CLASSROOM CHANGE  Starting Thursday class will move to:  SB

John Quarles

What are user interfaces?  Make a list of common user interfaces,  Mouse, the user interface for vs 2008

What are user interfaces?  Group some of these into categories  Hardware interfaces, software interfaces, interfaces to IDEs, interfaces for task x

Definition of User Interfaces (the discipline)  User interfaces is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them.

What is usability?  Which is the better interface for games?  Mouse + keyboard  Xbox controller  Advantages/disadvantages?

Usability factors  5 human factors central to usability:  Time to learn How long does it take for users to learn relevant task?  Speed of performance How long does it take to perform relevant benchmarks?  Rate of errors by users How many and what kinds of errors are made during benchmark tasks?  Retention over time Frequency of use and ease of learning help make for better user retention  Subjective satisfaction Allow for user feedback via interviews, free-form comments and satisfaction scales

How do we design usable interfaces?  Carefully  Follow a Design Process  Get to know your users and their needs  Follow known design guidelines  Observe how users use your interface and refine

How will we design interfaces in this class?  GoblinXNA  2D and 3D interfaces  Augmented and virtual reality  Games

What is the point of this class?  User interfaces matter!  Can make or break a product regardless of what is ‘under the hood’  Life critical systems  Industrial application time/costs

What is the point of this class?  Main concepts you will learn:  User-centered design process  Guidelines and principals for interface design  Design and Conduct usability studies

Assignments/Quizzes  Quiz 1 – Sept 7  Assignment 1 – Sept 9  Grads – Research paper quiz 1 – Sept 7

Assignments/Quizzes Sign up for coming to my office hours for 5 minutes! Bring a sheet of paper with the following info: 1. Name 2. address that you check regularly 3. Three unique facts about you 4. for the final project would you rather: a) I assign your group a unique game or b) make whatever game you want (within reason)