HCI 460 Usability Evaluation Methods
Summary
Course Description
This course surveys methods for evaluating user interfaces. For projects, students will perform a heuristic evaluation, a cognitive walkthrough, a usability test and how to communicate their findings. Class meetings will also introduce, discuss and occasionally practice additional methods for usability evaluation.
The coursework consists of:
- Lectures;
- Class-time activities;
- Reading assignments;
- An individual assignment;
- Team assignments; and
- Mid-term and final exams.
Students perform UCD activities on a team-selected project throughout all team assignments.
Learning Objectives (LO)
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Conduct a variety of methods for evaluating the usability of interactive systems (LO1)
- Select an appropriate evaluation method and articulate its advantages and disadvantages (LO2)
- Critique the validity of usability measures (LO3)
- Explain the role of evaluation in the design process (LO4)
- Establish useful test objectives (LO5)
- Prepare usability reports and present results (LO6)
Texts
Grading
Evaluation & Grading
Coursework includes the following components:
Coursework
|
Grade Proportion
|
|
Individual Assignments (2)
|
20%
|
|
Team Assignments (3)
|
30%
|
|
Project Presentation
|
20%
|
|
Midterm Exam
|
10%
|
|
Final Exam
|
20%
|
|
Total
|
100%
|
Grading Scale
Final letter grades will be given based on the following minimum percent of total points earned:
If the final numeric grade is less than:
|
And greater than or equal to:
|
The final letter grade is:
|
|
-
|
93
|
A
|
|
92
|
90
|
A-
|
|
89
|
87
|
B+
|
|
86
|
83
|
B
|
|
82
|
80
|
B-
|
|
79
|
77
|
C+
|
|
76
|
73
|
C
|
|
72
|
70
|
C-
|
|
69
|
67
|
D+
|
|
66
|
63
|
D
|
|
62
|
0
|
F
|
Prerequisites
HCI 440 is a prerequisite for this and most other HCI courses in this program.
Qualifying coursework in Statistics (eg: IT 403) is also required. For the most part, a basic understanding of descriptive statistics will be sufficient for this course.
Class Schedule
A detailed course schedule with lecture topics, assignments and due dates is provided in the Calendar on D2L. The D2L Calendar represents the definitive class schedule for all coursework and will be updated, if necessary, as the quarter progresses.
Tentative Course Schedule (see D2L Calendar for the definitive class schedule)
Date/
Week
|
Classroom Lecture Topic
|
Reading
|
Assignments & Exams
|
|
Mar 31
|
Course Overview, Usability Principles, Heuristic Evaluation
|
Rubin & Chisnell ch. 1,
Lewis & Rieman ch. 4. Tullis & Albert ch. 1.
|
Determine site, app or product to test
|
|
Apr 07
|
Cognitive Walkthrough, Pluralistic CW & other Inspection Methods
|
Course notes
|
HW1 Heuristic Evaluation due
|
|
Apr 14
|
Introduction to Usability Testing
|
Rubin & Chisnell ch. 5-7,
Tullis & Albert ch. 2-3.
Sauro & Lewis ch. 2 & 8.
|
HW2 Cognitive Walkthrough due
|
|
Apr 21
|
Usability Test Planning & Preparation
|
Rubin & Chisnell ch. 8-10,
Tullis & Albert ch. 4-6.
Sauro & Lewis ch. 6.
|
Team Agreement due
CITI IRB certification due
|
|
Apr 28
|
Pilot Testing
|
Review Rubin & Chisnell ch. 9
|
GHW1 Usability Test Plan due
Midterm Exam posted
|
|
May 05
|
Assessment and Reporting
|
Rubin ch. 11-12,
Review Tullis & Albert 2.1-2.4, 2.7.
Sauro & Lewis ch. 3-5.
|
Conduct Pilot Test
Midterm Exam due
|
|
May 12
|
Remote Testing & Variant Testing Methods
|
Rubin & Chisnell ch. 13
Course notes
|
GHW2 Pilot Test & Updates due
|
|
May 19
|
Competitive & Comparison Studies
|
Tullis & Albert ch. 8-10
Course notes
Sauro & Lewis ch. 8.
|
Conduct Usability Tests
|
|
May 26
|
GOMS KLM and other user modeling
|
Review Tullis & Albert
ch. 4
Course notes
|
GHW3 Usability Test Results Due
|
|
Jun 02
|
Presentations & Review
|
|
Team Final Report & Presentation
Final Exam Posted
|
|
Jun 09
|
Final Exam
|
|
Final Exam due
Team Evaluation
|
This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.
Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course
content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The
evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely
separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation.
Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.
This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you
have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.
All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.
All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.
Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that
you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296