Schedule
Over 12 weeks, students will “learn by doing” in a highly-interactive mixed lecture and design studio class.
- The first hour of class is a lecture and discussion with the entire class about key concepts related to HCI and that week’s design activities.
- The last 2 hours of class is a studio for student teams to perform the design activities assigned for that week. The instructor and TAs will drop in on the discussion of teams to offer help and suggestions in a collaborative style. Students are encouraged to bring personal computers as the in-class activities are mostly based on digital tools.
- During some studio portions, half of the teams will perform the activities in class and the other half will do the activities out of class. Note below whether a studio is marked “A” (group A teams), “B” (group B teams) or “all” (all teams). This allows teaching staff to more effectively help project teams in class.
- Teams not scheduled for an in-class studio can meet wherever and whenever they wish, but note your lead TA will be available during studio time on MS Teams. A good strategy is to find a convenient place to meet during the studio time (e.g. vacant class, lounge, library study room).
- Some design activities will require interactions with users outside of the studio portion of class.
Throughout the term, there are individual and group deliverables, such as reading reflections, a cumulative design document, a midterm report, a project presentation, and a final report.
All deliverables are due 12pm ET on Mondays (unless otherwise specified)
Week 1 (Sep 12-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Course Overview
- What & Why HCI
- Good & Bad Designs
Studio (all)
- Find a team
- First team meeting
Readings
- UI vs. UX: What’s the Difference between User Interface and User Experience? by Spencer Lanoue
- Design Thinking by Tim Brown
- Designers - Think Big! by Tim Brown
- How to Build Your Creative Confidence by David Kelley
- The Art of Innovation by Guy Kawasaki
Week 2 (Sep 19-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Design Process
- Value Proposition
- Personas
- Empathy Mapping
Studio (A)
- Define the value proposition of your final product
- Describe personas and create empathy maps
Readings
- (*) Personas - A Simple Introduction by Rikke Friis Dam and Teo Yu Siang
- (*) Empathy Mapping: The First Step in Design Thinking by Sarah Gibbons
- The Long Road to Inventing Design Personas by Alan Cooper
- How Airbnb Designs for Trust by Joe Gebbia
- What is Mobile First Design? Why It’s Important & How To Make It?
Due Monday
- Ethics training (1a)
- Team formation (1b)
Week 3 (Sep 26-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Exploratory Methods
- Interviews
Studio (B)
- Draft interview questions and questionnaire questions
- Plan and mock your interview session
- Interview at least 3 users
Readings
- (*) Interviews from Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction
- (*) Observations from Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction
- How to Conduct a User Interview That Actually Uncovers Valuable Insights from Shopify Partners Blog
- IDEO Shopping Cart
- Questionnaires from Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction
Due Monday
- Team contract (1b)
- Week 2 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #1 (2a)
Week 4 (Oct 3-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Analysis vs. Synthesis
- Affinity Diagrams
- POV and HMW
Studio (A)
- Create affinity diagrams from video observations
- Create affinity diagrams, POV, HMW from interviews
Readings
- (*) Affinity Diagrams - Learn How to Cluster and Bundle Ideas and Facts by Rikke Friis Dam and Teo Yu Siang
- (*) Define and Frame Your Design Challenge by Creating Your Point Of View and Ask “How Might We” by by Rikke Friis Dam and Teo Yu Siang
- Affinity Diagrams - Tips and Tricks by Talisha Payton
- AEIOU Framework and its origin: Building a Useful Research Tool: An Origin Story of AEIOU by Rick Robinson
- Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce by Malcolm Gladwell (TED Talk)
- How to use data to make a hit TV show by Sebastian Wernicke (TEDx Talk)
Due Monday
- Week 3 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #2 (2a)
Reading Week (Oct 10-)
No Class
Week 5 (Oct 17-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Task Analysis
- Work Models
- Design Argument Statements
Studio (B)
- Conduct hierarchical task analysis
- Articulate design argument statements
Readings
- (*) Work Models from Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems
- (*) How to Improve Your UX Designs with Task Analysis
- Predictably Irrational - Basic Human Motivations by Dan Ariely (TEDx talk)
- User Psychology: Navigating Your User’s Attention While Designing Experiences by Krysta Watts
- Hierarchical Task Analysis
Due Monday
- Week 4 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #3 (2a)
Week 6 (Oct 24-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- The Creative Process
- User Stories
- Use Cases and Scenarios
- Storyboards
Studio (A)
- Articulate user stories
- Create storyboards based on user stories
Readings
- (*) Design Fixation by David Jansson and Steven Smith
- (*) The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers by Adam Grant
- A Crash Course in Creativity by Tina Seelig
- Do Schools Kill Creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson
- Ideation in Practice: How Effective UX Teams Generate Ideas by Aurora Harley
Due Monday
- Week 5 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #4 (2a)
Week 7 (Oct 31-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Design Principles
- User Flows
- Wireframes
Studio (B)
- Create draft user flows
- Create wireframes and refine user flows
Readings
- (*) Affordance, conventions, and design by Don A. Norman
- (*) The Sketch Test: How to Test and Improve Your UX Deliverables and Other Documents by Page Laubheimer
- Signifiers, not Affordances by Don A. Norman.
- How Google Approaches the Process of Ideation by Maya Frai
- Affordances: Clarifying and Evolving a Concept by Joanna McGrenere and Wayne Ho
Due Monday
- Week 6 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #5 (2a)
- Midterm report (2b)
Week 8 (Nov 7-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Interface Schematics
- Low-fidelity Prototyping
- Paper Prototypes
Studio (A)
- Create low-fidelity prototypes
Readings
- (*) The Efficacy of Prototyping Under Time Constraints by Steven Dow et al.
- (*) The Aesthetic-Usability Effect by Kate Moran
- Prototyping: Learn Eight Common Methods and Best Practices by Rikke Friis Dam and Teo Yu Siang
- Paper Prototyping: Getting User Data Before You Code by Jakob Nielsen
- Information Architecture by Andrew Dillon and Don Turnbull
Due Monday
- Week 7 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #6 (2a)
- Design critiques (2c)
Week 9 (Nov 14-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- User testing
Studio (B)
- Plan and pilot your user evaluation
- Conduct your user evaluation
Readings
- (*) Test Paper Prototypes to Save Time and Money: The Mozilla Case Study by Susan Farrell
- (*) Interactive Menu for Food and Beverage - UX Case Study by Daniel Alshriky
- Basic Patterns for Mobile Navigation: A Primer by Raluca Budiu
- Getting the Right Design and the Design Right: Testing Many is Better than One by Tohidi et al.
- Field Studies from Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction
Due Monday
- Week 8 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #7 (2a)
- Design critiques responses (2c)
Week 10 (Nov 21-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Visual Design: Layout, Typography, Colour
- Copywriting
- Design Principles
- Design Systems
Studio (A)
- Create visual design mockups
- Create a high-fidelity prototype
Readings
- (*) 7 Rules for Creating Gorgeous UI: Part 1 and 7 Rules for Creating Gorgeous UI: Part 2 by Erik D. Kennedy
- (*) The Role of the Prototype in Research Through Design by Stephan Wensveen
- The Complex Relationship between Data and Design in UX by Rochelle King
- Hierarchy with Fonts
- The Gestalt Principles
Due Monday
- Week 9 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #8 (2a)
Week 11 (Nov 28-)
To-do’s
Lecture
- Heuristic Evaluation
- Cognitive Walkthrough
- Usability Testing
Studio (B)
- Plan and conduct a heuristic evaluation
Readings
- (*) Cognitive Walkthrough in User Interface Inspection Methods from User Interface Inspection Methods
- (*) Turn User Goals into Task Scenarios for Usability Testing by Marieke McCloskey
- Heuristic Evaluation: How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation by Euphemia Wong
- How to Conduct a Cognitive Walkthrough
- Experimental Research in HCI by Darren Gergle and Desney S. Tan
- Survey Research in HCI by Hendrik Müller et al.
Due Monday
- Week 10 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #9 (2a)
Week 12 (Dec 5-)
To-do’s
Lecture and Studio (all)
- Final project presentations
Readings (Optional)
- User-Centered Systems Design: A Brief History from Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems
- Ubiquitous Computing and the Emerging Digital Eco-System by Bill Buxton
- Computer Supported Cooperative Work from The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction
- Disability & Innovation: The Universal Benefits of Accessible Design by Haben Girma
Due Monday
- Week 11 reading reflections (1c)
- Design document section #10 (2a)
Due Tuesday, Dec 6
- Project presentation slides (3a) (submit before 1:30 PM)
- Project presentation (3a) (live in class)
Due Monday, Dec 12 noon (following week)
- Demo video (3b)
- Final report (3c)
- Team Peer Evaluation (1b)
- Research proposal (CS649 only)