HCDE 517 D – Winter 2013 Syllabus
Please note that changes may be made to the class calendar. When such changes are
made, they will be announced in class and on the main page of the class site:
Session
Dates
Session Topic
Week 1
Course overview
Introductions – syllabus and
students
Jan 9
Due readings and assignments
Defining usability

What is usability?

What is usability
engineering?

What is user-centered
design?

What is usability testing?

Where did the field of
usability come from?
Week 2
Jan 16
Planning and considerations
for usability testing

Why do we need usability
testing?

What factors need to be
considered when planning a
test?

Usability testing within the
UCD process

Identifying usability
concerns

Methods for identifying
usability issues (Heuristic
evaluation and Cognitive
walkthrough)



Tullis & Albert, “Introduction”
Rubin, Chapters 1 -3
Rosenbaum, “Usability Evaluations Versus
Usability Testing: When and Why?”

Research-Based Web Design & Usability
Guidelines,
http://www.usability.gov/pdfs/chapter18.pdf
One-pager on the Cognitive Walkthrough:
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~zwz22/CognWalk.htm

OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED:

Neilsen, J., Usability Engineering, Ch. 5, “Usability
Heuristics”

Jong, M. de, and Geest, T.v.d., “Characterizing
Web Heuristics”
Workshop: Brainstorming
usability concerns
Form groups & choose projects
Session Dates
Session Topic
Due readings and assignments
Planning for a usability study
continued……
Week 3
Jan 23
LUTE Tour
CLASS WILL
MEET IN SEIG
HALL, ROOM
227
How do we identify and select
representative users?
Workshop: Brainstorming Users

Rubin, Chapters 5 , 6 & 7

Tullis & Albert, Chapter 2

Dumas, “How Many Participants in
a Usability Test is Enough?”

UW Office of Research, “Human
Subjects in Research: Why
Informed Consent is Crucial”
DUE: Preliminary Proposal
Forming an initial test plan
Week 4
Jan 30

What are the responsibilities of a
tester?

What are general considerations to
drive a test plan?

What is essential and what is
optional when preparing a
meaningful study
Session
Dates
Session Topic
Week 5
Preparing a test with measurable
results
Feb 6




Rubin, Chapter 4 “Skills for Test
Moderators

Dray & Siegel, “Penny-Wise,
Pound-Wise: Making Smart
Trade-offs in Planning Usability
Studies”

Tullis, chapter 3, “Planning a
Usability Study”
Due readings and assignments

Rubin, Chapter 8

Tullis & Albert:
What test materials do we need
for a usability study?
o “Performance Metrics”
What will be measured?
o “Self-reported Metrics”
How do we create successful data
collection instruments?
o “Issues-based Metrics”

Dumas, “Usability Testing Methods:
Subjective Measures Part I—Creating
Effective Questions and Answers”

Dumas, “Usability Testing Methods:
Subjective Measures Part II—
Measuring Attitudes and Opinions”
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED:
Sauro & Dumas, “Comparison of Three
One-Question . . .”
Due: Test Plan
Week 6
Feb 13
Conducting a usability study

What is “thinking aloud”?

What is key to successful
facilitation?

Rubin, Chapter 9

Tullis, Chapter 7

Boren & Ramey, “Thinking Aloud:
Reconciling Theory and Practice”

How do we collect data from a
usability study?
OPTIONAL BUT HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED:
Workshop: Clock Exercise
Session
Dates
Session Topic
Week 7
Data collection and analysis
Feb 20


Still & Morris, “The Blank Page
Technique . . .”

Norgaard & Hornbaek, “What Do
Usability Evaluators Do in
Practice? An Explorative Study of
Think-Aloud Testing”
Due readings and assignments

Rubin: Ch 11. Analyze data and observations

Validity and Reliability

Tullis, Chapter 8

Analysis and Reporting


Data analysis workshop
Kantner et al, “Organizing Qualitative Data
from Lab and Field: Challenges and Methods”
paper from UPA 2005, available on
http://www.teced.com/ourwork_published.html

Wilson, Chauncy “ Analyzing and Reporting
Usability Data” STC Usability Sig Newsletter.
http://www.stcsig.org/usability/newsletter/9710analyzing-data.html
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED:
 Sauro, Jeff; Lewis, James; “Correlations Among
Prototypical Usability Metrics: Evidence for the
Construct of Usability”; CHI 2009 Proceedings
Due: Test Kit
Week 8

Feb 27
Discuss details for the final
assignments

How can data and findings be
meaningfully shaped for
stakeholders?

Reporting and communicating
results

Rubin, Ch. 12

Yeats, Dave; Carter, Locke. “The Role of the
Highlights Video in Usability Testing: Rhetorical
and Generic Expectations” Technical
Communication, May 2005: pp. 156-162(7).
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED:

Session
Dates
Session Topic
Week 9
Remote usability, usability in the
field, and moving forward
Mar 6

What are the challenges of
conducting usability activities in
the field?

What are other tools and
approaches?
Ehrlich, et al “More for Less: A Novel Hybrid
Method to Maximize the Impact of Research”
ACM 2003.

Rodden et. Al., Measuring the User
Experience on a Large Scale

Kim et.al., Tracking Real Time User
Experience (TRUE): A comprehensive
instrumentation solution for complex systems
Due readings and assignments



Tullis & Albert, Chapter 9
Bruun, Anders et. Al.; “Let Your
Users Do the Testing: A
Comparison of Three Remote
Asynchronous Usability Testing
Methods”; CHI 2009
Gough and Phillips, “Remote Online
Usability Testing: Why How and
When to Use it”
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED:
 “We Are All Connected: The Path
from Architecture to Information
Architecture” by Fu-Tien Chiou
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/
 Winschiers, “Context: Designing for
Usability in Namibia”
 Salvador et al., “Design
Ethnography,” Design Management
Journal 10(4): 35-41
Week 10
Course wrap up

Mar 13
What did you discover about
usability? What is the future of
usability?
Study Presentations
Due: Final Report