Human-Computer Interaction
Designing and evaluating interactive systems for people: usability and the human-centred design cycle, perception, attention, memory and the Hick-Hyman law, Fitts's law, the steering law and keystroke-level models, mental models, Norman's gulfs, signifiers and the psychology of error, user research methods and research ethics under TCPS 2, personas, task analysis, card sorting and tree testing, prototyping and visual design, heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthroughs, usability testing and experiments with SUS, NASA-TLX and small-sample statistics, accessibility with WCAG 2.2, ARIA and the Accessible Canada Act and provincial law, mobile, voice, XR, in-vehicle and AI interfaces including calibrated trust and mixed initiative, and deceptive design, the Competition Act and Quebec's Law 25, ending with an end-to-end design project.
CMPUT-421 Year 4 3 credits 12 lessons · 6 h 53 min
Offered by HSM University · Computing Science
This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.
What you'll learn
- Explain what human-computer interaction is, define usability and user experience using ISO 9241-11 and 9241-210, and describe the human-centred design cycle and the history of interactive computing.
- Apply knowledge of human perception, attention, memory and decision-making, including Gestalt principles, colour vision deficiency and the Hick–Hyman law, to interface design.
- Use Fitts's law, the steering law and the keystroke-level model to predict performance, compute ISO 9241-411 throughput and compare alternative designs.
- Analyse interfaces using mental models, Norman's gulfs of execution and evaluation, affordances, signifiers, mappings, feedback, constraints and the psychology of error, and check navigation as a state machine.
- Select, plan and analyse user research methods, including field studies, diary studies, surveys and thematic analysis, and conduct research with human participants under TCPS 2 or the Common Rule.
- Turn research into personas, scenarios, task analyses, measurable user requirements and information architectures validated with card sorting and tree testing.
- Prototype at appropriate fidelity, use Wizard of Oz techniques and design systems, and apply visual design, typography and form design principles.
- Conduct heuristic evaluations and cognitive walkthroughs, rate and aggregate severity, and explain the strengths and limits of inspection and automated evaluation.
- Plan, run and analyse usability tests and controlled experiments, including think-aloud, problem discovery, SUS, NASA-TLX, small-sample confidence intervals, counterbalancing and effect sizes.
- Design and evaluate for accessibility using the social model of disability, assistive technologies, WCAG 2.2 and ARIA, and explain accessibility law in Canada and the United States.
- Apply HCI principles to mobile, voice, extended reality, wearable, in-vehicle and AI-based interfaces, including calibrated trust, mixed initiative and the design of interfaces to large language models.
- Recognize and audit deceptive design patterns, apply privacy by design and value sensitive design, explain the relevant Canadian and US law, and carry out an end-to-end human-centred design project with honest reporting.
Course content
12 lessons · 6 h 53 min total · final exam
- 1 What human-computer interaction is and why it matters 34 min · quiz
- 2 Human perception and cognition for designers 35 min · quiz
- 3 Motor performance and predictive models 35 min · quiz
- 4 Mental models and interaction design principles 35 min · quiz
- 5 User research methods and research ethics 34 min · quiz
- 6 From research to requirements: tasks, personas and scenarios 34 min · quiz
- 7 Prototyping and iterative design 32 min · quiz
- 8 Usability evaluation without users: heuristics and walkthroughs 33 min · quiz
- 9 Usability testing and experiments 36 min · quiz
- 10 Accessibility and inclusive design 35 min · quiz
- 11 Beyond the desktop: mobile, voice, XR and AI interfaces 35 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: ethics, deceptive design and an end-to-end HCI project 35 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Designing and evaluating interactive systems for people: usability and the human-centred design cycle, perception, attention, memory and the Hick-Hyman law, Fitts's law, the steering law and keystroke-level models, mental models, Norman's gulfs, signifiers and the psychology of error, user research methods and research ethics under TCPS 2, personas, task analysis, card sorting and tree testing, prototyping and visual design, heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthroughs, usability testing and experiments with SUS, NASA-TLX and small-sample statistics, accessibility with WCAG 2.2, ARIA and the Accessible Canada Act and provincial law, mobile, voice, XR, in-vehicle and AI interfaces including calibrated trust and mixed initiative, and deceptive design, the Competition Act and Quebec's Law 25, ending with an end-to-end design project.
Part of the Science stream, typically taken in year 4.