Syllabus
S661 Concepts and Contemporary issues in HCI
Spring
2008
Time: 9:30-12:15 PM, T
Room: L 036
Instructor: Hamid Ekbia
Telephone: 812 855 3251
Office: ML 15,
Office Hours: Tuesday, 1:00-3:00 PM, or by appointment
Course
Description
A perennial challenge that
faces designers and researchers is whether and how to apply theory
when understanding and designing interactive technologies. Having a
theoretical grounding when
conducting research and design is generally considered preferable to simply
adopting a ‘seat of the
pants' approach. Not least, it can provide rigor, systematicity and a
structure from which to
propose, analyze and evaluate designs. However, it is also well known that it
can be very difficult
to apply to practical concerns. It has often been noted that there exists a
gap between the various
theoretical constructs and conceptual frameworks developed in the field of HCI
and the actual
practice of designing interactive systems. How can this gulf be overcome such
that the role of
theory is seen to be truly useful?
A main focus of the course is to determine which theories and constructs are
appropriate for
understanding the use of, informing the design of and assessing the value of
information
technologies. The course consists of two inter-related strands: theoretical
concepts and
contemporary issues. The first part provides an opportunity to learn about a
range of theoretical
approaches that have been developed specifically for use in HCI. Based on this
understanding,
students will have the opportunity to apply some of them, assessing their
value in relation to the
design and evaluation of particular interactive technologies. To this end, a
number of hands-on
practical activities will be carried out alongside reading of the relevant
literature. In so doing, a
variety of techniques of applying theoretical ideas will be explored and their
merits and
disadvantages exposed.
The second part of the course will examine contemporary issues surrounding the
situated use of
interactive technologies. In particular, it will cover ‘hot
topics', including emotion, embodiment,
interpersonal and social aspects of interaction. As with the first part, it
will explore the value of
emerging theoretical accounts for these kinds of phenomena in relation to
their utility in
informing the design of interactive systems.
Course
Objectives
Students will have the
opportunity to explore in-depth the following topics:
• Core concepts in human-computer interaction
• Contemporary theories developed for accounting for HCI issues and user
behaviour
• Cognitive, affective, interpersonal and social aspects of interaction
design
• The application of theoretical constructs for analyzing user behaviour
and system use
•
A range of theory ‘transfer' techniques for informing
system design• The role and
function of theory
Assignments
The course is a combination of
theory and projects, with an emphasis on putting into practice
what is covered in the readings. Projects will be carried out both
individually and also as part of a
class/group exercise. The projects that count towards your formal assessment
are presented
below:
1. Leading The Class
(10%)
Each of you will lead one class
discussion. You will select a topic from the syllabus in which you
have interest. This may be the topic you wish to investigate for the term
project. When this topic
is covered in class, you will have the lead role in preparing and leading the
discussion. If there is a
topic you would like to cover that is not on the syllabus, let me know as soon
as possible. If it is
appropriate, I will assign you a date when you will lead the discussion.
When you lead the discussion, you should be prepared to talk about the topic
and the readings,
raising the questions that will serve as the basis for our discussion. You
will prepare notes or an
outline, and any supporting materials (such as overheads) or, for the brave, a
live demonstration.
If you need a computer and projector, let me know and I will arrange to have
them in the class
for your session.
You complete this assignment by providing us with readings, preparing the
discussion questions,
leading the discussion, and turning in your materials. You will sign up for
topics on January 23.
This assignment is worth 10% of the final grade.
2. A technology trend
report (due week 4) (25%)
It is becoming increasingly
difficult to keep up with changes in human-machine interactions and
interfaces as new technologies become available at a seemingly increasing
rate. For this
assignment, you will select a technology trend, either focusing on a device,
an interface, or a
usability problem that interests you and prepare a report on its current and
future state. Here's an
exemplary list to suggest possible topics. This is only a suggestive list. You
may investigate other
interface technologies if your interests are not represented on this list. In
this case, you will clear
your topic with the instructor before beginning work.
GUI
Remote
Presence
Software Agents
Ubicomp
Remote
manipulation
Virtual reality
Location-based
services
Touch
interfaces
Augmented reality
Embedded
Comp.
Human-Robot
Interaction
Smart homes
The purpose of a technology trend report is to provide your readers with an
introduction to the
technolog, a sense of the current state of the art (or of the problem), and
your informed opinion
about the possible futures for the technology. Therefore, in your report, be
sure to cover the
following:
• Describe the technology and, if possible, include pictures. What are
its main features?
• What is it intended to do? How does it work?
• How usable is it? What are its strengths and limitations?
• What the intended contexts of use?
• How well is it doing? What are the projections for its future? What do
you think about the
product's future?
On February 13 or 20, you will present your technology trend
report in class. Sign up for the
presentation time on February 6. Your presentation will be
web-based, using web pages,
Powerpoint saved as HTML or some other appropriate presentation software. When
you present,
you may also use notes, an outline, and any supporting materials, although you
should be using
your report as your primary source material. The presentation will
be30 minutes in length.
The technology report essay will be due on February 26. This
assignment will be discussed in
class on January 8. You will email your proposed paper topic
to the instructor by January 16
and will receive email confirmation by January 20. The
assignment will be worth 20% of the
final grade.
3. Theoretical Essay
(25%)
A 3000 word essay on "Why is it
so difficult to find a theory in HCI that can be readily applied to
design problems? Discuss using two examples of theory to illustrate your
answer." More details
provided in class.
This essay is due March
5.
4. Project Report and Presentation
This two-part assignment
requires you to develop and apply a framework for assessing and
designing the HCI topic of your choice. It includes (i) writing up a research
paper or a report on
an empirical study, and (ii) to present it verbally as a presentation. More
details on this project will
be presented in class.
This assignment will be discussed in class on January 09. You
will email your proposed paper
topic to the instructor by January 30 and will receive email
confirmation by February 4.
On either April 16 or April 23, you will
present your term project in class. Presentation times
will be assigned on April 2. The presentation will
be30 minutes in length. The assignment is
due on April 23 and will be worth 25% of the
final grade, 20% for the essay and 5% for
the
presentation.
4. Discussion and class
participation (10%)
Reflecting on and discussing
the arguments presented in papers is an important part of
understanding. A central part of the course is for you to show evidence of
having read the papers
and also the ability to reflect and critique the issues presented in them. It
would also involves your
prior preparation for the hands-on activities by thinking about them in
advance.
E-Reserve and
Books
There is no set textbook for
the course but a series of articles and chapters, available either
directly from the web or from the e-reserve. The
following are potentially useful sources that will
be in reserve at the library.
Yvonne Rogers, Jenny Preece and Helen Sharp. (2007) Interaction Design:
Beyond Human-Computer
Interaction. 2
nd
Edition. Wiley
Carroll, J. (2003) (ed) HCI Models, Theories, & Frameworks: Toward a
Multidisciplinary Science.
Paul Dourish (2001) Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied
Interaction. MIT Press ISBN 0-
262-04196-0
McCarthy, J. and Wright, P. (2004) Technology as Experience. MIT.
Suchman, L. (1987) Plans and Situated Actions.
Carroll, J.M. (2002) (ed) Human-Computer Interaction in the New
Millennium. Addison-Wesley
Publishing ISBN 0-201-70447-1
Winograd, T. and Flores, F. (1986). Understanding Computers and
Cognition. Addison Wesley:
Wokingham.
Winograd, T. (1996) Bringing Design to Software. Addison-Wesley, ACM
Press, New York.
Baecker, R. et al (1995) Readings in Human-Computer Interaction.
Second Edition. Morgan-
Kaufmann.
Greenbaum, J and Kyng, M. (1991). Design at Work: Cooperative design of
computer systems. LEA, New
Jersey.
Laurel, B. (1990). (ed) The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design.
Addison Wesley: Wokingham.
Green, W. S. and Jordan, P. W. (2001). Pleasure With Products:
Beyond Usability, Taylor & Francis
ISBN 0-41523704-1
Norman, D. (1988). The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books: New
York.
Norman, D. (1992) Turn Signals are the Facial Expressions of
Automobiles. Addison-Wesley, Reading,
Mass.
Norman, D. (1993) Things That Make Us Smart, Addison-Wesley, Reading,
Mass.
Norman, D. and Draper, S. (eds) (1986). User-Centred System Design.
LEA: Hillsdale.
Schedule
Week 1. 01/09/08 An
introduction to core concepts: the interface, interaction, the
user and usability
This class will cover some of the core concepts in HCI relating to users and
technology use. These
include the notions of the interface, interactivity and interaction.
Traditional ways of
characterizing these aspects of the relationship between technology and users
will also be
examined in terms of various usability aspects.
Required reading:
Harrison, et al. (2007) The Three Paradigms of HCI. Download here.
Grudin, J. (1990) interface. In Proceedings of CSCW'90, ACM: NY. p.
269-278 (ISBN 0-89791-402-
3) Available at ACM digital library and ereserve
Additional reading:
Bannon, L. (1990) From Human Factors to Human Actors. In Greenbaum, J. and
Kyng, M.
(eds.) Design at Work . Hillsdale, NJ. Also available at:
Norman, D. (1988/2002) The
Psychology of Everyday Things. Basic Books. ch 1
Grudin, J. (1990) The Computer reaches out: The historic continuity of
interface design. In
Proceedings of CHI'90 Conference, Addison Wesley. p.261-268 (ISBN
0-201-50932-6)
Week 2. 01/16/08
Conceptualizing the user experience beyond usability
Recently, there has been much
discussion about the limited notions surrounding usability. The
notion of the user experience has begun gathering momentum, providing a more
encompassing
account of how people interact and use technologies. This class will cover
some of this new
ground, looking at the range of concepts that have emerged.
Required reading:
Forlizzi, J. and Battarbee, K. (2004) Understanding Experience in Interactive
Systems. DIS04
Conference Proceedings, Cambridge, MA, August 2004, 261-268.
Available from here
Wright, P. and McCarthy, J. (2003) The Experience Framework. Download from:
http://www-
Lamb, R. & Kling, R.
(2003). Reconceptualizing users as social actors in information systems
research. MIS Quarterly, 27(2), 197-235.
Additional reading:
Alben, L. (1996) Quality of experience: defining the criteria for effective
interaction design.
Interactions, 3.3 May+june, ACM, p11.
Battarbee, K. (2003) Co-experience: the social user experience. In Proc.
CHI 2003, ACM. 730-
731.
Websites:User Experience
Hands-on activity: The assignment at the end of chapter 1 of
Rogers et al, 2007.
Week 3. 01/23/08
Cognitive models and theories in HCI
HCI emerged as an interdisciplinary field where cognitive psychology was a
central player. There
have been several approaches to applying different types of theory to
understanding user-system
behavior and informing system design. In the next two classes we will look at
a range of the
‘traditional' cognitive approaches and assess their value
in terms of their contribution to HCI.
Required reading:
Norman, D.(1988) Ch 2. The psychology of Everyday Actions
<ereserve>
Ekbia, H. R. (2008). Artificial Dreams: The Quest for Non-Biological
Intelligence. Ch.1: The
Origins of AI. Cambridge University Press.
Hutchins, E. et al, Direct manipulation interfaces. In Norman, D. and Draper,
S. (eds) (1986).
User-Centered System Design. LEA: Hillsdale. Chapter 5, 87-124
Additional Reading:
John, B. Information Processing
and skilled Behaviour. Carroll, J (2003) Ed. HCI Models,
Theories,
& Frameworks: Toward a Multidisciplinary Science Chapter 4.
55-101.
Week 4. 01/30/08 Mental models: Why they became such a popular concept
in
HCI
The concept of mental models was popular in HCI in the late
‘80s and early 90s. This class will
examine how and why this phenomenon arose and how useful the concept has been
for (i)
understanding user experience and (ii) informing system design.
Required reading:
Payne, S. Users' mental models: the very ideas. (2003) Mental Models In
Carroll, J (2003) Ed.
HCI Models, Theories, & Frameworks: Toward a Multidisciplinary
Science Chapter 6, 136-156.
<ereserve>
McDaniel, S. (2003). What's your idea of a mental model?
boxesandarrows.com. Download
here.
Additional reading:
Rogers, Y., Rutherford, A. and Bibby, P. (1992) Models in the Mind.
Academic Press.
Hands-on activity: Examining the usefulness of the concept of
mental models within HCI. The
assignment at the end of chapter 3 of Rogers et al (2007) will be carried out.
Week 5. 02/06/08 External cognition and cognitive artifacts
One of the criticisms of cognitive theories in HCI is that they are based
exclusively on processes
occurring inside people's head, while not taking into account how people use
external
representations and other forms of cognitive artifacts in their everyday and
working lives. An
alternative approach to studying cognition is to examine the role played by
external
representations and cognitive artifacts in conjunction with putative internal
cognitive processes.
Norman and Hutchins are well known for their pioneering work in this area. In
this class we will
examine the external cognition approach, focusing in particular on Scaife and
Rogers (1996)
framework.
Required reading:
Norman, D. (1993) Things That Make Us Smart. Addison-Wesley, Reading,
Mass. Ch 3, 43-76.
Scaife, M. and Rogers, Y. (1996) External Cognition: How do Graphical
Representations Work?
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 45, 185-213.
Additional reading:
Rogers and Scaife (1997) An introduction to external cognition.
http://www-
Maglio, P., Matlock, T.,
Raphaely, D., Chernicky, B., & Kirsh D. Interactive skill in Scrabble.
In
Proceedings of Twenty-first Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science
Society. Mahwah, NJ:
final2/cogsci-final2.html
Hands-on
activity: Examine how different computational devices offload the
cognition
involved in performing different tasks.
Week 6. 02/13/08 Activity theory
There have been a number of other theoretical approaches that have been
imported into HCI as
a way of understanding people's use of technologies in everyday practice.
Three approaches that
have received considerable attention over the last 10 years are distributed
cognition, Activity
theory and the situated action approach. Nardi's paper (1996) provides a
critique of the three
approaches, comparing and contrasting their merits and differences. In this
class we will begin by
reading her paper and then examining in more detail the Activity Theory
approach.
Required reading:
Nardi, Bonnie. "Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human-Computer
Interactions." ACM Interactions, October 1995. <ereserve>
Kuutti, K. (1996). Activity Theory as a potential framework for human-computer
interaction.
research. In Nardi, B. (ed), Context and Consciousness. Chapter 2,
17-44.<ereserve>
Additional reading:For a set of short overviews on Activity Theory
ns/vol2no4/depts/book.htm
A web resource on Activity
Theory can also be found at
Assignment: Technology
trend presentations
Week 7. 02/20/08 Distributed Cognition: Part 1
In this class we explore the Hutchin's distributed cognition approach
Required reading:
Rogers, Y. (2004) An updated introduction to Distributed Cognition. To appear
in the
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. 2
nd
Edition. Available from
Hollins, J., Hutchins, E. and
Kirsh, D. (2000) Distributed Cognition: Towards a new foundation
of HCI. TOCHI, 7, 174-196. Aailable from ACM digital library.
Additional reading
Perry, M. (2003) Distributed
cognition. In J.M. Carroll (Ed.) HCI Models, Theories and
Frameworks:
Toward a multidisciplinary science. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann,
194-233. (ereserve)
Rogers, Y. and Ellis, J. (1994) Distributed Cognition: an alternative
framework for analysing and
explaining collaborative working. Journal of Information Technology,
9 (2). Available from
Halverson, C. (2002) Activity
theory and distributed cognition, CSCW, 11, 243-267.
Obtainable
Assignment: Technology trend presentations
Week 8. 02/27/08 Applying Distributed Cognition: Part 2
In this class we look at David Kirsh's and Peter Wright et al.'s versions of
distrbuted cognition and
ask how applicable are they?
Kirsh, D. (2005) Metacognition, Distributed Cognition and Visual Design, In
Peter Gardinfors &
Petter Johansson (eds.) Cognition, Education and Communication
Technology, Lawrence Erlbaum,
Available here.
Wright, P., Fields, B. and Harrison, M. (2000) Analyzing human-computer
interaction as
distributed cognition: the resources model. Human-Computer
Interaction, 15, 1-41. Available here
Hands-on activity: Working in groups of two we will carry out
a distributed cognition analysis
using an adapted version of Wright's Resource model.
Week 9. 03/05/08 What role has theory in system design?
Having looked at a range of theories primarily adapted in HCI for the analysis
of cognitive
artifacts and the understanding of user behaviour, we will then examine at a
general level the role
of theory in interaction design and HCI. How difficult is theory to put into
practice? Which
theories have been most successful? We will explore current discussions on
this topic, focusing on
the views espoused by several eminent HCI researchers at the CHIplace
discussion forum. Also
we will examine my own review of this recurring issue.
Required reading:
Rogers, Y. (2004) New theoretical approaches for HCI. ARIST: Annual Review
of Information Science
and Technology, (Eds. B. Cronin and D. Shaw), 38. (ereserve)
Castell, F. (2002) Theory theory on the wall. Communications of the
ACM, Volume 45. Issue 12
(available from the ACM digital library)
Website:
Hands-on
activity: A debate on the pros and cons of using theory
Week 10. 03/19/08 From theory to frameworks: an alternative way of
translating
theory into design needs
Following the previous week's debate we will examine alternative approaches of
translating theory
into design. We will begin by exploring the view that what is needed is a
common language that
practitioners can use in a variety of contexts. We will look at the two
languages of ‘cognitive
dimensions' and ‘technomethodology' as possible candidates.
We will also explore the role of
frameworks specifically developed for inspiring design (in contrast to being
used to analyze
existing systems).
Required reading:
Button, G. and Dourish., P. (1996) Technomethodology: Paradoxes and
possibilities. Obtainable
Green, T. and Blackwell, A. (1998) Cognitive dimensions of informational
artifacts: A tutorial.
Additional reading
Blackwell, A.F. and Green, T.R.G. (2003). Notational systems - the Cognitive
Dimensions of
Notations framework. In J.M. Carroll (Ed.) HCI Models, Theories and
Frameworks: Toward a
multidisciplinary science. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann, 103-134.
(ereserve)
Week 11. 03/26/08 New approaches to HCI: Affective and interpersonal
aspects
In this class, we will examine other ways of conceptualising HCI in terms of
affective and
interpersonal aspects. We will look at the nature of these aspects together
with the theories and
frameworks that have been proposed for explaining them.
Required reading:
Norman, D. Emotion and design. Chapter 1. Attractive things work
better. (Paper can be
downloaded from his website)
Marcus, A. (2002) The cult of cute: the challenge of user experience design.
Interactions nov/dec,
29-34, ACM (available on ACM digital library)
Additional reading
Fogg, B.J. (2003) Persuasive Technology.
Jordan (2002) Designing pleasurable products.
Hands-on activity: Designing a pleasurable user experience
The focus of this activity is to consider how to design a pleasurable user
experience, based on a
particular
‘user experience' framework. This should be written up as a
report and presented as
part of the final assignment. More details will be provided in the first weeks
of the course.
Week 12. 04/02/08 New approaches to HCI: social and embodied
interaction
In this class, we move on to consider new ways of conceptualizing the user
experience, in terms of
social and embodied aspects.
Required reading:
Paul Dourish (2001) Where the Action Is: The foundations of embodied
interaction. MIT Press. Pages ch 5
(also draft overview paper available, called "Embodied Interaction: Exploring
the Foundations of
a New Approach to HCI" ). <ereserve>
Hoff, T., Oritsland, T. and Bjorkli, C. (2002) Exploring the embodied-mind
approach to user
experience. Proc of Nordchi, ACM. 271-278. <ereserve>
Week 13. 04/09/08 New approaches to HCI: Leftfield of conventional
wisdom
In this class we will examine how cultural ethnography and ambiguity can be
used to make the
familiar unfamiliar and strange.
Required reading:
Bell, G., Blythe, M. and Sengers, P. (2005) Making by making strange:
Defamiliarization and the
design of domestic technologies, ACM Transaction on Computer-Human
Interaction, 12 (2) 149-
173. Available from the ACM digital library.
Gaver, B., Beaver, J. and Benford, S. (2003) Ambiguity as a resource for
design. CHI'03
Proceedings. 233-240. Available at the ACM digital library
Week 14 04/16/08. Sociology of Design
In this class will focus on social theory as it applies to design. Although
the relationship between
sociology and design is a bit tortured and underestimated for that matter,
there are useful insights
to be drawn.
Required reading:
Agre, P. (2001). Changing Places: Contexts of Awareness in Computing.
Human-Computer
Interaction 16(2-4): 177—192. Download here.
Mantovani, G. (1996). Social Context in HCI: A New Framework for Mental
Models,
Cooperation, and Communication. Cognitive Science (20): 237-269
Forlizzi, J. (2007). Product Ecologies: Understanding the Context of Use
Surrounding Products.
Chapters 2 and 3. Ph.D. Dissertation. CMU. Download here.
Additional Reading
Hong, J. I., Ng, J. D.,
Lederer, S., and Landay, J. A. (2004). Privacy risk models
for
designing privacy-sensitive ubiquitous computing systems.
Proceedings of the 2004
conference on Designing Interactive Systems: Processes, Practices, Methods,
and Techniques, 91-
100.
Ling, K, Beenen, G., Ludford,
P., Wang, X., Chang, K., Li, X., et al. (2005). Using
social
psychology to motivate contributions to online communities.
Journal of Computer-
mediated communication, 10(4). [Online]
Assignment: Final Project presentations
Week 15 04/23/08. Reflections on traditional and nouvelle approaches
in HCI
Assignment: Final Project presentations
HCI resources on the web
A diversity of HCI resources can now be found on the web. To get started have
a look at the
Other useful HCI sites
The BCS HCI group also has an affiliated usability site with the latest news
on it:
Gary Perlman has over the years has compiled a range of HCI resources
usability, HCI glossary, and
most frequently cited authors.
(and kept up-to-date)
Mikael Ericsson from Sweden developed a portal of HCI
resources
Sadly not updated since 1998, but still a good archive of stuff.
Food for Thought
A great site to visit to find examples of bad design is called
‘Bad human factor design'
things that are hard to use because they do not follow interaction design
principles. It is put
together by Michael J. Darnell and has won various awards.
design, interface design, information architecture and seeks to provoke
thought and push
boundaries.
Sound Bites
updated ‘soundbites' on their websites, which are well
archived. Have a look at Tog's first
extensive set of design
principles.