Human-Computer Interaction - Essay Example

In daily lives, I often come across devices that are based on human-computer interaction system. It is difficult to perform certain activities without the support of HCI as it creates a unique platform through which humans can interact with devices. A common example of HCI that I experienced is the GPS navigation system. This has proved to be beneficial for me as I often plan trips where locating my destination becomes important. The navigation system is a prominent example of the human-computer interaction approach (Wasson, 2006).  My personal experience with this application has been good as it was completely a user-friendly technology. I just had to enter my location and my destination and the system was so designed that it gave me the entire route map to reach the destination.

The usability factor is a matter of concern as proper interaction would be only possible if users find it easy to operate on such an application. Similarly, I found the navigation system based on the HCI approach possess high usability. When the application was installed on my mobile I was keen on learning its facilities (Kirlik, 2006).  It was designed in such a comprehensive manner that before going to the main page the application introduced the user to a live example of how to operate such an application. This proved to be helpful for me as I could identify the required steps which I need to take to locate my destination. On the contrary, I feel that certain HCI applications are difficult to understand. Like for instance, my brother installed computer gaming software on my laptop and I was not able to operate that properly (Jaimes and Sebe, 2007).  It comprised of some complicated instructions which a user cannot understand if he or she does not have some technical knowledge. This in turn I feel reduces the usability of an HCI application.

I have noticed that in some organizations there are user-friendly applications implemented in the system but there are certain programs that require some theoretical knowledge. However, usability is an important factor when it comes to HCI and its applications. HCI is all about effective communication between machine and human and I think that this can be only possible if technological intricacies are not portrayed on the outer surface. In my practical experiences I have noticed HCI applications are always easy to operate but certain applications such as database design, conferencing, etc., have less usability rate (D. Te’eni and Zhang, 2007).  Those applications that deal with basic tasks are easy to use but those which are dealing with some complex job are cumbersome to use.