Full day training course offered at Usability Week Toronto

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) for Real World Problems

Applying science to solve design challenges

Human Computer Interaction integrates concepts and methods from computer science, design, and psychology to build interfaces that are accessible, easy to use, and efficient.

In this course, you will learn how to apply recommendations derived from HCI research, which uses controlled experiments to reach conclusions. For example, you will understand how interfaces and input devices (e.g. mouse vs. touchscreen) can burden users and what you can do to improve design.

We include examples from websites, applications, hardware, and physical products.

Benefits

Examine the most relevant concepts from the HCI field and learn to apply the principles to specific design problems
Be able to explain why certain designs work better in particular circumstances
Design better interfaces from the start by knowing human limitations and easing the load on the user

Topics Covered

Origins of HCI
Humans in HCI
- Information processing
- Perception and attention
- Cognitive load
- Memory and learning
- Motor actions: Response selection and Fitts’ Law
- How people know what actions are possible
- Mental models and their importance for operating devices
- Effect of stress on behavior
Input devices: Speech, gesture, and touch
Interaction style
- Direct manipulation
- Menus, forms, and dialogs
- Collaboration
Universal design
- Designing systems to be used by anyone, anywhere
- Issues in designing for specific populations (e.g. kids, seniors, and users with disabilities)
Complex interface features
- Strategies for supporting different types of search
- Information visualization
- Ideal response times and effect of longer waiting periods
- Error recovery
HCI methods
- User research methods: Contextual inquiry and task analysis
- The role of user experience and usability engineering
- Golden rules and usability heuristics
- HCI Patterns

Format

The basis of the course is a lecture format with a couple of group exercises to reinforce the learned principles and guidelines.

The course also includes:

Findings from our own usability studies, including eyetracking
Videos from usability testing of people's behavior in response to a design
Screenshots of designs that work and don’t work
Opportunities to ask questions and get answers

Instructor

Kathryn Whitenton

Kathryn Whitenton is a User Experience Specialist with the Nielsen Norman Group. She works with clients to evaluate the usability and information architecture of websites in a variety of industries including technology, telecommunications, and media, as well as corporate intranets. She has conducted usability research, eyetracking user research, and studies of users on mobile devices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Her user studies have included general audiences as well as specific consumer types, business segments, children, and seniors. Read more about Kathryn