Human Computer Interface Essay

According to Nicky Danino(2001), Human Computer Interaction(HCI) is defined as ‘the study, planning, and design of what happens when a person and a computer work together’. HCI consist of three parts that is the user, the computer and the interaction involved between the user and the computer. Therefore I am going to evaluate the company based on several criteria. From what have been observed in the Kannal Solutions , the work area was found to be comfortable for the employees to work. The chairs provide sufficient cushioning. This enables the employees to work for long hours without feeling cramps or pains on their bottoms. Besides that, it is observed that the chair has adjustable heights. This enables the employees to adjust the height of the chair according to their comfort. The back rest of the chair also provides adequate support for the back bone. This feature of chair avoids the employees suffering from back aches or other lower back injuries. On the other hand, much attention was also given to the monitors. The monitors that are used in this company is positioned in such a way that the observer views the screen perpendicularly. When viewing the monitor at this angle, the observer will be able to reduce the stress applied on the neck muscles. Furthermore, only liquid crystal display (LCD) screens are used as a monitor. This monitor is flicker free because LCD does not depend on scanning electron beam to perform. Flickering of the screen can easily cause headaches to the employees which can severely reduce the productivity of the company. Moreover , the LCD screen is built such that it would not reflect light out, thus producing a less glare effect. These characteristics delays the eyes from getting tired. Apart from that, LCD has also been proven to produce lesser radiation. Thus, choosing LCD screen as a monitor was a good step taken by this company to keep their working environment more comfortable. The difference found from what is observed is this company does not provide the employees with ergonomic keyboards or mouse. This causes discomfort for the staffs working here especially for long hours working. Prolonged usage of non ergonomic keyboard can be as bad as the worker gets muscle strain or as worse as the employee suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) or tendonitis. CTS is the inflammation of the nerve that connects the forearm to the wrist whereas tendonitis is the inflammation due to repetitive motion on the tendon. The IT and telecommunication industry spends and invest a lot of money to operate. Therefore like many other companies , Kannal Solutions try to minimize wastage to reduce cost. Other than to minimize wastage, this company also gives a lot attention to save the environment. Therefore, green computing, which is as defined by Sarah Gingichashvili is ‘ the study and practice of efficient and eco-friendly computing resources’. In this company, printers and computers used contains Energy Star symbol. Electrical appliances and product that has Energy Star symbol consumes much lesser energy compared to those that does not have it. This symbol ensures that the computers automatically switches to the ‘sleep’ mode whenever it is idle. Switching to this mode reduces the energy consumption of the computer. Besides that, the employees also switches off their computers whenever it is not in use. If in case they need to use it at intervals, they would at least turn off the monitor so that electricity can be saved. Another reason why LCD screen is used in this company is also because of the fact that LCD screen consumes lesser energy than the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor. Due to this reason the CRT monitor waste a lot of energy mostly due to the large emission of heat energy. In Kannal Solutions , most of the computers uses Intel E2140 Dual Core with a processor speed of 1. 6Ghz. These computers gives a good performance which is needed during the collection of information from customers. The best part about this machine is that its power consumption is really low and efficient. It only consumes 69 watts. Therefore, in long run Kannal Solutions can save great deal of electricity while making sure that their performance is not affected. Although this company pays a great role in keeping the employees safe and comfortable, it is found through observation that the keyboards and mouse used is not ergonomic. In longer run the staffs can face nerve complications. So, it is recommended that the company take an immediate action to convert all the mouse and keyboards to an ergonomic one so that the workers here will not face any kind of problem which can cause to reduction of productivity to the company. Apart from that, although the chair has ergonomic feature such as adjustable height and proper back rest, it does not have a hand rest. So , whenever the staff feels tired they have to rest it on the table. It would be safer and much comfortable as the hand rest ensures that the worker’s hand would be parallel to the floor and the elbow would be perpendicular to the arm. So, it is recommended that the chairs here should be equipped with a hand rest. Thus, it is very clear that this company takes HCI seriously. Although there are some drawbacks, it can be overcame by taking proper steps such as suggested in order to keep the employees contributing to the development of this company.