CS468 – Principles of User Interface Design

 

Spring 2012

Instructor: Tolga Çapın

 

 

 

Description:

 

The course is designed to provide in-depth exposure to both the theory and practice of human-computer interaction and methods of interactive information system design. We will focus on the fundamental question “How can we create high-quality user interfaces?” through:

 

·         The knowledge of core concepts of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and usability engineering;

·         The understanding of tools and techniques used to design and evaluate effective interactive systems;

·         The entire system development lifecycle: user requirements analysis, information and interaction design, prototyping and evaluation

 

 

 

Lecture Notes:

 

Week

 

Lecture Notes

 

 

Project / Homework

Week 15

(14.5-20.5)

No lecture.

Project demonstrations.

 

Week 14

(7.5-13.5)

W14-Threads.pdf

 

Week 13

(30.4-6.5)

W12-Input.pdf

 

Week 12

(23.4-29.4)

W11-MVC-Example.pdf (contd.)

W12-Output.pdf

W12-Constraints-and-Layout.pdf

 

Week 11

(16.4-22.4)

W10-UI-Software-Architecture.pdf

W11-MVC-Example.pdf

PS7: build the final computer prototype for your project. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 10

(9.4-15.4)

W10-Toolkits.pdf

W10-OOUI-VirtualWindowsMethod.pps

PS6: perform heuristic evaluation of another group's project. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 9

(2.4-8.4)

W09-Predictive-Evaluation.pdf

W09-KLM_and_Fitts-v2.pdf

Homework 2: (due Tuesday, 17.4.2012): perform heuristic evaluation of the department's new web page. Details provided by email.

Week 8

(26.3-1.4)

W08-Heuristic_Evaluation.pdf

W08-Heuristic_List.pdf

--

Week 7

(19.3-25.3)

W07-User-Testing.pdf

W07-GraphicsDesign.pdf

W07-Graphical-UI-Design.pdf

 

PS5 (due Friday, 13.4.2012): build the first computer prototype for your project using Adobe Flex. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 6

(12.3-18.3)

W06-DesignPrinciples.pdf

W06-Direct-Manipulation.pdf

W06-Metaphors.pdf

W06-Prototyping.pdf

W06-LoFiPrototyping.pdf

PS4 (due Monday, 26.3.2012): Create a low-fidelity prototype for your project, and perform user testing. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 5

(5.3-11.3)

W05-Generating-Designs.pdf

W05-Learnability.pdf

W05-IBM Design_ The three models - User.pdf

Homework 1: (due Thursday, 9.3.2012): identify and critique both good and bad user interfaces. Choose 3 examples for hall of fame/shame.

Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 4

(27.2-4.3)

W04-TaskAnalysisExample.pdf

PS3: generate design ideas for your project. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

First stage: (due Friday, 9.3.2012)

Second stage: (due Friday, 16.3.2012)

 

 

Week 3

(20.2-26.2)

W03-UserTaskDomainAnalysis.pdf

W03-TaskAnalysis.pdf

PS2: (due Monday, 5.3.2012): perform user and task analysis for your project. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 2

(13.2-19.2)

W02-UserAnalysis.pdf

PS1: (due Monday, 27.2.2012): interview your prospective users and perform initial user analysis. Details at http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~gokcen.cimen/CS468/.

Week 1

(6.2-12.2)

W01-Usability.pdf

W01-Usability-Goal-Setting.pdf

W01-User-Centered-Design.pdf

PS0: (due Monday, 13.2.2012): build a project team with four members; send names to the TA by email.

 

 

 

 

Grading Policy

 

Activity

Grade

Term Project

30%

Mini-Exams

25%

Homeworks and Class Participation

10%

Final (closed-book, closed-notes)

35%

 

 

There is no midterm exam in this course. However, there will be a “mini-exam” each week of the semester. There will be 12 mini-exams in total, and the lowest graded two mini-exams will be omitted from your grade calculation. The exams will be either related to the reading assignment the week before, or the topic discussed during that class.

 

The term project is a semester-long group project, in which you will design, implement, and evaluate a user interface. You will work in groups of four (not more, not less).

 

There will be a project workshop every Friday, where your group project stages are presented and discussed. There will also be a project quiz every week. The quiz will verify your contribution to the course project. If your average grade in quizzes is lower than a certain value, we will assume that you have not contributed to your project team’s work.

 

Academic Honesty:

Please make sure you fully understand the Bilkent University Policy on Academic Honesty / Öğrenci Disiplin İlke ve Kuralları. Cheating and plagiarism on homework assignments will be punished according to the regulations of the University.

 

Submission Policy:

Each assignment should be submitted electronically using the homework upload site by the announced due date. Late submissions will be allowed, but will be graded lower.

 

Textbook:

There will be no required textbook. Reading material will be distributed by email/course web site each week.

 

Prerequisites:

None

 

Week

Subject

WEEK-1

Introduction, Usability, User-Centered Design

WEEK-2

User/Task Analysis

WEEK-3

User/Task Analysis (contd.)

WEEK-4

Sketching, prototyping

WEEK-5

Interaction Styles, Direct Manipulation

WEEK-6

Prototyping, Low-Fidelity Prototyping

WEEK-7

Graphical Design, Menu Design

WEEK-8

Project Stage 3 Presentations; User Evaluation

WEEK-9

Predictive Evaluation: KLM, Fitts’ Law

WEEK-10

Expert Evaluation: Heuristic Evaluation

WEEK-11

UI Software Architecture, Toolkits

WEEK-12

User Input/Output Programming Models

WEEK-13

Design Patterns for UIs

WEEK-14

Threads for UI Programming

WEEK-15

Final