Semester 1 - 15 July, 2002 - 9 Nov, 2002

This course introduces you to the basic concepts of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and its applications. It presents you with a practical approach to the design and evaluation of computer-user interface for interactive systems. You will explore creative design methods to ensure that the computer/user interface conforms to common usability criteria, or to the usability objectives that have been identified as part of the requirements analysis process. This course provides you with the ability to apply usability techniques such as usability inspection methods, analytic and experimental evaluation techniques to interactive systems throughout the software lifecycle to ensure the development of useful and usable interactive systems.

• Knowledge
  • define in detail the different stages of a typical iterative software design lifecycle
  • identify creative design methods for the building of interactive systems
  • discuss the diversity of users and tasks, and their impact on user interface design
  • identify different system interface development methodologies, in particular, those that are applicable to interactive systems
  • examine additional design issues in culture, ethics and law when building international user interfaces
  • identify where and how the different evaluation methods fit into a typical software design lifecycle: usability inspection methods, analytic and experimental techniques
  • explain the design and usability issues involved in the building of good, usable interactive systems
• Cognitive Skills
  • apply appropriate design and evaluation techniques at different stages of the software lifecycle to ensure usability of interactive systems
  • compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the different design and evaluation methods
• Subject Specific Skills
  • manage a software project that involves the design and development of an interactive system prototype using HTML within a given time frame
  • formulate functional and non-functional requirements in the design of an interactive system prototype
  • develop the interface to the prototype in HTML, demonstrating good knowledge of the design and usability principles that underlie the design of the prototype
• Transferable Skills
  This course provides you with the opportunity to participate actively in seminar and lab sessions. At the end of this module, you would have developed skills in:
  • working together with peers to review classic and current technical papers in design and usability of interactive systems
  • making oral presentation in class showing evidence of good understanding of usability issues
  • critiquing interactive systems showing good understanding of design and usability issues involved
  • writing a technical report describing the activities taken in the design, prototyping and testing stages in producing a useful and usable interactive system

• - Introduction to HCI- General design principles and evaluation issues- Understanding psychology of the design of everyday things- User interface design
• - User interaction design (I): (human factors- human diversity; development methodologies)
• - User interaction design (II): (Requirements specification; Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA))
• - Scenario Based Design
• - Claims Analysis
• - International Human Computer Interface Design (cultural; ethical; legal) - Ethics and management of interface design
• - Prototyping - Overview of evaluation methods (usability inspection methods; analytic techniques; experimental techniques) - Claims analysis as a usability aid
• - Usability inspection method:Heuristic evaluation & Claims Analysis
• - Analytic evaluation methods: GOMS and keystroke level analysis
• - Experimental evaluation methods (I): (user survey methods; experimental methodology)
• - Experimental evaluation methods (II): (presentation of data; analysis of data)
• - Software design cycle - User interface design (user interaction design and software construction)- Ethics and management of interface design- Comparison of evaluation methodologies
• - Revision

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• Preece, J., Rogers, Y., Sharp, H. and Benyon, D., HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, 1994, Addison-Wesley Pub Co; ISBN: 0201627698.
• Baecker, R., Buxton, W., Grudin, J. and Greenberg, S. READINGS IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION: TOWARDS THE YEAR 2000, Morgan Kauffman Publishers, 1995. ISBN: 1558602461.
• Bainbridge, D. INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER LAW, Financial Times Management, 1999, ISBN:0273631594
• Carroll, J. (Ed.). HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION in the New Millenium, 2001, Addison-Wesley Pub Co, ISBN: 0201704471.
• Carroll, J. MAKING USE: SCENARIO-BASED DESIGN OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTIONS, MIT Press, 2000, ISBN: 0262032791.
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• Freund, J. MODERN ELEMENTARY STATISTICS, 9TH EDITION, 1997, ISBN:0138582912
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• Gringras, C. THE LAWS OF THE INTERNET, Butterworths, 1997.
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• Norman, D., THE INVISIBLE COMPUTER, 1999, MIT Press; ISBN: 0262640414.
• Raskin, J. THE HUMANE INTERFACE: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR DESIGNING INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS, Addison-Wesley, 2000, ISBN:0201379376
• Shneiderman, B., DESIGNING THE USER INTERFACE: STRATEGIES FOR HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, 3rd edition, Addison-Wesley, 1998, ISBN: 0-201-69497-2
• Thimbleby, H. USER INTERFACE DESIGN, ACM Press Frontier Series, 1991, ISBN: 0201416182