CS291U/491I Usability
Essentials
Lecture: TTh 9:30AM-10:45AM CMPSCI 150
Instructors: Mark Corner, Adam Connor (aconnor@(you know where), UX expert from Mass Mutual)
Textbook: Readings (see bottom of page)
Other Things you will need: the Edlab, a digital camera, basic art supplies
Things that could be helpful: A video camera
Course Description
In this course we examine the important problems in Usability, Human Computer Interaction, User Interfaces, and Human Centered Computing. We will examine elements of HCI history, understanding human capabilities, HCI design, several methods for prototyping user interfaces, and new applications and paradigms in human computer interaction. This is not a course in how to make dialog boxes, but rather a much more general approach to interacting with human beings and evaluating designs. Some elementary programming in Flash (or another user interface prototyping tool) may be required, but people without prior programming experience should feel right at home in this class. This is offered simultaneously at a 200-level and a 400-level. The 200-level course is available to any undergraduate student, not just computer scientists. IT-minor students are especially encouraged to participate. The 400-level version, available only to junior and senior computer science majors, will require extra work and will be graded on a separate scale. Several group projects and exams will be required. No prerequisites. 3 credits.
Note about the course materials: I must extend my greatest thanks to Scott Klemer and Terry Winograd at Stanford for many of the lectures and projects used in thiscourse. I also thank Jason Hong at CMU and James Landay at University of Washington for additional materials.
This is an experimental course. There are bound to be some bumps along the way, so please bear with me. I plan to teach this course again to a larger enrollement, so I will appreciate constructive feedback. Feel free to provide this in person, by email, or even anonymously.
Projects
This course has 3 projects, two smaller projects and one major project.
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
Studio Time
What the heck does "Studio Time" mean? It is common practice in most design oriented courses (Archictecture, Landscape Architecture, Art) to use class time for working on designs in the company of others. This gives groups a chance to meet, interact with the professor and receive constructive feedback. Typically the instructor will circulate among thegroups giving critiques and helpful advice. Your responsisbility is to come to studio time prepared to work on your project, with all of the necessary materials. Studio time is not optional, it is a crucial part of the course. IF the instructor has already given you help, this doesn't mean it is time to leave, it is time o further the exploration of your design. However, studio time is meant to be casual. If you need to take a break, take a break. If you need to ask other people in the class for help, just ask.
Grading
- Project 1 10%
- Project 2 10%
- Project 3 40%
- Midterm 30%
- In-Class Assignments 10%
Schedule
| Week |
Date |
Topic |
Coursework |
Readings due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep. 2 | Introduction | None | |
| Sep. 4 | Introduction Cont. | BAS-3 | ||
| 2 | Sep. 9 | Design of Everyday Things | Project 1 Assigned | BAS-1 |
| Sep. 11 | Elements of User Experience | BAS-4 | ||
| 3 | Sep. 16 |
No Class |
||
| Sep. 18 | Information Architecture | Project 1 Due | ||
| 4 | Sep. 23 | Interaction Design, Project 2 Assignment | Project 2 Assigned | BAS-2 |
| Sep. 25 | Visual Design | DES-1, DES-2 | ||
| 5 | Sep. 30 | Color and Typography and Asthetics | DES-3 | |
| Oct. 2 | Human Abilities |
COG-1 | ||
| 6 | Oct. 7 | Colors and Typography Cont. | ||
| Oct. 9 | Design Principles, Intro to Project 3 | Project 2 Due, Project 3 Assigned | ||
| 7 | Oct. 14 | NC-Monday Schedule | ||
| Oct. 16 | P1: POV Due | DES-4 | ||
| 8 | Oct. 21 | Tufte, Midterm Review | ||
| Oct. 23 | Midterm | P2: Contextual Inquiry Due | PRO-1, PRO-2, PRO-3, PRO-4 | |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | Storyboards and Paper and Video Prototyping | ||
| Oct. 30 | Project Proposals/Studio Time | P3: Project Proposal Due, Group Eval | ||
| 10 | Nov. 4 | No Class (Election) | ||
| Nov. 6 | Evaluation | P4: Storyboards Due | EVA-1 | |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | Studio Time | ||
| (WED!) |
Nov. 12 |
Studio Time | P5: Paper Prototype Due | EVA-2 |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | Rapid Software Protoyping | ||
| Nov. 20 | Studio Time | P6: User Test Due | ||
| 13 | Nov. 25 | Designing for the Web | WEB-1 | |
| Nov. 27 | No Class (Thanksgiving) | |||
| 14 | Dec. 2 | History of HCI | Group Eval | |
| Dec. 4 | Studio Time | P7: First HiFi Prototype Due, P8: Elevator Pitch Due | HIS-1, HIS-2 | |
| 15 | Dec. 9 | Ubicomp | ||
| Dec. 11 | Last Class: Final Presentations | P9: Final Prototype Due | ||
| 16 | Dec. 16 | NC | ||
| Dec. 18 | NC | P10: Writeup and Exe Due, Group Eval |
Required Readings
History
- HIS-1: Vannevar Bush,"As We May Think", The Atlantic Monthly. July 1945
- HIS-2: "Inventing the Mouse" and "The Demo that Changed the World" in Bill Moggridge, Designing Interactions pages 26-37
- HIS-3: Jakob Nielsen, Generations of User Interfaces, in Usability Engineering, Chapter 3, pp. 49-69
Basics
- BAS-1: Donald Norman, Chapter 1, The Psychopathology of Everyday Things, The Design of Everyday Things, pp. 1-33
- BAS-2: Hutchins et al., Direct Manipulation Interfaces, in Draper and Norman, User-Centered System Design, pp. 87-124
- BAS-3: Sharp, Interaction Design Chapter 6, Part1 Part2.
- BAS-4: Jesse James Garret, Meet the Elements, in The Elements of User Experience, Chatper 2.
Design
- DES-1: Mullet and Sano, Elegance and Simplicity, in Designing Visual Interfaces, Chapter 2, pp. 17-49
- DES-2: Mullet and Sano, Organization and Visual Structure, in Designing Visual Interfaces, Chapter 4, pp. 89-130
- DES-3: Dix et al., Design Rules, in Human-Computer Interaction, Chapter 7, pp. 258-288
- DES-4: Alan Cooper, The Myth of Metaphor
Human Abilities and Cognition
- COG-1: Yvonne Waern, Basics of Cognition, in Cognitive Aspects of Computer Supported Tasks, Chapter 2, pp. 10-30
Prototyping
- PRO-1: Marc Rettig, Prototyping for Tiny Fingers, in Communications of the ACM, Volume 37, Issue 4 (April 1994), Pages 21-27.
- PRO-2: Carolyn Snyder, Making a Paper Prototype, in Paper Prototyping, Chapter 4 (available from Books 24x7)
- PRO-3: Carolyn Snyder, Task Design, in Paper Prototyping, Chapter 6 (available from Books 24x7)
- PRO-4: Gayle Curtis and Laurie Vertelney, Storyboards and Sketch Prototypes for Rapid Interface Visualization , CHI 1990 Tutorial
Evaluation
- EVA-1: Jakob Nielsen, How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
- EVA-2: Joseph Dumas, User-Based Evaluations, in Jacko and Sears, The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook, Chapter 56, pp. 1093-1117
Extra
- WEB-1: Steve Krug, How We Really Use the Web, in Don't Make Me Think, Chapter 2, pp. 20-29
Extra Readings
- EMO-1: Don Norman, Emotional Machines, in Emotional Design, Chapter 6, pp. 161-194
- PHY-1: Ken Hinckley, Input Technologies and Techniques, in Jacko and Sears, The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook, Chapter 7, pp. 151-168
Revelant Links
Interface Hall of Shame
Interface Hall of Fame
Georgia Tech HCC Library
Bad Design
Nielsen's USEIT
Denim Software with Tutorial
Flash Tutorial