Human-centered computing

Last updated December 11, 2023

Human-centered computing (HCC) studies the design, development, and deployment of mixed-initiative human-computer systems. It is emerged from the convergence of multiple disciplines that are concerned both with understanding human beings and with the design of computational artifacts.^[1] Human-centered computing is closely related to human-computer interaction and information science. Human-centered computing is usually concerned with systems and practices of technology use while human-computer interaction is more focused on ergonomics and the usability of computing artifacts and information science is focused on practices surrounding the collection, manipulation, and use of information.

Human-centered computing researchers and practitioners usually come from one or more disciplines such as computer science, human factors, sociology, psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, communication studies, graphic design , and industrial design. Some researchers focus on understanding humans, both as individuals and in social groups, by focusing on the ways that human beings adopt and organize their lives around computational technologies. Others focus on designing and developing new computational artifacts.

Overview

Scope

HCC aims at bridging the existing gaps between the various disciplines involved with the design and implementation of computing systems that support human's activities.^[1] Meanwhile, it is a set of methodologies that apply to any field that uses computers in applications in which people directly interact with devices or systems that use computer technologies.

HCC facilitates the design of effective computer systems that take into account personal, social, and cultural aspects and addresses issues such as information design, human information interaction, human-computer interaction, human-human interaction, and the relationships between computing technology and art, social, and cultural issues.^[1]

HCC topics

The National Science Foundation (NSF) defines three-dimensional research as "a three dimensional space comprising human, computer, and environment."^[2] According to the NSF, the human dimension ranges from research that supports individual needs, through teams as goal-oriented groups, to society as an unstructured collection of connected people. The computer dimension ranges from fixed computing devices, through mobile devices, to computational systems of visual/audio devices that are embedded in the surrounding physical environment. The environment dimension ranges from discrete physical computational devices, through mixed reality systems, to immersive virtual environments.^[2] Some examples of topics in the field are listed below.

List of topics in the HCC field

Problem-solving in distributed environments, ranging across Internet-based information systems, grids, sensor-based information networks, and mobile and wearable information appliances.
Multimedia and multi-modal interfaces in which combinations of speech, text, graphics, gesture, movement, touch, sound, etc. are used by people and machines to communicate with one another.
Intelligent interfaces and user modeling, information visualization, and adaptation of content to accommodate different display capabilities, modalities, bandwidth, and latency.
Multi-agent systems that control and coordinate actions and solve complex problems in distributed environments in a wide variety of domains, such as disaster response teams, e-commerce, education, and successful aging.
Models for effective computer-mediated human-human interaction under a variety of constraints, (e.g., video conferencing, collaboration across high vs. low bandwidth networks, etc.).
Definition of semantic structures for multimedia information to support cross-modal input and output.
Specific solutions to address the special needs of particular communities.
Collaborative systems that enable knowledge-intensive and dynamic interactions for innovation and knowledge generation across organizational boundaries, national borders, and professional fields.
Novel methods to support and enhance social interaction, including innovative ideas like social orthotics, affective computing, and experience capture.
Studies of how social organizations, such as government agencies or corporations, respond to and shape the introduction of new information technologies, especially with the goal of improving scientific understanding and technical design.
Knowledge-driven human-computer interaction that uses ontologies to address the semantic ambiguities between human and computer's understandings towards mutual behaviors^[3]
Human-centered semantic relatedness measure that employs human power to measure the semantic relatedness between two concepts^[4]

Human-centered systems

Human-centered systems (HCS) are systems designed for human-centered computing. This approach was developed by Mike Cooley in his book Architect or Bee? ^[5] drawing on his experience working with the Lucas Plan. HCS focuses on the design of interactive systems as they relate to human activities.^[6] According to Kling et al., the Committee on Computing, Information, and Communication of the National Science and Technology Council, identified human-centered systems, or HCS, as one of five components for a High Performance Computing Program.^[7] Human-centered systems can be referred to in terms of human-centered automation. According to Kling et al., HCS refers to "systems that are:

based on the analysis of the human tasks the system is aiding
monitored for performance in terms of human benefits
built to take account of human skills and
adaptable easily to changing human needs."^[7]

In addition, Kling et al. defines four dimensions of human-centeredness that should be taken into account when classifying a system: systems that are human centered must analyze the complexity of the targeted social organization, and the varied social units that structure work and information; human centeredness is not an attribute of systems, but a process in which the stakeholder group of a particular system assists in evaluating the benefit of the system; the basic architecture of the system should reflect a realistic relationship between humans and machines; the purpose and audience the system is designed for should be an explicit part of the design, evaluation, and use of the system.^[7]

Human-computer interaction

Within the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), the term "user-centered" is commonly used. The main focus of this approach is to thoroughly understand and address user needs to drive the design process. However, human-centered computing (HCC) goes beyond conventional areas like usability engineering, human-computer interaction, and human factors which primarily deal with user interfaces and interactions. Experts define HCC as a discipline that integrates disciplines such as learning sciences, social sciences, cognitive sciences, and intelligent systems more extensively compared to traditional HCI practices.

The concept of human-centered computing (HCC) is regarded as an essential aspect within the realm of computer-related research, extending beyond being just a subset discipline of computer science. The HCC perspective acknowledges that "computing" encompasses tangible technologies that enable diverse tasks while also serving as a significant social and economic influence.

In addition, Dertouzos elaborates on how HCC goes beyond the notion of interfaces that are easy for users to navigate by strategically incorporating five technologies: natural interaction, automation, personalized information retrieval, collaborative capabilities, and customization.

While the scope of HCC is extensive, three fundamental factors are proposed to constitute the core of HCC system and algorithm design processes:

Social and culturally aware considerations.
Direct augmentation and/or consideration of human abilities.
Adaptability is a key feature.

Adherence to these factors in system and algorithm design for HCC applications is anticipated to yield qualities such as:

Responsive actions aligned with the social and cultural context of deployment.
Integration of input from various sensors, with communication through diverse media as output.
Accessibility for a diverse range of individuals.

Human-centered activities in multimedia

The human-centered activities in multimedia, or HCM, can be considered as follows according to:^[8] media production, annotation, organization, archival, retrieval, sharing, analysis, and communication, which can be clustered into three areas: production, analysis, and interaction.

Multimedia production

Multimedia production is the human task of creating media.^[9] For instance, photographing, recording audio, remixing, etc. All aspects of media production concerned must directly involve humans in HCM. There are two main characteristics of multimedia production. The first is culture and social factors. HCM production systems should consider cultural differences and be designed according to the culture in which they will be deployed. The second is to consider human abilities. Participants involved in HCM production should be able to complete the activities during the production process. The field of Multimedia in Human-Centered Multimedia (HCM) is dedicated to the creation and development of various forms of media, including photography, audio recording, and remixing. What sets HCM apart is its emphasis on active human involvement throughout the production process. This means that cultural differences must be taken into account to tailor HCM systems according to specific cultural contexts. Furthermore, a key factor for achieving success in HCM production lies in recognizing and utilizing human capabilities effectively; this enables active participation and ensures efficient completion of all production activities.

Multimedia analysis

Multimedia analysis can be considered as a type of HCM applications which is the automatic analysis of human activities and social behavior in general. There is a broad area of potential relevant uses from facilitating and enhancing human communications, to allowing for improved information access and retrieval in the professional, entertainment, and personal domains. The field of Multimedia Analysis in Human-Centered Multimedia (HCM), involves automatically analyzing human activities and social behavior. This application area covers a wide range of domains, including improving communication between individuals and enhancing information access in professional, entertainment, and personal contexts. The possibilities for utilizing multimedia analysis are extensive, as it goes beyond simple categorization to achieve a nuanced understanding of human behavior. By doing so, system functionalities can be enhanced while providing users with improved experiences.

Multimedia interaction

Multimedia interaction can be considered as the interaction activity area of HCM. It is paramount to understand both how humans interact with each other and why, so that we can build systems to facilitate such communication and so that people can interact with computers in natural ways. To achieve natural interaction, cultural differences and social context are primary factors to consider, due to the potential different cultural backgrounds. For instance, a couple of examples include: face-to-face communications where the interaction is physically located and real-time; live-computer mediated communications where the interaction is physically remote but remains real-time; and non-real time computer-mediated communications such as instant SMS, email, etc.

Human-Centered Design Process

The Human-Centered Design Process is a method to problem-solving used in design. The process involves, first, empathizing with the user to learn about the target audience of the product and understand their needs. Empathizing will then lead to research, and asking the target audience specific question to further understand their goals for the product at hand. This researching stage may also involve competitor analysis to find more design opportunities in the product's market. Once the designer has compiled data on the user and the market for their product design, they will then move on to the ideation stage, in which they will brainstorm design solutions through sketches and wireframes. Wireframing is a digital or physical illustration of a user interface, focusing on information architecture, space allocation, and content functionality. Consequently, a wireframe typically does not have any colors or graphics and only focuses on the intended functionalities of the interface.^[10]

To conclude the Human-Centered Design Process, there are two final steps. Upon wireframing or sketching, the designer will usually turn their paper sketches or low-fidelity wireframes into high-fidelity prototypes. Prototyping allows the designer to explore their design ideas further and focus on the overall design concept.^[10] High-fidelity means that the prototype is interactive or "clickable" and simulates the a real application.^[11] After creating this high-fidelity prototype of their design, the designer can then conduct usability testing. This involves collecting participants that represent the target audience of the product and having them walk through the prototype as if they were using the real product. The goal of usability testing is to identify any issues with the design that need to be improved and analyze how real users will interact with the product.^[12] To run an effective usability test, it is imperative to take notes on the users behavior and decisions and also have the user thinking out loud while they use the prototype.

Career

Academic programs

As human-centered computing has become increasingly popular, many universities have created special programs for HCC research and study for both graduate and undergraduate students.

User interface designer

A user interface designer is an individual who usually with a relevant degree or high level of knowledge, not only on technology, cognitive science, human–computer interaction, learning sciences, but also on psychology and sociology. A user interface designer develops and applies user-centered design methodologies and agile development processes that includes consideration for overall usability of interactive software applications, emphasizing interaction design and front-end development.

Information architect (IA)

Information architects mainly work to understand user and business needs in order to organize information to best satisfy these needs. Specifically, information architects often act as a key bridge between technical and creative development in a project team. Areas of interest in IA include search schemas, metadata, and taxonomy.^[13]

Projects

NASA/Ames Computational Sciences Division

The Human-Centered Computing (HCC) group at NASA/Ames Computational Sciences Division is conducting research at Haughton as members of the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) to determine, via an analog study, how we will live and work on Mars.^[14]

HMP/Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Field Robotics Experiments—HCC is collaborating with researchers on the HMP/CMU field robotics research program at Haughton to specify opportunities for robots assisting scientists. Researchers in this project have carried out a parallel investigation that documents work during traverses. A simulation module has been built, using a tool that represents people, their tools, and their work environment, that will serve as a partial controller for a robot that assist scientists in the field work in mars. When it comes to take human, computing and environment all into consideration, theory and techniques in HCC field will be the guideline.
Ethnography of Human Exploration of Space—HCC lab is carrying out an ethnographic study of scientific field work, covering all aspects of a scientist's life in the field. This study involves observing as participants at Haughton and writing about HCC lab`s experiences. HCC lab then look for patterns in how people organize their time, space, and objects and how they relate to each other to accomplish their goals. In this study, HCC lab is focusing on learning and conceptual change.

Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC) at Arizona State University

Based on the principles of human-centered computing, the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC)^[15] at Arizona State University develops assistive, rehabilitative and healthcare applications. Founded by Sethuraman Panchanathan in 2001, CUbiC research spans three main areas of multimedia computing: sensing and processing, recognition and learning, and interaction and delivery. CUbiC places an emphasis on transdisciplinary research and positions individuals at the center of technology design and development. Examples of such technologies include the Note-Taker,^[16] a device designed to aid students with low vision to follow classroom instruction and take notes, and VibroGlove,^[17] which conveys facial expressions via haptic feedback to people with visual impairments.

In 2016, researchers at CUbiC introduced "Person-Centered Multimedia Computing",^[18] a new paradigm adjacent to HCC, which aims to understand a user's needs, preferences, and mannerisms including cognitive abilities and skills to design ego-centric technologies. Person-centered multimedia computing stresses the multimedia analysis and interaction facets of HCC to create technologies that can adapt to new users despite being designed for an individual.

Related Research Articles

Donald Arthur Norman is an American researcher, professor, and author. Norman is the director of The Design Lab at University of California, San Diego. He is best known for his books on design, especially The Design of Everyday Things. He is widely regarded for his expertise in the fields of design, usability engineering, and cognitive science, and has shaped the development of the field of cognitive systems engineering. He is a co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, along with Jakob Nielsen. He is also an IDEO fellow and a member of the Board of Trustees of IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. He also holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. Norman is an active Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), where he spends two months a year teaching.

Computational semiotics is an interdisciplinary field that applies, conducts, and draws on research in logic, mathematics, the theory and practice of computation, formal and natural language studies, the cognitive sciences generally, and semiotics proper. The term encompasses both the application of semiotics to computer hardware and software design and, conversely, the use of computation for performing semiotic analysis. The former focuses on what semiotics can bring to computation; the latter on what computation can bring to semiotics.

Interaction design, often abbreviated as IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." While interaction design has an interest in form, its main area of focus rests on behavior. Rather than analyzing how things are, interaction design synthesizes and imagines things as they could be. This element of interaction design is what characterizes IxD as a design field, as opposed to a science or engineering field.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human–computer interaction:

Social computing is an area of computer science that is concerned with the intersection of social behavior and computational systems. It is based on creating or recreating social conventions and social contexts through the use of software and technology. Thus, blogs, email, instant messaging, social network services, wikis, social bookmarking and other instances of what is often called social software illustrate ideas from social computing.

The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Website wireframe</span> Visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a website

A website wireframe, also known as a page schematic or screen blueprint, is a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a website. The term wireframe is taken from other fields that use a skeletal framework to represent 3 dimensional shape and volume. Wireframes are created for the purpose of arranging elements to best accomplish a particular purpose. The purpose is usually driven by a business objective and a creative idea. The wireframe depicts the page layout or arrangement of the website's content, including interface elements and navigational systems, and how they work together. The wireframe usually lacks typographic style, color, or graphics, since the main focus lies in functionality, behavior, and priority of content. In other words, it focuses on what a screen does, not what it looks like. Wireframes can be pencil drawings or sketches on a whiteboard, or they can be produced by means of a broad array of free or commercial software applications. Wireframes are generally created by business analysts, user experience designers, developers, visual designers, and by those with expertise in interaction design, information architecture and user research.

User interface (UI) design or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the user experience. In computer or software design, user interface (UI) design primarily focuses on information architecture. It is the process of building interfaces that clearly communicate to the user what's important. UI design refers to graphical user interfaces and other forms of interface design. The goal of user interface design is to make the user's interaction as simple and efficient as possible, in terms of accomplishing user goals.

Affective design describes the design of user interfaces in which emotional information is communicated to the computer from the user in a natural and comfortable way. The computer processes the emotional information and adapts or responds to try to improve the interaction in some way. The notion of affective design emerged from the field of human–computer interaction (HCI), specifically from the developing area of affective computing. Affective design serves an important role in user experience (UX) as it contributes to the improvement of the user's personal condition in relation to the computing system. The goals of affective design focus on providing users with an optimal, proactive experience. Amongst overlap with several fields, applications of affective design include ambient intelligence, human–robot interaction, and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Dourish</span> British-American computer scientist

Paul Dourish is a computer scientist best known for his work and research at the intersection of computer science and social science. Born in Scotland, he holds the Steckler Endowed Chair of Information and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine, where he joined the faculty in 2000, and where he directs the Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical, and Accessible Technology. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, the ACM, and the BCS, and is a two-time winner of the ACM CSCW "Lasting Impact" award, in 2016 and 2021.

Metacomputing is all computing and computing-oriented activity which involves computing knowledge utilized for the research, development and application of different types of computing. It may also deal with numerous types of computing applications, such as: industry, business, management and human-related management. New emerging fields of metacomputing focus on the methodological and technological aspects of the development of large computer networks/grids, such as the Internet, intranet and other territorially distributed computer networks for special purposes.

User experience design defines the experience a user would go through when interacting with a company, its services, and its products.User experience design is a User Centered Design approach because it considers the user's experience when using a product or platform. Research, data analysis, and test results drive design decisions in UX design rather than aesthetic preferences and opinions. Unlike user interface design, which focuses solely on the design of a computer interface, UX design encompasses all aspects of a user's perceived experience with a product or website, such as its usability, usefulness, desirability, brand perception, and overall performance. UX design is also an element of the customer experience (CX), and encompasses all aspects and stages of a customer's experience and interaction with a company.

John Millar Carroll is an American distinguished professor of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University, where he previously served as the Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology. Carroll is perhaps best known for his theory of Minimalism in computer instruction, training, and technical communication.

Elizabeth D. "Beth" Mynatt is the Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University. She is former executive director of the Institute for People and Technology, director of the GVU Center at Georgia Tech, and Regents' and Distinguished Professor in the School of Interactive Computing, all at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design technologies that allow humans to interact with computers in novel ways. A device that allows interaction between human being and a computer is known as a "Human-computer Interface (HCI)".

Sound and music computing (SMC) is a research field that studies the whole sound and music communication chain from a multidisciplinary point of view. By combining scientific, technological and artistic methodologies it aims at understanding, modeling and generating sound and music through computational approaches.

A pedagogical agent is a concept borrowed from computer science and artificial intelligence and applied to education, usually as part of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). It is a simulated human-like interface between the learner and the content, in an educational environment. A pedagogical agent is designed to model the type of interactions between a student and another person. Mabanza and de Wet define it as "a character enacted by a computer that interacts with the user in a socially engaging manner". A pedagogical agent can be assigned different roles in the learning environment, such as tutor or co-learner, depending on the desired purpose of the agent. "A tutor agent plays the role of a teacher, while a co-learner agent plays the role of a learning companion".

Sethuraman Panchanathan is an Indian–American computer scientist and academic administrator, and the 15th Director of National Science Foundation since June 2020.

Feminist HCI is a subfield of human-computer interaction (HCI) that applies feminist theory, critical theory and philosophy to social topics in HCI, including scientific objectivity, ethical values, data collection, data interpretation, reflexivity, and unintended consequences of HCI software. The term was originally used in 2010 by Shaowen Bardzell, and although the concept and original publication are widely cited, as of 2020 Bardzell's proposed frameworks have been rarely used since.

Lisa Anthony is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) at the University of Florida. She is also the director of the Intelligent Natural Interaction Technology Laboratory. Her research interests revolve around developing natural user interfaces to allow for greater human-computer interaction, specifically for children as they develop their cognitive and physical abilities.

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