Why Things Are So Bad for the Computer-Naive User
Abstract
Many people who use computers, or have tried to use them, find them extremely difficult to master, understand, interact with. Computers have a well- earned reputation for alienness and intractability. Much of the difficulty arises from the prevailing ways that computer programs communicate with people. Computer professionals have been preoccupied with commands and command languages, to the exclusion of the kinds of communication that people use most of the time with each other. To make use of a computer, people are forced into an unfamiliar command-oriented organization, and many cannot make this extreme transition. By expanding the scope of human-computer interaction methods to include other styles of interaction, computer systems can be made more compatible with the computer-naive potential user. This enhanced compatibility will open up new applications in which computer-naive people make direct use of computers to extend their working abilities. This paper identifies the gap between today's dominant styles of person-computer communication and interpersonal communication, and suggests the developments needed to make computers more people-compatible.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA008457
Entities
People
- William C. Mann
Organizations
- University of Southern California