Course Description
This course will introduce students to usability design concepts and authentic test methods for interactive media. Usability is grounded in tailoring interface design for the most effective user experience. Students will design, conduct and analyze usability tests based on established principles, research findings and theory. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to develop a usability test plan, recruit appropriate users, create robust task scenarios, facilitate testing, and analyze and communicate the test results.
Prerequisites
Recommended Textbook(s)
- Rubin, Jeffrey and Dana Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests. Indianapolis: Wiley and Sons, 2008.
Recommended Reading
- Dumas, Joseph S. and Beth A. Loring. Moderating Usability Tests: Principles and Practices for Interacting. Morgan Kaufmann, 2008.
- Dumas, Joseph S. and Janice C. Redish. A Practical Guide to Usability Testing. Intellect Ltd, 1999.
- Hackos, JoAnn T. and Janice C. Redish. User and Task Analysis for Interface Design. Wiley, 1998.
- Krug, Steve. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. Second edition. New Riders Press, 2005.
- Kuniavsky, Mike. Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research. Morgan Kaufmann, 2003.
- Synder, Carolyn. Paper Prototyping: The fast and easy way to define and refine user interfaces. Morgan Kaufmann, 2003.
- Stone, Debbie with Caroline Jarrett, Mark Woodroffe and Shailey Micocha. User Interface Design and Evaluation Morgan Kaufmann, 2005
- Tullis, Thomas and Bill Albert. Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics. Morgan Kaufmann, 2008.
Technologies Required
- Mac or PC computers with internet connection
- Web Browsers (Firefox, Opera, Safari, Internet Explorer)
- TechSmith Camtasia Studio