Human-Computer Interaction
Dept of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
CSE 595 Winter 1998
SYLLABUS
Instructors: Alan Borning Time: Tues 6:30 – 9:20 p.m.
Jonathan Grudin
Teaching Assistants: Lauren Bricker, Greg Badros
Text: Readings in Human-Computer Interaction: Toward the Year 2000.
Edited by R. Baecker, J. Grudin, W. Buxton, and S. Greenberg.
Contact Information
Alan Borning: Sieg 409, 206-543-6678, borning@cs.washington.edu.
Office hours Tues Thurs 10:30-11:20
Jonathan Grudin: Sieg 414, 206-685-3798, grudin@cs.washington.edu
Greg Badros: gjb@cs.washington.edu (for constraint solver and constraint-based projects)
Lauren Bricker: bricker@cs.washington.edu (for other stuff)
Weeks 1 - 2:
Human-computer interaction is primarily concerned with how people directly interact with computers. Our understanding of human-computer interaction can draw on what is known about the way people interact with other complex artifacts. Interest in this field expanded dramatically in the late 1970s and in the 1980s with the spread of minicomputers and personal computers. However, its progress is best understood by placing it in historical context.
January 6
Assignments including exercise due January 13 described.
January 12
Reading reports for January 13 class are due at noon, Monday January 12, by e-mail to Lauren Bricker. (For the remaining classes as well, the reading reports are due the day before class.)
Preface to book and Introduction to Part I. (no review necessary)
The Psychopathology of Everyday Things, D.A. Norman
Case A. A Case Study in Interface Design: The CHI’89 Information Kiosk
G.B. Salomon
Chapter 1. A Historical and Intellectual Perspective, R. Baecker et al.
Case B. The Xerox Star: A Retrospective, J. Johnson et al.
Week 3: DESIGN AND EVALUATION
Design and evaluation of interactive systems were considered distinct activities. Today, good design often begins with the evaluation of existing practice, and with iterative design, the activities are tightly entwined. Still, the widespread existence of poor human-computer interfaces is evidence that the process of developing interfaces is far from a science.
Heavy Reading Week: January 20
Introduction to Part II. Process of Developing Interactive Systems (no review necessary)
Introduction to Chapter 2. Design and Evaluation
How to Design Usable Systems, J.D. Gould (don’t skip)
Methodology Matters, J. McGrath
Conducting and Analyzing a Contextual Interview, K. Holtzblatt and S. Jones
Using Video in the BNR Usability Lab, S. Kennedy
Getting to Know Users and Their Tasks, C. Lewis and J. Rieman
Working with Interface Metaphors, T.D. Erickson
Week 4: DEVELOPMENT CONTEXTS AND TOOLS
As the proportion of code devoted to human-computer interfaces has steadily grown over the years, considerable attention has been given to tools for interface design and development.
January 27
Introduction to Chapter 4. Development Methods and Contexts.
Interdisciplinary Cooperation, S. Kim
Introduction to Chapter 5. Development Tools.
State of the Art in User Interface Software Tools, B. Myers (don’t skip)
Week 5: CONSTRAINTS
A constraint represents a relation that should be satisfied. Constraints provide a natural way to express various aspects of user interfaces, including screen layout and consistency between application data and views of that data, or consistency among multiple views. This lecture will provide a detailed look at local work on constraint-based systems for user interface construction. In addition, we hope that a number of students will decide to do projects that employ our new constraint solver, Cassowary.
February 3
(Note: these papers will all be handouts; all except the CACM paper are also available online at http://www.cs.washington.edu/research/constraints )
An Incremental Constraint Solver, Bjorn Freeman-Benson, John Maloney, and Alan Borning, CACM January 1990.
Constraint hierarchies, Alan Borning, Bjorn Freeman-Benson, and Molly Wilson. Lisp and Symbolic Computation, 5(3):223-270, September 1992. (read Sections 1 - 2.2; skim the rest)
Solving linear arithmetic constraints for user interface applications. Alan Borning, Kim Marriott, Peter Stuckey, and Yi Xiao. In Proceedings of the 1997 ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, October 1997. (Optional - no reported needed. This paper is, ummm, a mathematical lead brick -- we don't expect everyone will understand it in detail.)
Constraints and the Web, Alan Borning, Richard Lin, and Kim Marriott, Proceedings of the 1997 ACM Multimedia Conference, pages 173-182 (more accessible!)
Week 6: CONSIDERING WORK CONTEXTS IN DESIGN
Most early work on interactive systems ignored the organizational or work context in which a system or application is used. Standalone PCs insulated application use from the social context of work around it and enabled researchers and developers to focus on perceptual and cognitive aspects of HCI. Those days are over, and designers must be able to develop an understanding of contexts of use
February 10
**DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION DUE February 12 **
Introduction to Chapter 3. Considering Work Contexts in Design.
Learning from Notes: Organizational Issues in Groupware Implementation, W. Orlikowski
From Human Factors to Human Actors, L. Bannon
Cooperative Design: Techniques and Experiences from the Scandinavian Scene,
S. Bødker, K. Grønbæk, and M. Kyng
Workflow From Within and Without: Technology and Cooperative Work on the Print
Industry Shopfloor, J. Bowers, G. Button, and W. Sharrock (Handout)
Week 7: Interaction Modalities
Visual displays and keyboard/mouse input receive most of the attention in HCI, but experiments with marking and sound point to possible alternatives.
February 17
Introduction to Part III. Interacting With Computers (no review)
A Taxonomy and Rule Base for the Selection of Interaction Styles,
B. Shneiderman
Introduction to Chapter 6. Vision, Graphic Design and Visual Display
Principles of Effective Visual Communication for Graphical User Interface Design,
A. Marcus
Introduction to Chapter 7. Touch, Gesture and Marking
Introduction to Chapter 8. Speech, Language and Audition
Week 8: Human Information Processing AND CAPABILITIES
The scientific approach to human-computer interaction began with the studies of perception, cognition, and motor control. However, the pace of technological change makes it difficult to build a strong underlying science.
February 24
Introduction to Part IV. Psychology and Human Processing (no review)
Introduction to Chapter 9. Human Information Processing
The Growth of Cognitive Modeling Since GOMS, J.R. Olson and G.M. Olson
Introduction to Chapter 10. Designing to Fit Human Capabilities
Human Error, the Design of Computer Systems, the Search for Blame,
D.A. Norman and P.J. Denning
Human-Computer Interfaces for People with Disabilities, A.F. Newell and P. Gregor
(Handout)
Weeks 9-10: RESEARCH FRONTIERS: CSCW, AGENTS, HYPERMEDIA, CYBERSPACE
Human-Computer Interaction has seen several sub-topics grow into major new research areas. Progress in these areas has been anticipated for thirty or more years. The Internet and WWW present many novel challenges to interaction design. Yet much earlier work applies to some extent and can help us confront these new challenges with some confidence.
March 3
Introduction to Part V. Research Frontiers (no review)
Introduction to Chapter 11. Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
Groupware and Social Dynamics: Six Challenges For Developers, J. Grudin
Introduction to Chapter 12. From Tailorable Systems to Intelligent Agents
Agents that Reduce Work and Information Overload, P. Maes
A Softbot-Based Interface to the Internet, O. Etzioni, D. Weld (handout)
** Project Introduction, Method Sections Due March 6 **
March 10
Introduction to Chapter 13. Hypertext and Information Retrieval
Behavioral Evaluation and Analysis of a Hypertext Browser, D.E. Egan et al.
Introduction to Chapter 14. Cyberspace
Nature and Origins of Virtual Environments: A Bibliographical Essay, S.R. Ellis
The Computer for the 21st Century, M. Weiser
Week 11: REFLECTING On HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION AND OUR PROJECTS
** PROJECT REPORTS DUE Tuesday March 17 **
March 17, 6:30 pm
March 19, 6:30 pm (scheduled time for final)
Project presentations! (We will have two evenings of presentations, given the number of students in the class.)