This course will provide an introduction to the field of Human Computer Interaction and will introduce students to behavioural research methods and techniques used in usability testing. The course will give students the essential theoretical background to approaches, methods and techniques followed by practical experience in conducting usability studies for interactive systems.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Appreciate the importance of the user interface in software development.
- Understand key aspects of human psychology which can determine user actions at and satisfaction of the interface.
- Describe the key design principles for user interfaces.
- Set up and carry out a process to gather requirements for, engage in iterative design of, and evaluate the usability of a user interface.
- Describe how user interface development can be integrated into an overall software development process.
- Understand sufficient theory of human computer interaction, experimental methodology and inferential statistics to engage with the contemporary research literature in interface technology and design.
- Identify key design errors in simple interfaces and suggest alternative designs.
- Discuss ethical issues involved in testing user interfaces.
Indicative Assessment
Assessments (40%); Final exam (60%)
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
One 2-hour lecture, one 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Norman, Donald The Design of Everyday Things London/New York: MIT Press, 2013. (Required reading)
A list of other reference books will be given at the start of the course.
Majors
Minors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Students continuing in their current program of study will have their tuition fees indexed annually from the year in which you commenced your program. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-2003 | $1650 | |
| 2014 | $2952 | |
| 2013 | $2946 | |
| 2012 | $2946 | |
| 2011 | $2946 | |
| 2010 | $2916 | |
| 2009 | $2850 | |
| 2008 | $2592 | |
| 2007 | $2298 | |
| 2006 | $2190 | |
| 2005 | $2190 | |
| 2004 | $2190 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1994-2003 | $3234 |
| 2014 | $3762 |
| 2013 | $3756 |
| 2012 | $3756 |
| 2011 | $3756 |
| 2010 | $3750 |
| 2009 | $3426 |
| 2008 | $3426 |
| 2007 | $3426 |
| 2006 | $3426 |
| 2005 | $3288 |
| 2004 | $3234 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8145 | 21 Jul 2014 | 01 Aug 2014 | 31 Aug 2014 | 30 Oct 2014 | In Person | N/A |
