Super Humanizer vs Walter Writes

How did you first get involved in the subject? An experience with my grandfather inspired my interest in human-computer interaction. He wanted to book a medical appointment online, and the site contained all the necessary information but getting there was impossible.

Small text, unclear menus, and unread error messages hindered his progress.

I was able to sit with him and help him complete the booking, but the memory of the task stayed with me. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. I want to know how we start getting backwards.

That I love the interface I love it for what it was - the technical solving of a problem along with a sensitivity to the human elements. A system can be swift, efficient and trusted, but ultimately will still be ineffective if people don't understand it or don't believe in it. I want to analyze how designers understand end-user behavior, how they evaluate what it is that they think they want, and how they decide what matters most - ease of use, privacy, openness.

I am particularly interested in accessibility. My grandfather's story made me realize how a simple design decision might be insignificant to one individual, but critical to someone else's ability to access a service. Studying human-computer interaction would teach me how to include people with diverse digital experience, abilities, and levels of confidence during design. I would like to improve at listening more before I start designing, and at assessing whether solutions are effective in "the real world."

I also love the creative aspect of the discipline. Making an interface better is about asking questions, testing ideas, and being unafraid to change course if the data shows your original approach isn't working. I like that aspect because it reminds me that when something goes wrong, it doesn't have to stop you.

I want to learn human-computer interaction so that I can help develop technology that considers the people who use it. Whether I develop new healthcare services, educational systems, or unknown products, I want to make digital services more user friendly and accessible. To me, success would be being able to simply do something by yourself, like what my grandfather did, without having to ask for help and being able to do it again.

I got interested in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) after seeing my Grandfather have trouble to book a doctor's appointment using his computer. He was able to find all the information he needed; however, his eyesight was not good enough to read the fine print, and there were many "choices" to navigate through to get to where he wanted to go. On top of this, some of the "error messages" did not clearly tell him why the application failed, which made a simple task seem almost impossible.

He asked me to assist him in completing the appointment, and while I completed the appointment, the experience stuck with me.

People are continually told that technology makes their lives easier. While this may be true most times, there are many times when technology makes things difficult. And this is exactly what I want to understand – why technology fails us at times -- and how we can prevent this from happening.

I am drawn to HCI because it involves both the technical aspects of solving problems and understanding people. Just because a system works quickly and efficiently does not mean that it will always be successful. It may never succeed if no one understands it or trusts it. I want to know about the decision-making processes that lead to these user experiences. Specifically, I want to know how designers gather data about what users need, how they evaluate their own assumptions based upon data collected during usability testing, and how they weigh the importance of issues such as accessibility, privacy, and simplicity. Ultimately, I want to apply the methods used by researchers in HCI to take everyday complaints and turn them into better products.

Accessibility is something that I am particularly interested in. The fact that my Grandfather's frustration with using the web-based medical scheduling tool was due to something as seemingly inconsequential as font size demonstrated to me just how much a designer's decision regarding an element of the product can either allow or deny a potential customer access to the service. By studying HCI I believe that I can develop my ability to include users with disabilities, users with limited backgrounds and/or little exposure to digital systems within the entire design cycle. Furthermore, I want to improve my ability to listen before making recommendations and to assess whether the solution proposed is effective beyond the confines of a classroom or laboratory setting.

In addition to the analytical nature of HCI, I also appreciate the creative aspect of this discipline. Designing interfaces requires questioning what is working and what needs to be changed. In addition, designing interfaces requires developing ideas, and having the willingness to abandon ideas when data contradicts your original intent. This process resonates with me because it views errors as learning opportunities as opposed to a reason to discontinue development efforts.

Ultimately, I hope that my studies in HCI will enable me to create technology that acknowledges people who depend on technology. Regardless of whether I contribute toward creating tools for medical services, educational platforms or applications I have not thought of yet; I want to create more accessible and understandable digital experiences.