1. CS 491m/791m Human-Computer Interaction
Fall 2004
Course Syllabus
August 23, 2004

2. Outline The Instructor The Students The Course The Texts
Initial WWW Pointers
Grading Scheme
Policies
Tentative Schedule

3. The Instructor. Sergiu Dascalu Room SEM-236 Telephone 784-4613
Web-site
Office hours:
Monday and Wednesday 1:00 – 2:00 pm or by appointment or chance

4. .The Instructor Sergiu Dascalu
PhD, Dalhousie U., Halifax, NS, Canada, 2001
Teaching and research at UNR,
2002-present (software engineering, HCI)
Teaching and research at Dalhousie University, (software engineering focus)
Teaching and research at the University Politehnica Bucharest, Romania,
(RT embedded systems focus)
Consultant for software development companies in Canada and Romania

5. The Students Registered: Prerequisite: 7 graduate + 4 undergraduate
Instructor’s approval

6. The Course Classroom: AB 212 MWF 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm
Outline: This course examines topics related to designing computer systems that support people to carry on their activities effectively and safely. Topics covered include usability principles, conceptual models, interface metaphors, interaction paradigms and styles, task description, task analysis, collaborative technologies design, interaction design processes, interface construction and prototyping, evaluation techniques and frameworks, user testing, and input-output devices.

7. The Texts. Required textbook:
Jennifer Preece, Yvonne Rogers, and Helen Sharp’s "Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction“, Wiley & Sons, ISBN:
Recommended textbook:
Ben Schneiderman, Catherine Plaisant, Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction, 4th Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2003
ISBN:

8. .The Texts Lecture notes: Presentations by the instructor
Notes you take in the classroom
Additional texts (see pages 17 to 19)
Material (papers, tutorials, etc.) that will be indicated later by the instructor

9. Initial WWW Pointers
Required textbook’s website (Preece et al’s Interaction Design):
Recommended textbook’s website
(Schneiderman & Plaisant)
Gary Perlman’s HCI bibliography:

10. Grading Scheme.. Grading scheme for CS791m students (tentative)
Assignments %
Presentations %
Midterm test %
Project %
Paper %
Class participation %
TOTAL %

11. .Grading Scheme. Grading scheme for CS491m students (tentative)
Assignments %
Presentations %
Midterm test %
Project %
Class participation %
TOTAL %

12. ..Grading Scheme Passing conditions (all must be met): 50% overall &
50% in test &
50% in project and paper &
50% in assignments, presentations, and class participation
For grade A: at least 90% overall, at least 90% in class participation, and at least 60% in test
Note that there are no make-up tests or homework in this course

13. Grading Scale Numerical-letter grade correspondence
A [maximum 100] A B B B C C C D D D
F < 50

14. Policies… Late submission policy:
Maximum 2 late days per assignment/project deliverable
Each late day penalized with 10%
No subdivision of late days
No late days for presentations and test
Example: a 90/100 worth assignment gets 81/100 if one day late (90*0.9 = 81) or 72/100 if two days late (90*0.8 = 72)

15. .Policies..
Legal notices on the world-wide web: Read and comply with accompanying legal notices of downloadable material
Specify references used
Do not plagiarize (see next slide)

16. ..Policies.
Plagiarism and cheating: Will not be tolerated. Please read the policies of University of Nevada, Reno regarding academic dishonesty:

17. …Policies Disability Statement:
If you have a disability for which you will need to request accommodations, please contact me or someone at the Disability Resource Center (Thompson Student Services - 107), as soon as possible.

18. Additional Texts..
Each student will deliver a presentation based on one of the following additional texts:
1 Don A. Norman, The Design Of Everyday Things
2 Don A. Norman, Emotional Design
3 Steven Krug, Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
4 Carolyn Snyder, Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Refine User Interfaces
5 Mike Kuniavsky, Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research

19. .Additional Texts.
6 B.J. Fogg, Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think We Do
7 Jef Raskin, The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems
8 Ellen Isaacs and Alan Walendowski, Designing from Both Sides of the Screen: How Designers and Engineers Can Collaborate to Build Cooperative Technology
9 Jeff Johnson, GUI Bloopers: Don’ts and Do’s for Software Developers and Web Designers
10 Karen Donahue, Built for Use: Driving Profitability
Through the User Experience

20. ..Additional Texts
11 Joel Spolsky, User-Interface Design for Programmers
12 Ben Shneiderman, Leonardo’s Laptop
13 Jay David Bolter and Diane Gromala, Windows and Mirrors : Interaction Design, Digital Art, and the Myth of Transparency
14 Nathan Shedroff, Experience Design 1
15 Eric Begnan (editor), Information Appliances and Beyond
16 Malcolm McCullough, Digital Ground: Architecture, Pervasive Computing, and Environmental Knowing

21. Tentative Schedule. Week # Dates (M, W, F) Contents 1 Aug 23, 25, 27
Lectures
Students Introduction 2
Aug 30, Sep 1, 3
Lectures, A#1 given
Presentations draw 3
Sep -, 8, 10
Selection additional text, A#1 due 4
Sep 13, 15, 17
A#2 given
Presentations by students (round #1) 5
Sep 20, 22, 24
Lectures, Project requirements given 6
Sep 27, 29, Oct 1
A#2 due 7
Oct 4, 6, 8
A#3 given
Presentations by students (round #2)

22. .Tentative Schedule 8 Oct 11, 13, 15 Lectures 9 Oct 18, 20, 22
Project part I due,
Presentations by students (round #3) 10
Oct 25, 27, 29 11
Nov 1, 3, 5
Midterm (11/5) 12
Nov 8, 10, 12
Project checkpoint, A#3 due 13
Nov 15, 17, 19
Presentations by students (round #4) 14
Nov 22, 24, - 15
Nov 29, Dec 1, 3
Project part II due, Project demo 16
Dec 8
Paper due