Human–computer interaction
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Human-computer interaction (HCI) is the study of the design and use of computer technology at the interface between people (users) and computers. Researchers in the field of HCI are concerned with the way people interact with computers and design technologies. In addition to findings from computer science, they also draw on those from psychology (especially media psychology), work science, cognitive science, ergonomics, sociology and design.
A superordinate field is human-machine interaction (or human-machine communication), which deals with similar issues, but generalizes the interaction partner of the human to the machine. In each case, the overall system of human, interface and underlying technical system becomes a human-machine system.
As a field of study, human-computer interaction is at the intersection of computer science, behavioral science, design, media studies, and several other fields of study. The term was popularized by Stuart K. Card, Allen Newell, and Thomas P. Moran in their 1983 book, The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction, although the authors first used the term in 1980. The first known use was In 1975, the term means that, unlike other tools with only limited uses (like a hammer, useful for hammering in nails, but not much else), a computer has many uses and this takes place as an open dialogue between the user and the computer. The notion of dialogue recognizes human-computer interaction to human-to-human interaction, an analogy that is crucial for theoretical considerations in this area.
Conferences
The most important international conference series in the field of human-computer interaction is the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) conference Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). It is organized by the Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, a thematic group of the ACM. In addition, there are a number of international conferences on human-computer interaction, some focusing on a specific subfield such as the ACM MobileHCI. The national conference on Human-Computer Interaction Mensch & Computer has been organized annually by the Human-Computer Interaction Division of the Gesellschaft für Informatik since 2001.
Study Subject
Human-Computer Interaction as a field of study is strongly interdisciplinary and mostly interfaculty oriented. The study programme combines theoretical foundations from computer science and psychology with application-oriented topics from the fields of software development, information systems and design sciences.
