The intent of this course is to address the problem of how to improve the quality of interaction between an individual and a computer. Some of the material will come from the text, some from other books, much from experience (yours and mine), and the rest from research literature. I expect the course to be fairly interactive, with lots of questions from me, and lots of answers from you; and vice versa too.
The facts in this course are quite simple to grasp. The hard part is using them. This requires the right attitude, experience, and good taste. This requires learning and practice, which the course should provide.
The topics that will probably be covered in the course are given in an accompanying handout (web page), "The Story So Far ...". We will try to follow the book quite closely, in order to make your reading of the book easier, and to make the book as useful as possible during the course.
You will be expected to read the book (even if I don't remind you), concentrating on the material covered in lectures. We will try to cover about a few chapters per week. In addition, you will on occasion be given other material to read. This material will reinforce the lectures and present additional topics. ALL of this material will be examinable. For reference, and additional reading on specific topics, some books (and/or papers) may be on reserve in the library.
My expectation is that you will spend up to 15 hours per week on this course. This is WPI's standard expectation for the time spent on each 1/3 unit. With the exception of the group project all work should be done by yourself.
A problem with the subject matter is that HCI is a rapidly changing field, with many small research results. However, there is only a limited amount of core knowledge that is applicable under all situations. It is also a field where "common sense" can play a large part. Much of what appears obvious, however, is being carefully tested to discover under which conditions (e.g., types of users) the assumptions are actually true, and why.
Obviously, the intent of this course is to expose you to the concepts being addressed in this swiftly growing field. This is not primarily a programming course. Programming is merely one aspect. There will be one programming project, to be done in Visual Basic. Perhaps a more important additional aspect of this course is to try to make you "more sensitive" to the needs of the user -- i.e., most programs are not being used by their authors; many users of computers do not know much about computer science; naive users have different demands and expectations than experienced users.
There will be HCI-related videos shown on two days. Everyone is expected to attend. The first shows some quite rare footage of "early" interface developments, such as the first mouse, and first bit-mapped display. The second is a very good, general overview of the design of interfaces.
There will be two examinations, four projects and a presentation.
Projects will include evaluating experts' opinions & evaluating interfaces, a system comparison with experiments, a challenging interface design problem, and an interface design and implementation. Other handouts/pages will explain the projects.
Project 3, and the associated presentations, will be done in TA-generated random groups. The other projects are to be done alone.
Exam 1 will cover all the material up to that date (book & lecture), while Exam 2 will concentrate on the material presented since the first exam but will not necessarily exclude other material. Note that the exams are based on both lectures and readings, so class attendance is strongly encouraged. Oversleeping is not an acceptable excuse for missing an exam.
The grading is assigned as follows:
Project 1 10% {1 week }
Project 2 20% {2 weeks}
Note: projects 3 & 4 overlap in time.
Project 3 20% {3 weeks} Note: group project.
Project 4 20% {3 weeks} Note: programming project.
Exam 1 15% {Closed book}
Exam 2 15% {Closed book}
Late work without a valid prior reason will automatically lose at least 10% of the possible points. Work must be handed in by 5 pm on the due date.
The highest standards of programming, writing and presentation will be expected. This will contribute to your grade. We will expect you to deliver what is requested (e.g., answer all questions asked as part of the project description).
The presentations at the end of term will be made by the groups that worked together on Project 3 and will show the results from that Project, plus some of the rationale for the decisions made. The presentations and their content will be evaluated by everyone in the class. We're looking for the best group!
Cheating, defined as taking credit for work you did not do, is strictly forbidden. First offenders will receive a zero grade for the assignment or exam in question. Repeat offenders will receive an NR for the course and the case will be brought before the Computer Science Department Head (see the WPI Academic Honesty Policy).
With respect to grading, an "A" is reserved for Excellent work, with a very rough expectation of a better than 90% score over the whole class. A grade of "B" represents high quality work, with a very rough expectation of a score at least higher than 60% and perhaps higher than 70%, depending on how hard the exams are and how hard the grading is. Above 50% but below the B boundary will probably be a "C" grade, which indicates reasonable but undistinguished work. Below 50% will probably get you an NR. Please note that these boundaries are meant merely as an indication of my expectations, and may change according to circumstances.
Text:
Optional additional reading may be "on reserve" in the library, or you may need to hunt for it yourselves.
Other texts include: