Usability — Types of Interaction

FIT3175 — Monash University — Week 7

Mindmap for This Week

https://www.lucidchart.com/documents/embeddedchart/73d7eac2-617d-4b27-b9ec-28fe83df0674

What is the difference between a perceptual vs. conceptual interaction?

• Perception = physical/visual/see/touch/hear
• Conceptual = mental model of the system; users should know where they are in the whole system

Schneiderman’s 4 types of interaction?

• ICME
• Instructing (like a terminal)
• Conversing (like siri)
• Manipulating (like photoshop)
• Exploring (like street view/earth)

What are the ways that we interact with a system?

There are many different ways to communicate between yourself and a system.

Command language

Use of a terminal or keyboard shortcuts to command instructions to a computer.

The Good:

• Can be quicker (no GUI way to rename multiple files)
• Uses way less resources

The Bad:

• Not friendly for beginners

Natural language

User can Say/type in normal sentences

Some Disadvantages:

• Can be very vague
• speech undestanding issues
• slow for experts

Menu selection

Menu selection is great because it relies on recognition over recall. Some experts, argue that it takes too long, but they can use hotkeys if needed to get to options quickly

Types of menus?

• Single Menus (one screen)
• Linear Sequence (wizard)
• Tree Structures

An Example of a Tree Structure

Different ways to implement menu structures?

• Pull down menu (from menu bar)
• Pop up menu (select item from list)
• Radial menu (right clicking in games)
• Command menu (when users type in a selection)
• Icon menu (ios home screen)
• Heirarchical menu (XP start menu)
• Mega menu (lots of options in groups)

If a menu has too many options, what can we do?

• Scroll/search/pin frequent to top
• Fisheye (like mac dock)

Form fill in

Filling in a from is another way to interact with the system. It involves creating a meaningful form with groupings, error prevention and fields with good descriptions. We should also identify optional and required fields.

Advantages?

• Mimics paper form conceptual model
• Error handling easy

Disadvantages?

• user can get tired of huge form

Direct manipulation

An example of direct manipulation is the freehand tools in Photoshop used to interact with reality. They are easy to interact with and remember, no recall necessary, and fast actions possible.

Good ones will make sure to:

• Use metaphors/visual representations
• Indicate state of objects
• Provide immediate feedback

Some Disadvantages are:

• Could still be slower than typing
• High cpu usage
• Difficult to program

Other Up and Coming Ways to Manipulate an Interface

• VR and AR
• Haptic (vibration)
• Gesture based (touchscreen)
• Brain Control Interface (reads signals from brain