Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
113 results found in human-computer interaction.
- Graphical User Interface (GUI, WIMP Interface)
- A visual interface paradigm based on windows, icons, menus, and pointer (WIMP) interaction, which became dominant in personal computing from the late 1980s onward. GUIs represented a major accessibili…
- Gulf of Execution
- A concept from Don Norman's theory of action describing the gap between a user's intention and the actions available to achieve that goal through an interface. When the gulf of execution is large, use…
- Human Interface Device (HID, Input Device, Peripheral)
- Any device used to facilitate interaction between a human and a computer, including keyboards, mice, trackballs, joysticks, touchscreens, switches, and eye-tracking systems. The USB HID standard defin…
- Human-AI Collaboration (Human-AI Teaming, AI-Assisted Authoring)
- An interaction paradigm where humans and artificial intelligence systems work together, each contributing their complementary strengths to achieve outcomes neither could produce as effectively alone. …
- Human-AI Interaction (HAI, Human-AI Collaboration, AI Interaction Design)
- The study and design of how people interact with artificial intelligence systems, including how AI communicates its outputs, uncertainty, and limitations to users. Key principles include making AI beh…
- Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)
- The interdisciplinary field studying how humans and robots communicate, collaborate, and coexist. In accessibility contexts, HRI research explores how robots can be designed to support people with dis…
- Human-like trust in AI (Anthropomorphic trust)
- The phenomenon where users develop trust in AI systems based on their human-like qualities — such as natural voice, conversational style, emotional expressiveness, and social behaviors — rather than t…
- Imaginary Interface (Spatial Memory Interface, Empty-Handed Interaction)
- An interaction paradigm where users interact with a virtual interface mapped to empty space or their own body, without any physical device in the interaction area. Users transfer their spatial memory …
- Implicit User (Model User, Implied User)
- A concept from semiotic engineering describing the hypothetical user that a designer envisions when creating an interface — encompassing assumptions about the user's behaviour, experience, competence,…
- Interaction metaphor
- A conceptual mapping that allows users to understand and interact with a digital interface by drawing on familiar experiences or mental models. Common examples include the desktop metaphor (files, fol…
- Intermediated Technology Use (Intermediated Interaction, Assisted Technology Use)
- A pattern of technology interaction where a person accesses technology through the assistance of another person (an intermediary) rather than using it directly themselves. This occurs when barriers su…
- Iterative Crowdsourcing (Iterative Human Computation, Multi-Round Crowdsourcing)
- A human computation workflow in which multiple rounds of crowd workers build iteratively upon each other's responses to collectively achieve higher quality results than any individual worker could pro…
- Keystroke-Level Model (KLM)
- A simplified predictive model from human-computer interaction research, originally developed by Card, Moran, and Newell, that estimates task completion time by decomposing user interactions into eleme…
- Learning by Doing (Incidental Learning, Learning-While-Doing)
- Learning by doing is a pedagogical and interface design principle in which skills are acquired through the process of performing tasks rather than through separate, explicit instruction. In human-comp…
- Machine Teaching (Interactive Machine Teaching)
- A paradigm in human-computer interaction where non-expert users guide the training of machine learning models through interactive feedback, such as providing examples, labels, or corrections. Unlike t…
- Mixed-Initiative Design (Mixed-Initiative Interaction)
- An interaction design approach in which both the system and the user can take initiative in directing the flow of interaction, rather than one party being entirely in control. In accessibility context…
- Mixed-Initiative Interaction (Mixed-Initiative Systems, Human-Agent Collaboration)
- An interaction paradigm in which both the human user and the computer system can take initiative in directing the task, rather than one party being entirely in control. In accessibility contexts, mixe…
- Mixed-ability group (Mixed-ability setting, Inclusive group)
- A group composed of individuals with and without disabilities who participate together in shared activities such as research, education, or design. Mixed-ability groups are valued in accessibility pra…
- Model Human Processor (MHP, Human Processor Model)
- A cognitive architecture developed by Card, Moran, and Newell (1983) that models human information processing as three interconnected subsystems: perceptual, cognitive, and motor processors, each with…
- Multimodal Features (multimodal data, multimodal fusion)
- Information extracted from multiple sensory channels or data types—such as combining visual (RGB), depth, audio, and skeletal data—to improve recognition accuracy. In accessibility systems, multimodal…