Exploring HCI jargon and their acronyms

This book contains technical jargon by nature. I will do my best to add resources and a glossary of terms, but some will be on you to figure out. I promise this book will not be a multithreaded annotation like David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest," but we will help you grow your HCI language.

The goals of HCI jargon are to do the following:

1. Establish a shared language for building human-centered solutions.
2. Build a shorthand for skills and industry terms.
3. Identify and navigate the growing job market utilizing HCI skills.

This can also be seen in the following diagram:

Millions of people around the planet build computer hardware and software. As a group, we can create software with computers faster due to our shared vocabulary for describing, discussing, and ultimately building solutions. It is nerdy. HCI jargon is a way to introduce you to the community to give you a shared language and allow you to talk the talk as you walk the walk. The language we share is relatively new and revolves around technology and computer systems. Lean into your nerd self and know that as a group, it is us nerds that change the world through technology.

With this in mind, we'll take a quick look at the history of computers to establish where a majority of this jargon comes from. This will help us proceed toward growing our curiosity about computing and is essential for building your knowledge as well as your HCI credibility.