Challenges of HCI design and implementation
Brad A. Myers · interactions · 1994
etting the user interface right is becoming critical to the success of products, and everyone knows that designing and implementing human-computer interfaces is difficult and time-consuming.But why is this true?Should we expect that a new method is around the corner that will make the design significantly easier?Will the next generation of user interface toolkits make the implementation trivial?No.This article discusses reasons why a focus on the user interface is important, and why user interface design and implementation are inherently difficult tasks and will remain so for the foreseeable future.Why User interfaces Are Important A significant growth area for computers is their use in consumer electronics.This is why computer man&cturers like Apple are getting into the "personal digital assistant" market.The Friend21 project in Japan is a six-year project started in 1988 with the goal of promoting research and development into next-generation user interfaces, primarily intelligent agents and adaptive interfaces.It is funded at about $120 million, and is a consortium of 14 major Japanese companies organized by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.Friend21 stands for Future Personalized Information Environment Development [2GJ.The project believes that in the 2Ist century everyone will be using computers for their everyday activities [26].For the users of these devices, ease-of-use has become a prime factor in decisions about which ones to buy.interactions . . .