Postgraduate Course: Human-Computer Interaction (Level 11) (INFR11017)

Course Outline
School	School of Informatics	College	College of Science and Engineering
Course type	Standard	Availability	Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Credits	10
Home subject area	Informatics	Other subject area	None
Course website	http://course.inf.ed.ac.uk/hci	Taught in Gaelic?	No
Course description	The design and implementation of efficient, effective and user friendly computing systems depends upon understanding both the technology and its users. Only then can designers be confident that computer systems will be properly matched to the skills, knowledge and needs of their users. The study of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) seeks to combine perspectives and methods of enquiry drawn from disciplines such as Psychology and Sociology with the tools, techniques and technologies of Computer Science to create an approach to design which is both relevant and practical.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations	Students MUST NOT also be taking Human-Computer Interaction (Level 10) (INFR10018)	Other requirements	This course is open to all Informatics students including those on joint degrees. For external students where this course is not listed in your DPT, please seek special permission from the course organiser. Prior programming experience is assumed: assignments require constructing graphical user interfaces in a language such as Java. Basic practical experience with algebra and statistics is assumed. A willingness to pursue an inter-disciplinary approach is essential.
Additional Costs	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)			Learn enabled: No	Quota: None
Web Timetable	Web Timetable
Course Start Date	16/09/2013
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 76 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info)	Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name	Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)		2:00

Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)			Learn enabled: No	Quota: None
Web Timetable	Web Timetable
Course Start Date	16/09/2013
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 76 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info)	Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name	Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)		2:00

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1 - Demonstrate, in writing, knowledge of the issues and problems in HCI. 2 - Demonstrate understanding of human perception and behaviour by diagnosing problems in relations between work and technology. 3 - Use established design principles and methodologies to solve HCI problems. 4 - Acquire confidence in handling different disciplinary perspectives on HCI and the ability to apply them to design problems. 5 - The ability to devise, plan and execute task analysis and system evaluation studies from an HCI perspective, and present findings in a clear and effective manner. 6 - Demonstrate awareness of current areas of research by locating and summarising examples of recent progress.

Assessment Information
Written Examination 70 Assessed Assignments 30 Oral Presentations 0 Assessment A literature review and a design for a novel research study in a current area of HCI research.

Special Arrangements
None

Additional Information
Academic description	Not entered
Syllabus	* Background--the development and scope of HCI. Practical goals. * HCI relevant issues in human perception, memory and thinking processes. * Approaches to modelling HCI interactions. * Design methodologies and notations--levels of interface design. Task analysis, grammars, state charts. * Techniques and technologies--dialogue styles, information presentation. * The design process--user involvement, iterative design, prototyping. HCI and software engineering. * Evaluation--methodologies, formative and summative. Performance and learnability. Specific issues in HCI: the internet; agency; novel interfaces; ubiquitous computing. Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Information Systems, Systems Analysis and Design
Transferable skills	Not entered
Reading list	* Rogers, Sharp & Jenny Preece, Interaction Design, 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
Study Abroad	Not entered
Study Pattern	Lectures 20 Tutorials 0 Timetabled Laboratories 0 Non-timetabled assessed assignments 38 Private Study/Other 42 Total 100
Keywords	Not entered

Contacts
Course organiser	Dr Mary Cryan Tel: (0131 6)50 5153 Email: mcryan@inf.ed.ac.uk	Course secretary	Miss Kate Farrow Tel: (0131 6)50 2706 Email: Kate.Farrow@ed.ac.uk