Note that changes are made to this syllabus on a regular basis. Only the bottom items (current week) get revised, however.
Readings come from both the course textbooks. Assignments in the Jordan book are listed as Jor:page-numbers. Those from the Schneider book are listed as Sch:sections.
| Day/Date | Reading (due the next M, W or F shown) | Lecture Topic (linked to outline)
| W 1/5
| Jor:5-13; Rev. quest. 1-6
| Introduction: user interfaces and usability
| F 1/7
| Jor:14-23; Rev. quest. 7-11
| Why usability is a challenge
| M 1/10
| 11:59 PM - Homework 1 due
| M 1/10
| Sch:1.4 and 2.1; Pract.probs. 2.1; Ex. 2.1.(4,5,6,33,34)
| Accommodating user errors
| W 1/12
| Sch:2.2 and 2.3; Pract.probs. 2.2, 2.3; Exercises 2.2.(11,13,22,23,35), 2.3.(55,59)
| No class - time to learn Visual Basic
| F 1/14
| Sch:2.4; Pract.probs. 2.4; Exercises 2.4.(3,13,31,35,59)
| No class - time to learn Visual Basic
| M 1/17
|
| No class - Martin Luther King Day
| T 1/18
| 11:59 PM - Program 1 due
| W 1/19
| Sch:2.5; Pract.probs 2.5; Exercises 2.5.(7,9,13,27,31,47,55)
| Principles of color
| F 1/21
| Sch:2.6 and Appendix C; Pract.probs. 2.6; Ex. 2.6.(11,13,27,31)
| Computer-generated color
| M 1/24
| 11:59 PM - Program 2 due
| M 1/24
| Jor:25-38; Rev. quest. 1-6
| Using color effectively
| W 1/26
| Jor:39-49; Rev. quest. 1-7
| Applying design guidelines
| F 1/28
| Sch:3.1; Pract.probs. 3.1; Exercises 3.1.(13,15,19,25,27)
| Mental models
| M 1/31
| 11:59 PM - Homework 2 due
| M 1/31
| Sch:5.1; Pract.probs. 5.1; Exercises 5.1.(1,3,7,9,13)
| Typography and Text
| W 2/2
| Sch:3.2; Pract.probs. 3.2; Exercises 3.2.(7,9,13,19)
| Designing Menus
| F 2/4
| Sch:3.3; Pract.probs. 3.3; Exercises 3.3.(7,11,13,35)
| Overview of User-Centered Design
| M 2/7
| 11:59 PM - Program 3 due
| M 2/7
| No reading tonight -- review for the test
| Strategy for User-Centered Design
| W 2/9
| No reading tonight -- recover from the test
| Mid-term Exam
| F 2/11
| Sch:5.2; Pract.probs. 5.2; Exercises 5.2.(1,3,5,9,11,13,15,17,19)
| No class - time to learn about Menus and Toolbars -
see Program 4 for links to Web
pages | ....No office hours either.... M 2/14
| 11:59 PM - Program 4 due
| M 2/14
| Jor:51-67; Rev. quest. 1-5
| Methods for User-Centered Design
| W 2/16
| Jor:68-80; Rev. quest. 6-10
| Empirical Methods for UCD
| F 2/18
| Jor:81-104; Rev. quest. 1-6
| Formulating Evaluation Questions
| M 2/21
| 11:59 PM - Homework 3 due
| M 2/21
| No reading - work on team assignment
| Working on Usability Teams (no outline)
| W 2/23
| No reading - work on team assignment
| Analyzing User Responses
| F 2/25
| No reading - work on team assignment
| Non-Empirical Methods for UCD
| M 2/28
| 11:59 PM - "Program" 5 due
| M 2/28
| No reading - work on team assignment
| Choosing an Evaluation Method
| W 3/1
| No reading - work on team assignment
| Usability Evaluation Exercises (no notes)
| F 3/3
| No reading - work on team assignment
| Helping Users Learn
| M 3/6
| No reading
| Using Metaphors Effectively (use notes from Friday); | Results of Questionnaire Exercise W 3/8
| 11:59 PM - Program 6 due
| W 3/8
| No reading
| Interface Standards | Question Session F 3/10
| 11:59 PM - Optional Program 7
(extra credit) due
| F 3/10
| No reading
| No class or office hours
| Final Exam at 9:30 AM on Thursday, March 16 - Dear 118
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||