overview
schedule
tutorials
project
resources

 

 
 OVERVIEW 2006/07 Term 2  

 
general information

*** CPSC 444 is being offered in Term 2 of the 2009/10 academic year. ***

However, information on this site is for the 2006/07 offering of CPSC 444.

Welcome to the "new" CPSC 444! This course has been entirely revised and is being offered for the first time in January 2007.

Learn more about Computer Science's new HCI curriculum

This course builds on the design process presented in CPSC 344 and focuses on the underlying models of human-computer interaction (including visual, motor, and information processing), the theory of and advanced methods for design and evaluation (including laboratory experiments and field studies), and research frontiers (including Computer Supported Cooperative Work). The main deliverable is a team project in which students will apply the material taught both in this course as well as in CPSC 344.

444 is structured similarly to 344. That is, it uses a combination of formal lectures, Problem-Based Sessions (tutorials) in which additional content is introduced by TAs in interactive, small-group sessions held in the CS Department's new HCI Learning Studio (X360); and 2 hours of lab time, predominantly for team project work.

 
academic year 2006/07 January term
instructor

Dr. Joanna McGrenere (ICICS/CS X665)

 project instructor Dr. Matt Finke
TAs Karen Parker
email cs444@cs.ubc.ca to reach all course staff.
joanna@cs.ubc.ca for confidential communication with instructor.

Please use joanna only for necessarily personal communication. General questions will be addressed much more quickly on the WebCT discussion group or through cs444.
communication Notices for this course will be generally be made through WebCT: http://www.webct.ubc.ca
prerequisites Pre-reqs: CPSC 344 and one of STAT 200, STAT 241.

Co-reqs: One of CPSC 319, CPSC 398.
deliverables

individual & group assignments, team project, exams

lectures, tutorials & labs

Lectures: Tuesday & Thursday  11:00 AM 12:00 PM, DMP 301

Tutorials & Labs: Monday/Wednesday  12:00 - 2:00 PM,  HCI Learning Studio (X360)

** NOTE that attendance is required at tutorials and labs. **

readings

There is no required text.

Readings will be required for most lectures and every tutorial. They will generally be available online or provided to students as a handout.

Some of the readings are available on-line in the ACM Digital Library. To access from off campus, use VPN, or alternately use the UBC Library proxy server. Set your browser to use the proxy portal.ubc.ca:8000 (portal.ubc.ca and port 8000) and then login using your UBC library card number as your name and the last five digits of your card as your password.

(Course slides will be available on this website, linked to the schedule page.)

other requirements

PRS clicker: You'll be using UBC's new PRS clickers in tutorials and possibly in lectures. Please acquire one by your first lab (here's how)

Other expenses for 444 may include:

project prototyping materials ($0-25/individual)
 
lock for team locker (to be retained by team at end of term)
 
flip chart pad(s) - e.g. Staples, $12 / 50 sheet pad. Your team should use a couple during term
office hours

The instructor will generally be available right after lecture for half an hour, and your TA and project instructor will be available in your tutorial and labs. Please make this your first mode of contact whenever possible.

 When this is not sufficient, please book appointments via email on an as-needed basis. The TA and project instructor assigned to your project is usually the best initial resource for project questions, being most familiar with your project details.
learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, the student should:

  • have knowledge of HCI models and theories and how they apply to the design of user interfaces

  • be familiar with the variety of techniques and methods for interface design, evaluation, and analysis

  • have experience designing and running a field study and performing data analysis

  • have experience designing and running a controlled experiment and performing data analysis

  • have experience with some sophisticated tools for interface prototyping and analysis and user observation

  • be familiar with research issues in HCI

  • have enough background to apply these principles and practices in industry, and to continue to further education and research in this area 

  • have experience reading research papers and identifying the contribution of those papers

 

course policies

In addition to all university rules, regulations, and academic guidelines, the following policies will hold in CS444:

  • Attendance and prompt arrival is expected at all lectures, tutorials and labs. Quiz, assignment and team project marks will suffer from absences. A doctor's note is required to substantiate any illness.

  • There will be no makeup for the midterm. The final exam will absorb the midterm's component of the grade, should the midterm be missed.

  • A student must pass the final exam in order to pass the course.

  • To request that a deliverable be fully or partially re-graded:  the request must be submitted in writing (not via email and not verbally) and the full copy of the deliverable must be resubmitted together with the written request. We reserve the right to re-grade the entire deliverable. 

  • Use of laptop computers during lectures is prohibited.

  • Use of laptop or desktop computers in tutorial:
    • during quizzes - is prohibited
    • after quizzes - only allowed for tutorial related activity
  • Each late assignment or project component mark will be reduced by a multiplier of 0.98^(hours late).

Contact the instructor or your TA ahead of time if a medical or family reason prevents you or your team from handing a project component in on time.

deliverables & marking scheme
   

Tentative:

 
     
  Quizzes (10%)  
   Assignments (10%)  
  Team project (35%)  
  Teammate peer evaluation (5%)  
  Midterm exam (15%)  
  Final exam (20%)  
  Discretionary (5%)  
   
 

Advanced Methods for Human Computer Interaction - McGrenere 09/10