Engineering Human-Computer Interaction
Contact: Gaëlle Calvary (GC)
Lectures: François Bérard (FB) & Gaëlle Calvary
Project: Gaëlle Calvary
Goals
The goal is to master the core principles of human-centered approaches for analyzing, designing, implementing and evaluating interactive systems effectively. At the end, students will be familiar with utility (good coverage of the users' needs) and usability (good quality of services) in context, the two key properties in Human-Computer Interaction for structuring the development and evaluation of User Interfaces (UI). Principles are mostly applied to graphical UIs, including websites.
Content
The course presents the key steps and models in user-centered design. It also covers ergonomic criteria for sustaining both the design and evaluation of user interfaces.
- Analysis: problem definition and constraints for the solution (in situ observation, models of the user, environment, activity, platform, existing systems, the rationale of the system)
- Design: sketching and external specifications (models of the task, domain, abstract and concrete user interfaces, ergonomic inspection)
- Implementation: rapid prototyping, programming environments, software architecture models
- Evaluation: predictive and experimental, qualitative and quantitative approaches.
The course includes 12h of formal lectures and 21h of project. Each lecture is immediately applied to the project. Therefore it is highly important to attend each session. The project is conducted in groups of 3 students. Students have to analyze a need, and then design, prototype, and evaluate an interactive system. The topic is proposed by the students, and moderated by the teacher. Students have to produce two documents (first analysis and then design) and present their prototype and evaluation (protocol and results) during a defense.
Schedule
Be careful, deadlines are coming quickly short and it is not possible to postpone them once they have been agreed. You must work regularly and efficiently from the start of the project. Do not neglect the dependence on the field study, which requires thoughtful organization.
| N° | Date | Type | Topic | Deadlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 30 | 8:00 Lecture (FB) | Introduction to HCI and Guidelines for the project | |
| 9:45: Lecture (FB) | Inputs from cognitive psychology | |||
| 2 | February 6 | 8:00 Lecture (GC) | General principles of design methods in HCI | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Framing groups creation and topics definition | |||
| 3 | February 13 | 8:00 Lecture (GC) | Analysis | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Analysis | Groups and topics validated | ||
| 4 | February 27 | 8:00 Lecture (GC) | Analysis (usability requirements) | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Analysis | |||
| 5 | March 6 | 8:00 Lecture (GC) | Design for usability | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Analysis | Requirements Document to be delivered on March 12 | ||
| 6 | March 13 | 8:00 Lecture (FB) | User Action Notation | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Design | |||
| 7 | March 20 | 8:00 Lecture (FB) | Evaluation | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Design | |||
| 8 | March 27 | 8:00 Project (GC) | Design | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Design | External Specifications Document to be delivered on April 2 | ||
| 9 | April 3 | 8:00 Project (GC) | Evaluation and prototyping | Appointments for the defense to be taken during the session |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Evaluation and prototyping | |||
| 10 | April 17 | 8:00 Project (GC) | Evaluation and prototyping | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Evaluation and prototyping | |||
| 11 | April 24 | 8:00 Project (GC) | Evaluation and prototyping | |
| 9:45 Project (GC) | Evaluation and prototyping |