Why Is HCI Important?
According to the State University of New York, human-computer interaction is important because it is fundamental to making products more successful, safe, useful, functional and, in the long run, more pleasurable for the user. HCI is the study of how people interact with computers and to what extent computers are developed for successful interaction with human beings.
HCI is concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive imputing systems for human use and the study of the major phenomena surrounding them, according to the Association for Computing Machinery. A significant number of major corporations and academic institutions now study HCI. It is a field that has been cited as one of the most important future research priorities by industry experts. In fact, U.S. News and World Report listed HCI as one of the best areas for a career in the future.
Cultural and national differences play a part in designing HCI, because different users have different ways of learning and keeping knowledge and skills. Another consideration in studying or designing HCI is that user interface technology changes rapidly, offering new possibilities for interaction to which previous research findings may not apply. User preferences change as users gradually master new interfaces.
