HCI differs from human factors because it focuses more on users working exclusively with computers, rather than other kinds of machines or designed artifacts. In HCI there is a fair amount of focus on how to execute the computer software and hardware mechanisms to support human–computer interaction. Thus, human factors being a broader term can not be used exclusively for HCI; HCI could be described as the human factors of computers. There is less focus on work-oriented tasks and actions and less stress on physical forms or industrial designs of the user interface, example keyboards, there fore it also differs from human factors.
Three areas of study overlap with HCI, though there focus shifts. Human interactions with the computer are given precedent in the study of personal information management (PIM). People can work with many forms of information; some may be computer based, in order to understand the desired effects in their surrounding. In computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), emphasis is