Human Factors in Software Design

CS4753, PSY4753

The following item are available through the cs4753/psy4753 WWW page:

Course Information

 Gregory Abowd, September 22, 1994

Course Description (from the General Catalog):

Examines human factors in the software design and application process from the initial requirements to testing and implementation, with emphasis on designing the user interface.

Where and When

Class meets on Tuesday and Thursday 4:30 to 6:00 pm in College of Computing, Room 101.

Instructor:

Dr. Gregory Abowd

Teaching Assistant:

David Carlson

Textbook

Dix, Finlay, Abowd & Beale. Human-Computer Interaction, Prentice Hall, 1993. ISBN 0-13-458266-7.

Internet info

Newsgroups

The newsgroup for this class is git.cc.class.4753. In addition to the standard ways of reading newsgroups (rn, trn, xrn), you can access the newsgroup through this page. Click here to access the newsgroup for Human Factors in Software Design.

Another place of interest is the git.gvu newsgroup which is a forum for the Graphics Visualization and Usability Center here in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech.

WWW

You have obviously found this web page. Just in case you need the URL , it is http://www.cc.gatech.edu/computing/classes/cs4753_94_fall/course_info.html .

Other Web locations of interest include:

Course Syllabus

Gregory Abowd, September 22, 1994

Goals

Outline of lectures

This outline is subject to change. Changes will be announced on the newsgroup. 

Lecture	Date	Topic		   Reading		Due
======================================================================
1	9/22	Intro & Admin		
2	9/27	The Human	   Chapter 1		Homework 1
3	9/29	The Computer	   Chapter 2		Project part 0
4	10/4	Demo day		
5	10/6	The Interaction	   Chapter 3		Homework 2
6	10/11	Evaluation 	   Chapter 11		
7	10/13	Evaluation				Project part 1
8	10/18	midterm		   Chs. 1-3, 11	
9	10/20	Paradigms &	   Chapter 4,
		Principles	      Sections 1, 3-4	
10	10/25	Design	   	   Chapter 5		Homework 3
11	10/27	Task Analysis	   Chapter 7	
12	11/1	User Modeling	   Chapter 6	
13	11/3	Implementation     Chapter 10		Homework 4
14	11/8	Groupware/CSCW	   Chapter 14-15	
15	11/10	Groupware/CSCW				Homework 5
16	11/15	student presentations			Project part 2
17	11/17	Help and 	   Chapter 12
		Documentation	
18	11/22	Interface Design   handout	
	11/24	Thanksgiving	   sports section	Eat lots!!
19	11/29	Multi-sensory	   Chapter 16		Homework 6
		systems/Demo
20	12/1	student presentations			Project part 3
	12/6	Final exam	   comprehensive	
======================================================================

Lecture slides

Readings

Exact reading assignments will be posted to the newsgroup at least one lecture prior to the date for that reading. I will assume that you have read the reading prior to the lecture.

Additional handouts

Occasionally there will be additional material handed out to supplement information in the book and lectures. Where possible, an on-line version of the handouts will be made available in this section of the document.

Lectures

Each lecture will include time devoted to administrative and technical questions, usually lasting 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the class, followed by an overview and discussion of the day's topic. Some lectures will conclude with a participatory activity or demonstration. Some lectures will be dedicated to demonstrations only or student presentations. Attendance and participation at these special lecture sessions is particularly important.

Grading

Grades will be based on the following weighting scheme: 
Category		non-graduating students	  graduating students
=====================================================================
Homework assignments		25%			  30%
Group projects 			35%			  40%
Exams 
    midterm			10%			  20%
    final			25%			  ---
Class participation		 5%			  10%
Extra credit			 2%			   2%

Homework

Homework exercises will be assigned from the textbook. The exact assignments will be posted to the newsgroup at least one week prior to the due date (except for the first assignment). These assignments are to be completed individually. Your top 5 of the 6 assignments will go toward your final grade. Homework will be graded and returned within one week of the due date. Any questions about grading of homework should be directed to the TA within one week of return date. The homework is not intended to be extremely time-consuming. Its purpose is to give you a chance to concentrate on the major themes from the reading and prepare you for the exams.

Group project

A large part of this course will consist of a project done in groups. More complete information on the project will be discussed separately. Project groups will be four-member teams. You should decide on teams by Thursday, October 1 and report those teams to the TA. There will be three separate project milestones with a written deliverable due. Each deliverable will be worth 10% of your overall grade. There will be two opportunities for groups to present the progress on their work during the quarter and these presentations will constitute the balance of the overall grade.

For more information on the group project click here.

Exams

There will be two exams this quarter, both of which will be based on reading and lecture materials. The exams will be closed book. I will provide a study guide for both exams one week prior to the exam date. The midterm will be returned by the next lecture. Questions about grading should be directed to the instructor within one week. Adjustments in exam grades will be rare and could equally well result in a lowering or raising of the grade.

Class participation

I want you to be actively involved in your education in my class. That means that I openly encourage constructive participation during my lectures. This can take the form of questions during my lecturing on the technical content of the course, or it could involve your active participation in in-class activities. I want to know who you are, what you want to get out of this class, what you understand or don't understand.

Extra credit

I would appreciate learning of any corrections or deficiencies in the textbook. Consequently, I will award extra credit points to students who inform me either in person or in writing of any corrections to the text (misspellings, grammatical errors, inconsistencies, etc.). I will also award extra credit for any constructive critiques of any part of the textbook. These should be done in writing. The amount of extra credit will be limited to 2% of any individual's grade, meaning that it could sway the balance in a borderline overall evaluation.

Other policies

Students are expected to attend all lectures on time. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner. This expectation includes showing up for exams at the appointed time. Late make-up exams will not be given. Any conflicts with exam times should be brought to the instructor's attention as soon as possible and in all cases PRIOR to the examination period.

Students are expected to follow the university's codes of academic conduct. Cases of suspected academic misconduct will be immediately forwarded to the Dean of Student Affairs, and will be pursued to resolution. This is an unpleasant process for all involved, so please do not put yourself in this situation.

Above all, I would like to adhere to the reasonable person principle.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from the class.