Unit 23: Human Computer Interaction

Fundamental Principles of HCI

Task 2

The main principles of human-computer interaction when using Leap Motion are tracking consistency which means how well it follows with your movement and its accuracy and consistence of tracking which is very important in Leap Motion.

Ease of detection of the user’s hands is also one of the principle things because if this doesn’t function well it would cause lots of issues as users would get annoyed as it wouldn’t read their movements. By having this it will also prevent false positive and negative detections there for making the experience more enjoyable and more usable.

Perception:

The perception of something varies depending on the person as they can have different insights on things. In perception on how the user and developer see the product, and see if it was what they both intended to create for example in visuals and software, this is because there can be more than one creator there for they need to communicate and understand the aims and the expected product at the end so that the users don’t get disappointed as they aren’t receiving what they expected.

However, in GUI the creators must create it in a such a way that it’s an easy for anyone to be able to use it, therefor make it as simple as they can to use it so that it doesn’t confuse or annoy the users. They also have to keep in mind if or how disabled users would use it however, whilst designing and

creating GUI the target audience must always be kept in mind in order to make it as successful as it can be.

Colour:

When thinking about colours you need to especially think what the target audience is so that you don’t end up picking colours which don’t suit your target audience, this will be used as a way to draw in their target audience. They also need to ensure that they don’t offend anyone whilst choosing their colour as you can be seen as sexist or even discriminate against certain races which would instantly make you lose users as they wouldn’t want to be involved with such a thing.

When creating the GUI they also have to make sure that they are thinking about disabled users for example one which is common is colour blind people this is because you would need to make sure that the product would be suitable for them as colours might not have been picked for such users there for it would make visuals look so much worse, what they would do to fix something like this is create an option into setting which allows you to turn on colour blind mode which would then optimize the colours to the user making it a better experience for everyone.

They also have to think overall what type of colours to use for example they shouldn’t use colours of texts with similar background as it would make it hard to see the text and read it there for making it harder for the user to see. Another example of when you have to think about colours is when you get users which suffer from dyslexia/Irlen syndrome there for making things bright might affect does people making it even harder for them to read and see the visuals there for it is important to use typical colours such as black, white and even blue for titles for example.

Luminance:

This means the intensity of light emitted into surface in a certain direction for example light reflects of an object and then luminance’s into our eyes which creates our visuals of colours. Trichromatic system this is something which uses the colours Red, Green and Blue in order to project different colours the reason why its used is in order to create amazing visuals for the users. The reason why we use Red, Green and Blue known as (RGB) is because, our eyes work in a way which makes using this for our devices screens is the best option in order to create visuals of colours for the users this is because we would see many different colours. The way which they must use colours for text is to use certain colours texts with certain colour background in order to ensure that it’s easy to see and read however the creator will also have to keep in mind that the brightness of the device screen as it will also affect this.

Pop out effects:

Pop out effects are known for making something stand out from everything else, this is useful to use when your trying to make something such as an image or anything stand out from every thing else on the page. This will be super helpful to use when there are for example lots of images and many attractive colours in the page already there for leaving you with no choice but to use a pop out effect in order to stand out from every one else. When making pop out effects however they would be thinking about colours too because they will also need to use colours which stand out from everything else in the page, this would be colours such as red and many other which would have been created with the use of trichromatic system which I mentioned above which means that it uses 3 colours which are red, blue and green in order to create colours for the users to see. However, they must be careful whilst using bright colours due to some people may have sight issues which could further affect them with the use of bright colours in addition it can cause flickering and flashes of some of the pages, they will also connect with the brightness (luminance).

Patterns:

Pattern can be referred to things such as a picture or even a layout of something, its template for a webpage for example and the text and content it has. When designing and creating a webpage creator will have to think about the Gestalt Law.

Proximity: This just means that when an object when it gets in close proximities with others objects/shapes that they would connect creating groups. These objects that would connect creating groups would however be more relevant to each other where as does other objects that aren’t as related wouldn’t get close or would create space apart from each other. How close you are the user to the leap motion.

Continuity: This is used in order to keep things as smooth as possible there for less breakings of lines, keeping the continuous movement and avoiding changes. If lines overlap, they would use this in order to keep it moving smoothly without causing any disruptions. Therefor instead of separating parts/ lines it tries finding the smoothest way to continue the pattern which its following.

Symmetry: They use this because people tend to prefer seeing symmetrical things, in addition to this it much easier to remember as it’s the same of both sides for example Macdonald logo the “M” is the same on both sides and almost all companies will use symmetry whilst designing something as its associated with stability and consistency.

Similarities: This means things which share common features there for looks, size, texture and colours of something is all connected to similarities.

Fate: This is like a group of objects which move united together.

Region: This implies the connection between groups and usually also together there for it just means that does shapes would be locked together.

Connected: If shapes are close to each other they create groups, even if the shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close.

Objects in the designing of an HCI, this would be things which appear on screen such as images. A developer of an HCI project must think about these objects in many ways such as position, shapes and even sizes of the objects.

Geons/ Gross 3D shapes: Geons are simple shapes in 2D or 3D shapes such as circles, cylinders, rectangles and so on, which would be relating to a recognition-by-components theory by Biederman's, the way which this works is it will separate objects into geons in order to recognize does objects. This is how they create the illusion of a 3D shapes for people to see.

Gross 3D shapes are pretty much the same as they also create an illusion for people to see 3D shapes. However, these shapes are moved from the original location of the shape this is because it gets copied and there for moves a bit from its original shape.

By using 3D shapes it makes things look better for example logos because of the depth it gets compared to 2D shapes and many other things look much better for example back then when 2D was highly used for games very thing looked dull, boring and unrealistic however, when they started using 3D it gave depth to shapes making things look better and more realistic.

This will intrigue more audience to play or use a product which is what is important for companies to evolve and become well known.

Behaviour models:

These are the models which can be used by the designer in order to check all the ways the user will interact with the interface. They would keep previous models, templates as it could be used to create a device or even a new interface this is because it will save the company money and time as they would then just need to make simple adjustments and changes in order to improve the previous version however if they created a completely new interface it could have a negative effect on the product as people may not like the way it is compared to the old version of it this is because it could make using it much harder and to generally navigate around as they wouldn’t be used to something completely new.

Keeping backups of older versions and keeping your device generally the same if users like the way it is however follow your old version by checking the backups of the previous version.

Reaction time: This means how long it takes the system to respond to an input for example how long it would take for you to open and load the website.

Predictive model: Means when they use something in order to predict how people will use the products interface when it is completed and ready to be sold. Another way to put it is that the designer is given a little hint of guidance of how users would be using his finished products without having to go through tests and research there for wasting time and money this is why this is so useful.

The keystroke-level model (KLM): This sees the different operation of sequences which the user makes such as clicks or even use of shortcuts, this is done to check how long the system will take to respond to the actions and the use of the user on the system. By having this they are able to check all the steps the user takes in order to do a certain task there for it allows them to be able to create improvements and create a more affiant and faster way to do the same thing by removing unnecessary steps they take or even change the order of things in order to improve the time it would take to complete the task. This could be used in order to check how doing it takes to execute a function by the user in order to see how to make improvements to the speed which it takes to do that task by seeing all the steps it takes to complete it and see if there are any that can be avoided.

This shows different operations and different keystrokes per task set which would then have the amount of time it takes for it to be done.

ThroughPut (TP): This is used to check how long it takes to move data from a location to another and the amount of data it can handle in a certain amount of time its given. Some examples of this could be like how long it would take to send a file to someone or even how long it would take to move data into a USB stick. To check how fast something can load after its clicked.

Fitts’ Law: This is used to check how long it would take to do certain function or objective for example how long it would take you to press on google chrome or how long it would take you to open a games into leap motion, this would be calculated with an equation. It could be used for example to check how long it could take a user to use the mouse after using leap motion.

Descriptive models: There are 3 main models these models would be used in order to explain the functions and certain parts in the technology. Each one of these would have their own benefits and also there down sides however, you would pick the one you according to what the designers needs are.

Key-Action Model (KAM): This lets you see how users interact with things such as keyboards which is helpful to see if you use anything such as shortcuts in order to complete a tasks faster for example “CTRL” + “F4” to close a page faster or CTRL + ALT + Delete in order to get control panel for example this would been seen by the key action model.

Buxton’s three state model: This is used to whilst creating an interface this is because there are different ways which you might want to allow your users to use your product for example you can use touch screen, keyboard and mouse or even leap motion. The way which it reply’s by making inputs by their input devices is by making their devices Easy to use and responsive so that the user doesn’t t get annoyed by using your device in addition they can adjust the devices settings in order to make it easier or better for the user as they might have preferences. An example is being able to deactivate touch screen mode on a computer.

As shown below:

Guiard’s Model: This model is used to make sure that its easy to use the interface for people that are right and left handed people. This is important to do because if don’t want to make life for someone who wants to use your interface hard as you would lose clients which are left handed. To fix this for keyboard and mouse for people who use left handed they made it so you can change the keys there for making you able to customise your keyboard to your preference in addition to this you able to turn on a left hand option for your mouse so that it makes it customisable to for all people.

If a user is unable to use a keyboard it has another option for example voice commands, which guiard’s model which is designed for many types of input devices.

Information processing:

There is human processing and computer processing, and so by using the way humans process information and how computers process information they are able to develop a more advanced and overall a more efficient computer interaction system.

Humans as a component: This means by actually using us humans as components we are able to design interfaces which are designed in our favour. In order to create the interface and components he would have to check what the target audience is, so that when creating it he will work around this to confirm that its suitable for that age rating. The idea when comparing a human to a component is saying that component has added many interactions between humans and devices, this is because HCI has made people think that HCI knows what we humans want in our HCI.

Human information processing (HIP): It’s all about however a human and other humans process information in similar ways, the keyboard of a computer is for example like the communication whereas the mouse would be the hand of the computer as it would have similar actions.

This means how humans understand and process information which is given to us, analyse and even what we do with that information. We, in a way work in the same way as a computer this is because we have brains which does the thinking, computer will have CPU which is pretty much a brain too which does all the functions and thinking of the computer. On the other hand, computers brain will be more advanced as it is able to do calculation a lot faster than we humans can however, without our input there wouldn’t be any output this is because computers are not able to think for them self’s and only do what they are given to do.

Goals, operators, methods and selection (GOMS): Goms are for example, operators which have a to follow a certain method in order to complete a goal, you will also carry out goals though out a task as you would set your team small goals bit by bit until you get to the end goal which would be completing it the final version. Because of goals, operators, methods, the designer of HCI would choose the outcome of a certain task which are chosen to take part with the use of Goms. These

goals would be picked by the designers and would be set to the device which would have the method to complete the goal.

Operator this will be the actors which will need to be executed in order to complete something or get to somewhere, an example of this is in order to do my work on word I will a mouse to press the word icon and would need a keyboard in order to be able to execute the task which is given to me.

Methods – This is the planning/ techniques that will be used in order to complete something.

Selection rules – This is the choice of method you will use in order to complete a task, the way it works is that you choose one which fits the needs that you have for the task which you have at hand as each one would be better suited for different scenarios, there for its important to see what is the task which you have to do before actually going through selecting the method.

GOMS provides HCI designer with an opportunity to change their method, if need be in order to improve the effectiveness of the user’s interface.

Specialist:

Because HCI are extremely popular and are growing bigger as time goes, it makes it even more essential for companies to take into consideration of all people and especially disabled users. This exists so that interfaces between machines and humans are as simple to use, understand and as helpful as it can be towards all people including disabled users to allow them to be able to use the device as well due to little changes and additional things. Such as explained before like colour blind mode for people that are colour blind to also be able to get a great visual, they also have added things such a speech audio which allows for you to be able to ask it to do something rather than you actually having to type it down I addition to this it will also read it out loud and lastly, they have allowed for enlargements of texts and even images so it can be seen clearly for people who may have poor eye sight or think even think of more alternatives for these users and how they would be able to function the device.

The reason why voice recognition can be amazing as a solution for users which are disable and for general use that it creates a wider range of option on how to HCI, the reason why disabled users may use this is because they may not have hands or something or this sort there for they are not able to use a keyboard or touch pad in order to type so there only option is using voice recognition as it allows you to type what you say and even reads things for you, there for it would be super helpful

for many users. An example of how voice recognition can be super helpful on a device is the Amazon Echo which lesson to the user and talks back to you this allows you to control your whole house without having to move in addition to this you are able to play music and ask general question such as “what’s the weather like today” however, the reason why this is so good is because you can be doing something else and you don’t even have to ask your time to use the internet or anything with the use of this. An Amazon Echo would even be amazing to have for disabled users are if they are home and can’t really walk around their own home so easily due to an injury or whatever, it won’t affect him as much as he would still have control of his house and many other things such as music and the internet.

If a user has visual problems of some sort for example if they can’t see text, it will allow the user to change the text size on the options allowing you to zoom in making it easier to see so you don’t have to strain and force your eyes. Another example of something like this is the brightness which will also affect the text and how easy it is to read there for using auto brightness is typically the best option in order to keep your eyes health due to not having to use brightness which doesn’t match the lighting for example you shouldn’t have bright screen when its dark as it would make you force your eye sight more. An example which has all these functions is an iPad which allows you to zoom into text and automatically adjusts the lighting for the best visuals.

This is showing that you are able to customize your text to what ever you want for example size, colour, brightness and more after applied the way which you want it would then be saved automatically every time you log in your account for example on your PC.

Finally, I think its essential for a company now days when creating software or hardware which is related to technology such as smartphones, tables and others. Must keep HCI in mind as they work on there project. As it will makes their product easier to use for users but also because it will allow

for users which usually wouldn’t be able to use their products to be able to use them now. And as HCI is getting so popular it now more than ever more important to include everyone in this new evolution by thinking out side the box and coming up with solutions. By doing all this it will increase the amount of people buying their product due to them making their products are more efficient and easier to use even for disabled users.

References

Author Alex ColganArticle title: 6 Principles of Leap Motion Interaction DesignWebsite title: Leap Motion BlogURL: http://blog.leapmotion.com/6-principles-of-interaction-design/

Article title: PerceptionWebsite title: En.wikipedia.orgURL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perception

Author Saul McleodArticle title: Information Processing | Simply PsychologyWebsite title: Simplypsychology.orgURL: https://www.simplypsychology.org/information-processing.html