Topics in human-computer interaction - Definition and Overview

This is a list of topics in human-computer interaction.

General

• accessibility and Computer accessibility
• affordance
• Banner blindness
• Gulf of execution
• Habituation
• Human action cycle
• Human interface device
• Human-Machine Interface
• interaction
• interface
• Look and feel
• Mode error
• Principle of least astonishment
• progressive disclosure
• transparency (computing)
• usability and usability testing
• user, luser
• user-friendliness
• user interface
• user interface engineering and usability engineering

History

• Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad
• history of the GUI

Related fields

• psychology
  • human memory
  • human perception
    • sensory system
• sociology
• cognitive science
• human factors / ergonomics
  • repetitive strain injury
• computer science
  • computer graphics
  • artificial intelligence
  • computer vision
• visualization (graphic)
  • information visualization
  • scientific visualization
• design
  • industrial design
  • graphic design
  • information design
  • interaction design
• library and information science, information science
• Knowledge visualization

Hardware

Hardware input/output devices and peripherals:

• List of input devices
  • keyboard
    • computer keyboard
    • keyboard shortcut
    • ways to make typing more efficient: command history, autocomplete, autoreplace and Intellisense
  • pointing device
    • computer mouse
• graphical output device
  • display device
  • computer display
  • projector
  • computer printer
  • plotter
  • refreshable Braille display
  • braille embosser

Interface design methods

• user-centered design
• participatory design
• value-sensitive design
• rapid prototyping
• iterative design
• User scenario
• Affordance Analysis
• Scenario Based Design (SBD)

Usability

• Usability testing
• user testing
• heuristic evaluation
• cognitive walkthrough
• cognitive dimensions of notation
• usability lab

Models and laws

• Hick's law
• Fitts' law
• Accot-Zhai steering law
• GOMS - Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules
• keystroke-level modelling (KLM)

Interaction styles

• Command line interface
• Graphical user interface (GUI)
  • Copy and paste, Cut and paste
  • Single Document Interface, Multiple Document Interface, Tabbed Document Interface
• WIMP (computing)
• point-and-click
• drag-and-drop
• cursor
• widget (computing)
• direct manipulation interface
• desktop, desktop metaphor, desktop environment
• window managers
• WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
• Zooming User Interface (ZUI)

Interaction paradigms

• hypertext, hypermedia and hyperlinks
• speech recognition, speech synthesis, natural language processing
• mouse gestures and handwriting recognition
• haptics, telehaptics
• Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality
• CSCW: Computer Supported Collaborative (or Cooperative) Work, collaborative software
• Ubiquitous computing
• Wearable computers and cyborgs
• Direct mind-computer interface

Miscellaneous

• handheld devices
• multimedia
• visual programming languages
• Software agents
• Information retrieval
• the Internet and the World Wide Web

People

• Douglas Engelbart
• Paul Fitts
• Alan Kay
• Ted Nelson
• Jakob Nielsen (usability consultant)
• Donald Norman
• Jef Raskin
• Ivan Sutherland

Industrial labs and companies

Industrial labs and companies known for innovation and research in HCI:

• Xerox PARC
• Apple Computer
• Microsoft Research
• Alias Wavefront

Notable systems and prototypes

• Office of the future (1940s)
• Dynabook (circa 1970)
• Knowledge Navigator (1987)
• Project Looking Glass (circa 2003 or 2004)
• The Humane Environment (alpha release, 2004)

Movies

Movies featuring interesting user interfaces:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Star Wars (1977)
• Alien (1979)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Tron (film) (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 (movie) (2002)