This course focuses on issues involved in the design of the interaction between people and computers. It is intended to give insight and experience in key issues of HCI design, not to provide a comprehensive coverage of all the different areas related to human-computer interaction. Students will come away from the course with the ability to identify issues and tradeoffs in interaction design, and to invent and evaluate alternative solutions to design problems. There are no formal prerequisites for the course, but students should have some basic familiarity with computers and their use.
The fundamentals of human-computer interaction are best understood by practice and example. In other courses, such as the CS247 series, we make use of extended group projects as a basis for teaching. In this course we will be using a variant of the case method, of the kind used in business and law. The case method has proven highly successful in other areas of study and we are experimenting with adapting it to HCI (this course was created as part of a teaching experiment sponsored by the National Science Foundation).
This is not a traditional CS course, and it is likely that you will find this format somewhat difficult at first. But over the quarter you will probably come to enjoy this different style of study and learning.
The course will be taught using design examples as the basis for discussion in class. There will be a series of case units, each generally one week (two class sessions). Each unit is based on a particular HCI design example chosen from among the "classics" and current products, and includes three components:
1. Reading assignments and study groups
Readings will be from a readings packet we will ask you to buy at the bookstore after the first week of class, and other reprints we may hand out from time to time. Readings will be assigned in advance of each case study. Students will organize themselves during the first week of class into study groups of 4 or 5 people. These groups will have some group assignments during the quarter and will be a resource for discussing the materials in preparation for the class session in which they will be discussed. Groups will be responsible for scheduling their own meeting times and communications.
2. Presentation and discussion
Each case will be presented in class, in a lecture/ discussion/ demonstration session, in some cases including dialog with the original designer of the software being discussed. In the presentation and subsequent discussion we will focus on the questions of what the basic interaction problem was, how it was approached, and what was learned from the resulting design. In conjunction with each presentation we will have class-participation discussions (see details below) based on the readings and presentation.
3. Exercises (individual and group)
For each unit an exercise will be assigned to give hands-on experience with selected aspects of the issues raised by the design example. Exercises will include analysis, design, and testing of interfaces, and will not call for substantive programming.
We will make available on the campus network some sample programs for you to analyze and evaluate. You should have the basic facility to load and run such programs, but you will not need to write them. We expect every student to have access to a Macintosh of MacII or better class (at least 13" screen, 4MB of memory, system 7.0). The TAs can provide information as to where you can get access to machines on campus provided for student use, and you are welcome to use personal or other machines you have legitimate access to. We will not provide computers or space outside of class.
We will deal with a number of topics, including:
Through these topics we will continue to keep an eye on basic questions that determine the space of possibilities, tradeoffs and metrics of success:
In this course, as in any, there are multiple and occasionally conflicting objectives. These include the following:
1) Developing a design point of view---a capacity for analyzing interaction problems on a technical, a cognitive, and a functional basis;
2) Developing an awareness of the range of general human- computer interaction issues that must be considered in creating any kind of program or product that people will use;
3) Developing a framework for orderly thinking and rigor in formulating, refining and implementing HCI designs.
The classroom time will be devoted primarily to case studies and related discussion, not to lectures. Thorough preparation of the cases and active participation in the class discussion are expected of all students, and represent the only way to succeed. You are expected to discuss each case in advance of class with a study group consisting of four or five students (the more diversity the better) that meets regularly before each class. Some of the exercises will be done in these groups. Others will be individual work.
Study questions to help you prepare each case are handed out several sessions ahead of time. These questions should serve only as a starting point. You should decide what the key issues are and how they can best be addressed, but as a minimum, you should formulate answers to these study questions, as a test of your preparation and understanding.
In a typical class, one or more class members will be asked to start the session by addressing a specific question. Anyone who has prepared the case should be able to handle such a lead-off assignment. After a few minutes of initial analysis and recommendations, we will open the discussion to the rest of the class. As a group we will try to build an understanding of the design problem and the issues it presents. Occasionally a portion of the class will be a lecture/discussion of concepts and techniques arising in the case but useful in a much broader range of situations. The final portion of the class will sometimes be a lecture/discussion as a basis for the next case.
Your are expected to be an active participant throughout the entire class
and to contribute to the quality of the discussion. Please note that the
frequency with which you speak in class is not a key criterion for effective
class participation. The classroom should be considered a laboratory in
which you can test your ability to convince your peers that you have approached
complex problems correctly and that your approach will achieve the desired
results. Criteria that are useful in measuring effective class participation
include:
The questions above deal with the process of class participation. Of equal or greater concern is the content of what you say. Class participation will represent a major component of your grade in this course.
Since much of the value of the course comes from class discussions, students are expected to attend all the classes. If you will miss more than one during the quarter, discuss it with the instructors. Since we discuss the assignments in class on the day they are to be handed in, we will not accept late handins, except for special needs by prior arrangement.
Grades are letter-grade only, and will be based on three components. There will not be a midterm or final exam, and our goal is to spread the work relatively evenly through the quarter.