Syllabus

Note: I try to front-load the course with what you most need to do your projects.  That means galloping through some topics, which we will revisit as needed later.  There’s lots of information online in various places about all these topics.  In class we’ll emphasize key elements, but we can’t cover all the details. To complete your project, be prepared to do reading and investigation on your own.

A frequently updated list of links to further reading and resources can be found here.

Dates Topics Assignments
Jan 22 Introduction to the course

What we’ll cover
Major assignments and projects

slides

Jan 24 Basic concepts and terms | slides Naive usability test  assigned
Jan 29 Planning research | slides  
Jan 31 Sampling and recruiting | slides
Feb 5 Interviews | slides Interview exercise assigned
Feb 7 Interviews cont’d | slides Naive usability test  due
Feb 12 Observation/field visits | slides Observation exercise  assigned
Feb 14 Introduction to usability | slides Interview exercise due
Feb 19 Lab-based vs mobile and remote usability | slides
Observation exercise due
Feb 21 Usability test reports | slides Usability test assigned
Feb 26 Diary studies | slides
 
Feb 28 Inspection methods | slides Midterm and final projects introduced
Mar 5 Writing survey questionnaires | slides Usability exercise due
Mar 7 Conducting surveys | slides  
Mar 12 Basic survey analysis | slides  
Mar 14 Midterm presentations Midterm due
March 19 Qualitative analysis: Introduction | slides Data prep assigned
March 21 Qualitative analysis II: Workshop Data prep due

March 26 & 29: Spring break!

April 2: Diagrams and models I: People  Vote for April 23 speaker and topic. Pick one member of your group to sign up for an appointment to discuss group progress.
April 4 Diagrams and models II: Tasks + Activities | slides
April 9 Diagrams and models III: Conceptual models slides
Project groups meet with Elizabeth this week to discuss their process.
April 11 Reports | slides
April 16 Socializing your research
Guest speaker Celeste Roschuni (article on bspace)
April 18 Research for accessibility
Guest speaker Lucy Greco, of Berkeley’s Assistive Technology Teaching & Learning Center
April 23 Panel on current trends in UX Research

  • Ame Elliott, IDEO
  • Andrea Gallagher, Intuit
  • Laura Paajanen, ModCloth
April 25 Project presentationsEach slot= 20 minutes presentation, 5 minutes for questions

  1. Energy Display
  2. ComicBin
  3. CalParks
April 30 Project presentations

  1. The Hikery
  2. Traveling Spoon
  3. Learn a Language
May 2 Project presentations

  1. Kango
  2. Poet: An Open Source Tool for Image Description
  3. Sing! Karaoke
  4. Energy data access in California: Approaches for increasing public availability of utility energy data

Final papers due May 10, 5pm, printed out and in the class bspace.