Interaction Design Project

Recommended Prerequisites

Training equivalent to the Licenciatura Degree that enables enrolment in the Master course.

Teaching Methods

The methodology is seminar based, with a combination of theoretical presentation and discussion of models, methods and instruments with practical application exercises in delimited contexts and project activities in a studio environment. The student is required to execute: a) weekly assignments consisting on readings, critical analysis and synthesis in response to questions; b) un individual autonomous research work; c) a group project where course techniques will be exercised, to develop communication and work organization capacities, with four sessions of presentation and feedback.

Learning Outcomes

Through this course students will learn fundamental concepts to understand the interaction between humans and computer-based systems. Students will be expected to:

- understand the role of human factors on the interaction and interface;

- understand and apply prototyping techniques for research of on design proposals;

- develop competence for interaction design for interfaces for specific usage contexts, towards the optimization of the quality of interactive experience and based on contextual and participatory approaches;

- develop capacity to build innovative interfaces coherent and fit for purpose;

- develop competence to evaluate usability and other experience qualities with the use of techniques adequate to project context;

- develop the capacity to build innovative interfaces, coherent with purpose;

- learn how to perform and combine techniques in a systematic and empirical approach to interaction design;

- develop the capacity for autonomous learning in the field of HCI.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Brief history of HCI; Models of human performance, cognitive theory, activity theory, situated action.

2. User and task modeling; Personas; Scenario modeling and analysis;

3. Engineering interaction contexts through media design; Contextual Design;

4. Prototyping and its role in interaction design; Participatory Design Workshops; The concept of trajectories in experience design;

5. From usability to user experience: evaluation models and techniques; Observation and analysis techniques: cognitive design walkthrough, heuristic evaluation, formal lab testing, field testing, interviews and questionnaires;

6. Aesthetics of interaction and interface design;

7. Information visualization and sonification; Elements of visual and sound design; Adapting to devices and use contexts; Smartphone and tablet scenarios.

8. Interface architectures and techniques: from language to GUI, TUI and NUI.

Head Lecturer(s)

Licínio Gomes Roque

Assessment Methods

Continuous Assessment
Research work: 20.0%
Project: 40.0%
Resolution Problems: 40.0%

Bibliography

D. Norman (2002). The psychology of Everyday Things, Basic Books.

Beyer & Holtzblat (1997). Contextual Design, Morgan Kaufmann.

Y. Rogers, H. Sharp, and J. Preece (2007). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction, Wiley.

B. Buxton (2007). Sketching the User Experience, Morgan Kaufmann.

Nilsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering, Morgan Kaufmann.

Selected Papers on Design and HCI Research Topics.