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Course Catalog 2012-2013
IHTE-3306 User-Centered Design Project, 4 cr |
Additional information
The course is arranged every second year. The next implementation will be in academic year 2013-2014.
Suitable for postgraduate studies
Will not be lectured year 2012-2013
Person responsible
Thomas Olsson
Learning outcomes
After this course the student is able to conduct a research and design process according to the Contextual Design methodology. One understands the principles based on which the taught methods are applied in different types of product development processes and their phases. One can explain the general benefits and practical significances of user-centric design. One has enough experience on the methodology and process to be able to take a responsibility of a small user-centric design project. The student can model and consolidate different types of user research data from various sources, and identify the most relevant aspects that affect the design. One is able to give examples of good principles of group working and explain the benefits and principles of idea creation techniques, as well as to use this knowledge in practical work.
Content
Content | Core content | Complementary knowledge | Specialist knowledge |
1. | Contextual Design (CD) as a holistic R&D methodology: both in theory and practice. | Applying CD to various types of projects | The general process and definitions of user-centric design (according to ISO13407). |
2. | Contextual Inquiry, interpreting the data | Gathering user research data with observation and interviewing in authentic contexts of use | |
3. | Modeling the user, context and task according to the notations and principles in CD. Consolidating the models. Building an affinity diagram. | Interaction model, sequence model, artefact model, physical model and cultural model. | |
4. | Specifying a product/service based on the user research: e.g. affinity diagram walkthrough, visioning and storyboarding, Personas, UED-modeling, wireframes | Prototyping: esp. paper prototyping and UI mock-ups | Theory about idea creation techniques and working in groups. |
Evaluation criteria for the course
The grade is based on both the practical assignment and an exam. Attending ~50% of the weekly teaching sessions is compulsory. The more sessions one attends, the more it shows in the final grading.
Assessment scale:
Numerical evaluation scale (1-5) will be used on the course
Partial passing:
Study material
Type | Name | Author | ISBN | URL | Edition, availability, ... | Examination material | Language |
Book | Contextual Design. Defining Customer Systems | Beyer, Holtzblatt | Not compulsory but recommended | English | |||
Book | Rapid Contextual Design: A How-to Guide to Key Techniques for User-Centered Design | Holtzblatt, Wendell, Wood | Not compulsory but recommended | English |
Prerequisites
Course | Mandatory/Advisable | Description |
IHTE-3106 User-Centered Product Development | Advisable |
Additional information about prerequisites
A student who takes his/her Bachelor's level studies at TUT should have taken the course "IHTE-3201 Käytettävyystutkimuksen menetelmät" before this course. In addition, taking "IHTE-3106 User-centered product development" or its finnish counterpart "IHTE-3100 Käyttäjäkeskeinen tuotekehitys" is recommended.
A Master's level or postgraduate student who has taken a Bachelor's degree elsewhere should have theoretical knowledge and preferably also practical skills of the following: user-centered design as a process, user research in general, usability testing, interviewing, user interface design, usability engineering.
Prerequisite relations (Requires logging in to POP)
Correspondence of content
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