Human Computer Interaction

Human Computer Interaction (Fall semester, 2015)

This page is an archive of previous courses. The learning materials of current courses are placed in Virtual Learning Environment

Human Computer Interaction for bachelor students (5 ECTS credits). Syllabus.

Recommended readings (available in the library):

1. Preece Jennifer, Yvonee Rogers, Helen Sharp. Interaction design: Beyond human – computer interaction. John Wiley & Sons, 2011, 2007, 2002.
2. Benyon, David. Designing Interactive Systems: A comprehensive guide to HCI, UX and interaction design, 3/E Addison-Wesley Pearson Education, 2013, 2005.
3. Dix, A., Finlay, J., Abowd, G., Beale, R. Human Computer Interaction. London: Prentice Hall Europe, 2006.
4. Shneiderman, Ben; Plaisant, Catherine. Designing the user interface: strategies for effective human-computer interaction (5th edition). Pearson: Addison Wesley, 2010, 2005.

Exam questions

Schedule:

1. Organisational meeting
   Introduction to the course (pdf)
   Reading: [1]. Chapter 1, sections 1.1-1.4.
   ([1] means the first book: Preece, Rogers, Sharp. Interaction design: Beyond human – computer interaction.)
2. System usability, accessibility and acceptability issues (pdf)
   Reading: [1] Chapter 1, sections 1.5-1.6.
   Homework 1.1: Develop an idea of design project: what usability and acceptability can be improved for currect people activities? Develop the course product assumptions that should be based on the problems observed in user current activities.
3. Gathering data to understand user needs (pdf)
   Reading: Chapter 7.4
   Homework 1.2: Do observations, interviews and describe situations in which the human computer interactions can be improved. The specific usage problems or unused opportunities should be emphasized.
4. User need analysis – PACT framework
   Reading: [2] Chapter 2, PACT: a framework for designing interactive sustems.
   Homework 1.3. Generate at least 15 user goals that will support user activities in the context of developed technology. PACT framework will support the analysis of current user activities, identification of new opportunities and development of the vision how user will act with a new technology. Prepare the first assignment and send it before the class.
5. Conceptualising interaction (pdf)
   Reading: [1]: conceptual models
6. Interaction design process: User-centered design, users/stakeholders (pdf)
   Identifying needs and establishing requirements.Reading: [1] Chapter 6, sections 6.1-6.3, Chapter 7.1 – 7.4
   Presentation of the 1st assignment.
   Homework 2.1: Define the scope of the project by specifying user point of views. Point of view is user goal with usability success measure.
7. Task analysisReading: [1] Chapters 7.6 – 7.7.
   Homework 2.2: Analyse the tasks that are presented in the points of view. Analysis involve the task decomposition into the steps and deciding what user input and system feedback is requirews for the each step. You can choose which method to use: storyboaring, hierarchical task analysis or UML use case and sequence diagrams.
   Assignment 2 step 3: Finding inspirations. Select the interface examples that suggest solutions for the goals, developed in previous step. Each interface example should be explained in the following way: which user goal relates the presented example and which usability design rule (see last lecture) is applied in selected example,
   The second submission (can be either text document or slides) should be sent and will be presented during the next class.
8. Usability design rules (pdf)
   Reading: [3]. Chapter 7, section 7.2.
   Presentation of the 2nd assignment.
   Homework 3. Rapid electronic prototype. Recommended tool: Balsamiq mockups
9.  Analytical evaluation: Heuristic evaluation (slides 1-25).
   Examples:
   •  Usability guidelines for heuristic evaluation,
   •  examples of heuristic evaluations: checklist for web systems , heuristics with examples

Presentation of the 3rd assignment.
Assignment 4: a report of a heuristic evaluation. Recommended structure of the deliverable: title page, executive summary (1-2 pages), evaluation environment (Which computers and software (if any ) has been used doing evaluation), methods (what heuristics where chosen for evaluation), task and scenarios, results and recommendations, conclusions.

1. Visual design principles(pdf).
   Presentation of the 4th assignment.
   Homework 5. Develop a high-fidelity prototype using rapid prototyping tool.
2. Testing with users in  controlled and natural environments.
   Reading: [1] chapter 14.1-14,4
   Presentation of the 5th assignment.
   Homework 6: the report of usability testing. Recommended structure of the delivarable: title page, executive summary, evaluation environment, participants, methods, task and scenarios, results and recommendations, conclusions.
   Examples:
   • A report template from usability.gov.
   • Usabiliyt testing report example form Dialog Design.
   • Informed consent form

   ---

3. Introducing evaluation (pdf).
   Analitical evaluations (Slides from 26 to the end)
   Reading: [1] Chapter 10, 13.5, 14.1-14,4
4. Social interaction: designing for collaboration and communication.
   Reading: [1] Chapter 4. Designing for collaboration and communication.
5. User interface types (part 1, part 2). Course summary.
   Presentation of the 6th assignment.

HCI, Spring semester, 2017

This page is an archive of previous courses. The learning materials of current courses are placed in Virtual Learning Environment

Human Computer Interaction for bachelor students. Syllabus.

Read course assignment requirements. Word template might be useful for written assignments.

Exam will take place on the 5th of June in the room 421 at 10 a.m.   Exam questions

(Earlier term: the 2nd of June, 14:00 (407 Didl).

Description of assignments:

1. User needs analysis(Deadline: the 16th of March) Review assignment 1
2. Alternative mockups. Deadline: the 7th of April. Review assignment 2
3. Analytical evaluation. Deadline: the 28th of April Review asignment 3
   • Guidelines and checklists that help to conduct heuristic evaluation
     • Usability guidelines for heuristic evaluation;
     • By Deniese Pierotti,  Xerox Corporation
     • webcriteria checklist
     • 25-point Website Usability Checklist, Dr. Pete blog
4. Prototype (deadline – end of the semester)
   • Useful prototyping tool: Proto.io (only 11 days)
5. Usability testing (deadline – end of the semester).
   • CIF structure of the deliverable.
   • Informed consent template
   • The examples of documents needed for usability session can be found at: Information & Design, Usability.gov.
   • An example of professional usability test report from the Dialog Design

Lectures

1. Introduction to the course (pdf) – Feb 10, 2017
   1 Homework:  create a team and propose an idea that will form the basis of a course project for this semester.
2. User needs analysis – PACT framework (pdf) – Feb 17, 2017
   Homework: Approach the project idea from the PACT perspective. Who are the users? Which current user activities can be improved using technologies?
3. Interaction design process: User-centered design, users/stakeholders (pdf) –
   Home work: Describe user needs according to the user experience levels.
4. System usability. accessibility and acceptability issues (pdf)
   Prepare 1st assignment: User needs analysis and at least 15 user goals. Formulate usability objectives.
5. Task analysis
   Homework: Decompose the user objectives into steps. You can choose which method to use: storyboaring, hierarchical task analysis or UML use cases and sequences. Find inspirating solutions for specified steps. Prepare the the first assignment.
6. Mockups and prototypes (pdf).
   Presentation of the 1st assignment.
   Assignment 2: Alternative mockups
   Homework: Create the rapid electronic mockup.
7. Information architecture 
8. Usability design rules (pdf)
   Reading: [2]. Chapter 7, section 7.2.
   Homework 2. Read and reflect the usability design rules while designing alternative mockups. Each group should create at least two versions of possible interface.
9. Analytical evalutaions: heuristic evaluation
10. Analitical evaluations: cognitive walkthrough.
    Home work: evaluate collegues’ mockups using heuristical evaluation and cognitive waltkthrough.
11. Visual design aspects
12. Evaluation types(pdf)
13. Testing with users in  controlled and natural environments
    Reading: [1] chapter 14.1-14,4
14. Gathering data to understand user needs (pdf)
15. Model-based evaluations (pdf)

Recommended readings (available in the library of the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Naugarduko 24):

1. David Benyon. Designing Interactive Systems: A Comprehensive Guide to HCI and Interaction Design. Wiley, 2005, 2010, 2014.
2. Preece Jennifer, Yvonee Rogers, Helen Sharp. Interaction design: Beyond human – computer interaction. John Wiley & Sons, 2011, 2007, 2002.
3. Dix, A., Finlay, J., Abowd, G., Beale, R. Human Computer Interaction. London: Prentice Hall Europe, 2006.
4. Shneiderman, Ben; Plaisant, Catherine. Designing the user interface: strategies for effective human-computer interaction (5th edition). Pearson: Addison Wesley, 2010, 2005.