Cognitivists and Participatory design in HCI

Technology is driving the future and human beings towards new achievements , environments , processes , and procedures . Hence , it is our responsibility to steer the right path which brings the right balanced equilibrium between technology and natural human being livings . Someone has wisely said that even though humans have created the computers , yet there has come a phase in changing times where the computers are ruling over human beings . To understand the relation between humans and computers let us first understand what Participatory Design and Human Computer Interaction (HCI ) mean and how the two [banner_entry_middle]

disciplines are related with each other

Human Computer Interaction is a discipline concerned with the design evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the help of appropriate study of major phenomena surrounding them . By and large the human and computer interaction is basis on the joint performance of tasks and jobs accomplished by humans with the help of implementation of machines . The interaction comprises structure of communication between human and machine , the human capabilities to use machines . HCI also means the many algorithms and programming aspects of the interface itself . The engineering concerns that arise in designing and building interfaces , the process of specifications , the design , and the implementation of interfaces and the explicit design changes or trade-offs all combine to create an interactive process that has been carried on between humans and computers . HCI is a combination of science , engineering , and design aspects with human beings . To notify , HCI teaches the design of interactions between people and computers , interface design , conceptual models , design methods , software evaluation , and ethical concerns

Participatory Design (PD ) is an approach to the assessment , design , and development of technological and organizational systems that places a premium on the active involvement of workplace practitioners which usually comprise potential or current users of the system in design and decision-making processes . Participatory design is also called cooperative design , because it is the inclusion of users or user representatives within a development team , such that they actively help in setting design goals and planning prototypes . It contrasts with still standard development methods in which user input is sought only after initial concepts , visions , and prototypes exist . This approach was pioneered , and has been widely employed , in Europe since the 1970s , and now consists of a well-articulated and differentiated set of engineering methods in use world-wide

Computers in the Workplace became a national level project in 1988 . The Participatory Design conferences have explored workplace issues since the conference ‘s inception in 1992 . Since then , changes in how work gets done , who does it , and where , have dramatically altered the landscape of work and working life . Trends such as outsourcing and the use of contract and temporary workers have become prevalent while the promise of telecommuting has so far proven to be more hype than substance Increasingly , workers face the prospect of electronically monitored workplaces , work which is rigidly automated , jobs which lack security or benefits or no work at all . The evolvement of… [banner_entry_footer]