USABILITY ENGINEERING AND HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

Introduction:
This Topic was presented by
Mr. Innocent Kihaka &
Mr. Side S. Side.

Actually to my opinions I can say it was the best presentation among the best presentations which have already presented 27/04/2009 the topic was good and well understood.Before going deeper to this topic let us have a look on some important terminologies which used in this topic which might confuse sometimes if not used well.Usability; This usability means that something can be very easy to use but not necessary to be usefully. It is normally user friendly.Usefulness; Usefulness means that something is very useful but it is very difficult to use i.e. not user friendly.
MEANING
USABILITY ENGINEERING AND HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION.
(a)Usability engineering (UE):
-Is the performance of just beginning a system which is interactive, usable or meets the needs of users
(b)Human computer interaction (HCI):
-Is the discipline which deal with the study of interaction between users and computers

(i)Usability:
-Is a classification that takes description of consumers’ capability, restrictions and requirements.It's difficult these days to find a bad word about usability.
Also Usability is a buzz word and making a site more usable is all the rage. And rightfully so, because most sites really boast uncanny interfaces and require too much hassle to get what you want. Usability experts will spend hours of arguing and drawing just so we have to click only once instead of twice, without making it any more confusing.

(ii)Usefulness:
For an interactive system to be useful it should be objective core for example quality is useful and this is making something that is easy enough to perform, without making it too easy and creating clutter for the visitor. Usability remains a good thing, but not to the point where the quality of the task drops below a certain level. In that sense, usability can be a lot like commercials, driving the users to perform a task without considering the actual value. It often leaves them with a lot of things they don't actually need. I'll finish up with the solution I found to make my rss tool useful again. I simply store my rss feeds in folders by category, making it a little more work to add them to my feed program, but at the same time weeding out the feeds I'm not really interested in. The usability decreased a little, but the tool became a lot more useful to me

WHY THIS UE AND HCI?
(i)Enhance the productivity-as its work force is more productive
(ii)reduce training and supportive costs during preparation
(iii)enlarge the customer satisfaction and decreases technophobia
-This is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers
(iv)Reduces unsuccessful and fatal inaccuracy in the system which are protection-crucial
The greater example is in Aircraft which has all its documentation online can cause accident if its interface is not clear. As my fellow students said in this presentation.

HOW UE AND HCI CAN BE ACHIEVED
Approaches of designing products are always based on Product-centred design and User-centred design
(a)PRODUCT-CENTRED DESIGN
Is the manufacture process which does not take an account of the consumer’s needs.
Hypothesis of the product centered design
(i)The consequence of a good design is having manufactured goods operational.
(ii)The product’s specifications are derived from the customer.
(iii)There is no further contact until delivery.

(b)USER-CENTRED DESIGN
Is the propose rehearsal which is rooted in the proposal that consumer must take center -stage in the design of any computer system. Specifically to make human being a focal point that technology should serve rather than the other way round
Hypothesis of the user centered-approach:
(i)The result of a good design is a satisfied user
(ii)The process of design is collaboration between designers and users.
(iii)User and designer are in constant communication during the entire process.

CRITERION OF USER-CENTRED APPROACH
There are so many criteria but according to our presentation I have decide to mention only few of them.
(a)Efficiency
-This is how compassionate the item for consumption in carrying out a certain commission.
(b)Memorability
- This is how easy it is, so as to retain information how the system is used some time ago it has been cultured from the previous.
(c)Learnability
-In this show how straightforward the learning and use the manufactured goods.
(d)Safety
-This is how defensive the consumer from dangerous and undesirable circumstances.
(e)Entertaining
-On how the manufactured goods are for amusement as entertainment then it has to reach that goal and archive them.
(f)Motivating
-From the manufactured goods made, be supposed to give confidence the consumer to prolong working with them.
(g)Visibility
-In this is how links in the interface has to be noticeably visible.
(g)Affordance
-This is how the price of the manufactured goods should narrate to the earnings of the the social order or community
(h)Feedback
-Also in this criterion based on the interface and how to act in response on whatever is completed and furnish accurate proposition.
(i)Colour
-In color tells how item for consumption be supposed to take a financial credit of colour psychology.

CHALLENGES
(i)Hard to get requirements from users who have no technique expertise
This is requiring more experience as expert so as to achieve goals of it.
(ii)Great amount of finance is need in the improvement of new product
This shows how to achieve your goal is easy in usability and human engineering, so it needs more money.
(iii)Difficult to build a system which can go well with all types of consumer and their requirements

FUTURE
(i)Decreasing of costs but increased efficiency of products.
(ii)Increasing innovation in input techniques (i.e., voice, gesture, and pen).

Termination
Usability studies often use the terms useful and usable interchangeably. This article explores the two concepts. My starting point is that usefulness is concerned with functionality, while the usable concept is about user difficulties in accessing functionality. Useful features enable users to "do things" by providing the tools needed to perform specific tasks in contrast, usable features make "doing" easy. Usable is related to the degree of difficulty understanding and using an information system.

Refference
(i)Andrew S, et al.(2008).The human- computer interaction handbook: Fundamentals evolving technologies.
(ii)Stuart C, et al. (1983). The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction.
(iii)Brad A, et al (1998).A belief History of Human-Computer Interaction Technology.
(iv)Don Norman, (1998).The Invisible Computer; Cambridge MA, MIT press
By Venance.