The
Catholic University of America
School of Library and Information Science
LSC 877 - Special Topics: User Interface Design and Evaluation
Dr. Bill Kules
Spring 2010
January 3, 2010
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: LSC 555: Information Systems in
Libraries and
Meetings
Class will meet face-to-face 4:10 PM to 6:40 PM on the Wednesdays,
location TBA, with exceptions noted in the schedule below. There will be online
and out-of-class work. We will use the class web site (URL TBA)
extensively for announcements, discussion, assignments, etc. Students are
expected to monitor the web site frequently. Updates, administrative
information and reminders are frequently posted there. Online participation is
expected as part of the course.
Instructor Contact Information
Bill Kules, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Marist Hall Room 248
(202) 319-6278 (o)
(301) 755-7982 (m)
kules@cua.edu
http://faculty.cua.edu/kules/
Office hours are posted on my web page.
Description
This course explains how to use design and evaluation techniques to develop successful user interfaces for information systems and other interactive technologies. Students will develop an understanding of the cognitive principles and social issues that affect human-computer interaction. Topics covered include: understanding users and interaction, design strategies, iterative prototyping, formative and summative evaluation, and usability testing. Through a team project, students will apply and refine their knowledge. They will prototype and evaluate the design of a user interface for a real-world system.
Previous projects include:
This course focuses on interactive design - on developing user interfaces that support people in their everyday and working lives. Students will gain knowledge and skills that will help them advocate for improved user interfaces for library catalogs, digital archives/libraries, web applications and more.
Course Goals
Students will develop an understanding of and apply:
Instructional Methods
This course uses a variety of instructional methods and activities:
These course activities will be conducted both face-to-face (in class) and
online. Students are expected to be online frequently. If you do not have
daily access to the Internet, please contact the instructor before the
first class meeting.
Course Schedule and Readings
|
Week |
Meeting |
Topics / Readings |
Major Assignments |
|
1 |
Jan 11-17 |
Introduction - User-Centered design. System Development
Life Cycle (SDLC) User-Centered
Design |
|
|
2 |
Jan 20 |
Interaction. Interaction Design Stubblefield, W. A. (1998). Patterns
of change in design metaphor: A case study. In Proceedings of
the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 73-80. |
|
|
3 |
Jan 27 |
Introducing Evaluation. Usability Testing and Field
Studies. Usability Evaluation of Scholar - Summary version Usability Evaluation of Scholar - Full version (skim this) |
Homework 1 due |
|
4 |
Feb 3 |
Data Gathering. Data Analysis. Analytical Evaluation Usability in e-Learning Platforms: Heuristics comparison between Moodle, Sakai and dotLRN |
Project proposals due |
|
5 |
Feb 10 |
Understanding Users. Designing for Collaboration and Communication Read: Chapters 3, 4 |
Homework 2 due |
|
6 |
Feb 17 |
Interfaces and Interactions |
Project Plan due |
|
7 |
Feb 24 |
Identifying Needs and Establishing Requirements. Read: Chapter 10 1st
Principles of Design |
|
|
8 |
Mar 3 |
Pilot sessions for usability evaluation |
Use Scenarios, Requirements Analysis and Conceptual Design |
|
Mar 8-14 |
Spring Recess |
||
|
9 |
Mar 17 |
Design, Prototyping and Construction. Read: Chapter 11 Arent, M., ed. (2006) Special Issue: The Art of Prototyping. ACM Interactions Magazine. January/February 2006. 13 (1). |
|
|
10 |
Mar 24 |
Project-based application: Elaborating requirements & prototyping |
Prototype 1 due |
|
11 |
Mar 29-31 |
Project-based application: Evaluation |
|
|
Apr 1-5 |
Easter Break |
||
|
12 |
Apr 7 |
Accessibility and Diversity |
Prototype 2 due |
|
13 |
Apr 14 |
Tentative: Guest lecture |
|
|
14 |
Apr 21 |
Presentations. Course evaluations |
Term projects due |
|
Apr 28 |
Final assignment due |
Notes: This schedule provides an overview of topics and major assignments. Detailed information, including activities, exercises, and specific due dates, will be posted to the class web site. Readings are to be read before class. Major assignments are due by noon on the day of class unless otherwise noted. This schedule and syllabus is subject to change depending on class needs.
Required Course Text
Interaction Design: Beyond
Human-Computer Interaction, 2nd ed.
Sharp, H., Rogers, Y., and Preece, J.
John Wiley and Sons, West Sussex,
England (2007)
ISBN 978-0-470-01866-8
Optional Course Texts
User Interface Design and Evaluation (UIDE)
Stone, D., Jarrett, C., Woodroffe, M. and Minocha, S.
Morgan Kaufmann,
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Grading |
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Grades for this course will be based upon the following elements:
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Final grades will be assigned
as follows:
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University grades: The University grading system is available at http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/gradesfull.cfm#II for undergraduates and http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii for graduate students. Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu. |
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Class participation - In class and online |
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Each class is critical to your learning experience. Your energy in contributing to class discussions, small-group exercises, and online activities and discussions will be important. Therefore, coming to class prepared (e.g., reading all course readings before class, working on project research, etc.) and actively participating will be necessary to receiving full credit for class participation. The readings are intended to stimulate questions in addition to providing information. It is a good strategy to make notes of questions and comments as you read - these can be useful contributions to the discussion. |
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Ungraded exercises and other activities |
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Exercises and other activities are provided to help you learn and practice course material, especially specific techniques or tools. We will often start an exercise in class and have you finish afterwards. Although they are not formally graded, they contribute to your class participation grade - you are expected to complete them and post your results, comments, etc. as instructed. |
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Homework |
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Each homework assignment will incorporate the topics being covered and selected skills. Assignments span multiple weeks. All assignments must be posted or submitted by noon on the day they are due, unless otherwise noted. If the assignment is submitted anytime after noon, your grade will be reduced by 10%. Each day it is late thereafter you will lose an additional 5% point (e.g., submitting one day late would reduce your grade by 15%). |
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Term Project & Presentation |
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For the term project you will (re)design a user interface for an information system. This involves prototyping and evaluating an information access application of substantial size and complexity over the course of the semester. The focus of this project is the design process, not implementation, so you do not need to build a working implementation. At the final presentation, clients as well as other faculty and students may be invited. The project will proceed in the following phases (subject to revision):
Weeks
2-6 Form project teams, decide on a goal, and draft project proposal 7-8 Requirements analysis 9-10 Design strategies and first round prototype 11-12 Second round prototype and evaluation 14 Class presentation and project portfolio Students will typically work in teams of 2-3 (although I will consider individual projects or larger groups). Working with a larger group allows you to undertake a more ambitious and rewarding project. You will gain experience working on a technology project in a group - which is a real-world requirement for most jobs. You group will present its work during the last class session. NOTE: Each part of the team project must be submitted by the due date at noon. If it is not submitted on time that day, your grade will be reduced by 10%. For each subsequent day it is late your grade will be reduced by 5%. |
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Final Assignment |
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The final assignment will include 1-2 essays that cover material from the course. This will give you an opportunity to critically examine your experience and what you have learned during the semester. The essays are similar to the essays you will write for comprehensive exams, so they will also give you a preliminary idea of what we look for in comps essays. |
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Submitting Assignments |
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All assignments are to be submitted electronically through the class web site or posted online as instructed. Late work. The instructor will not accept late work except by prior arrangement. If accepted, it may not be graded until the end of the term. Makeup work. If a student has a legitimate reason, such as a medical or family emergency, the instructor may allow a student to do makeup work. The amount and nature of the work is up to the instructor's discretion. It will be graded at term's end. Documentation of the emergency (e.g. a doctor's letter) may be required. Place your name and email address at the top of all pages. Any work submitted with numerous grammar, spelling or format problems will be penalized. Accommodations for students with disabilities: Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss specific needs. Please contact Disability Support Services (at 202 319-5211, room 207 Pryzbyla Center) to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. To read about the services and policies, please visit the website: http://disabilitysupport.cua.edu. The CUA guide for services and accommodations for students with disabilities can be found at http://counsel.cua.edu/ADA/publications/disbro/contents.cfm. Some basic guidelines and links to other information may be found at: http://counsel.cua.edu/ADA/clicks/. |
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University Grades |
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The University grading system is available at http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/gradesfull.cfm#II for undergraduates and http://policies.cua.edu/academicgrad//gradesfull.cfm#iii for graduate students. Reports of grades in courses are available at the end of each term on http://cardinalstation.cua.edu . |
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COURSE POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS |
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Academic Honesty |
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Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Faculty are required to initiate the imposition of sanctions when they find violations of academic honesty, such as plagiarism, improper use of a student's own work, cheating, and fabrication. The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Student Academic Dishonesty (from http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.cfm): "The presumed sanction for undergraduate students for academic dishonesty will be failure for the course. There may be circumstances, however, where, perhaps because of an undergraduate student's past record, a more serious sanction, such as suspension or expulsion, would be appropriate. In the context of graduate studies, the expectations for academic honesty are greater, and therefore the presumed sanction for dishonesty is likely to be more severe, e.g., expulsion. ...In the more unusual case, mitigating circumstances may exist that would warrant a lesser sanction than the presumed sanction." Please review the complete texts of the University policy and procedures regarding Student Academic Dishonesty, including requirements for appeals, at http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm and http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrity.cfm. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Always cite your sources. |
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Participation and Conduct: |
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Attendance is required, in keeping with university policy. Your class participation grade depends on being in class and actively participating in class and online. If you will be unavoidably absent, you must consult with the instructor as early as possible. Arrive on time. Late arrival will affect your class participation grades. If class is cancelled due to weather or other emergency, check the online announcements the next day. We will generally hold class online when this happens. Behave respectfully. Students are expected to behave respectfully at all times: while in class, in public discussion forums, and when using email. Participation grades will reflect a student’s maturity level and professionalism; cooperation and collaboration with the class; and whether the meaningfully contributes to course discussions. No phone calls during class. Turn off or silence cell phones and pagers. Students leaving the room for calls may not be allowed to return to that class session. No grade discussions in class. Instructor will not discuss grades in class. First consider why the instructor deducted points. If you still disagree, explain your disagreement in an e-mail to the instructor. |
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Accommodations for students with disabilities |
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Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based
on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to
discuss specific needs. Please contact Disability Support Services (at 202
319-5211, room 207 |
|
Syllabus changes |
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The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus as needed. Nothing in this syllabus may be construed as a contract. All changes will be provided to students via the class site. |
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Acknowledgements |
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This material was originally adapted from material by Doug Oard. I co-taught this class with Ryen White during the Spring 2006. |
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Revision History |