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CSCI 5115: User Interface Design
Course Syllabus

Fall 2008

Instructor

Teaching Assistant

Class Meeting

Monday, Wednesday 9:45 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. , EE/CSci 3-111, except where noted. You will be meeting weekly (in project groups) with one of the teaching assistants (each group will be assigned a primary TA as a contact).

Course Description

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify basic principles of design psychology and apply them to analyze software user interfaces and other designed products.
• Apply user- and task-centered design methods, including techniques and methods to:
• Elicit and represent user needs
• Create low fidelity design prototypes
• Evaluate designs, both without and with users
• Identify key software architecture concepts for user interfaces and be familiar with how these concepts are implemented in several programming languages; be able to implement a working interactive systems in at least one programming language.
• Distinguish the design challenges and apply appropriate methods for designing for non-desktop interfaces, including cell phones.
• Identify important new trends in user interface technology and research challenges in areas such as mobile and pervasive computing.

Course URL

All handouts and on-line materials will appear on the course web page at http://www.itlabs.umn.edu/classes/Fall-2008/csci5115. Please check it regularly.

Textbooks and Readings

Readings will be assigned from several sources. The texts for this course are:

• Preece, Rogers, and Sharp. Interaction Design, 2nd Edition.
• Don Norman. Design of Everyday Things.
• Dan Olsen. Principles of Interactive Systems. Available on-line as an e-book.
• Clayton Lewis and John Rieman. Task Centered User Interface Design (TCUID). Available on-line as an e-book.

Prerequisites and Necessary Background

Students are expected to have experience with data structures and algorithms as well as an understanding of computer hardware and software organization. CSci 4041 provides this background and should generally be taken before this course. Students should have competence programming in Java, C++, or C, and should have the ability to learn a new language and new programming tools quickly.

A limited number of students without this background will be admitted to the course because of strengths in related areas (e.g., psychology, human factors, and ergonomics). These students will participate in projects (no more than one per group) and will be evaluated on all of the non-programming parts of the course.

Workload

This demanding course will require substantial and sustained effort. In accordance with standard university guidelines, students should expect to spend about nine hours per week on this course to meet the minimum requirements for a C-level grade. Students aspiring to higher grades will need to work harder, more efficiently, or both.

Because of the integrated group activity in the course, students whose work or personal lives would lead them to miss more than one consecutive week of class or more than two weeks total should not enroll in the course. Much of the material covered in this class can be learned in other venues more suitable for students who are unable to commit a semester to the material.

Working in Groups

Working in project groups may be new for some of you and can be challenging for all. Spend time at the start of the course learning about prospective group members. Remember that you will have a better group experience if your group is diverse in talents and interest, but united in goals and compatible in work habits.

Should you encounter problems in group work, please see the TA or instructuor as soon as possible. Most group problems can be resolved if they are addressed promptly. In extreme cases, we may rearrange groups.

Course Computing

Students may do their work on the IT laboratory computers. By enrolling in this course (or by being an IT student) you are charged the computing fee, and you are therefore entitled to an account. You can register that account through the web or in person in the IT lab in EE/CSci 4-204 or ME 308.

However, you may develop your software on any system with the appropriate software tools, and may conduct evaluations on any systems available to your users. It is important that you be able to demonstrate your project periodically to the TA, and at the end of the course. For these purposes, your project must run on one of the machines available for presentations, or else you must bring a portable computer that runs your project. You will also be asked to demonstrate your project (in more detail) at your final TA meeting.

Project

There is a separate handout describing the class project. This is also available on the course website. The project will be completed in stages and will be partially graded after each stage. Some intermediate deliverables will be individual assignments; most will be completed by the group. The final deliverable from the project includes a detailed set of design drawings, a poster-session presentation/demonstration at a class open house, and both group and individual self-evaluations. While projects will receive a single grade per group, group members may receive different grades if not all members contribute fully to the project.

You should bring all project-related documents (e.g., analysis documents, paper prototypes, etc.) to each class. Many class sessions will include project-related activities.

Project groups must schedule a weekly half-hour meeting time with the TA. At these meetings, the TA will grade work, provide feedback, check the group's progress and answer questions. The TA and instructors are also available to meet at other times to help groups with the project.

Examination and Quizzes

A single examination will be held on November 19^th. This exam is a "show-what-you-can-do" exam that will ask you to apply individually the techniques you'll learn in doing your project. The intent is for you to demonstrate your individual competence without needing to memorize details or study class notes.

If you are unable to take the exam on November 19^th, please let the course staff know as soon as possible so we can arrange an earlier time for you to take it.

In addition to the exam, there will be five very brief quizzes during the class. Quizzes will test content from the prior one or two classes (including discussion content), readings due by the date of the quiz, and project steps due by the date of the quiz. Quizzes will generally be closed-book and will be held at the beginning of class. You may drop your lowest quiz score without penalty; missed quizzes count as a zero. If you are absent for more than one quiz, and can document good cause for the absence (illness, university-sanctioned event, etc.), then your other quiz scores will be scaled up to the higher percentage. Because quizzes are unannounced, there will not be make-up quizzes.

Interface Hall of Fame/Shame

All students will be required to work with one other student to present a Hall of Fame/Shame interface. These presentations will take place in the first few minutes of each class. I will make the first few presentations to give examples of what's expected, and then we'll (typically) have two presentations by students per class. We will schedule these near the beginning of the semester. This 3-5 minute presentation/discussion will count 5% of your final grade. One person per group must email me PowerPoint slides for your presentation the day before you are due to give it. The slides (2-3 should be sufficient) should show the interface in question along with your analysis. Your analysis should use the concepts we we will cover in class, such as conceptual models, mappings, visibility, and feedback.

Grading Policy

Grades are computed as follows:

Item	Weight
Project	65%
Exam	15%
Quizzes and other class activites	15%
Interface Hall of Fame/Shame	5%

The course is not graded on a curve. The nominal scale awards an A or A- for 90% and better, B+, B, or B- for 80% and better, etc. That scale may be adjusted to lower numerical cut-offs if warranted, but will not be raised.

Scholastic Conduct

Academic integrity is essential to a positive teaching and learning environment. All students enrolled in University courses are expected to complete coursework responsibilities with fairness and honesty. Failure to do so by seeking unfair advantage over others or misrepresenting someone elseb..s work as your own, can result in disciplinary action. The University Student Conduct Code defines scholastic dishonesty as follows:

Within this course, a student responsible for scholastic dishonesty can be assigned a penalty up to and including an "F" or "N" for the course. Cases will also be reported to the Office for Student Academic Integrity, which may pursue more severe sanctions, including suspension and expulsion. If you have any questions regarding the expectations for a specific assignment or exam, ask.

Your project may be jointly submitted to another course with the approval of the other instructor (it will still be judged on CSci 5115 criteria).

Incompletes

Incompletes are only awarded in very rare circumstances when an unforeseeable event causes a student who has completed all coursework to date to be unable to complete a small portion of the work remaining in the course. Because of the heavy groupwork nature of the course, incompletes will generally not be awarded except in cases of severe medical or family emergency. Making up an incomplete grade will usually require completing a new project the following year. Any incomplete grade will require a written agreement on the work to be completed.

Special Circumstances

Students with special needs or circumstances should contact me as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Because of the extensive group work involved in the class, please be sure to inform your group members should you plan to miss class or be out of town for a lengthy period. As with incompletes, extensions are only granted for unforeseeable events, but arrangements may be made to obtain assignment handouts in advance if needed. Other accommodations, including sign language interpreters, large-print exams, and private exam rooms can be arranged in cooperation with disability services.