Human-Centred Systems – (M.Sc.)

Contents

Course Content No prior exposure to the topics of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) or User-Centred Design (UCD) is necessary. The course will provide you with skills in designing and evaluating interactive systems and other types of computer-based systems in which people are a major element. You will acquire skills in advanced human-computer interaction design, requirements analysis and design, designing and conducting complex evaluations of new or existing software computing systems and expertise in designing and evaluating systems for people with disabilities and the elderly. You will benefit from being able to use the Interaction Lab, established originally with the support of the Vodafone UK Foundation. The Lab is equipped with the latest technologies including eye-trackers, interactive tabletops and setups to evaluate mobile devices.

Course Structure 7 Taught Core Module(s):

Practices and Theories in Interaction Design
* Demonstrate detailed understanding of the importance of usability and the consequences of poor usability for interactive systems
* Identify the theoretical foundations in cognitive psychology for human-computer interaction
* Critically evaluate a user-centred design process for interactive systems, including analysis, design and evaluation activities
* Understand and interpret HCI principles and guidelines, applying them to a variety of situations

Requirements Engineering
* Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the range of problems which arise in requirement engineering
* Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art practices and leading academic research that are aimed at addressing the range of problems which arise in requirements engineering
* Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the differences between alternative requirements modelling techniques
* Apply start-of-the-art requirements methods and techniques to acquire, model and analyse requirements for complex systems

Information Architecture
* Use and analyse Web traffic data
* Understand theories and models in search, metadata and users' information-seeking behaviour
* Design website organization and navigation schemes
* Create key design documents in the IA process
* Understand content management and e-commerce systems
* Create system specifications
* Understand the role of databases

Evaluating Interactive Systems
* Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the importance of usability evaluation
* Conduct effective usability evaluations using user-based and expert evaluation techniques, from choice of technique through to analysis of data
* Compare and contrast the weaknesses and strengths of the different evaluation methods

Inclusive Design
* Demonstrate detailed understanding of the importance of inclusive design
* Illustrate and exemplify a professional awareness of the issues involved and potential approaches to be adopted in designing for diverse users
* Identify the theoretical foundations in cognitive psychology for human-computer interaction as they relate to inclusive design
* Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art practices and leading academic research that are aimed at addressing the range of issues which arise in inclusive design

Cognition and Technologies
* Explain different approaches to user-centred design, design lifecycles, and evaluation of interfaces, usability and terminology used in human-computer interaction
* Discuss the perceptual and cognitive capabilities of users and how these influence use of interfaces
* Undertake analyses of planned or existing interfaces with techniques such as GOMS and Task Analysis
* Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the art practices and leading academic research that are aimed at addressing the range of Human-Computer Interaction issues

Research, Methods and Professional Issues
* Research activity in terms of the effectiveness of its approach and implementation
* Understand and apply a range of research methodologies such as inductive and deductive reasoning, explanation and prediction in the evaluation of published research
* Recognise and use a range of secondary data sources when performing a research task
* Communicate effectively with individuals and groups using a range of media
* Evaluate the legal, ethical and professional dimensions of typical information professions and information industry practices

1 Taught Elective module from the following list:

Creativity in Design
* Understand and support the role of creativity in interaction design.
* Learn and apply different types of creativity techniques in software design processes.
* Become familiar with and exploit different types of technologies for creative design.
* Practice and reflect on creativity techniques and technologies through project work.

Multimedia Design and Development
* Demonstrate the importance of planning in a multimedia production environment and some of the tools and techniques used e.g. storyboarding and navigation charts; evaluate techniques used to capture, edit, store and present multimedia data, in particular images and movies
* Demonstrate competencies in the use of a widely used multimedia authoring tool e.g. Macromedia Flash; evaluate the issues involved in multimedia delivery on the World Wide Web
* Use a multimedia scripting language to add further interactivity to their applications