General Information
Instructor
Dr. Franz J. Kurfess, Cal Poly Computer Science Department (http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~fkurfess/)
Office Hours
My office hours are tentatively scheduled for Tue/Thu 2:10-3:00 pm, and Wed 2:10-5:00 pm. My office is in building 14, room 218. You can also check my Zimbra calendar.
Class Times
- Lecture: TuTh 9:10AM - 11:00AM in 14-257
- Lab: This course is officially listed as a “Seminar”, and there is no lab. In practice, it will be similar to most of my other 400-level courses, including a term project.
The Cal Poly Catalog 2011-13 describes the course as follows:
Application of the theories of human-computer interaction to the task of usercentered design. Survey of techniques for studying and involving users in different aspects of the design process, and demonstration of where and when applicable. Combining of theoretical understanding with practical experience to design solutions to problems facing interactive systems designers. 4 seminars.
This course in its current incarnation does not have an official lab component. It is listed as “4 seminars” in the catalog. In practice, it will be similar to most of my other 400-level courses, including a term project. We will use some of the class time for project-related activities, but students are expected to work on their project outside of the regular class times as well.
Prerequisites: Junior standing and CSC/CPE 484 (this requirement is waived for Spring 2012 since 484 and 486 are offered concurrently.
From CPE/CSC 484, students should be familiar with the following topics:
- Introduction to the field of human-computer interaction (HCI)
- Human aspects of HCI:
- Cognitive frameworks for HCI
- Perception and Representation
- Attention and Memory Constraints
- Reviews of Interface Designs
- Data Collection and Analysis Techniques
- Interaction Design Methodologies:
- Interaction Styles
- Input/Output Techniques
- Principles and Methods of User-Centered Design
- Formal Methods for Usability Testing
Students should be familiar with basic Web design and programming. Experience in the usage of the following Web design tools and technologies is advantageous:
- Design tools such as Frontpage, Dreamweaver.
- Advanced markup languages based on XML.
- Web scripting and programming methods such as Javascript, CGI, PHP, ASP, JSP.
Through this course, students are expected to:
- understand and analyze the fundamental concepts and strategies of user-centered design in the context of computer-based systems
- learn how to read, understand and summarize the literature of human-computer interaction
- learn how to communicate and critique user-centered aspects of a variety of software applications
- apply this knowledge, understanding and analysis to a particular problem domain
- learn how to evaluate the results of the project activities
The emphasis in this course will be on interaction aspects for computer-based systems that do not rely on the traditional arrangement of screen, keyboard, and mouse or trackpad. We will investigate devices that rely on user interaction through touch, gestures, voice, or other methods. In addition, we will explore the constraints imposed by device size (as in mobile devices), purpose (entertainment and gaming devices), environment (hands-free operation, background noise), and other limiting factors.
Overview of Topics
Since this is a seminar course, the selection of the topics depends to a significant degree on the choice of topics for the student presentations.
- Introduction
- Review of fundamental themes in User-Centered Design (UCD) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
- Components of UCD and HCI
- Cognitive Foundations
- Core Components in Humans for Interaction with Computers
- Human Capabilities and Limitations
- Perception
- Representation
- Attention
- Memory
- Input-Output Devices and Methods
- Sensors and Actuators suitable for Interaction Purposes
- Interaction Styles and Paradigms
- Interaction based on “Desktop” Metaphor
- Alternative Interaction Styles
- Interaction with Mobile Devices
- Device Constraints
- Environmental and Task Constraints
- Speech-Based Interaction
- Spoken Commands
- Spoken Natural Language
- Natural User Interfaces
- Immersive Interaction
- Virtual Environments
On the course Web page at http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~fkurfess:
- syllabus
- schedule
- project information
- lecture notes at http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~fkurfess/Courses/486/S12/Slides/ - Keynote (original), PowerPoint, PDF; you can also find the original slides from the “Interaction Design” text book (see below) at http://www.id-book.com/slides_index.php
- grades
- project topics and discussion
- project documents
• individual student and project materials
This course uses the same textbook as in CSC 484. It will serve more as a reference than a textbook; especially for material on the presentation and research paper, other sources will be needed.
- Interaction Design by Yvonne Rogers, Helen Sharp, and Jenny Preece,. 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons: New York, 2011. You can also check http://isbn.nu/http://isbn.nu/9780470018666 for prices of new and used copies at online bookstores like Amazon, Abebooks.com, Half.com and a few others.
- UX Design by Ross Unger and Carolyn Chandler. New Riders, Berkeley, CA, 2009; the second edition is expected to be available by the end of March.
- The Resonant Interface: HCI Foundations for Interaction Design by Steven Heim; Addison-Wesley, 2007. ( link to Amazon)
- Designing Interactions, by Bill Moggridge. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2007. ISBN: 978-0262134743.
- User Centered Web Site Design, by D.D. McCracken and R.J. Wolfe. Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004. ISBN: 013041161-2.
- The Web Wizard's guide to Web Design, J.G. Lengel, Addison-Wesley, 2002. ISBN: 0201745623.
- Human-Computer Interaction, Alan Dix, Janet E. Finlay, Gregory D. Abowd, Russell Beale; 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, 2004, ISBN 0-13-046109-1.
- Things That Make Us Smart: defending human attributes in the age of the machine, D. Norman, Perseus Books, 1993.
- User-Centered System Design: new perspectives on human-computer interaction, D. Norman and S. Draper (eds.); Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986.
- The Psychology of Everyday Things, D. Norman; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1986. Re-issued in paperback as "The Design of Everyday Things" by Currency Books, 1990.
- Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer-Interaction, B. Shneiderman; Addison Wesley; 4th edition, 2004.
- From Computing Machinery to Interaction Design, T. Winograd. http://hci.stanford.edu/~winograd/acm97.html.
Course Work
The main work in this class consists of two assignments, a research activity, and a team project. It is possible and strongly recommended to coordinate work across these activities, especially between the research activity and the project.
Assignments
Most of the work in the assignments will be done in teams, although some assignments may have individual components.
The two assignments are a subset of the assignments from the 484 class, with an emphasis on heuristic usability evaluation and data collection. Students taking 484 and 486 concurrently will have to deliver separate assignments for each class.
Research Activity
Since this course technically is an advanced course on Human-Computer Interaction, students are expected to investigate a topic related to important principles and recent work in the field. Traditionally, the results of such research work are delivered in the form of presentations and research paper. In this class, we will examine alternative approaches to present the outcomes of the research conducted as class work. This can be in the form of an entry to Wikipedia or a similar Web site, a series of blog entries, a video, a podcast, or of course a traditional paper. The activity can be conducted individually, in small groups, or by the same team that works on the project. It is subject to the following expectations:
- Deliverable: There must be a concrete outcome to the research activity.
- Educational Value: The outcome should be beneficial for others, both within this class as well as outside of the class.
- High-Quality Presentation: The deliverable must be comparable in the quality of the presentation to a publication in conference proceedings or a journal. In particular, it must be carefully edited and proof-read, and should follow standard practices for other presentation formats such as video or sound recordings.
- Public Availability: The result should be made available to the public through a suitable venue. Youtube, Wikipedia, popular blogging and podcasting platforms are acceptable.
Some projects this quarter will be done in collaboration with collaborators from within Cal Poly, and from outside organizations. Students will have several project topics to choose from, and may also propose their own topics. Strong preference is given to projects involving external collaborators. These collaborators should be either end users of products targeted in the project, or have a strong familiarity with the characteristics of such end users.
Class Presentations and Participation
This class will rely on interactive classroom activities, such as participation in group discussions, presentation of ideas and results (from textbook, class or assignments), leading discussions on selected readings, providing written summary materials (as web files via Blackboard), etc. This is especially important for the research activity, where you may explore topics that your instructor is not too familiar with.
Success in this class depends on regular attendance, preparation of assigned readings and homework exercises, as well as a level of professionalism in the class presentations. Peer evaluations may be included as part of the grade.
Policy on Late Work and Extensions
Much of the graded work in this class depends strongly on presentations and documentation material. Once a team or individual has committed to a date for the presentation, extensions or changes in the dates will only be permitted for documented medical or documented emergency reasons.
Grading Policy
I will use the following allocation of scores for the calculation of the grades.
- Assignments: 20%
- Research Activity: 30%
- Project: 40%
- Class Participation: 10%
For the team grades, feedback through peer evaluations will also be considered (although I will not use it directly in the calculation of the score).