The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human–computer interaction:
Human–computer interaction – the intersection of computer science and behavioral sciences, this field involves the study, planning, and design of the interaction between people (users) and computers. Attention to human-machine interaction is important, because poorly designed human-machine interfaces can lead to many unexpected problems. A classic example of this is the Three Mile Island accident where investigations concluded that the design of the human–machine interface was at least partially responsible for the disaster.
Human–computer interaction can be described as all of the following:
A field of science – systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.An applied science – field that applies human knowledge to build or design useful things.
A field of computer science – scientific and practical approach to computation and its applications.
An application of engineering – science, skill, and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and also build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.
An application of software engineering – application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the design, development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software.A subfield of computer programming – process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages (such as Java, C++, C#, Python,Php etc.). The purpose of programming is to create a set of instructions that computers use to perform specific operations or to exhibit desired behaviors.
A social science – academic discipline concerned with society and human behavior.
A behavioural science – discipline that explores the activities of and interactions among organisms. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behaviour through controlled and naturalistic observation, and disciplined scientific experimentation. Examples of behavioural sciences include psychology, psychobiology, and cognitive science.
A type of system – set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole or a set of elements (often called 'components' ) and relationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets.
A system that includes software – software is a collection of computer programs and related data that provides the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer. In other words, software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system.
A type of technology – making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments.
A form of computer technology – computers and their application.
Command line interface
Graphical user interface (GUI)
Copy and paste, Cut and paste
Single Document Interface, Multiple Document Interface, Tabbed Document Interface
Elements of graphical user interfaces
Pointer
Widget (computing)
icons
WIMP (computing)
Point-and-click
Drag-and-drop
Window managers
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
Zooming user interface (ZUI)
Brushing and linking
Crossing-based interfaces
Human–computer interaction draws from the following fields:
psychology
human memory
human perception
sensory system
sociology and social psychology
cognitive science
human factors / cognitive ergonomics / physical ergonomics
repetitive strain injury
computer science
computer graphics
artificial intelligence
computer vision
visualization
information visualization
scientific visualization
knowledge visualization
design
industrial design
graphic design and aesthetics
information design
interaction design
process-centered design
sonic interaction design
Interactive Art and HCI
library and information science, information science
information security
HCISec
speech-language pathology
personal information management
phenomenology
History of human–computer interaction
Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad
History of automated adaptive instruction in computer applications
History of the GUI
Time Sharing (1957)
hypertext (Ted Nelson 1963), hypermedia and hyperlinks
Direct manipulation (ex. lightpen 1963, mice 1968)
Desktop metaphor (197x XEROX PARC)
Windows-Paradigm
Personal Computer (1981)
CSCW: Computer Supported Collaborative (or Cooperative) Work, collaborative software
Ubiquitous computing ("ubicomp") coined 1988
World Wide Web (Tim Berners Lee 1989)
Mobile interaction
"sensor-based / context-aware interaction"-paradigm
Notable systems and prototypes
Office of the future (1940s)
Sketchpad (1963)
NLS and The Mother of All Demos (1968)
Dynabook (circa 1970)
Xerox Alto (1973)
Xerox Star (1981)
Apple Macintosh (1984)
Knowledge Navigator (1987)
Project Looking Glass (circa 2003 or 2004)
The Humane Environment (alpha release, 2004)
accessibility and computer accessibility
adaptive autonomy
affordance
banner blindness
computer user satisfaction
contextual design and contextual inquiry
gender HCI
gulf of evaluation
gulf of execution
habituation
human action cycle
human interface device
human–machine interface
interaction
interaction technique
look and feel
mode
physiological interaction
principle of least astonishment
progressive disclosure
sonic interaction design
thanatosensitivity
transparency
usability and usability testing
user, luser
user experience and user experience design
user-friendliness
user interface and user interface design
user interface engineering and usability engineering
handheld devices
Human–computer information retrieval
Information retrieval
Internet and the World Wide Web
multimedia
Software agents
Universal usability
User experience design
Visual programming languages.
Knowbility
Hardware input/output devices and peripherals:
List of input devices
unit record equipment
barcode scanner
keyboard
computer keyboard
keyboard shortcut
ways to make typing more efficient: command history, autocomplete, autoreplace and Intellisense
microphone
pointing device
computer mouse
mouse chording
List of output devices
visual devices
graphical output device
display device
computer display
video projector
computer printer
plotter
auditory devices
speakers
earphones
tactile devices
refreshable Braille display
braille embosser
Haptic devices
activity-centered design
Affordance analysis
bodystorming
Contextual design
focus group
iterative design
participatory design
pictive user interface workshop method
rapid prototyping
Scenario-based design (SBD)
task analysis/task modeling
user-centered design
usage-centered design
User scenario
Value sensitive design
Wizard of Oz experiment
Usability testing
heuristic evaluation
cognitive walkthrough
usability lab
Models and laws
Hick's law
Fitts' law
Steering law
GOMS – goals, operators, methods, and selection rules
Keystroke-level model (KLM)
Motion pictures featuring interesting user interfaces:
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Alien (1979)
Blade Runner (1982)
Tron (1982)
The Last Starfighter (1984)
Ghost in the Shell (1991/1995)
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
The Matrix (1999)
Serial Experiments Lain
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
Simone (2002)
I, Robot (2004)
Iron Man (2008)
Avatar (2009)
Her (2013)
Industrial labs and companies
Industrial labs and companies known for innovation and research in HCI:
Alias Wavefront
Apple Computer
AT&T Labs
Bell Labs
HP Labs
Microsoft Research
SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)
Xerox PARC
Oblong Industries
Tim Berners-Lee
Bill Buxton
John M. Carroll (information scientist)
Douglas Engelbart
Paul Fitts
Alan Kay
Steve Mann
Ted Nelson
Jakob Nielsen (usability consultant)
Donald Norman
Jef Raskin
George G. Robertson
Ben Shneiderman
Herbert A. Simon
Ivan Sutherland
Terry Winograd
