Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

This course trains students to research, analyze, prototype, and conceptualize design considering all system aspects including the social and cultural contexts of use. The course gives a comprehensive knowledge about user involvement in the design process going beyond traditional methods such usability lab testing. The course introduces students to the application of multi modal methods and interaction design within contemporary fields such as, for example, surface computing, pervasive computing, social and mobile computing, and/or mundane computing.

The objectives are realized by presenting methods and tools in a case based framework and through the students’ active participation in workshops and assignments.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• Must have knowledge about system design methods including the social and cultural contexts of use.
• Must have knowledge derived from sociological and ethnographic fields for user behaviour research
• Must have knowledge about qualitative research methods involving end users in the field, such as interview techniques and analysis and experience sampling
• Must have knowledge about scenario-based design methods
• Must have knowledge about principles for multi modal interaction design
• Must have knowledge about methods for multi modal evaluation and field studies

Skills

• Must be able to apply the taught methods to solve concrete design problems.
• Must be able to evaluate and compare and apply the methods for a specific design problem
• Must be able to facilitate the design process involving users in real-life contexts

Competences

• Students will acquire the competencies to decide how to choose the appropriate method to suit different dimensions of a design problem at different stages in the process and the pitfalls of each approach
• Must have competencies in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the methods
• Must have the competencies to facilitate the design process involving users in context

Type of instruction

As described in the introduction to Chapter 3.

Exam

Exams