COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

SAMPLE SYLLABUS TEMPLATE

COURSE NUMBER:

IM13

TITLE:
INTERACTION

HUMAN COMPUTER

DEPARTMENT / PROGRAM:

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL:
SEMESTER AND SCHOOL YEAR:
INSTRUCTOR:
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course is intends to introduce students to the discipline concerned
with the design, evaluation & implementation of various computing
systems intended for human use. Emphasis will be placed on
understanding human behavior with interactive objects, knowing how to
develop and evaluate interactive software using a human-centered
approach, and general knowledge of HCI design issues with multiple types
of interactive applications.
COURSE OBJECTIVES (DESIRABLE OBJECTIVES)
Towards the end of the course, students are expected be able to apply the
principles of human-computer interaction to the evaluation and
construction of interfaces for applications, web pages, and information
systems. Specifically, students are expected to/able to:
1. To understand the reasons for human-centered software development;
2. To summarize the basic science of psychological and social interaction;
3. To understand and articulate ways that the design of a computer
system or application succeed or fail in terms of respecting human
diversity;
4. To create and conduct a simple usability test for an existing software
application;
5. To identify several fundamental principles for effective GUI design and
articulate the effect of fundamental design principles on the structure
of a graphical user interface;
6. To use a GUI toolkit to create a simple application that supports a
graphical user interface;
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7. To evaluate an existing interactive system with human-centered

criteria and a usability test;
8. To discuss how information retrieval differs from transaction
processing;
9. To explain how the organization of information supports retrieval;
10.
To discuss several HCI issues of social concern raised by
collaborative software; and
11.
To describe the similarities and differences between face-to-face
and software-mediated collaboration
COURSE OUTLINE AND TIMEFRAME
1.

2.
3.

4.

TOPICS AND READINGS

Foundations of Interface, Interaction and HumanComputer Interaction
a. Goals & Foundations of HCI
b. The Human, the Computer & the Interaction
c. Goals of System Engineering
d. Goals of User Interface Design
Basic Science of Psychological and Social
Interaction
Theories & Principles Related to Human Activity &
System Design
a. Models of the User in the Design
b. Participatory Design
c. GOMS Model
d. Key-stroke Level Analysis
e. Cognitive Model
f.
Task Analysis vs. Knowledge-based Analysis
Interactive Systems and Work Productivity

DATE

5. HCI aspects of collaboration and communication

and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
6. Interactive Systems Development
7. User-Centered Design
8. Human-Centered Design and Evaluation
9. Graphical User-Interface Design and
Programming
a. User Interface Design
b. Usability Paradigms & Techniques
c. Paradigms for Interaction
d. Usability Principles
e. Heuristic Evaluation
f.
Expert Reviews
g. Usability Testing
h. Surveys
i.
Acceptance Tests
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Evaluation During Active Use

Methods & Techniques of Evaluation
10. Interaction Styles
a. Categories of Style
b. Design Principles
c. Screen Design
d. Graphic Design
e. Colors
f.
Style Guides
g. Presentation & Display Styles
11. Industry-accepted Interface Guidelines and
Standards
12. Usability and Testing
13. Information Retrieval
14. Information Visualization and Interaction with
Data and Information
j.

k.

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Dix, Alan et.al. Human-Computer Interaction Second Edition. 1998.
Pearson Education Limited.
2. Newman, W and M Lamming. Interactive System Design. 1995.
Addison-Wesley Publishers Ltd.
3. Shneiderman, Ben. Designing the User Interface Strategies for
Effective Human-Computer
4. Interaction Third Edition. 1998. Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Caroll, John, Human-Computer Interaction in the New Millenium,
2002, ACM Press
2. Raskin, Jef, The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing
Interactive Systems, 2000, Addison-Wesley
3. Interactions, Magazine of the SIGS-HCI
4. Online sites and resources, search Keys: HCI, Human Device
Interactions, Human Computer Interactions, Ubiquitous Computing,
Augmented Reality, Microsot Avalon, Human Information Device
Interactions, Human Factors Engineering
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Attendance in lecture sessions
2. Active participation in class discussions and workshops
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3. On-time submission of quality final project

4. Departmental exams
CONSULTATION HOURS
Depends on the faculty member assigned to the course

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