About HCI

Human computer interaction (HCI) is the study of interaction between people (users) and computers.Interaction between users and computers occurs at the user interface (or simply interface), which includes both software and hardware; An important facet of HCI is the securing of user satisfaction. Because human-computer interaction studies a human and a machine in conjunction, it draws from supporting knowledge on both the machine and the human side. On the machine side, techniques in computer graphics, operating systems, programming languages, and development environments are relevant. On the human side, communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, cognitive psychology, and human factors are relevant. Engineering and design methods are also relevant. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HCI, people with different backgrounds contribute to its success. HCI is also sometimes referred to as man machine interaction (MMI) or computer human interaction.

This community is dedicated to research and education in topics related to computer technology in support of human activity and society.

Goals

A basic goal of HCI is to improve the interactions between users and computers by making computers more usable and receptive to the user's needs. Specifically, HCI is concerned with:

* methodologies and processes for designing interfaces (i.e., given a task and a class of users, design the best possible interface within given constraints, optimizing for a desired property such as learning ability or efficiency of use)
* methods for implementing interfaces (e.g. software toolkits and libraries; efficient algorithms)
* techniques for evaluating and comparing interfaces
* developing new interfaces and interaction techniques
* developing descriptive and predictive models and theories of interaction