Course Title: Human Computer Interaction

Course Code: CMP-3711

Course Structure: Lectures: 3/Labs: 0
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: None

Course Objectives:
This course focuses on the basic concepts of how human perceives and interacts with
computers. Through a set of exercises, students will acquire the ability to critique problems
that exist in current interactive software and websites. Students will also learn several usability
evaluation methods.

Course Syllabus:
The human. The computer. The interaction Models. Interaction design basics. HCI in the
software process. Design rules. Implementation support. Evaluation techniques. Universal
design. User support. Task analysis. Dialog notations and design. Models of the system.
Modeling rich interaction. Groupware. Ubiquitous computing and augmented realities.
Hypertext, multimedia and the world wide web.

Course Outline:
1. The human: Input–output channels, Human memory, Thinking, Emotion, Individual
differences, Psychology and the design of interactive systems. [Ch. 1]
2. The computer: Text entry devices, Positioning, pointing and drawing, Display devices,
Devices for virtual reality and 3D interaction, Physical controls, sensors and special
devices, Paper: printing and scanning, Memory, Processing and networks. [Ch. 2]
3. The interaction: Models of interaction, Frameworks and HCI, Ergonomics, Interaction
styles, Elements of the WIMP interface, Interactivity, The context of the interaction,
Experience, engagement and fun. [Ch. 3]
4. Interaction design basics: What is design? The process of design, User focus, Scenarios,
Navigation design, Screen design and layout, Iteration and prototyping. [Ch. 5]
5. HCI in the software process: The software life cycle, Usability engineering, Iterative
design and prototyping, Design rationale. [Ch. 6]
6. Design rules: Principles to support usability, Standards, Guidelines, Golden rules and
heuristics, HCI patterns. [Ch. 7]
7. Implementation support: Elements of windowing systems, Programming the application,
Using toolkits, User interface management systems.[Ch. 8]
8. Evaluation techniques: What is evaluation? Goals of evaluation, Evaluation through
expert analysis, Evaluation through user participation, Choosing an evaluation method.
[Ch. 9]
9. Universal design: Universal design principles, Multi-modal interaction, Designing for
diversity.[Ch. 10]
10. User support: Requirements of user support, Approaches to user support, Adaptive help
systems, Designing user support systems. [Ch. 11]
11. Task analysis: Differences between task analysis and other techniques, Task
decomposition, Knowledge-based analysis, Entity–relationship-based techniques,
Sources of information and data collection, Uses of task analysis [Ch. 15]
12. Dialog notations and design: What is dialog? Dialog design notations, Diagrammatic
notations, Textual dialog notations, Dialog semantics, Dialog analysis and design. [Ch.
16]
13. Models of the system: Standard formalisms, Interaction models, Continuous behaviour.
 14. Modeling rich interaction: Introduction, Status–event analysis, Rich contexts, Low
intention and sensor-based interaction. [Ch. 18]
15. Groupware: Groupware systems, Computer-mediated communication, Meeting and
decision support systems, Shared applications and artifacts, Frameworks for
groupware, Implementing synchronous groupware. [Ch. 19]
16. Ubiquitous computing and augmented realities: Ubiquitous computing applications
research, Virtual and augmented reality, Information and data visualization. [Ch. 20]
17. Hypertext, multimedia and the world wide web: Understanding hypertext, Finding things,
Web technology and issues, Static web content, Dynamic web content. [Ch. 21]

Textbook(s):
• Human-Computer Interaction by Alan Dix, Janet E. Finlay, Gregory D. Abowd,
Russell Beale, Prentice Hall; 3rd Edition (December 20, 2003). ISBN-10: 0130461091
Reference Material:
• Human-Computer Interaction: Concepts And Design by J. Preece, Y. Rogers, H. Sharp,
D. Benyon, S. Holland, T. Carey, Addison Wesley; 1 st Edition (April 30, 1994). ISBN-
10: 0201627698.
• Human-Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and
Emerging Applications by Julie A. Jacko, CRC Press; 3rd Edition (May 4, 2012). ISBN-
10: 1439829438
• Interaction Design: Beyond Human - Computer Interaction by Yvonne Rogers, Helen
Sharp, and Jenny Preece, Wiley; 3rd Edition (June 15, 2011). ISBN-10: 0470665769
• Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface
Design Rules by Jeff Johnson, Morgan Kaufmann; 1st Edition (June 3, 2010). ISBN-
10: 012375030X