BT9302 Human Computer Interface

Question 1. Explain any two issues in web design.

ANS:
Accessibility &disabilities
Accessibility refers to whether or not the technology allows end-users to make use of the
technology. Just as technology skills and relevant content are integral components for
bridging.
The digital divide for young and old accessible design for people with disabilities is
essential to making the Internet truly universal.
A significant benefit of accessibility design is the benefit to people of all ages and
capabilities. This is not unlike curb cuts in sidewalks, which benefit not only those in
wheelchairs but families with strollers, delivery persons and bicyclists.
For those users with severe vision impairments or blindness, text versions of sites are
essential for use by Braille readers or voice synthesizers. While vision is the most
significant disability impacting the greatest number of users, (as the nature of a Graphic
User Interface GUI), one cannot forget that for others, simple usage of the keyboard and
mouse can be limiting or impossible as the result of normal aging such as arthritis or
spinal injuries.
Future advances in speech for command interfaces and speech recognition offer
significant promise for the disability community.
Many industry leaders such as Microsoft and Compaq have created companywide
Accessibility initiatives to improve the functionality of their products as well those of third
party products and peripherals. Microsoft has added features to Windows XP and to
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 for additional customization.
User customization
Many computer users are unaware of the customization available including display
colors, contrast, icon size and typefaces. Additionally, affordable new pointing devices
such as trackball mice, ergonomic keyboards, and the new digital mouse with the track
wheel are readily available.
Replacing a standard mouse often provides a significant improvement of cursor control.
Eyestrain and dry-eyes are common complaint of computer users. Upgrading from a
fifteen-inch monitor to a seventeen or nineteen-inch display or a LCD display is
recommended to enhance usability.
Check your operating system and browser web sites for updates and downloads, as they
often have usability upgrades at no-charge. Such upgrades can significantly reduce eye
fatigue.
Browser customization: Both the Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer allow
users a high level of customization. For users of Microsofts Internet Explorer such
adjustments may be found under Tools and select Internet Options and the Advanced
tab. To change and modify the font size, select View on the main tool bar and select Text
Size. For general changes to fonts, icons and color preference on Windows 98, Windows
2000 and Windows XP, click on the Start Menu, Settings and Control Panel. Within the
Control Panel you may select several options including;
1. Resizing the cursor and selecting curser displays
2. Modify mouse controls, pointer display, trails as well as selecting the including singleclick control option. (Note: Using the single click option on both the Windows and
Macintosh operating system offers simplified use for all users as well as those with eyehand coordination and mobility impairments. Set browser preferences such as default
colors, fonts and backgrounds.
3. Resize icons and fonts.

Question 2. Mention the factors considered for good design.

ANS:
The following factors considered for good design are
The design should be simple and natural dialogue
The design should speak the users language
The design should minimize user memory load
The design Should be consistent
The system designed should let know the users what is happening through appropriate
feedback within a reasonable time.
In the design if a user selects an unwanted function by mistake, there should be a clearly
marked exit point without having to go through an extended dialogue.
The design should provide shortcuts and provide accelerators to allow expert users to
speed up their interaction.
The design should provide good error messages and prevent errors
It should be designed carefully to prevent a problem from occurring in the first place.

Question 3. What are the advantages of graphical system?

ANS:
The following lines list the advantages of Graphical Systems:
1. Reduce the memory requirements.
2. Reduce system learning requirements Symbols recognized faster than text
3. Faster learning
4. Faster use and problem solving
5. Easier remembering
6. More natural
7. Exploit visual/spatial cues
8. Foster more concrete thinking
9. Provide context
10. Fewer errors
11. Increased feeling of control
12. Immediate feedback
13. Predictable system responses
14. Easily reversible actions
15. Less anxiety concerning use
16. More attractive
17. May consume less space
18. Replace national languages
19. Easily augmented with text displays
20. Smooth transition from command language system

Question 4. Briefly describe the causes of bad GUI design.

ANS:
Design Mistake 1 Forgetting the User: Developers often design for what they know, not
what the user knows. This age-old problem occurs in many other areas of software
development, such as testing, documentation, and the like. It is even more pernicious in the
interface because it immediately makes the user feel incapable of using the product. Avoid this
error diligently.
Design Mistake 2 Failing to Give the User Control: The GUI designer's predilection for
control is evident in applications that continually attempt to control user navigation by graying
and blackening menu items or controls within an application. Controlling the user is completely
contradictory to event-driven design in which the user, rather than the software, dictates what
events occur. As a developer, if you are spending a lot of time dynamically graying and
blackening controls, you need to re-examine your design approach and realize that you may be
controlling the user, who may not want to be controlled. As business changes at a faster pace,
flexibility in user interfaces will become a key enabler for change. Allowing the user to access
the application in ways that you never dreamed can be scary, but satisfying, for you as a
developer and empowering for the user.
Design Mistake 3 Providing Too Many Features at the Top Level: Examine a VCR built in
1985, and then examine one built in 1995. You will see a startling difference in the interface of
the two models. The model built in 1985 will have an abundance of buttons readily available on
the faceplate of the unit, many of which will remain a mystery since the manual was lost years
ago. The 1995 model will have only a few buttons for the key features that people use: play, fast
forward, reverse, stop, and eject. The newer model will probably have even more features than
the model built a decade before, yet the features will be cleverly tucked away behind a dropdown panel or sliding door, accessible when needed but not staring the user in the face.

Question 5. What are the fields in which the ideal designer of an interactive system should
expertise?

ANS:
The ideal designer of an interactive system would have expertise in diverse fields such as:
Psychology and cognitive science for knowledge of the users perceptual, cognitive and
problem-solving skills.
Ergonomics for the users physical capabilities.
Sociology to understand the wider context of the interaction.
Computer science and engineering to be able to build the necessary technology.
Graphic design to produce a pleasing visual interface.
Technical writing to produce the manuals.
Business to be able to market the product.

Figure 1: Disciplines Contributing to HCI

Computer Science: Develop programming languages, system architectures, etc. of the

computing systems.
Engineering: Provide faster and cheaper equipment
Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence: Speech synthesis and recognition, natural language
processing, etc.
Psychology: Provide information about human mental capabilities (e.g., memory, decision
making)
Ergonomics (Human Factors): Provide information about human physical capabilities
Sociology: How people interact in groups

Question 6. Explain the four general categories of control layout and design.
ANS:
There are four general categories of control: Imperative, Selection, Entry, and Display.
1) Imperative controls:
Imperative controls are those that command an immediate action. A click of a button
executes an associated action. There are two types of imperative controls: command
buttons and icon buttons, and they are usually designed with a 3D appearance that
invites the user to click them.
Command buttons are rectangular boxes with a text label that specifies what the button
does There are three common buttons that should appear in all dialog boxes: OK,
Cancel, and Help. Other common variations include Yes, No, Apply and Stop.
Whichever ones are used, it is important that each button perform a distinct service.
The button should also reflect the state of the data or software at the completion of an
operation. For example, a progress bar is often used to indicate the progression of a
lengthy operation
Buttons should be large enough to accommodate command name labels on their face
without looking cramped, and they should be placed and grouped according to purpose.
The decision to align the buttons horizontally or vertically is up to the designer. Whichever decision is
made, it should be appropriate and consistent, and the button positions should immediately indicate
obvious choices for the user. For example, GUI toolkits differ in their approach on whether to place the
OK button to the left or right of the Cancel button in predefined dialog boxes. Fig. 2 shows some
examples of how buttons can be laid out in a dialog box.

Figure 2:A sample of button layouts

2) Selection controls:
Selection controls represent a choice or group of choices that take effect when an imperative
control is executed. Selection controls allow the user to select an instruction from a range of
valid choices.
i)
Radio Buttons: Radio buttons provide a set of mutually exclusive options, and should
include a default setting as illustrated in fig 3. Although expensive in terms of screen real
estate, they make a set of options easily accessible to the user. They are best used when
6

there is a limited set of options (between 2 and 5), otherwise a drop-down list could be used
to save space. Radio buttons must always be labelled, otherwise their meaning is lost.

Figure 3: Apples operating system includes clearly identifiable radio buttons (left) and check boxes (right).

ii)

iii)

Check boxes: Check boxes are used to represent single, binary choices that can be turned on
(checked) or off (unchecked) and thus change the mode of an application. The options are
not mutually exclusive, so users can select as many as they want. It is often helpful to
provide a check box that allows the user to automatically select all options. Like radio
buttons, checkboxes must always be labelled.
iii) Toggle buttons: Sometimes called flip-flop buttons, a toggle button has a text label to
represent the state of a control. Although they save on screen real estate, they are often
confusing to the user. For example, a common implementation is the on/off state, where
the text on the button will change depending on the current state.

Figure 4: Toggle buttons in the accessibility settings dialog box of Apples operating system.

3) Entry controls:
Entry controls let the user enter new information into an application. Bounded controls restrict
the range of values that can be entered, whereas unbounded controls allow any value to be
entered. Unbounded controls should be restricted to alphanumeric inputs into text boxes
Bounded controls, such as sliders and spin boxes, should be used whenever there is a limited
range of valid entries (usually numeric, but sometimes alphanumeric) and are preferable to
unbounded controls that issue an error message if an entry is invalid. Data validation is
unnecessary for sliders, but spinners usually require some form of data validation, as users may
also type in their input values. This is shown in figure 5 below.

Figure 5: Bounded entry controls

Apples spin boxes (left) and sliders (right) exemplify bounded entry controls, which eliminates
the chance of the user inputting an invalid argument.
4) Display controls
Display controls determine how easily users can view the dialog box. Static text fields are used
for labels and un-editable text, and frames can be used to organise other controls.
Scrollbars are ubiquitous in the GUI world. They enable the user to scroll through a document or
list, and the size of the scrollbars thumb (the draggable box that indicates its current position) is
often a good indicator for the size of the territory that can be scrolled.
In paned windows, splitters divide the window into multiple, related panes, and are generally set
to be moveable.