Human–computer interaction is a difficult endeavor with glorious rewards.
Designing interactive computer systems to be effective, efficient, easy, and enjoyable to
use is important, so that people and society may realize the benefits of computationbased
devices. The subtle weave of constraints and their trade-offs – human,
machine, algorithmic, task, social, aesthetic, and economic – generates the difficulty.
The reward is the creation of digital libraries where scholars can find and turn the
pages of virtual medieval manuscripts thousands of miles away; medical instruments
that allow a surgical team to conceptualize, locate, and monitor a complex neurosurgical
operation; virtual worlds for entertainment and social interaction, responsive
and efficient government services, from online license renewal to the analysis of
parliamentary testimony; or smart telephones that know where they are and understand
limited speech. Interaction designers create interaction in virtual worlds and
embed interaction in physical worlds.