Product Description

Extensively revised and rewritten in light of recent advances, this best-selling book is a comprehensive examination of human-computer interaction. It provides a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject through a synthesis of computer science, cognitive science, psychology and sociology, and stresses a principled approach to interactive systems design that fits a software engineering environment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #129231 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 834 pages

From the Back Cover

Much has changed since the first edition of human¿computer interaction was published. Ubiquitous computing and rich sensor-filled environments are finding their way out of the laboratory, not just into movies but also into our workplaces and homes. The computer has broken out of its plastic and glass bounds providing us with networked societies where personal computing devices from mobile phones to smart cards fill our pockets and electronic devices surround us at home and work. The web too has grown from a largely academic network into the hub of business and everyday lives. As the distinctions between the physical and the digital, and between work and leisure start to break down, human-computer interaction is also changing radically.

The excitement of these changes is captured in this new edition, which also looks forward to other emerging technologies. However, the book is firmly rooted in strong principles and models independent of the passing technologies of the day: these foundations will be the means by which today¿s students will understand tomorrow¿s technology.

The third edition of human¿computer interaction can be used for introductory and advanced courses on HCI, Interaction Design, Usability or Interactive Systems Design. It will also prove an invaluable reference for professionals wishing to design usable computing devices.

Accompanying the text is a comprehensive website containing a broad range of material for instructors, students and practitioners, a full text search facility for the book, links to many sites of additional interest and much more: go to www.hcibook.com

New to this edition:

• A revised structure, reflecting the growth of HCI as a discipline, separates out basic material suitable for introductory courses from more detailed models and theories.
• New chapter on Interaction Design adds material on scenarios and basic navigation design.
• New chapter on Universal Design, substantially extending the coverage of this material in the book.
• Updated and extended treatment of socio/contextual issues.
• Extended and new material on novel interaction, including updated ubicomp material, designing experience, physical sensors and a new chapter on rich interaction.
• Updated material on the web including dynamic content and WAP.

Alan Dix is Professor in the Department of Computing, Lancaster, UK. Janet Finlay is Professor at the School of Computing, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. Gregory Abowd is Assistant Professor in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, USA. Russell Beale is lecturer at the School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK.

Customer Reviews

Steer clear if after a quick fix
A very good book that provides a solid foundation in a clear and easily readable format. If you're after a quick "HCI fix" or are trying to satisfy a course requirement where usability is seen as a niche then look elsewhere. If you want a good understanding of HCI and have a desire to make things more usable then this is a worthwhile read.

Great book for teaching introductory HCI!
I used this book when teaching senior undergraduates HCI. Admittedly, it is quite dense, which made some of the reading assignments a bit of a bear for the students. The thoroughness, however, is a large part of what I liked about it. I only used minimal supplemental materials, and I found that using this book, students got not only an in depth history and theoretical underpinning of this important field, but they also got some insight into emerging related fields, like ubiquitous and mobile computing. I was very pleased with the rigor applied to the lessons, something very necessary as we in the field demonstrate there is real "science" and "theory" behind what we do.

Needs reconstruction, but a good book
Let me begin by saying that years back I won an international award for something or other to do with contributions to ergonomics - the design of a computer system in fact. I looked at this book as a possible text for an undergraduate course I teach. This is a good book, despite the reviews, if you have the time the read it. It is thorough at the theoretical end and pretty damn thorough at that. If you want to know the history of HCI, recent and possible developments, this is a good book - but it is just too long for most undergrads and this is the main problem. Most undergrads believe that HCI is just pure waffle and in many cases that is unarguable - it takes the likes of Jef Raskin to restore some intellectual credibility to the area.

One the major strikes against this book, and it isn't alone, is the lack of connection with actual software packages in common usage and the alleged 'software engineering' skills they require. For too long HCI books have operated at a distance from actual 'multimedia' software or else have assumed that everyone has a bespoke lab of geniuses under their arms when a novel tool is required. This book, despite the calibre of the authors, does nothing to challenge the "grandstanding" that defines most HCI. Over tweny years ago, when I worked on expert systems, there was a creeping scepticism about their practical value - a solution in search of a problem. I would have liked this book to have done more to convince me that this epithet is not applicable to HCI. I hope the next edition expresses that reassurance.