ComputerScience 171 - Human-Computer Interaction

Spring2008

Syllabus


Instructor

Karen Donoghue (for Prof. Robert Jacob, on sabbatical spring 2008)

donoghue@eecs.tufts.edu
Dept. of Computer Science, Tufts University

Halligan Hall

 

Teaching Assistants

Michael Horn - michael.horn@tufts.edu - Office Hours: Monday 11 - 1, Halligan 120

Larissa Supnik - larissa.supnik@tufts.edu - Office Hours: Thursday, 2-3pm, Halligan 120

Textbooks

Required:

 

Ben Shneiderman and Catherine Plaisant,

Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction,

Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.

 

Recommended:

 

Any introductory book on Visual Basic that you prefer.

 

WWW Page

http://www.cs.tufts.edu/comp/171/

Course Work

Course work will consist of exams, homework problems, and a project in

which students will design a very small user interface, build a prototype,

and then test it for usability.

Assignments

which students will design a very small user interface, build a prototype,

and then test it for usability.

Grading

Based mainly on homework projects, also presentations, exams, and class work.

Prerequisite

Computer Science 15.

Topic Outline and Reading List

1. Introduction to Human-computer Interaction - Reading: Chapter 1

2. Methodology for Designing User-computer Interfaces - Reading: Chapters 2-3

á        Task analysis

á        Conceptual, semantic, syntactic, and lexical levels of the design of an interactive system

3. Interaction Styles 
Reading: Chapters 6-8

á        Command language

á        Question and answer

á        Form-based

á        Menus

á        Natural language

á        Direct manipulation

á        Virtual Reality

á        Augmented Reality

á        Passive non-command-based

á        Other emerging interaction styles

4. Design and Evaluation Process - Reading: Chapters 4 and 11

á        Testing and evaluating interface designs

á        Prototyping

á        Introduction to Visual Basic for prototyping

á        Guidelines and criteria for designing user interfaces

5. User Interface Software - Reading: Chapter 5

á        Languages and tools for specifying and building interfaces

á        Dialogue independence

á        UIMS (user interface management system) approach

6. User Interface Specifications - Reading: Chapter 5 (continued)

á        Languages and software abstractions for user interfaces

á        Programming support tools

7. Basic Interaction Tasks, Techniques, and Devices - Reading: Chapter 9

á        Interaction Tasks

á        Input Devices

á        Interaction Techniques

á        Models and theories

8. Human Performance - Reading: Chapters 4.7, 11.4-11.5, and 13

á        Scientific foundations for designing user interfaces

á        Visual presentation of information

á        Designing experiments

9. Introduction to Research in Human-Computer Interaction

á        Why do HCI research?

á        Research prototypes

á        Interdisciplinary nature of HCI research

á        Examples of HCI research

10. New Interaction Techniques

á        New modes of modes of human-computer communication

á        Voice

á        Gesture

á        Eye movement

á        Tangible user interfaces

11. Project