HCI 510 : HCI Methods I

HCI 510 : HCI Methods I Damian Schofield

HCI 510: HCI Methods I • Who Am I ? • Why Do I Study This ? • What Do I Do ? • Introduction to the Course • Course Practicalities • Starting to Think Like a HCI Expert

Introduction To The Course I. Course Number and Credit HCI 510 3 S.H II. Course Title: HCI Methods I - Design and Evaluation III. Course Description HCI Methods I - Design and Evaluation provides students with a detailed introduction to the methodologies used in the design and evaluation of human computer interfaces as well as research in HCI. These methodologies permit the evaluation of user needs, comparisons of design alternatives, the evaluation of existing products, and basic research in HCI.

Introduction To The Course • IV. Prerequisites: • Undergraduate degree in Psychology or Computer Science or permission of the instructor • V. Justification for Course • This course will provide students in the Masters degree program in HCI the skills required to evaluate HCI designs. • This course along with the Human Computer Interaction (HCI 500) course and the Software Design course will ensure that students with varied backgrounds will have the same understanding of the fundamentals of HCI design and analysis.

Introduction To The Course • VI. Course Objectives • The primary objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the research and design methodologies necessary for a user-centered design process. • This will be accomplished through a series of laboratory exercises that will provide the students with the opportunity to apply the methodologies discussed in the course.

Introduction To The Course • VI. Course Objectives • The specific goals of this course are to provide students with: • A. An understanding of the concept of user-centered design and how it relates to usability. • B. Knowledge of the techniques used for assessing the needs of the users. This will support both existing products the planning for new products. Be knowledgeable of the key aspects of graphical user interfaces and how they related to the abilities of the users. • C. The techniques for translating the mental model the users have for a product interface to the design of the interface.

Introduction To The Course • VI. Course Objectives • The specific goals of this course are to provide students with: • D. The research methodologies for assessing user performance. • E. Knowledge of the basic statistical methods used in HCI research methods. • F. The ability to build an HCI evaluation laboratory.

Introduction To The Course • VII. Course Outline • All of the topics covered in this course outline will have accompanying laboratory projects in which the students will have the opportunity to employ the methodologies.

Introduction To The Course • VII. Course Outline • A. Course Overview • Introduction to the research and design methods in HCI. • The importance of assessment and evaluation in the user-centered design process will be discussed in this section. • An emphasis will be placed on the understanding that there are fundamental differences between the designer and the user and that it is through these methods that an understanding of the user can be achieved.

Introduction To The Course • VII. Course Outline • B. Design Methods • 1. User needs assessment • This section will cover the assessment and evaluation of user needs. This will permit an understanding of the users' cognitive, behavioural, attitudinal, and anthropometric characteristics and the characteristics of the jobs they will be doing. The use and design of surveys will be discussed. • 2. Participatory design • Techniques for involving the users in the design process will be discussed in this section. As the domain experts, the users need to play an important role in the design process.

Introduction To The Course • VII. Course Outline • B. Design Methods • 3. Task analysis • Task analysis is the means of understanding the work the users will be performing by translating the users internal model of the tasks to the sequence of required actions. The varieties of task analyses will be reviewed. • 4. Development environment • This section of the course will focus on the methods of documenting the user interface design for development. Specification methods and prototyping tools will be the primary topics covered.

Introduction To The Course • C. Usability Testing • 1. Usability metrics • This section will cover the ways in which usability is measured. The primary methods are speed of task performance, error rates and subjective measures of user’s satisfaction. • 2. Cognitive walkthroughs • Cognitive walkthroughs and other heuristic testing methods are the primary means of assessing usability prior to prototyping or building the product.

Introduction To The Course • C. Usability Testing • 3. Controlled experiments • In this section students will be introduced to the research methodologies used in controlled experiments. The statistical techniques used to analyse those methodologies will also be covered. • 4. Evaluation during active use • The techniques for assessing user performance while interacting with the computer system will be discussed in this section. These techniques include surveys, prototyping, and observations including keystroke analysis.

Introduction To The Course • D. Professional issues • 1. Ethics • The ethics of performing research with human subjects as well as the ethical responsibility of being the advocate for usability will be discussed in this section. • 2. Developing an HCI laboratory • The products used in usability testing will be reviewed and the minimal and optimal components of an HCI laboratory will be discussed.

Course Policies • Attendance. • Attendance will be documented at each class period. Students must attend all classes and lab periods that they are listed for. • Missed exams. • Under special circumstances (e.g., death in family, illness), a make-up may be given. Prior notification of absence and documentation of absence is required. If you miss an exam for another valid and documented reason and do give prior notice, other options will be considered. To give notice: call, email or ask a friend to contact me. • Late and not-completed assignments. • For each calendar day an assignment is late, the maximum grade that may be achieved drops by 30%. Assignments are due at the start of class on the date indicated. An assignment that is not turned in will be factored in the overall grade as a zero.

Course Policies • Academic integrity. • It is critical that each student does his or her own work and properly acknowledges the work of others. If I have evidence of cheating or plagiarism, I will follow vigorously the procedures as stated by University policy. Plagiarism and cheating on exams are particularly serious matters and are grounds for failure in the course. As stated in University policy, instances of violations of academic integrity will be reported. University principles and policies are stated on page 195-196 of the current catalog and online at the link below: (http://catalog.oswego.edu/content.php?catoid=2&navoid=47#stat_inte_inte). • Classroom etiquette. • Students are expected to be punctual and respect others in the classroom by speaking in turn, sitting near the door if late or needing to leave early, raising a hand to request to speak and not distracting classmates who are trying to participate. A student who leaves the room during an exam will not be permitted to re-enter and complete her or his exam. In the case of illness during exams, students should go to the health center (and a make up will be made available).

Course Policies Modifications to syllabus. I reserve the right to modify the syllabus and assessment criteria in response to student needs, developments and unforeseen events. Research participation. Participating in focussed research will be a required part of the course. This is designed to help you acquire a solid foundation in psychological research, and undertaking your own research is a valuable part of this process. Extra credit. I will try to provide opportunities for extra credit where I am able. Office of Disability Services. The office is available to assist students who have a legally documented disability or students who suspect that they may have a disability. If you have a disabling condition that may interfere with your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the office of Disability Services. Also, please see me to let me know how we may be of assistance. Alternative testing for students with learning disabilities is available.

Academic Assessment Readings. Reading assignments may be given for some weeks of class. Make sure that you understand the reading each week in order to keep up and to achieve good academic performance. Exams. A number of exams will be given: ending with a final exam. Exam format will probably be short answer and multiple choice. Exams will cover all assigned readings and all information presented in class. Assignments and quizzes. There will be a number of quizzes or assignment through the year. Some assignments will be completed in class; some may be due the following week. Quizzes will focus on the concepts presented in the current chapters (terms will be given in class beforehand). These assignments and quizzes will be designed to help students understand and practice concepts and skills.

Academic Assessment Project. Students will complete a small research project that includes developing and testing a hypothesis, collecting and analyzing the data, and writing the results in academic style. Probable Grading: Exams 100 points each, Assignments worth 10 points each, Quizzes worth 20 points each, Project worth 150 points. Grade* for the course is based on the percentage of total points accumulated: A = 90 - 100 %, B = 80 - 89 %, C = 70 - 79 %, D = 60 - 69 %, E = 0 - 59 % (*plus and minus grades will be used)

Course Practicalities • Curriculum Variation • Assessment Variation • Access / Student Hour / Email • Website Access – www.cs.oswego.edu/~schofield • Teaching Section – Password: method1 • 5. Time / Location

HCI 510: HCI Methods I • Who Am I ? • Why Do I Study This ? • What Do I Do ? • Introduction to the Course • Course Practicalities • Starting to Think Like a HCI Expert • Homework : Small Assignment for Next week

iPad Assignment • Think like a HCI designer. • Answers should be user-centred not technology focused.

iPad Assignment Why did previous incarnations of tablet PCs not become very popular ? What is different about the iPad that may cause it to succeed ? What factors may still cause the iPad to fail ? Will the iPad be a success or failure and why ?

iPad Assignment • Already the media is full of predictions. • Avoid providing technology checklists – what are the reasons ? • Due by next • weeks class • Tues Feb 2nd 2010

HCI 510 : HCI Methods I