CS2013-final-report

Software and Interface Design, University of Cambridge
Alan Blackwell
Alan.Blackwell@cl.cam.ac.uk
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Teaching/current/SWIDesign/
Knowledge Areas that contain topics and learning outcomes covered in the course
Knowledge Area
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) 3
Other areas 8
Total Hours of Coverage
Brief description of the course’s format and place in the undergraduate curriculum
This course is offered to CS majors only, taught over four weeks at the end of their first year (a half term). Formal
teaching is 11 lecture hours, supplemented by 2 optional informal tutorials involving student exercises as proposed
by individual tutors. The course is a prerequisite for a compulsory group design project in the second year of the
degree.
Course description and goals
This course introduces principles and methods for the design of software systems in professional contexts. The
whole of the software development lifecycle is considered, but with special emphasis on user-centered design,
including approaches to capture and analysis of user requirements, iterative prototyping and testing of interactive
systems.
The goal is to present HCI as a discipline that is concerned with technical advance, and that must integrate different
disciplinary perspectives. Fundamental theoretical issues deal with principles of human perception, visual
representation and purposeful action, discussed in the context of novel interactive technologies. Building on a first
year course in professional software design, the course ends with an overview of systematic approaches to the
design and analysis of user interfaces.
On completing the course, students should be able to
• undertake system design in a methodical manner
• proceed from a general system or product requirement to a design that addresses user needs
• develop design models and prototypes in an iterative manner recognizing managerial risks
• evaluate interactive systems, including identification and correction of faults.
Course topics
• Mental models, leading to gulfs of execution and evaluation.
• Observing and describing the needs of users in context
• Methods for iterative modelling and prototyping
• Observational and experimental methods for usability evaluation
Course textbooks, materials, and assignments
• Interaction Design: Beyond human-computer interaction by Helen Sharp, Yvonne Rogers & Jenny Preece
(multiple editions)
• Software Engineering by Pressman (multiple editions)
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