ClassInfo

HCI 594 Human-Computer Interaction Capstone

Craig Miller

Office: CDM 745
Spring 2013-2014
Class number: 30490
Section number: 920
-
Online Campus

Summary

Students build and reflect upon skills, methods and techniques learned in previous HCI courses. Course participation includes paper discussions, project exercises, peer reviews, and contributions to general course discussions. Course participation is demonstrated by participating to online discussion forums.

The course project is a comprehensive work that draws upon principles and methods learned in the foundational courses. It should include the design of an actual application, using HCI principles and methods. The final report must include a reflective component that assesses the methods used for the project. Students choose their projects with the advice and consent of the instructor. The project must be an original work and may not be applied for academic credit in another course.

Students are expected to share project milestones, reading summaries, and exercise reports with the rest of the class.

Goals

A general goal is to practice previously acquired HCI principles and methods while also learning new ideas and practices in human-computer interaction. More specific goals include the following:

  • Draw upon common HCI methods to complete a comprehensive project
  • Read about new HCI methods and evaluating them
  • Learn how to apply new HCI methods
  • Evaluate new methods
  • Discuss and present findings



Texts

Selected readings, mostly from the ACM Digital Library. Access to these articles are free from DePaul computers and from any computer using DePaul proxy servers through the library Web site.


Grading

Online Participation 50%
(100 points maximum)
Reading summaries and discussion 35 points max
(5 points per paper)
Exercise participation 40 points max
(5 points per project)
Peer reviews 25 points max
(5 points per project)
Capstone Project 50%
(100 points)
Proposal 10% (20 points)
Project milestone 1
(Instructor Reviewed)
5% (10 points)
Project milestone 2
(Student and Instructor Reviewed)
10% (20 points)
Final project (includes presentation and reflective summary) 25% (50 points)

Students receiving more than 90% of possible points are guaranteed at least an A-, more than 80% at least a B-, more than 70% at least a C-, and more than 60% at least a D.

All submitted work (e.g. project reports, peer reviews, online discussions) must be original work unless its source is clearly referenced. Failure to clearly attribute quotes or designs from other people's work constitutes plagiarism. Violations will generally receive no credit for a given submission.

Participation categories

Paper discussions. Eight papers will be assigned for reading and discussion. Each paper corresponds to a weekly topic in the schedule. After reading a paper, students post a one paragraph summary of the paper, which should be submitted before reading any other summary (3 points). Two additional points may be earned by contributing to the discussion (1 point per question or discussion point).

Project exercises. Students will develop a class exercise based on their projects. Examples include pilot testing, card sorting, competitive designs and design critiques. The remaining students participate in the exercises and post a short summary of their experience. Each student should participate in at least 8 exercises, for a maximum of 40 points (5 points per exercise). The instructor will provide at least one exercise.

Peer reviews. Students review five project milestones and provide feedback (5 points per review). Outline and review questions will be provided in advance.

Participation must be generally posted a week after the reading or exercise is assigned. All posted contributions must be well written (i.e. correct spelling and grammar) with substantive content. In cases where marginal contributions are submitted, students will receive feedback and have the opportunity to improve the contribution for full credit. However, frequent weak contributions will not receive participation credit.

Course project

The course project may be done individually or with a team. However, the individual reflective statements must be completed individually. Late projects will be accepted at a penalty of 1 point per day late for three days after the due date. Projects submitted more than 3 days late will not be accepted.



Prerequisites

HCI core courses.


Tentative Schedule

Week Topic Text Reading Project Project Exercises
1 Course overview Summary process and example Discuss project goals
2 User Research Slanty Design Example exercise
3 Information Architecture A Modified Delphi Approach to a New Card Sorting Methodology Project Proposal
4 Design Process Don't drop it!: pick it up and storyboard TBD
5 Interface Design Reality-based Interaction Milestone 1 TBD
6 Evaluation Article on Usability Problem Description (to be posted) TBD
7 Evaluation Article on Remote Usability Testing TBD
8 Human Factors Cognitive Distraction While Multitasking Milestone 2 TBD
9 UCD Methods in Practice Case Study Article on Deploying Commercial Off-the-shelf products TBD
10 Reviews Peer reviews of milestone 2 TBD
11 Presentations Project Presentations
Final Report


School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296