Book Image

Learn Human-Computer Interaction

By : Christopher Reid Becker
Book Image

Learn Human-Computer Interaction

By: Christopher Reid Becker

Overview of this book

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a field of study that researches, designs, and develops software solutions that solve human problems. This book will help you understand various aspects of the software development phase, from planning and data gathering through to the design and development of software solutions. The book guides you through implementing methodologies that will help you build robust software. You will perform data gathering, evaluate user data, and execute data analysis and interpretation techniques. You’ll also understand why human-centered methodologies are successful in software development, and learn how to build effective software solutions through practical research processes. The book will even show you how to translate your human understanding into software solutions through validation methods and rapid prototyping leading to usability testing. Later, you will understand how to use effective storytelling to convey the key aspects of your software to users. Throughout the book, you will learn the key concepts with the help of historical figures, best practices, and references to common challenges faced in the software industry. By the end of this book, you will be well-versed with HCI strategies and methodologies to design effective user interfaces.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
1
Section 1 - Learn Human-Computer Interaction
5
Section 2 - How to Build Human-Centered Software
11
Section 3 - When to Improve Software Systems

Iterative loops for improving software, which improves culture

As we have been discussing, an HCI designer creates software solutions over time with the goal of producing human-centered solutions to continually improve our users' experiences. The iterative design process is fundamental to how we think about, design, prototype, iterate, and ultimately launch software for our users. The idea is quite profound as an HCI designer is not just solving problems for users through software; they are impacting culture. Because an HCI software designer has the ability to impact culture, we should take that responsibility very seriously and make sure our solutions are what that culture needs. Iterative design is valuable for culture:

Culture is malleable and we don't want to create software that can break the cultures we are attempting to impact with our solutions. As HCI designers, we must look long and hard at whether the software we design is doing what it was intended for, while also...