A program that a human can easily and intuitively use is considered to have a strong human-computer interaction, and will ultimately attract more users. This is usually described as being user-friendly but to do this is not as easy as it may sound. Understanding the intended audience during the software development life cycle (SDLC) can help business analysts determine desired functionality, developers create a robust program, and testers establish valuable testing scenarios.
So how do you go about creating and maintaining a strong human-computer interaction? One way is by creating a pleasant user experience, which can be challenging. Popular sites such as Google.com, usually contain good examples that consciously or even unconsciously draw you to their website. Google’s main page utilizes many human-computer interaction guidelines, such as:
- White space that delivers a minimalistic, but simplistic layout, while organizing all of its key elements.
- An empty box in the center of the page that clearly displays its purpose and easily allows the user to search.
- A strong input-output response that assures the user that it is working as intended.
- Google Doodle which displays the Google logo in various designs to celebrate holidays or significant days. This not only draws visitors to the site to see if there is a doodle for the day but also engages them to learn about a topic that they may not have known about or even considered.
With all of these design elements, it’s clear that this website knows how they want to appeal to their audience and has designed it to continually and successfully attract more users.
The idea of improving the human-computer interaction factor of programs has been a growing standard for years. Along with the various courses and media available, there are also several conventions hosted around the world dedicated to discussing and sharing different breakthroughs in the field. Conventions such as the HCI International have plenty of presentations led by top researchers in the field discussing their findings. Even the International Organization of Standards have established ISO 9241, which explains internationally accepted standards when it comes to the ergonomics of human-computer interaction. Is this something you have been doing without realizing? Or is this something you never actually thought about? If anything, perhaps this is something to consider.
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