I.Course Number and Credit 

HCI 510 3 S.H

II.Course Title:

HCI Methods I - Design and Evaluation

III.Course Description

Research and Design Methods in HCI 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.

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

VI.Course Objectives

The primary objectiveof 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 accomplishedthrough a series of laboratory exercises that will provide the students with the opportunity to apply the methodologies discussed in the course.The specific goals of this courseare toprovide students with

A.    An understanding ofthe concept of user-centered design and how it relates to usability.

B.   Knowledge of the techniques used forassessing 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 aproduct interface to the design ofthe interface

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

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

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.

B.Design Methods<o:p></o:p>

1.User needs assessment

This section will cover the assessment and evaluation of user needs.This will permit an understanding of the users' cognitive, behavioral, attitudinal, and anthropometric characteristicsand the characteristics of the jobs they will be doing. The use and design of surveys will be discussed.<o:p></o:p>

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

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.<o:p></o:p>

4.Development environment<o:p></o:p>

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.<o:p></o:p>

1.Usability metrics<o:p></o:p>

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.<o:p></o:p>

3.Controlled experiments<o:p></o:p>

In this section students will be introduced to the research methodologies used in controlled experiments. The statistical techniques used to analyze 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, <o:p></o:p>

C.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<o:p></o:p>

2.Developing an HCI laboratory<o:p></o:p>

The products used in usability testing will be reviewed and the minimal and optimal components of an HCI laboratory will be discussed.