Teaching staff

Aims

Learning outcomes

Textbook

Assessment

Schedule 2000 -2001

Teaching Staff 

Watts 602

Aims 

The aim of this course is to give students who are at the beginning of their professional education in information technology a critical appreciation of the importance of software usability, knowledge of user interface technology and an understanding of the principles of user interface design.

Learning outcomes 

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
 

• make a case for the appropriate significance of software usability design effort in a particular project,
• describe the currently available interaction technology and evaluate its suitability for particular applications,
• describe the major principles of interface design.
• produce a critical assessment of the interaction design of a piece of software.

Content

Topics are likely to  include:
 

•     The significance of software usability design
•     Laws and standards
•     Health and Safety issues
•     Secure and safety critical systems
•     Users with special needs
•     Marketing
•     The range of input and output devices
•     Command line interaction - computer as dialogue partner
•     GUI interfaces - menus, windows, icons, new interaction objects
•     Direct manipulation and metaphors in interface design
•     Virtual reality interaction
•     Novel interaction technologies
•     User centred design
•     Model of interaction - Norman's gulfs of execution and evaluation
•     Suitability to task
•     The role of graphic design

Textbook

Dix, A, J. Finlay, G. Abowd & R. Beale .
Human Computer Interaction.
London: Prentice Hall.
2nd edition [1998].

Assessment

There is no examination for this module. Assessment will be through two assignments:

1)    Analysis of Automatic Teller Machine and Immersive Game Device    ( hand-in week  6 ]
2)    Website usability audit ( hand-in week  11 ]

Schedule