INF 220 - Human-Computer Interaction

1. Identify the scientific methods, which interface researchers should follow to validate their designs.
   1. List reason why some people resist using computers and explain how proper design can resolve some of their issues and concerns.
   2. Give example of technology applications or products that meet the needs of certain groups of people.
   3. Explain why cultural differences need to be considered when designing user interfaces.
   4. List examples of how user interfaces can be designed to meet the needs of special populations of users.
2. Identify the fundamental rules of user interface design.
   1. Explain how a designer can create a user interface that alerts users to time dependent information or abnormal events.
   2. Explain ways to improve an interface to prevent the occurrence of errors.
   3. Discuss why it is important to organize menus functionally and make it difficult for users to take irreversible actions.
3. Outline the stages of system/application design.
   1. Analyze user designs using different types of inputs such as textboxes, radio button, and combo boxes in terms of speed or performance and error rates.
   2. Outline the four pillars of design and explain why each is important.
   3. Explain the importance of ethnographic observation including: preparation, field study, analysis and reporting.
   4. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of participatory design.
   5. Analyze the components of a social impact statement.
   6. Discuss legal issues related to design such as copyright laws, patents, privacy, liability and freedom of speech.
4. Discuss the importance of evaluating and testing user interface designs.
   1. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of types of expert reviews including: Heuristic evaluation, Guideline review, Consistency inspection, Cognitive walkthrough, Formal usability inspection and Metaphors of human thinking.
   2. Outline goals to be ascertained through the use of survey instruments.
   3. Discuss procedures for setting objective and measurable goals for hardware and software performance testing.
5. Discuss different types of active use testing.
   1. Explain how interviews and focus groups can be useful.
   2. Identify tools for continuous user perfromance data logging.
   3. Discuss online suggestion boxes, email trouble reports, sikis and news groups.
   4. Explain how controlled experiments can fine tune the human-computer interface of actively used systems.
6. Discuss examples of Direct-Manipulation Systems.
   1. Explain the advantages of WYSIWYG user interfaces.
   2. Identify technologies that were derived from word processors.
   3. Outline the evolution of Direct-Manipulation Systems.
   4. Identify problems associated with direct manipulations systems.
   5. Identify Direct-Manipulation development tools.
   6. Identify features of effective 3D interfaces.
7. Discuss complicating factors in the architecture of remote environments.
8. Explain Virtual and Augmented Reality user interfaces.
9. Identify task related organization tools used in a graphical user interface.
   1. Explain the features of different types of menus including: binary menus, multi-item menus, toolbar menus, scrolling menus, fisheye menus, sliders, embedded menus, and hotlinks.
   2. Discuss task-related grouping in tree organization.
   3. Outline guidelines for item presentation sequence.
   4. Discuss advantages of Data Entry with menus: Form Fill-in, dialog Boxes, and Alternatives.
   5. Identify uses for audio menus and menus for small displays.
10. Discuss functionality to support user’s tasks.
    1. Outline steps for designers to follow when creating functionality to support user’s tasks.
    2. Identify Command-Organization Streategies including: command sets, command plus arguments and Hierarchical commnd structure.
    3. Outline guidelines for using abbreviations.
11. Discuss different types of interaction devices and identify their features.
    1. Identify advantages and disadvantage of different types of keyboard layouts.
    2. Identify advantages and disadvantage of different types of pointing devices.
    3. Explain how speech and auditory interfaces work.
    4. Discuss how different display technologies work and identify advantage and disadvantage of each.
    5. Discuss how display technologies can be utilized by users with special needs.
12. Identify characteristics and examples of collaboration and social media participation.
    1. Explain how asynchronous distributed interfaces work.
    2. Explain how synchronous distributed interfaces work.
    3. Explain how face to face interfaces work.
13. Identify design strategies focused of quality of service.
    1. Outline the criteria designers of response times and display rates in human computer interaction must consider.
    2. Identify strategies that can reduce user frustration.
14. Discuss how user experiences play a critical role in influencing software acceptance.
    1. Develop error messages that provide positive guidance and have a conducive tone.
    2. List strength and weakness of anthropomorphic interfaces that present computers as people.
    3. Explain Mullet and Sano’s categories of design principles.
    4. Discuss guidelines for web page design.
    5. Discuss guidelines for Windows page design.
15. Discuss paper versus online manuals comparing strengths and weakness of each.
16. Discuss different types of information searches and how they are performed.
    1. Identify techniques for searching in Textual Documents and Database Querying.
    2. Explain how multimedia document searches are performed.
    3. Discuss advanced filtering and search interfaces.
17. Define and explain information visualization also known as visual data mining.
    1. Outline the seven basic tasks of visual data mining.
    2. Explain the challenges for information visualization.