CSCI 310: Intro to Human Computer Interaction
Term Fall 2019
Course Website https://learn.viu.ca/
Instructor Sarah Carruthers
Email: sarah.carruthers at viu.ca
Office: 315/217
Office Hours: M: 14:00-14:30, T: 10:30-11:00
Lecture Schedule 
 T, Th 8:30-9:50
Laboratory Schedule Labs begin the first week of class. Please attend the lab you have registered for. Attendance is mandatory, and marks will be given for participation. Lab times and locations are available from the timetable through Sign in to VIU Page.

Course Overview An introduction to understanding human behaviour as it applies to interface design, implementation, and evaluation. Topics include: design issues and goals, the limits of the human cognitive system, user-centered design, prototyping, establishing requirements, evaluation techniques, and design implications of emerging technologies.

Topics Topics will include:
  • User-centered Design in Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
  • Requirements Gathering
  • User and Task Analysis
  • Conceptual Models and Design
  • Prototyping Techniques
  • Design Principles
  • Psychological Principles
  • Evaluation Techniques (expert and user)
Course Learning Outcomes At the end of the course, students will be able to:
  • Establish target users, functional requirements, and interface requirements for a given computer application
  • Describe and explain user interface design principles, and apply them to design an interface
  • Develop interface designs using rapid prototyping methods
  • Evaluate user interface designs through usability inspection and user models
  • Develop user studies and analyze study data to gain information about users, tasks, and interface designs
  • Choose appropriate methods for specified goals and justify the choice
Graduate Attributes In this course, students will have the opportunity to develop and work on the following Graduate Attributes:

Literacies Intellectual and Practical Skills Civic Engagement
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Oral Communication
  • Information Literacies
  • Scientific Literacies
  • Technological Literacies
  • Disciplinary Expertise
  • Critical Thinking
  • Creative Thinking
  • Inquiry and Ways of Knowing
  • Historical Understanding
  • Safe and Ethical Practices
  • Collaboration
  • Active Learning
  • Local Knowledge in a Global Context
  • Intercultural Perspective
  • Capacity to Engage in Respectful Relationships
  • Foundations for Lifelong Learning
  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Integrative Learning

(Mouse-over each attribute for details)
Course Schedule This course will consist of 7 modules with each module one to two weeks in duration:
  1. Introduction to HCI and User-centered Design
  2. Requirements Gathering and Conceptual Models
  3. User and Task Analysis
  4. Conceptual Design and Prototyping Techniques
  5. Expert Evaluation Techniques
  6. Design Principles and Psychology in HCI
  7. User Evaluation Techniques
Each module, except Module 1, will consist of:
  • Assigned readings
  • Reading assessments
  • In-class activities
  • In-lab activities

Module 1 will be delivered in class during the first week of classes

A detailed schedule is available on VIU Learn.
Textbooks This course will make use of a number of resources, including:
  • book chapters
  • online articles
Please see VIU Learn for an up-to-date list of resources for each module.

Grading
Coursework Weight Notes
Project 35% See Project section for details
RATs 20% See Reading Assessments section for details
Participation 10% Based on active participation in class
Exams 35% Midterm 25%, Final 75%. Must pass final to pass the course.
Project Over the term students will complete a project in a team. Teams will be made up of students in the same lab section. In this project, you will design, implement, and evaluate a prototype graphical user interface (GUI). The project will be broken down into several assignments. Some assignments will be completed individually (I) and others with your team (T). A tentative schedule is given below. Details of each deliverable can be found on VIU Learn.

Assignment Weight (of total assignment mark)
A0: Team Formation (I/T) 0%
A1: Interview Proposal (T) 5%
A2: Requirements Report (I/T) 10%
A3: Individual Paper prototype (I/T) 15%
A4: Cognitive walkthrough (I) 10%
A5: Software prototype (T) 20%
A6: Heuristic evaluation (I) 10%
A7: Final evaluation and report (I) 20%
A8: Final Presentations and Video Prototype (T) 10%

Reading Assessments Each course module will begin with assigned readings that all students are responsible for completing before class. Readings will be assessed using Reading Assessment Tests (RATs). Reading assessments will be completed in class individually, and then as a team. Each student will receive the average of their individual and the team marks. As such, it is advantageous to everyone in the team for all team members to come to class prepared. Details are available on VIU Learn.

Any student who misses a RAT session without prior permission of the instructor, or valid medical reason (supported by documentation) will receive a 0 on both the individual and team portions of that module's RAT.

Make up assessments will not be given without prior permission of the instructor, or valid medical reason (supported by documentation).
In-class Participation Student attendance and participation is required. Each module will be assessed with an in-class Reading Assessment Test (RAT). In class, you will also have the opportunity to work with your team and other teams to complete in-class activities designed to strengthen your understanding of the course material.

Labs Students will have the opportunity during lab to work on the team project and get help and feedback from the instructor.

Note: Lab attendance is mandatory, and attendance will contribute to project marks.

Any student who misses a Lab without prior permission of the instructor, or valid medical reason (supported by documentation) will receive a mark of 0 for a portion of the project participation mark.
Exams There will be one midterm and one final exam.

The final exam will be scheduled by the University. All students must pass (50% or greater) the final to pass the course.
Grading Scheme The following scale will be used but the instructor reserves the right to lower the numerical score required for a particular letter grade if that seems appropriate, but the same conversion will be applied to all persons in the class. Under no circumstances will the numerical score required for a particular letter grade be raised.

F D C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+
0-49 50-54 55-59 60-63 64-67 68-71 72-75 76-79 80-84 85-89 90-100

Course Policies And Guidelines Late Assignments: Late assignments will be penalized 20% per day unless previously approved by the course instructor. Personal extensions will be granted only in extenuating circumstances (e.g. illness).

Team participation: This course will use a Team-based learning approach, and as such all students will be assigned a team with which to work. Assessment will be a mix of individual and team assessment.

Individual participation: In addition to attendance, participation during class is required.

Lab participation: Lab attendance is required. Attendance and participation will contribute to Project marks.

Coursework Mark Appeals: All marks must be appealed within 7 days of the mark being posted.

Attendance: I expect students to attend all lectures and labs. It is entirely the students' responsibility to recover any information or announcements presented in lectures from which they were absent.

Electronic devices in labs and lectures: No unauthorized audio or video recording of lectures is permitted.

Electronic devices in midterms and exams: No electronic devices (e.g. cell phones, pagers, PDA, etc.) may be used during examinations or tests unless explicitly authorized.

Plagiarism: These guidelines concern the type of fraud where a student presents another's work as his or her own, or allows another to do so.

  • As fraud invalidates the evaluation of a student's progress, it is the duty of instructors, teaching assistants, and laboratory assistants to take measures to prevent fraud and to be vigilant towards symptoms of fraud.
  • Students are encouraged to study together. But, unless the contrary is indicated, submitted work is to be done by students individually. Students are to collaborate on submitted work only when this is explicitly permitted by the instructor. In such a case, the names of all students who have collaborated on a piece of submitted work should be indicated on all submitted material. The collaboration is to involve reasonable effort on the part of all students involved. In a situation where this is clearly not the case, appropriate action will be taken with regard to those students who have not fully contributed to the collaborative effort.
  • As in all academic endeavour, due credit must be given to all reference material. Students should consult the course instructor if they are not certain which outside material is appropriate for use in a course.
  • In cases where fraud is detected, credit is withheld from the work affected. The students involved are reported to the department chair who may take additional disciplinary action commensurate with the severity of the fraud and the past records of the students.