Human-centered computing (discipline)

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“Human-centered computing” redirects here. For other uses, see Human-centered computing (disambiguation).

Human-centered computing (HCC) is an emerging, interdisciplinary academic field broadly concerned with computing and computational artifacts as they relate to the human condition. Researchers and practitioners who affiliate themselves with human-centered computing usually come from one or more of the following traditional disciplines: computer science, sociology, psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, science and technology studies, and industrial design.

Research in human-centered computing has multiple goals. Some researchers focus on understanding humans, both as individuals and in social groups, by focusing on the ways that human beings adopt, adapt, and organize their lives around computational technologies. Others focus on developing new design strategies for computational artifacts. Human-centered design of computational tools attempts to address problems that traditional design approaches, such as heuristic evaluations and measurements of productivity and efficiency, do not generally address. Designing computational tools for spirituality, for fun, and for leisure are some examples of non-traditional design problems that are of interest to HCC researchers and engineers. HCC researchers also bring a diverse array of conceptual and research tools to traditional computing areas such as computer-supported cooperative work, computer-supported collaborative learning, and ubiquitous computing.

Human-centered computing is closely related to other interdisciplinary fields such as human-computer interaction and information science, and exactly where the boundaries between these fields lie is not clear. Broadly speaking, however, human-centered computing usually concerns itself with systems and practices of technology use. Human-computer interaction is more focused on ergonomics and the usability of computing artifacts, while information science is focused on practices surrounding the collection, manipulation, and use of information.

[edit] References

Jaimes, Alejandro; Nicu Sebe; Daniel Gatica-Perez (2006). "Human-Centered Computing: A Multimedia Perspective" (PDF). Proceedings of the 14th annual ACM international conference on Multimedia: 855-864, Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ACM Press. DOI:10.1145/1180639.1180829. ISBN 1-59593-447-2. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.
Program Description. Information and Intelligent Systems: Advancing Human-Centered Computing, Information Integration and Informatics, and Robust Intelligence. National Science Foundation (2006-05-31). Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
Foley, James; Michel Beaudouin-Lafon; Jonathan Grudin; James Hollan; Scott Hudson; Judy Olson; Bill Verplank (2005). "Graduate Education in Human-Computer Interaction". CHI '05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems: 2113 - 2114, Portland, OR, USA: ACM Press. DOI:10.1145/1056808.1057112. ISBN 1-59593-002-7. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.