Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
110 results found in Human-Computer Interaction.
- Human Factors Engineering (Ergonomics, Human Factors)
- The scientific discipline concerned with designing systems, products, and environments to be compatible with the physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations of the people who use them. In acce…
- Human-Centered Computing (Human-Centred Computing, People-Centered Computing)
- Human-centered computing is an approach to technology design and development that places human needs, capabilities, and experiences at the center of the design process. It emphasizes understanding the…
- Human-Vehicle Interaction (HVI, Vehicle-pedestrian interaction)
- The field studying how people communicate, negotiate, and coordinate with vehicles and their occupants — including drivers, passengers, and, increasingly, automated systems. Human-vehicle interaction …
- Humanoid Robot (Humanoid)
- A robot whose physical form approximates a human body, typically with a head, torso, two arms, and (in bipedal designs) two legs. Humanoid robots are studied in accessibility research as embodied demo…
- Implicit Scoping (Prioritized Scoping)
- A voice navigation strategy that combines the efficiency of relaxed scoping with intelligent disambiguation. In implicit scoping, the system maintains awareness of the user's current focus area and pr…
- Index of Difficulty (ID, Fitts ID)
- The Index of Difficulty (ID) is the central quantity in Fitts' law that captures how hard a rapid aimed pointing movement is, computed as log₂(A/W + 1) in the Shannon formulation, where A is the ampli…
- Infant-Computer Interaction (Baby-Computer Interaction)
- The design and study of technology interfaces intended for use by infants, typically under 24 months of age. Infant-computer interaction presents unique challenges compared to other user populations b…
- Information Rate (Throughput, Bandwidth)
- The amount of information successfully communicated per unit of time through a communication channel or interface, measured in bits per second. In HCI and assistive technology evaluation, information …
- Information Theory (Shannon Theory, Mathematical Theory of Communication)
- A mathematical framework developed by Claude Shannon in 1948 for quantifying the transmission, processing, and storage of information. Central concepts include entropy (the measure of uncertainty or u…
- Input Adaptation (Input Device Adaptation, Input Modality Adaptation)
- The process of automatically or manually modifying an application's user interface to work with input devices or methods it was not originally designed for. Input adaptation addresses the fact that mo…
- Linear Interaction (Sequential Interaction, Single-path Navigation)
- An interface design pattern in which users engage with only one screen or task at a time, following a single sequential path rather than managing multiple overlapping windows, tabs, or concurrent cont…
- Logical Control (Indirect Control)
- An interaction paradigm where the user accesses specific functions supported by an application indirectly, typically by selecting from a presented set of options rather than performing the action dire…
- Low Bandwidth Input (Limited Input, Reduced Bandwidth Input)
- A category of human-computer interaction where the user can only produce a very small number of distinct signals — typically one to four — when communicating with a computer. Low bandwidth input chara…
- Mental Workload (Cognitive Load, Cognitive Workload)
- The amount of cognitive effort and mental resources required to complete a task. In accessibility contexts, mental workload is an important measure of how demanding an interface is to use — an interfa…
- Menu Selection (Menu Navigation, Menu Selection Task)
- A fundamental computer interaction task in which a user chooses an option from a set of items presented in a menu structure, typically involving locating the target item, moving the cursor to it, and …
- Metacommunication (Designer-User Metacommunication)
- In semiotic engineering, metacommunication refers to the overarching communication that takes place between a software designer and a user through the medium of the computer interface. The interface a…
- Metamessage (Designer's Metamessage)
- In Semiotic Engineering theory, the overarching one-way message that a designer sends to users through the system's interface, communicating who the system is for, what it can do, how to use it, and w…
- Microinteraction (Micro-interaction, Quick interaction)
- A brief, high-frequency interaction with a device that typically takes a sighted user less than four seconds to complete, such as checking the time, glancing at a notification, or adjusting the volume…
- Modality (Interaction Modality, Interface Modality)
- The sensory channel or communication method through which a user interacts with a computer system, such as visual (graphical displays), auditory (speech or non-speech audio), tactile (braille, haptic …
- Motor Function Time (Motor Response Time, Motor Cycle Time)
- The time required to execute a physical action such as pressing or releasing a key, clicking a mouse button, or moving a pointing device. In the Model Human Processor, motor function time for able-bod…