Module 4: Evaluations

Learning Objectives

Module 4 has the following goals and objectives:

  1. Explain the main principles of a user-centered approach to Interaction Design
  2. Describe a simple lifecycle model of interaction design.
  3. Perform each step of the interaction design lifecycle on a project with a given scope
  4. Describe different kinds of requirements.
  5. Perform hierarchical task analysis on a simple description.
  6. Define key concepts and terms used in evaluation.
  7. Describe a range of different types of evaluation methods.
  8. Discuss some of the practical challenges that evaluators have to consider when doing evaluation.
  9. Match different evaluation methods to their appropriate stages of the design process.
  10. Analyze policies that users control and hidden policies controlled by a system.
  11. Demonstrate considerations of forward-thinking designs and single points of failure
  12. Reflect on human-computer interaction from both an empirical and philosophical standpoint

Consumables

Each week there will be a number of items for you to consume, be it reading, watching, listening, or a combination thereof.

The total amount of time estimated on required texts and resources is 225 minutes.

Table 1: Consumable materials for module grouped by required or supplemental content.
Module Required? Text/Resource Chapter/Title Source Estimated time in minutes Type
4 Required Interaction Design Chapter 13: Interaction Design in Practice http://www.id-book.com/index.php 60 Design
4 Required Interaction Design Chapter 14: Introducing Evaluation http://www.id-book.com/index.php 60 Design
4 Required Connections Single Point of Failure https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4hpwxw-Lsr4TWd6Nnhiamg1TGs/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-IfSc0dKXaV3md7C2GjBeUg 15 Postphenomenology
4 Required Postmodern Culture Hacking Away at the Counterculture http://pmc.iath.virginia.edu/text-only/issue.990/ross-1.990 60 Security
4 Required OWASP Testing Guide Introduction https://wiki.owasp.org/index.php/Testing_Guide_Introduction 30 Security

Assignments

The total amount of time estimated you should spend on these assignments depends on the amount of effort required, itself based on your previous experience with statistics, generally, and R, in particular. You can expect to spend somewhere between 225 and 345 minutes on this module beyond the readings. The estimated total number of words you’re likely to write in this module is 2,750.

Table 2: Assignments for this module.
Module Due date Assignment type Short name Long name Points Effort (low) Effort (high) Expected word total
4 2022-12-04 Project P4 Project 4: Usability Testing Plan 50 210 300 2,500
4 2022-12-04 Project U4 UXA 4 6 15 45 250

Project 4

Project 4 is your first foray into actual usability testing.

Learning Objectives

Through the application of reading materials and completion of this project in light of its corresponding rubric:

  • Students will be introduced to methods for testing the usability of websites and perform tests on real-world websites.
    • Define different methods for evaluating a website’s usability and choose the appropriate test given example sites at different stages of development.
    • Given a site with a predefined set of usability issues, propose methods for resolving those issues.

Tasks

You can find the rest of the assignment here.

UXA 4

The User Experience Analysis (UXA) is designed to be an optional, freeform way for you to express how you are taking the concepts learned in the class and applying them to a real-world situation. The idea is to explore how HCI is just as much an art as it is a science.

You can find the rest of the assignment here.