COMP106: Human-Centric Computing

Admin | Module Description | Lecture Notes

Admin

Lecturer:

Dr. Katie Atkinson.
Department of Computer Science,
Room 217,
Ashton Building,
Ashton St.

Email me at: katie [at] liverpool [dot] ac [dot] uk

Lecture time and locations:

  • Monday 1pm, Lecture Theatre B University Lecture Rooms Building
  • Thursday 12pm, Lecture Theatre C University Lecture Rooms Building
  • Friday 9am, Lecture Theatre B University Lecture Rooms Building

Practical Class Information:

  • Wednesday 11am (note: this has been moved from Monday due to a change in the timetable)
  • Thursday 1pm
  • Thursday 2pm
All practical classes will take place in Lab 3 of the George Holt Building. Practical classes will start in week 3 of the term. Each person has been assigned to one practical class; the allocations are posted on VITAL.

Tutors:
Mr. Dan Cartwright. D.R.Cartwright@liverpool.ac.uk
Mr. David Chandran. G.D.Chandran@liverpool.ac.uk
Ms. Stephanie Chua. S.Chua@liverpool.ac.uk

Reading Material:

  • B. Shneiderman and C. Plaisant
    Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction.
    Addison-Wesley, 2005, 4th Edition.
    ISBN 0-321-26978-0.

  • H. Sharp, Y. Rogers and J. Preece.
    Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction.
    John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2002.
    ISBN 0-471-49278-7.

  • C. Faulkner
    The Essence of Human Computer Interaction.
    Prentice Hall, 1998.
    ISBN 0-13-751975-3.

Additional references may be given as the module proceeds.



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Module Description

Aims:

  • To provide guidelines, concepts and models for designing and evaluating interactive systems.
  • To introduce elements of designing and implementing graphical user interfaces.

Learning Outcomes:

At the conclusion of the module you should:

  • Have an appreciation of the issues involved in designing computer systems for people.
  • Have a basic understanding of the formal methods and techniques for interaction design.
  • Acquire a critiquing ability for the evaluation of interactive systems.
  • Be familiar with Java tools supporting GUI realisation.
  • Be able to apply learned methods in the design of a case study.

Assessment:

  • There is a continual assessment component for the module that counts for 20% of the final mark. This will consist of a number of assignments based on evaluation and construction of interfaces – more details to follow when the practical classes commence.

  • There is also an exam in May which is worth 80% of the final mark for the module.

Approximate Syllabus

  • Introduction:

    What is human-centric computing? Principles of Human Computer Interaction, the human in the loop, user models, cognitive issues, comparisons between nomothetic and idiographic approaches.

  • Interactions:

    Ecological clues - notion of affordance. Interaction styles: function/key based, menu based, forms fill-in, command languages, natural language, iconic languages, direct manipulation, voice-based interaction, virtual characters. A survey of Graphical User Interface development.

  • Models:

    Modelling user activities: task analysis, GOMS model, methods for user involvement in interaction design (questionnaires, interviews, observations, ethnographic studies).

    Introduction to Usability Engineering: consistency of the interaction, feedback, dialogue closure, error prevention/handling, user memory load, locus of control.

  • Design:

    Graphic User-Interfaces: the java.swing packages, components of GUIs, events and event-handlers.

    Interaction design: event driven software, state charts, testing and evaluation.

    Information design and manipulation: introduction to semiotics. Presentation and visualisation of information, hypermedia, user with special needs.

  • Culture and Communication:

    So, what is an Interface?: cultural constraints and the rhetoric of designs.

    Groupware and Cooperative Activity: computer mediated communication, computer supported cooperative work/learning, distance work/learning, human-centric computing revisited.

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Lecture Notes

The lecture notes will be printed on a weekly basis as the module proceeds; they can be collected from the Computer Science Helpdesk in the George Holt Building. Subsequent to each lecture electronic versions of the notes will also be posted on VITAL.

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