TEMP00167U Cpg: Evaluating Usability and user experience - Elective module

Volume 2014/2015
Education
Master's programme in Information Science and Cultural Communication, Copenhagen
Content

The aim of this course is to present and discuss the state-of-the-art in practical usability and user experience (UX) evaluation, with users (user testing) and without users (inspection). The course will cover: (a) How to plan and conduct a user test, including recruiting users, deciding on the number of users, making test tasks, moderating test sessions, analyzing test sessions, and communicating the results. (b) How to plan and conduct an inspection, including selecting between heuristic evaluation and other inspection methods, doing the inspection, building consensus between multiple inspectors, and communicating the results. (c) How to conduct user surveys to get information about users' expectations toward a new technology or their experiences using it. (d) How to incorporate the evaluation of usability and UX in the lifecycle of a system from requirements specification through development to maintenance. (e) Overview of the concepts of usability and UX, the challenges in evaluating usability and UX, and the research on usability and UX evaluation methods.

The course seeks to provide students with both a solid understanding of usability and UX evaluation and practical experience in conducting usability and UX evaluations.

Learning Outcome

The objective of the module is to provide the student with

Knowledge and understanding of:

  • A specific subject within library and information science.
  • Relevant theories and methods related to the module's theme.

 

Skills in:

  • Identifying and outlining academic issues within library and information science and make these the object of independent analysis.
  • Reflecting critically on theoretical and methodological choices ind relation to an academic issue.
  • Expanding on and putting a chosen subject field within library and information science into perspective.

 

Competences in:

  • Applying relevant theories and methods to a subject within library and information science.
  • Communicating a scientifically studied issue.

Sample Literature:

  • Bargas-Avila, J. A., & Hornbæk, K. (2011). Old wine in new bottles or novel challenges? A critical analysis of empirical studies of user experience. In Proceedings of the CHI2011 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 2689-2698). New York: ACM Press.
  • Brooke, J. (1996). SUS: A 'quick and dirty' usability scale. In P. W. Jordan, B. Thomas, B. A. Weerdmeester & I. L. McClelland (Eds.), Usability evaluation in industry (pp. 189-194). London: Taylor & Francis.
  • Hertzum, M. (2010). Images of Usability. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 26(6): 567-600.
  • Jeffries, R., Miller, J. R., Wharton, C., & Uyeda, K. M. (1991). User Interface Evaluation in the Real World: A Comparison of Four Techniques. In S. P. Robertson, G. M. Olson & J. S. Olson (Eds.), Proceedings of the ACM CHI'91 Conference (pp. 119-124). New York: ACM Press.
The course is intended for students with some knowledge of usability in general but only basic prior understanding of usability evaluation.
lectures, group discussions, practical exercises, assignments
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 22,5
  • Exam
  • 36,5
  • Preparation
  • 146,4
  • Total
  • 205,4
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 30 min
Form of exam: Oral exam, optional subject, with material.
Exam language: English.
Extent: 30 minutes incl. examiners' deliberations. 15 minutes for the examinee's case presentation and 10 minutes for dialogue between examiner and examinee.
Material: The material is normally a written presentation of maximum 6
standard pages and/or a student production. The type of material is agreed
with the internal examiner.
The material must not be a manuscript for the oral presentation.
Exam aids: Students are allowed to take the submitted material into the
exam. They are also allowed to take along a written synopsis for the oral
presentation, which must be max. one standard page and does not have to
be submitted in advance. A copy of any such synopsis must be submitted at
the start of the exam to both the internal examiner and the external examiner.
Other exam aids are not permitted.
Group exam: The exam can only be taken individually.
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period
May / June 2015
Re-exam
Same as the ordinary exam. August 2015