Department of Computing & Information Technology

Human-computer interaction is an interdisciplinary field that integrates theories and methodologies from computer science, cognitive psychology, design, and many other areas. The course is intended to introduce the student to the basic concepts of human-computer interaction. It will cover the basic theory and methods that exist in the field. The course will unfold by examining design and evaluation. Case studies are used throughout the readings to exemplify the methods presented and to lend a context to the issues discussed. The students will gain principles and skills for designing and evaluating interactive systems. The heart of the course is a semester-long group project that will help students learn in a hands-on way about the various stages of an effective design process.

The goal of this course is to help students realize that user interface development is an ongoing process throughout the full product life cycle, and developing the human-computer interface is not something to be done at the last minute, when the "rest of the system" is finished. Hence, this course concentrates on creating and testing DESIGNS of human-computer systems through low and medium fidelity prototypes and NOT with implementing a piece of software in this class.

ASSESSMENT