Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is the study of how people design,
implement, and use interactive computer systems, and how computers
affect individuals, organizations, and society. HCI is a research area
of increasingly
central significance to computer science, other scientific and
engineering disciplines, and an ever expanding array of application
domains. This more prominent role follows from the widely perceived
need to expand the focus of computer science research beyond
traditional hardware and software issues to attempt to better
understand how technology can more effectively support people
in accomplishing their goals.
At the same time that a human-centered approach to system development
is of growing significance, factors conspire to make the design and
development of systems even more difficult than in the past. This
increased difficulty follows from the disappearance of boundaries
between applications as we start to support people's real activities;
between machines as we move to distributed computing; between media as
we expand systems to include video, sound, graphics, and communication
facilities; and between people as we begin to realize the importance
of supporting organizations and group activities.
This report summarizes selected strategic directions in human computer
interaction research, sets them within an historical context of
research accomplishments, and tries to convey not only the
significance but the excitement of the field.
