CEN 342 — USER INTERFACE DESIGN | Brussels College
Course Syllabus

USER INTERFACE DESIGN

CEN 342 — Computer Engineering
Code
CEN 342
Type
C
ECTS
6
Category
Elective
Course Description

This course aims to teach about the importance of the human-computer interface in software design and development.

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is to teach students how to design usable and effective user interfaces by: • enabling students to design software interfaces that are appropriate for intended users and represent user needs • enabling students to evaluate objectively the usability of a software interface • providing students a variety of interface design principles and strategies

Key Concepts
  1. Usability
  2. Interaction design
  3. Human centered design
  4. User interface
  5. User interface design
  6. Accessibility
  7. Evaluation
  8. Prototypes
  9. User experience
14-Week Outline
WeekTopic
1Introduction to User Interface Design. Introduction. Usability Goals and Measures. Usability Motivations. Goals of this profession (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 26-44) What Is Interaction Design? The User Experience. Understanding Users. Accessibility and Inclusiveness. Usability and User Experience Goals (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 9-23)
2Human Abilities. Universal Usability. Visual channel. Auditory channel. Haptic channel. Movement. Memory: sensory memory,short-term (working) memory, long-term memory. (Dix et al, 2004, pp.12- 38 ) Variations in Physical Abilities and Physical Workplaces. Diverse Cognitive and Perceptual Abilities. Personality Differences. Cultural and International Diversity. Users with Disabilities. Older Adult Users. Children. Accommodating Hardware and Software Diversity. (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 58-75)
3Understanding and Conceptualizing Interaction. Cognitive aspects. Conceptualizing Interaction. Conceptual Models. Interface Metaphors. Interaction Types. Paradigms, Visions, Theories, Models, and Frameworks. (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 69-95) What Is Cognition? Cognitive Frameworks (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 101-132)
4Guidelines, Principles, and Theories. Introduction. Guidelines. Principles. Theories (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 81-115)
5Teams present project idea
6The Design Process. Organizational Support for Design. The Design Process. Design Frameworks. Design Methods. Design Tools. Practices, and Patterns. Social Impact Analysis. Legal Issues (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 126-160)
7Data Gathering. Five Key Issues. Data Recording. Interviews. Questionnaires. Observation. Choosing and Combining Techniques (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 259-301)
8Requirements. Different kinds of requirements. Data Gathering for Requirements. Bringing Requirements to Life: Personas and Scenarios. Capturing Interaction with Use Cases. (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 385-416)
9Prototyping. Conceptual Design. Concrete Design. Generating Prototypes. Construction (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 421-463)
10Evaluation. Introduction. Usability Testing. Conducting Experiments. Field Studies. Inspections: Heuristic Evaluation and Walk-Throughs. Analytics and A/B testing. Predictive Models (Sharp et al, 2019, pp. 523-577)
11Direct manipulation and Immersive Environments. Fluid Navigation. What Is Direct Manipulation? Some Examples of Direct Manipulation. 2-D and 3-D Interfaces. Teleoperation and Presence. Augmented and Virtual Reality. Navigation by Selection. Small Displays. Content Organization. Audio Menus Form Fill-in and Dialog Boxes (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 229-264, pp 272-304)
12Devices. Keyboards and Keypads. Pointing Devices. Displays. (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 337-378)
13Advancing the User Experience. Display Design. View (Window) Management. Animation. Webpage Design. Color. Nonanthropomorphic Design. Error Messages. (Shneiderman et al., 2018, pp. 425-459)
14Projects presentation
Learning Outcomes
  1. At the end of the course students should be able to understand the definitions and foundations of the HCI domain.
  2. The students should be able to apply the methods to study a human user population.
  3. The students should be able to use user-centered techniques, tools and principles for designing usable interfaces and interactive solutions.
  4. The students should be able to evaluate user interfaces by using different evaluation methods.
Assessment Methods
Method% EachQuantity
Homework102
Project301
Quiz101
Final Exam351
Attendance5
Recommended Textbooks

Shneiderman, B., Plaisant, C., Cohen, M. and Jacobs, S. (2018). Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction. (6th edition). Pearson Sharp, H., Rogers, Y. and Preece, J. (2019). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction (5th edition). Wiley.

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