The ‘Engaged’ Interaction: Important Considerations for the HCI Design and Development of a Web Application for Solving a Complex Combinatorial Optimization Problem

As the boundaries of aesthetics are broadening out to take on board and appreciate the experiences of new technologies, so too, the designers and developers of these new technologies are realising the power of aesthetics to create ‘intended’ human computer interaction (HCI) experiences. In this paper, the interest lies in the ‘engaged’ interaction and what actually needs to be harnessed between the aesthetic and the algorithm to ensure the ‘intended’ HCI experience is achieved. The paper will focus on the design and development of an interactive website for solving a real world combinatorial optimization problem. Its main contribution lies in its investigation into the ‘engaged’ interaction whilst highlighting how we really need to understand and appreciate the interface between the aesthetic and the algorithm in order to fully get to the heart of HCI experience.