Let’s set the record straight: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is not about making “pretty screens.” It’s the rigorous, evidence-based science of designing technology that fits the human mind, body, and life. This past paper doesn’t test if you can design a button; it tests if you can justify why that button is there, how a user will find it, and what they’ll feel when they click it. It’s the discipline that asks: “Is this software humane?”
Forget thinking of users as predictable robots. HCI teaches you they are complex, error-prone, emotional, and brilliant in their own way. This exam is your trial in empathy, methodology, and principled design.
What This Paper Truly Evaluates: Your User-Centered Design Integrity
1. The Foundation: It’s About People, Not Pixels
The first questions strike at the core philosophy. You must move beyond “features” to human capabilities and limitations:
- Human Information Processing: How does perception (Gestalt principles), memory (short-term vs. long-term), and attention shape interaction?
- The Gulf of Execution & Evaluation: Can users figure out how to operate the system? Can they tell what it just did? You’ll analyze designs where these gulfs are wide and propose fixes.
- Principles of Good Design: You’ll apply Norman’s Principles (Visibility, Feedback, Constraints, Mapping, Consistency, Affordance) to critique a given interface. A classic: “This stove burner control panel violates mapping. Redesign it.”
2. The Process: User-Centered Design is a Science, Not an Art
HCI is methodical. The paper tests your knowledge of the UCD lifecycle and your ability to select the right tool for each phase.
- Requirement Gathering: When do you use interviews, surveys, contextual inquiry, or personas?
- Design & Prototyping: From low-fidelity sketches (paper prototypes) to high-fidelity interactive mockups (Figma). You’ll discuss the pros/cons of each for getting useful feedback.
- Evaluation: The heart of HCI. You must know:
- Formative vs. Summative Evaluation: Testing during design to improve it vs. testing a final product to assess it.
- Evaluation Methods:
- Heuristic Evaluation: Applying Nielsen’s 10 heuristics (or similar) to find usability problems with experts.
- User Testing (Usability Testing): Designing tasks, recruiting participants, collecting both quantitative data (time on task, error rate, success rate) and qualitative data (think-aloud protocols, user satisfaction surveys like the System Usability Scale – SUS).
- Cognitive Walkthroughs: Simulating a user’s step-by-step problem-solving process.
3. The Interaction Paradigms: Beyond the Desktop
HCI today is more than just websites.
- Ubiquitous & Mobile Computing: Designing for small screens, touch interaction, and mobile contexts (one-handed use, interruptions).
- Voice & Conversational UI: The principles of designing for Alexa or a chatbot (turn-taking, error recovery, personality).
- Accessibility & Inclusive Design: This isn’t an afterthought; it’s a legal and ethical requirement. You’ll need to explain WCAG guidelines, design for screen readers, and consider motor, visual, and cognitive impairments. “How would you make this form accessible to a user who is blind?”
4. The Analytical Core: Modeling and Predicting Interaction
Beyond methods, HCI has predictive theory.
- Fitts’ Law: You’ll use it to calculate the time to point at a target (e.g., a button size and distance critique).
- Hick’s Law: How the number of choices impacts decision time (e.g., designing a menu).
- GOMS & Keystroke-Level Model (KLM): Simplified models to predict expert task completion time by breaking it into Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules.
5. The Social & Ethical Layer
Technology exists in society. You’ll be asked about:
- Social Impact: How does a social media interface design influence behavior, privacy, or misinformation?
- Ethical Design: Dark patterns (deceptive UI), persuasive technology, and the designer’s responsibility.
The Paper’s Ultimate Challenge: The Integrated Case Study
The most demanding question will drop you into a scenario: *”A bank wants to redesign its mobile app for older adults (60+). Propose a UCD plan, identify three key design principles you will prioritize, and describe an evaluation method suitable for this user group, justifying your choices.”*
This requires you to synthesize demographic understanding, principled design, and methodological knowledge into a coherent, professional recommendation.
How to Approach This Past Paper:
- Think “User First, Always.” For every question, start your answer by considering the user’s goals, context, and limitations.
- Master the Vocabulary. Know the precise difference between an affordance and a signifier, usability and user experience, a persona and a scenario.
- Practice Applying the Principles. Get a habit of critiquing every app you use. Why is this menu confusing? What feedback does this button give?
- Be Ready for Calculations. Know how to apply Fitts’ Law or interpret a SUS score (a score above 68 is considered above average).
- Structure Your Essays with the Process. For design questions, follow the UCD flow: 1) Understand Users & Context, 2) Specify Requirements, 3) Design Solutions, 4) Evaluate Against Requirements.
This past paper is your pledge of ethical, human-focused craftsmanship. It proves you have moved from seeing software as a system of logic to seeing it as a medium for human experience. Passing it means you are equipped to build technology that doesn’t just function, but cares.
Human computer interaction(HCI) Mid term past paper
Q1:
What input and output devices would you use for the following systems? For each, compare and contrast alternatives, and if appropriate indicate why the conventional keyboard, mouse and CRT screen may be less suitable.
- Portable word processor
- Tourist information system
- Tractor-mounted crop-spraying controller
- Worldwide personal communication system
- Air traffic control system
Q2: Briefly explain both Models of interaction?
Q3: What is reasoning explain all types of reasoning in detail?
Human computer interaction(HCI) Sessional II past paper
COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus Department of Computer Science
SPRING 2021 – SESSIONAL II
Subject: Human Computer Interaction Instructor: Uzair Ishtiaq
Class: BCS-B17, BSSE B10 & B11 Total Time: 60 Minutes
Maximum Marks: 15 Registration No.
Q – 01: Design and analyze the following systems based on user-centered approach using paper and pen
/ pencil approach. Use / Indicate appropriate colors for your interfaces: [10]
- Objectives: From this exam, you will be able to,
- Bring out the creativity – build innovative applications that are user
- Feel motivated to apply HCI in day–to–day
- Requirement: Design the possible interfaces using paper and pencil approach.
- Theory: “Computer System Design is the process that consists of a user-oriented approach where all meaningful activities are systematically framed together, and utmost importance is given to the person who is going to use that system”
Following are the activities involved in design process:
- Understanding user
- Understanding purpose of the
- Understanding the work
- Procedure:
Know your client: Develop the interfaces for the following categories by understanding the user who will be using your system. Comment on the category of user selected and specific features given for the users and identify what kinds of interfaces will they like and why?
- Older generation: Folks from the older generation has been very wary of using their credit card on the internet. They have various concerns when it comes to paying their bills. Also because of their old age, it will be beneficial for them to use the internet and pay their phone, electricity, gas bills, etc. Design app interfaces for these
- Rural people: People living in rural areas are not much educated and most of them are also not familiar with vending machines, but they prefer to travel on train if they have to travel to a distant Design an Automatic Ticket Vending Machine for train ticketing to be used by people in in rural area, while considering their problems, interests, needs, language etc.
Q – 02: Viva will be conducted online. [5]
“I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn”
~ Maya Angelou
Final Question paper
Question 01: “Brands-Heaven Online Ordering System” [20]
The Brands-Heaven Online Ordering System allows the user of a web browser to order Brands-Heaven Home Decor for home delivery, since it has physical appearance in 5 countries (United Kingdom, France, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia). To place an order, a shopper searches to find items to purchase, adds items one at a time to a shopping cart, and possibly searches again for more items. When all items have been chosen, the shopper provides a delivery address. If not paying with cash, the shopper also provides credit card information. The system has an option for shoppers to register with the Brands-Heaven shop for future correspondence regarding any sales promotions and feedback. They can then save their name and address information, so that they do not have to enter this information every time when they place an order.
- Develop the interface designs, the “Welcome” page which is an interface where you can select your country and get to know the logos, web addresses, physical addresses with google maps of the locations, emails and phone numbers of the countries. Another interface for placing an order, “Place Order”. The interface should show a relationship with two previously specified interfaces, which are, “Identify Customer”, that allows a user to register and log in, and “Pay by Credit”, which models credit card Use / indicate color choices for the interfaces with proper justification.
Question 02: A menu is the list of choices available on the screen. Describe only those types of menus that are discussed in our Human Computer Interaction classes / course. Also design these Menus (alongwith submenus) for the interfaces that you have already designed in Question 01 (atleast one Menu type for one interface). Also list down the ways of interaction by the human with the respective Menu. [15]
Question 03: Identify all the G, O, M and S for placing a file named “HCI.docx” from desktop to E:\ Drive. Also create a GOMS description for this scenario. [15]