For a few years I wrote a column on human-computer interaction (HCI) for the British quarterly trade magazine, Interface. This is one, slightly revised.
Advice for building interactive
computer systems usually includes something about learnability. The
learnability of a system includes two important parts: how easily new users can
learn to carry out common tasks and, once they have some experience with the
system, how easily they can improve their performance.
There are obvious differences between
learning in a software environment and learning in the real world. For example,
a few years ago I spent some time in California, and I learned how to skate
with inline skates. (I eventually managed to stay upright for minutes at a
time.)
