Usability

Unit Code: HIT6316

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

> Related Course/s
> Teaching Methods
> Assessment
> Aims & Objectives
> Generic Skills Outcomes
> Content
> Reading Materials

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Graduate Diploma in Information Technology, Master of Information Technology, Master of Information Technology (Professional Computing) and Master of Technology (Information Technology).

Aims & Objectives:

By the end of the unit, students will be able to:

• Characterise the basic components of human-computer interaction.
• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of a user-centred approach to interface design.
• Select, design and conduct appropriate and ethical evaluation protocols and critically evaluate the results.
• Produce written reports in a standard format and effectively present information in an oral presentation.

Teaching Methods:

Lecture (24 hours), Tutorial (Labs) (24 hours)

Assessment:

Assignments, Ethics Test (hurdle requirement), Examination.

Generic Skills Outcomes:

The graduate attributes which relate to this unit of study help to produce graduates who:

• Are capable in their chosen professional areas.
• Operate effectively and ethically in work and community situations.
• Are adaptable and manage change.

Content:

• The nature of HCI.
• Models of human behaviour: attention, memory, perception, communication and thinking.
• User-centred principles in the software development process.
• User needs and task analysis techniques.
• Conceptual design and metaphors.
• Physical design principles, design guidelines and rules.
• Prototyping techniques.
• Input/output devices and dialogue techniques.
• Principles of human-centred software evaluation.
• Coherence, contextual and particpatory design.
• Evaluation without users: heuristic evaluations, walkthroughs, automated critiques and predictive models (GOMS, Keystoke Level Model).
• Evaluation with users: usability testing, interviews, questionnaires, ethics of user testing.
• Experimental design and data analysis.

Reading Materials:

Courage, C. & Baxter, K. (2005). Understanding your users: A practical guide to user requirements, methods, tools and techniques. San Francisco, CA: Morgan-Kaufmann.
Dumas, J. S. & Redish, J. C. (1999). A practical guide to usability testing. Revised Edition. Exeter, UK: Intellect Ltd.
Snyder, C. (2003). Paper Prototyping: The fast and easy way to design and refine user interfaces. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann
Stone, D., Jarrett, C., Woodroffe, M., Minocha, S. (2005). User interface design and evaluation. San Francisco, CA: Morgan-Kaufmann.