The Data Protection Act explained:
http://www.dataprotectionact.org/
Saturday 30 April 2011
Thursday 28 April 2011
knowledge.omgforum.net
Dear friends, since I usually like to improve each time I do something, I decided why not used a platform which is more accessible and with more freedom and tools. As a result, a forum came into my head and there we go. Most of the information will posted there, including past papers. Do yourself a favour and register there and start posting.
1. Register
2. Confirm in your mail
3. Log in
See you there.
1. Register
2. Confirm in your mail
3. Log in
See you there.
Saturday 23 April 2011
HCI definitions part 2
Toggle - Switch from one effect, feature, or state to another by using a toggle.
Any instruction that works first one way and then the other;it turns something on the first time it is used and then turns it off the next time
Colour adds an extra dimension to an interface and can
help the user understand complex information structures.
Colours can be used to highlight exceptional events.
If properly used it can:
- emphasize the logical arrangement of information,
- facilitate the discrimination of screen components,
- accentuate differences among elements and make displays
more interesting.
Colour Location
- In the centre of the visual field, use red and green.
- For peripheral viewing, use blue, yellow, black, and white.
- Use adjacent colours that differ by hue and value or lightness.
The 3 principal activities of software usability engineering
are:
- On-site observations of and interviews with system users,
- Usability specification development, and
- Evolutionary delivery of the system.
How can you improve usability?
- Shortening the time to accomplish tasks,
- Reducing the number of mistakes made,
- Reducing learning time, and
- Improving people's satisfaction with a system.
Predictability - determining effect of future actions based on past interaction history.
Familiarity - how prior knowledge applies to new system.
Consistency - Likeness in input/output behaviour arising from similar situations or task objectives.
Generalizability - extending specific interaction knowledge to new situations.
Synthesizability - ability of the user to assess the effect of past operations on the current state. The user should see the changes of an operation.
Architectural design - High-level description of how the system will provide the services required.
Validation - designing the right product
Verification - designing the product right
Techniques for Prototyping
1. Storyboards
- Need not be computer based
- Can be animated
2. Limited functionality simulations
- Some part of system functionality provided by designers
- Tools like HyperCard are common for these
- Wizard of Oz techniques
Evaluation Techniques:
- Tests usability and functionality of system
- Occurs in laboratory, field and/or in collaboration with users
- Evaluates both design and implementation
- Should be considered at all stages in the design life cycle
Fixations: eye maintains stable position. Number and duration indicate level of difficulty with display.
Saccades: rapid eye movement from one point of interest to another
Scan paths: moving straight to a target with a short fixation at the target is optimal
Mistakes are errors in choosing an objective or specifying a method of achieving it whereas slips are errors in carrying out an intented method for reaching an objective. The division occurs at the level of the intention. A person established an intention to act. If the intention is not appropriate, this is a mistake. If the action is not what was intended, this is a slip.
Gulf of execution is a term usually used in human computer interaction to describe the gap between a user's goal for action and the means to execute that goal.
This can be illustrated through the discussion of a VCR problem. Let us imagine that a user would like to record a television show. They see the solution to this problem as simply pressing the Record button. However, in reality, to record a show on a VCR, several actions must be taken:
Press the record button.
Specify time of recording, usually involving several steps to change the hour and minute settings.
Select channel to record on - either by entering the channel's number or selecting it with up/down buttons.
Save the recording settings, perhaps by pressing an "OK" or "menu" or "enter" button.
The difference between the user's perceived execution actions and the required actions is the gulf of execution.
Chunking is a term referring to the process of taking individual units of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. Probably the most common example of chunking is phone numbers. For example, a phone number sequence of 4-7-1-1-3-2-4 would be chunked into 471-1324. Chunking is often a useful tool when memorizing large amounts of information. By separating disparate individual elements into larger blocks, information becomes easier to retain and recall.
I will upload all in a document whenever time permits.
Any instruction that works first one way and then the other;it turns something on the first time it is used and then turns it off the next time
Colour adds an extra dimension to an interface and can
help the user understand complex information structures.
Colours can be used to highlight exceptional events.
If properly used it can:
- emphasize the logical arrangement of information,
- facilitate the discrimination of screen components,
- accentuate differences among elements and make displays
more interesting.
Colour Location
- In the centre of the visual field, use red and green.
- For peripheral viewing, use blue, yellow, black, and white.
- Use adjacent colours that differ by hue and value or lightness.
The 3 principal activities of software usability engineering
are:
- On-site observations of and interviews with system users,
- Usability specification development, and
- Evolutionary delivery of the system.
How can you improve usability?
- Shortening the time to accomplish tasks,
- Reducing the number of mistakes made,
- Reducing learning time, and
- Improving people's satisfaction with a system.
Predictability - determining effect of future actions based on past interaction history.
Familiarity - how prior knowledge applies to new system.
Consistency - Likeness in input/output behaviour arising from similar situations or task objectives.
Generalizability - extending specific interaction knowledge to new situations.
Synthesizability - ability of the user to assess the effect of past operations on the current state. The user should see the changes of an operation.
Architectural design - High-level description of how the system will provide the services required.
Validation - designing the right product
Verification - designing the product right
Techniques for Prototyping
1. Storyboards
- Need not be computer based
- Can be animated
2. Limited functionality simulations
- Some part of system functionality provided by designers
- Tools like HyperCard are common for these
- Wizard of Oz techniques
Evaluation Techniques:
- Tests usability and functionality of system
- Occurs in laboratory, field and/or in collaboration with users
- Evaluates both design and implementation
- Should be considered at all stages in the design life cycle
Fixations: eye maintains stable position. Number and duration indicate level of difficulty with display.
Saccades: rapid eye movement from one point of interest to another
Scan paths: moving straight to a target with a short fixation at the target is optimal
Mistakes are errors in choosing an objective or specifying a method of achieving it whereas slips are errors in carrying out an intented method for reaching an objective. The division occurs at the level of the intention. A person established an intention to act. If the intention is not appropriate, this is a mistake. If the action is not what was intended, this is a slip.
Gulf of execution is a term usually used in human computer interaction to describe the gap between a user's goal for action and the means to execute that goal.
This can be illustrated through the discussion of a VCR problem. Let us imagine that a user would like to record a television show. They see the solution to this problem as simply pressing the Record button. However, in reality, to record a show on a VCR, several actions must be taken:
Press the record button.
Specify time of recording, usually involving several steps to change the hour and minute settings.
Select channel to record on - either by entering the channel's number or selecting it with up/down buttons.
Save the recording settings, perhaps by pressing an "OK" or "menu" or "enter" button.
The difference between the user's perceived execution actions and the required actions is the gulf of execution.
Chunking is a term referring to the process of taking individual units of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. Probably the most common example of chunking is phone numbers. For example, a phone number sequence of 4-7-1-1-3-2-4 would be chunked into 471-1324. Chunking is often a useful tool when memorizing large amounts of information. By separating disparate individual elements into larger blocks, information becomes easier to retain and recall.
I will upload all in a document whenever time permits.
Friday 22 April 2011
HCI definitions
visual acuity - Sharpness of vision, measured by the ability to discern letters or numbers at a given distance according to a fixed standard.
flicker -Noun: An unsteady movement of a flame or light that causes rapid variations in brightness.
Verb: (of light or a source of light) Shine unsteadily; vary rapidly in brightness: "the interior lights flickered and came on"
hue - The attribute of a color by virtue of which it is discernible as red, green, etc., and which is dependent on its dominant wavelength, and independent of intensity or lightness.
colour sat·u·ra·tion
Is how vivid colours are and how much the pure colour is diluted with white or grey.
Iconic memory - Iconic memory is a type of short term visual memory (a sensory memory), named by George Sperling in 1960.
Brief on the composition of Human Memory
http://www.it.bton.ac.uk/staff/rng/teaching/notes/Memory.html
Haptic - The science that deals with the sense of touch.
Echoic memory - A type of sensory memory that briefly holds audio information for about 4 seconds
Genetic memory - In psychology, genetic memory is a memory present at birth that exists in the absence of sensory experience, and is incorporated into the genome over long spans of time.
Semantic memory - A subcategory of declarative memory, semantic memory stores general information such as names and facts; A system of the brain where logical concepts relating to the outside world are stored; the memory system which stores information relating to brands, thus where brand positioning is established
Concept - 1. An abstract idea; a general notion.
2. A plan or intention; a conception.
Memory scripts - Represent stereotypical knowledge about situations - for example, sequence.
Memory frames - Extend semantic nets to include structured, hierarchical information.
Make explicit the relative importance of each piece of information
Production Rules - “If condition then action” rules.
Encode procedural knowledge.
E.g.,
If glass is empty then fill glass.
If glass contains beer then drink it.
Visual Memory - Visual memory is a part of memory preserving some characteristics of our senses pertaining to visual experience. We are able to place in memory information that resembles objects, places, animals or people in sort of a mental image.
Abductive reasoning - Determining plausibility based on a set of evidence.
For example, the lawn is wet. But if it rained last night, then it would be unsurprising that the lawn is wet. Therefore, by abductive reasoning, it rained last night.
Inductive reasoning - The process of making inferences based upon observed patterns, or simple repetition. Often used in reference to predictions about what will happen or does happen, based upon what has happened.
Example: All the tigers observed in a particular region have yellow black stripes, therefore all the tigers native to this region have yellow stripes.
Deductive reasoning - The process of reasoning that starts from statements accepted as true and applied to a new situation to reach a conclusion (eg, if 5+4 = 9, and 6+3 = 9, then 5+4 = 6+3).
Another example:
Everyone who eats steak is a quarterback.
John eats steak.
Therefore, John is a quarterback.
In brief:
Deductive reasoning involves deciding what must be true given the rules of logic and some starting set of facts(premises). Inductive reasoning involves deciding what is likely to be true given some starting set of beliefs or observations.
Conducive - Making a certain situation or outcome likely or possible.
Gestalt - Gestalt theory claims that problem solving is productive and reproductive. Reproductive problem solving draws on previous experiences whereas productive problem solving involves insight and restructuring of the problem. Reproductive problem solving could be a hindrance to finding a solution, since a person may fixate on the known aspects of a problem and so be unable to see novel interpretations that might lead to a solution.
A well known example of this is Maier's `pendulum problem'.
The cocktail party effect describes the ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises, ignoring other conversations.
Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware, in which the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years.
The problem space theory was proposed by Newell and Simon. The theory says that problem solving centers around the problem space. This space comprises of problem states which can be generated using legal transition operators.
For example, imagine you are reorganizing your office and you want to move the desk from one end to another. The two different states are represented by the locations of the desk. A number of operators can be applied to move these things: they can be carried, pushed, dragged etc. In order to ease the transition between the states, you have a new sub-goal: to make the desk light. These may involve operators such as removing drawers and so on.
more on: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/human-cap/process.html
static - Lacking in movement, action, or change, esp. in a way viewed as undesirable or uninteresting
A command-line interface (CLI) is a mechanism for interacting with a computer operating system or software by typing commands to perform specific tasks.
Menus - a list of options available to a computer user
In computer science, a cache ( ) is a component that improves performance by transparently storing data such that future requests for that data can be served faster.
Spreadsheet - a screen-oriented interactive program enabling a user to lay out financial data on the screen
In human–computer interaction, WIMP stands for "window, icon, menu, pointing device", denoting a style of interaction using these elements. It was coined by Merzouga Wilberts in 1980. Although its usage has fallen out of favor, it is often used as an approximate synonym of "GUI".
Toolkit - An assembly of tools; set of basic building units for graphical user interfaces
Context Menu - A context menu (also called contextual, shortcut, and popup or pop-up menu) is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation. A context menu offers a limited set of choices that are available in the current state, or context, of the operating system or application. Usually the available choices are actions related to the selected object.
Driver - a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device
flicker -Noun: An unsteady movement of a flame or light that causes rapid variations in brightness.
Verb: (of light or a source of light) Shine unsteadily; vary rapidly in brightness: "the interior lights flickered and came on"
hue - The attribute of a color by virtue of which it is discernible as red, green, etc., and which is dependent on its dominant wavelength, and independent of intensity or lightness.
colour sat·u·ra·tion
Is how vivid colours are and how much the pure colour is diluted with white or grey.
Iconic memory - Iconic memory is a type of short term visual memory (a sensory memory), named by George Sperling in 1960.
Brief on the composition of Human Memory
http://www.it.bton.ac.uk/staff/rng/teaching/notes/Memory.html
Haptic - The science that deals with the sense of touch.
Echoic memory - A type of sensory memory that briefly holds audio information for about 4 seconds
Genetic memory - In psychology, genetic memory is a memory present at birth that exists in the absence of sensory experience, and is incorporated into the genome over long spans of time.
Semantic memory - A subcategory of declarative memory, semantic memory stores general information such as names and facts; A system of the brain where logical concepts relating to the outside world are stored; the memory system which stores information relating to brands, thus where brand positioning is established
Concept - 1. An abstract idea; a general notion.
2. A plan or intention; a conception.
Memory scripts - Represent stereotypical knowledge about situations - for example, sequence.
Memory frames - Extend semantic nets to include structured, hierarchical information.
Make explicit the relative importance of each piece of information
Production Rules - “If condition then action” rules.
Encode procedural knowledge.
E.g.,
If glass is empty then fill glass.
If glass contains beer then drink it.
Visual Memory - Visual memory is a part of memory preserving some characteristics of our senses pertaining to visual experience. We are able to place in memory information that resembles objects, places, animals or people in sort of a mental image.
Abductive reasoning - Determining plausibility based on a set of evidence.
For example, the lawn is wet. But if it rained last night, then it would be unsurprising that the lawn is wet. Therefore, by abductive reasoning, it rained last night.
Inductive reasoning - The process of making inferences based upon observed patterns, or simple repetition. Often used in reference to predictions about what will happen or does happen, based upon what has happened.
Example: All the tigers observed in a particular region have yellow black stripes, therefore all the tigers native to this region have yellow stripes.
Deductive reasoning - The process of reasoning that starts from statements accepted as true and applied to a new situation to reach a conclusion (eg, if 5+4 = 9, and 6+3 = 9, then 5+4 = 6+3).
Another example:
Everyone who eats steak is a quarterback.
John eats steak.
Therefore, John is a quarterback.
In brief:
Deductive reasoning involves deciding what must be true given the rules of logic and some starting set of facts(premises). Inductive reasoning involves deciding what is likely to be true given some starting set of beliefs or observations.
Conducive - Making a certain situation or outcome likely or possible.
Gestalt - Gestalt theory claims that problem solving is productive and reproductive. Reproductive problem solving draws on previous experiences whereas productive problem solving involves insight and restructuring of the problem. Reproductive problem solving could be a hindrance to finding a solution, since a person may fixate on the known aspects of a problem and so be unable to see novel interpretations that might lead to a solution.
A well known example of this is Maier's `pendulum problem'.
The cocktail party effect describes the ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises, ignoring other conversations.
Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware, in which the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years.
The problem space theory was proposed by Newell and Simon. The theory says that problem solving centers around the problem space. This space comprises of problem states which can be generated using legal transition operators.
For example, imagine you are reorganizing your office and you want to move the desk from one end to another. The two different states are represented by the locations of the desk. A number of operators can be applied to move these things: they can be carried, pushed, dragged etc. In order to ease the transition between the states, you have a new sub-goal: to make the desk light. These may involve operators such as removing drawers and so on.
more on: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/human-cap/process.html
static - Lacking in movement, action, or change, esp. in a way viewed as undesirable or uninteresting
A command-line interface (CLI) is a mechanism for interacting with a computer operating system or software by typing commands to perform specific tasks.
Menus - a list of options available to a computer user
In computer science, a cache ( ) is a component that improves performance by transparently storing data such that future requests for that data can be served faster.
Spreadsheet - a screen-oriented interactive program enabling a user to lay out financial data on the screen
In human–computer interaction, WIMP stands for "window, icon, menu, pointing device", denoting a style of interaction using these elements. It was coined by Merzouga Wilberts in 1980. Although its usage has fallen out of favor, it is often used as an approximate synonym of "GUI".
Toolkit - An assembly of tools; set of basic building units for graphical user interfaces
Context Menu - A context menu (also called contextual, shortcut, and popup or pop-up menu) is a menu in a graphical user interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation. A context menu offers a limited set of choices that are available in the current state, or context, of the operating system or application. Usually the available choices are actions related to the selected object.
Driver - a program that determines how a computer will communicate with a peripheral device
.......more to come.....
Awesome Programming Tips
- Think first. Think some more. Think about the whole problem. Think about a little part of the problem you're going to start with. Think about the whole thing again, in relation to your idea on the starting point.
Don't write code until you know what you're doing. Now, you may not be able to "know what you are doing" just from thinking, in which case you should start a TEST project and write a bunch of ugly code to make sure your ideas are correct.
Write the comments first – Start your programs and procedures/functions by writing a few
sentences explaining what they are supposed to do. If you CANNOT write these comments,
you probably do NOT understand what the program does. It is much easier to debug
comments, than programs, and the additional typing is worth the effort.
additional read:
http://blog.wilshipley.com/2005/02/free-programming-tips-are-worth-every.html
and Coding tips java....
Make every of your opinion and knowledge count...:D...add more....
Don't write code until you know what you're doing. Now, you may not be able to "know what you are doing" just from thinking, in which case you should start a TEST project and write a bunch of ugly code to make sure your ideas are correct.
Write the comments first – Start your programs and procedures/functions by writing a few
sentences explaining what they are supposed to do. If you CANNOT write these comments,
you probably do NOT understand what the program does. It is much easier to debug
comments, than programs, and the additional typing is worth the effort.
additional read:
http://blog.wilshipley.com/2005/02/free-programming-tips-are-worth-every.html
and Coding tips java....
Make every of your opinion and knowledge count...:D...add more....
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