Human-Computer Interaction
01
Master Program in Computer Engineering
a.a. 2011-2012
Prof.ssa Franca Garzotto
Ing. Matteo Valoriani
Lesson 1: INTRODUCTION
01
LESSON 1: OUTLINE

What is HCI, and what is not

Exercise

Contents

Organization

Exam and Evaluation

The online platform (Metid-Beep)

Q&A

Videos
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Quick Premise
HCI: a master progran course in the track
“Interactive Applications”
 See
 http://ccs-informatica.ws.dei.polimi.it/
>Laurea Magistrale >Percorsi di
Specializzazione”
for an overview of the track
 Sinergies with other courses in the same
track
 iTV (prof. Cremonesi)
 Problem analysis atelier (prof. Paolini)

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What is HCI?
HCI is concerned with the design,
evaluation and implementation of
interactive computing systems for human
use and with the study of major phenomena
surrounding them”
(ACM SIGCHI, 1992)
ACM = Association for Computing Machinery
SIGCHI= Special Interest Group for Human Computer
Interaction
HCI – a switch of perspective
TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVE
OF A COMPUTER ENGINEER:
TECHNOLOGY AS A MEANS
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Why Facebook is such a huge success?
Your opinion?
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Why Facebook is such a huge success?
Your opinion?
Students ideas from class discussion

It reflects a need: socialization on a world wide scale

It reflects a need: a set of usefull functionality in the same
integrated environment

it is easy to use

right tool at the right time strong implementation

...
“Corriere della Sera”
– 13 sett 2010
01
Dal “Corriere
01 della Sera”
“Corriere della Sera” – 13 sett 2010
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Some opinions on HCI
1.
HCI is a «light, soft» matter
2.
HCI is just about users
3.
HCI is just about building nice interfaces to
interactive products and services
4.
HCI does not offer strong business
opportunities
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ALL WRONG!!!
01
HCI is NOT a light, soft matter

HCI is a rigorous discipline
 Strong theories
 sw engineering flavor
 cognitive-psychological flavor

Strong methods of analysis, design, testing &
evaluation
 apparently obvious to learn, quite difficult
to apply
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HCI is NOT just about users

HCI is about UX (User eXperience), i.e., about technology
AND users AND contexts of use
User studies are an important branch of HCI
 Understanding the needs for all stakeholders
 Analysing their behaviour with technology
 Understanding how design solution affect users’
perceptions, attitude, and judgements
BUT

HCI is also
 Creating the right design
 Building the right technology
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HCI is NOT just about users

HCI searches for the best successful technology for
the «user in context»

Key attributes for an interactive technology to be
successful

Usefull - accomplish what is required

Usable – robust + do it easily and naturally

Used – make people want to use it, be
attractive, engaging, fun
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HCI is NOT just about building nice interfaces

Interface is the surface of a product – it must be nice,
attractive, fun
BUT
HCI is also
 Integrating a nice interface with the sw architecture
behind
 Addressing many technological challenges
 Constant search for NEW INNOVATIVE technical
solutions
 As new user needs emerge, existing technology
must be adapted and new technology must be
developed
HCI does offer business
opportunities
01

See Facebook and Mark Elliot Zuckerberg’s story

But even if your are not Zuckerberg, here is a success
story closer to us...

Emanuele Vulcano («software artisan – engineer»)
 A Politecnico alumnus (and my former thesis
student)
 Among other things, developer of Mover
(>2.700.000 downloads from Apple Store)
http://infinite-labs.net/mover/
 Now on the move to Coupertino (S. FranciscoCA) as «front end engineer» at APPLE
(permanent position)
«.... e’ grazie al lavoro di tesi che abbiamo realizzato (più
che altro per le implicazioni in ambito di usabilità/user
experience) che hanno deciso di assumermi...»
In summary...
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
HCI promotes analysis, design and development
approaches that enabled professionals to better

understand user needs and contexts of use (now
and in perspective)

create and evaluate ICT artefacts from a utility
and easeness of use perspective
in order to build successful products

HCI provides conceptual methods and technological
tools to achieve these goals in systematic,
resource-effective way
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Exercise on the fly
Q1) Technology as a means vs. Technology as a
means to an end: Conflicting perspectives?
YES/NO
(Motivate your answer)
Q2) Write 1-3 examples of digital services where
you think HCI issues can play or has played an
important role
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Exercise on the fly: Results from class discussion
Q1) Technology as a means vs. Technology as a means to an
end: Conflicting perspectives?
Answer 100% YES
Why?
HCI: complementary to technology, the extension of
technology towards users
Q2) Examples of digital services where you think HCI issues
can play or has played an important role
Touch devices (iPhone, iPad...)
E-commerce systems
Mail systems
......
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Contents of this course







Interaction Design Process in the Software Process
HCI models and theories
Requirements
Usability and Quality of the User Experience
 Empirical and inspection methods
Scenarios
Prototyping (methods and tools)
Outside the box: non conventional Interaction Paradigms
 mobile interaction
 tangible interaction
 gesture-based interaction
Concepts +
 multitouch (large) tabletop interaction
Technology
 Ambient Interaction and Internet of the
Things Apps
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Organization

PART I: Learning the HCI contents (theories,
concepts, methods, and technologies)
 Oct-Nov

PART II: Applying them (Project Work)
 Dec- Jan
Organization-Part
I (Oct-Nov)
01

A set of lectures by course teachers about theories,
concepts, methods, and technologies
 Ex-cathedra presentations
 Demos
 Exercises on-the-fly

A set of lectures by invited speakers about
 Technology
 HCI Methods
 Industrial Perspective

Weekly Discussion
 directed by specific questions
 open class discussion format, involving the Virtual
or Real Classrom space
Confirmed Invited Speakers
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
Technology
 A Team from Microsoft Italy (3 lectures)
 Subject: Windows Phone 7 Development

HCI Methods
 Prof. Davide Bolchini, School of Informatics,
Indiana Univ. - Purdue Univ. Indianapolis
(US) – via skype
 Subject: mobile prototyping
Confirmed Invited Speakers
01

Industrial Perspectives on HCI
 Eng. Dr. Vito Perrone, R&S Manager
Expedia-Venere
 Subject: e-tourism services –
technology, UX, and business
perspectives
 Eng. Dr. Stefano Mainetti, CEO – Web
Science
 Subject: Understanding Users and
Customers in large ICT projects
More speakers have been contacted –t.b.c.
partecipation
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Invited Speakers’ Dates

Prof. Bolchini lecture (skype):
 October 27 (Thu)

WP7 Microsoft lessons (OPEN to all Polimi students):
 Nov 3 (Thu)
 Nov 4 (Fri p.m. – room to be defined)
 Nov 8 (Tue)

Eng. Dr. Perrone
 Nov 17 (Thu)

Eng. Dr. Mainetti
 Dec-Jan (date t.b.d.)
Organization-Part I (cont.)
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Outside course hours, you - student - will have to do the
following:

Read & Study weekly assigned material (slides, book
chapters, scientific papers)

Prepare one issue of discussion derived from the
reading, and post it online by a given deadline (a problem,
a question, a weakness, a challnge...)

Perform assigned exercises, and post solutions online by a
given deadline
Organization-Part I (cont.)
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During course hours, you - student - will have to do
the following:

on scheduled times:
 Shortly present readings (what they are about,
critical issues, weaknesses...)
 Discuss your question

at each lesson:
 listen, think, raise questions, partecipate to the
discussion
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Organization-part
II (Dec-Jan)
Project Work

2 projects
 Mid-Term
 Final
project
Project
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Organization-part
II
Mid-Term project





Designing, building, and publishing a WP7 MOBILE
APP on MS WF7 Store
Development Tools and Technical Support by MS
Free theme
Estimated Workload : 1 p/week
INDIVIDUAL WORK
Organization-part
II
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Mid-Term project (cont.)
Your mobile app
 MUST will be screened by MS and become available for
(free) download
 Will participate to the WP7 COURSE COMPETITION
sponsored by MS
 Winner(s) will get a Nokia WP7 Phone
 In an extended form, it will hopefully partecipate to
Microsoft Imagine Cup “the world’s premier student
technology competition” (see also next slides)
 http://http://www.imaginecup.com
 Technical support by MS and teacher’s mentoring
available
 MS COURSE AND WP7 APP INITATIVES OPEN TO ALL
POLIMI STUDENTS (invite friends!)
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Organization-part
II (Dec-Jan)
Final Project




Theme: one of the following
 Gamification (Expedia Case study)
 Tangible Interaction
 Ambient Interaction
 Tabletop Interaction
 Mobile Interaction (WP7)
 E-Branding
 ...
Specs: proposed by Teachers
Individual or Team work
MANDATORY weekly tutoring by teachers (project by
project, once a week)
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Organization-part
II (Dec-Jan)
Final Project output




a RUNNING «proof of concept»
related documentation
a video presentation
To be delivered by the end of the course or on
appello dates
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Organization-part
II (Dec-Jan)
Final Project
Possibility of joint projects with
 the iTV course
 Subject: Recommender Systems (E-tourism
Domain)
 2 formats:
 Small project: counts for 5 points in iTV course
 Big project: replaces the iTV course full exam
 The Problem Analysis Atelier Course
 Is strongly invited to participate to Imagine Cup
 Last year: a number of Polimi students as Imagine
Cup national finalists
 Technical support by MS and teachers’ mentoring
available

COURSE EVALUATION:
ATTENDING
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STUDENTS
For attending students, evaluation will be
based on
1. Active partecipation during lectures and
online (max 2 point)
2. Exercises and Question Discussion (max 4
points)
3. One specific exercise on Usability Evaluation
(max 4 points)
4. Mid-term Project (max 5 points)
5. Final Project (max 20 points)
COURSE EVALUATION:
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NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
NON attending students can partecipate to course
activities ONLINE during the course period
Evaluation will be based on:
1. Active online partecipation (max 2 point)
2. Exercises (max 3 points)
3. One specific exercise on Usability Evaluation (max 4
points)
4. Mid-term Project (max 5 points)
5. Final Project (max 20 points)
If not delivered during the course, all exercises will be
done at official appello dates, when also final and midterm projects must be delivered
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Evaluation
Criteria

Attitude/Investment in the course

Attendance to and Preparation of in-class and online
Activities

Discussion activities: subject knoledge +
argumentation/communication skill

Exercises: Correctness and Completeness

Projects
 Technical Quality
 UX Quality
 Originality
 Quality of Documentation and Presentation
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Reference HCI Books
A. Dix et al., “Human-Computer Interaction”, 3rd edition,
Perason-Prentice Hall, 2004
(some contents are also online: http://www.hcibook.com)
Jennifer Preece et al., “Interaction Design”, 2nd ed. Wiley,
2007
(most contents are also online http://www.id-book.com/)
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Further Readings
R. Polillo “Facile da usare” Apolgeo 2010
Full version online:
http://www.rpolillo.it/index.php/libri/facile-da-usare/
M. Kuniavsly, “Observing the user experience”, MorganKaufmann 2003
B. Buxton "Sketching User Exeriences:Getting the Right
Design and the Design Right", Morgan Kaufmann, 2007
D. Stone, C. Jarret, M. Woodroffe, S. Minocha, "User
Interface Design and Evaluation", The Morgan Kaufmann
Series in Interactive Technologies, 2005
01 platform
The online
Beep
http://beep.metid.polimi.it/
01
BEEP

An POLIMI official, but under
sperimentation, e-learning environment

Enrolled students might not have the access
yet untill course plan submission deadline is
over

In the meantime, comunication and course
material delivery (sides, papers, schduling)
managed using your and ours polimi e-mail:
\
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Q&A
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Some videos…
From history to present…
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(a tribute to
Steve Jobs)
Apple Lisa (1983): the ancestor of Apple Mac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DQDZG5jNZk&feature=channe
l
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4BlmsN4q2I
(6’.39”)
Few weeks later…Steve Jobs demos Apple Macintosh (Jan.
1984)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0FtgZNOD44&feature=related
Many years later, Steve Jobs demos iPad (Jan 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_zI21XEo0Q
But today - October 7th, 2011 - the sad new:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/05/scitech/main2011633
8.shtml
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Perspectives on Interaction
Design…
Tim Brown, Ideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAinLaT42xY
About Tim Brown: http://www.ideo.com/thinking/voice/tim-brown
and Ideo http://www.ideo.com/; http://www.ideo.com/work/clients
Bill Buxton – Chief Designer at Microsoft
http://videos.visitmix.com/MIX09/KEY01
(about design)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WET3jAecH68
(Gustav Project)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx1WveKV7aE
(Sketching and Experience Design - lecture at Stanford University)
Don Norman: The Design of Future Things (lecture at Stanford
University)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQmwEjL6K1U&feature=channel