task times and decreased cognitive strain. In both centers, the workflow was reported to be stressful at times; however, management at both companies employed high involvement work processes that mitigated this stress. Implications for possible high-involvement UI design are considered and a strategy for applied ethnographic research is discussed.

Kiewe, Howard. Journal of Usability Studies (2008). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability>Contextual Inquiry

A New Approach to Analyse Human-Mobile Computer Interaction  

This paper describes a tool for log file recording and a method for quickly and easily analysing human-computer interaction with mobile devices. The tool logs screenshots and quantitative interaction data, such as number of clicks and timestamps. The analysing tool provides the ability to evaluate the interaction sequences and to export an MS Excel®-sheet for statistical analysis. To evaluate the tool, a usability study was conducted comparing the effectiveness of this tool in the laboratory and in the mobile context. Findings show that the tool is the first step toward a very effective, unobtrusive analysing method for user interaction in the mobile context. Combined with debriefing methods, it would be an optimized way for usability testing with mobile devices.

Kawalek, Jurgen, Annegret Stark and Marcel Riebeck. Journal of Usability Studies (2008). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Wireless Web>Log Analysis

Exploring Human Factors in Virtual Worlds    

Why are virtual worlds increasingly relevant to technical communicators? What human factors influence the design of virtual worlds? This article explores these two important questions from a technical communication perspective.

Padmanabhan, Poornima. Technical Communication Online (2008). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Online>3D