--- Human interaction with the system ---

 

Sample Question:

sdfsdfsf

JSR Notes:

Preface:

These remaining assessment statements of Topic 1 are all pretty big issues. Sooner or later we all will likely need accessibility assistance. Ergonomics, and potential health issues will, I guarantee you be a part of your life, whether you like it or not. We deal with usability issues of the IT in our lives almost continually. And ethics and morality should be at the forefront of everything we do/say/think.  So even though these may not be nuts and bolts CS concepts, they are very important things for us to continually keep in mind and to develop our understanding of.

 

 

Usability: the degree to which a product is easy to use.

Or put in a slightly more technical way: "Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use."

 

Usability can be defined by 4 general quality components, and 2 more IT-specific components:

• Learnability & Memorability: How easy it is for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design. And how easy they can "get back into the swing of things" after a period of being away from the device/program.
   
• Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly and efficiently can they perform the intended task.
   
• Errors: How frequently errors are encountered, how severe those errors are, and how easily the device/program can recover from the errors.
   
• Satisfaction: How pleasant/satisfying the design is to use.

But along with these general usability quality components, two others should be added, particularly for I.T. devices:

• Ergonomics: How well suited to the body the device is. Does it promote health work/us, or does it make users susceptible to repetitive stress injuries such as meta carpal syndrome? See examples of ergonomic devices below.
  
  

• Accessibility: How accessible the device/program is to people with a wide variety of disabilities such as vision impairment, auditory loss, or cognitive problems. (Refer to 1.2.14 for more details about accessibility.)

 

A quick list of things that can add to (or detract from) usability:

• wireless features
• hands-free features (phone)
• voice control
• fast-accessed information - such as cards or bracelets
• embeddable micro chip for identity and tracking (RFID Tag - "radio frequency identity" cards)
• kind of user interface - GUI vs. console base
• ergonomics design
  • example: ergonomic mouse
  • example: ergonomic chair
• accessibility by people with various disabilities (see next assessment statements)

 

More on Ergonomics

The term "ergonomics" is derived from two Greek words: "ergon," meaning work, and "nomoi," meaning natural laws. So with ergonomic design we seek to design the objects we work with so that they interact naturally with the shape and functioning of our bodies.

Thus, ergonomics is about designing for people, wherever they interact with products, systems or processes, optimizing performance, safety and comfort of the user.

In particular, with I.T. devices, it is repetitive stress injuries that we are seeking to avoid with good ergonomic design and good ergonomic habits.

Three parts of the body are most susceptible to ergonomic issues: eyes, hands & forearms, back.

For more details that go beyond this assessment statement, refer to the information at this link. Particularly if you are to pursue some sort of computer related study and/or work, there is some really important information and advice. If there was one and only one overreaching good piece of advice, it would be, simply: Variety.

 

Ergonomic Devices

(My personal favourites - most of which I use daily)

 

 

 

CompSci2014.wikispaces.com *

WikiBooks.org