Claire Knudson
Friday, March 13 1998
The Essence of Human-Computer Interaction by Christine FaulknerThe Essence of Human-Computer Interaction is a book in the series The Essence of Computing. The aim of the series is to cover essential material for typical university course modules. Each book is written by an experienced lecturer, and thus the material has been tested, evaluated and deemed appropriate.
Christine Faulkner has three post-graduate qualifications combining both teaching and computing, and her research at SBU has centered around teaching and learning HCI. Her style is confident, clear and enthusiastic. Particularly useful features for the student's understanding of the subject are the end of chapter summaries, exercises, glossary of terms and suggested further reading.
Indeed, the exercises, unlike in many textbooks, are relevant, of a suitable level of difficulty, and not too numerous. They encourage the student to think about some of the concepts of the chapter and the practicalities which these entail.
This book does just provide an overview of HCI and therefore does not go into any substantial detail. For this reason, the suggestions of further reading are invaluable. Again, Christine Faulkner displays her competence by, including/attaching a brief description of what is to be found in each reference, thus avoiding us the frustration of following up irrelevant links.
Unfortunately the few web references are not as useful, with only one being both informative and obtainable.
These extensions (exercises and further reading) are imperative for the amount of material covered to be of a realistic length and complexity for an undergraduate course in the basics of HCI. Although a lot of the information is simply common sense, it is well worth pointing out, judging from the quality of some systems on the market.
This book aims to bring to the attention of the student the considerations involved in building a successful computer system. It follows a chronological order, starting with general human limitations, taking us then through the design and evaluation cycle, to the usability testing stage once the system has been set up. It finishes with a brief look at health and safety issues, and the future of HCI.
The introductory chapter provides an overview of HCI, outlining its importance, and its role in software development. I was pleased to see that the author did not omit this introduction, as it is vital in maintaining the reader's interest, as well as giving him a clear indication of what will be studied.
The following chapter concentrates on the user's physical capabilities. It is peppered with anecdotes, diagrams, and experiments illustrating the workings and limitations of the senses and how these observations can be used when considering the design process of a computer system.
Following on from this is a look at the user's mental capabilities. This is a rather weak section of the book as it only deals with memory and does not touch on any of the other relevant aspects of the mind. It does contain some pertinent guidelines concerning software design (the necessity for closure for example), and involves the reader in some fun experiments, but the chapter on the whole is a bit tedious, with an overuse of memory tests.
Next Christine Faulkner focuses on the interface and conveys the main principles involved in a good design. She then provides us with a classification and discussion of the different types of interface available, concentrating on the various interaction styles, and the two methods of manipulation: direct versus linguistic. The chapter ends with a return to design considerations, this time directing our attention to the specific types of work the system could be intended for.
To refine the design even more, we are now urged to study the different types of user we might be designing for: beginner, experienced, or expert. As is consistent with the rest of the book, the use of bullet points, illustrations (in the form of screen shots) and clarity of style enable an immediate understanding and contextualisation of the ideas in question. The importance of the user's involvement in the designing process is dealt with thoroughly here, with a very practical approach of how to proceed in getting feedback. The points to look out for, as well as several strategies for obtaining, analysing, and communicating information are suggested and discussed.
The next two chapters are dedicated to the important area of evaluation and testing. The first deals with evaluation as a part of the development cycle and underlines the merits, drawbacks and practicalities of implementing various techniques (for example questionnaires, interviews, etc.). The other role of evaluation is to ensure that the finished system is what the user wants. Christine Faulkner underlines certain criteria to measure the system against, and how this phase is carried out so as to ensure as rigorous a check as possible.
The penultimate chapter talks about how to minimise any physical discomfort to the user. Although this covers information which is useful for anyone working at a computer for extended periods of time, a software designer cannot be expected to be responsible for the user's environment. These issues are dealt with extensively in a number of books on Ergonomics listed at the end of the chapter.
Finally, the book wraps up neatly with an interesting look at the social implications of computerisation, and what direction HCI might take in the future.
The Essence of HCI manages to present, in an interesting and memorable fashion, relevant areas of a variety of disciplines, ranging from the highly scientific (Biology, Statistics) to the purely artistic (Design, Aesthetics). Most computing students, having never considered issues such as these let alone how to implement them, will find this an invaluable aid to designing successful systems. Christine Faulkner has ensured that the illustrations, diagrams, and tables are useful and clearly presented, attempting to take examples from familiar systems. She has succeeded in providing an overview of HCI, which will encourage students to study this subject in further depth.
Claire Knudson
Sussex University
