Welcome to FIT5152 User Interface Design and Development - This unit provides a detailed understanding of user interface design principles and practices for computer-based systems. The principles, guidelines and theories of Human Computer Interaction are explored. The unit examines issues in interface design from various perspectives and how to manage this during systems development. It explores contemporary issues including: background and underpinning theories, guidelines and standards, design processes and implementation in practice, user interface evaluation methods, interface styles and componential design. The application of interface design in other environments such as virtual reality and mobile devices will be covered
The unit is an on-campus unit and as such is structured, taught and assessed on the assumption that ALL students who choose to enrol can, and will, attend ALL classes. Attendance will be monitored. The assessment tasks for the unit require attendance at classes for completion as well as group allocation. No alternative arrangements will be allowed.
ASCED Discipline Group classification: 029999 Information technology not elsewhere classified
The unit is an on-campus unit and as such is structured, taught and assessed on the assumption that ALL students who choose to enrol can, and will, attend ALL classes. Attendance will be monitored. The assessment tasks for the unit require attendance at classes for task completion as well as group allocation. No alternative arrangements will be allowed.
This is a six point unit which, according to University guidelines, requires you to spend 12 hours per week (a total of at least 156 hours per semester for a normal 13 week semester).
The anticipated workload is:
FIT9004, FIT9003, or equivalent.
FIT5152 is a core unit in the Business Application Development professional track of the Master of Business Information Systems, Master of Information Management and Systems, and Master of Business Systems degrees, and an elective unit for students taking other professional tracks, or other masters degrees from within the Faculty.
Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed FIT9004, FIT9003 or equivalent.
You may not study this unit and IMS5302, CSE3030 or CSE5930 in your degree.
Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education’ (Monash Directions 2025 - http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html) and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning.
To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. The University’s Unit Evaluation policy (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/unit-evaluation-policy.html) requires that every unit offered is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to “have their say”. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
Faculties have the option of administering the Unit Evaluation survey online through the my.monash portal or in class. Lecturers will inform students of the method being used for this unit towards the end of the semester.
Contact hours : Clayton 11-12 and 3-4 Tuesday, Caufield Friday 10-11am
Julie Fisher is based at Caulfield and attends Clayton on Tuesdays. Julie is part time and unavailable on Mondays
Contact details regarding tutor/s for this unit will be advised during the lecture and on the Moodle website.
The lectures will provide material to stimulate discussion and debate where possible. Some reading will be required prior to the lecture.
Tutorials will involve discussions, debate, critiquing and practical non computer based activities. There will be reading that students will need to undertake for the tutorials.
Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.
It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.
| Week | Topic | References/Readings | Key dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the unit | ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI). ACM SIGCHI is an international, interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas about the field of human-computer interaction. http://www.acm.org/sigchi/ | No tutorial in week one. |
| 2 | Theories, standards and guidelines | Bevan (2001) International standards for HCI and usability, International Journal of Human Computer Studies, vol 55 | |
| 3 | Interface design background | Plagiarisim exercise available from the Moodle site should be completed before tutorial 2 | |
| 4 | Componential design and interface design elements | Barfield, W., C. Rosenberg and G. Levasseur (1991). "The Use of Icons, Earcons and Commands in the Design of an Hierarchical Menu." IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication: 101-108. | |
| 5 | User interaction | Inkpen, K (2001) Drag-and-drop versus point-and-click mouse interaction styles for children http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=371127.371146 | |
| 6 | Designing user information | Fisher, J. (1999J). " The Importance of User Message Text and why Professional Writers should be Involved." Australian Computer Journal 31(4): 118-123 | Assignment 1 to be completed during this week's tutorial |
| Mid semester break | |||
| 7 | Designing for usability | http://mashable.com/2009/01/09/user-experience-design/ | |
| 8 | Data gathering and task analysis and Prototyping | TBA | |
| 9 | Evaluation and usability testing | TBA | |
| 10 | The Web, ecommerce and other interfaces What is different? | TBA | Tutorial time for assistance with Assignment 2 |
| 11 | Accessibility | TBA | Students to present final assignment during tutorial |
| 12 | Guest speaker | Assignment 2 due Friday May 29 4pm. Students to present final assignment during tutorial | |
| 13 | Summary | Mock exam available and should be completed before week 13 | Tutorial mock exam and revision |
Sharp, Rogers, Preece, (2007). Interaction Design: behond Human-computer interaction, 2nd edition. Wiley
Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.
Norman, D., (1990). The design of everyday things. Doubleday.
Shneiderman, B and Plaisant C. (2005). Designing the user interface. Addison Wesley.
Study resources we will provide for your study are:
* Weekly detailed lecture notes and details of required readings;The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.
The Educational Library and Media Resources (LMR) is also a very resourceful place to visit at http://www.education.monash.edu.au/library/
All unit and lecture materials are available through MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources. Some units will be piloted in Moodle. If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle (http://moodle.monash.edu.au) and can bookmark this link to access directly. In Moodle, from the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.
You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal: http://my.monash.edu.au
Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.
In order for your Blackboard unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.
For example:
For more information, please visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html
You can contact the MUSO Support by phone : (+61 3) 9903 1268
For further contact information including operational hours, please visit: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html
Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site: http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html
The unit is assessed with two assignments, active participation in tutorials and online discussion and a three hour closed book examination.
To pass this unit, a student must obtain :
* 40% or more in the unit's examination and
* 40% or more in the unit's non-examination assessment
and
* an overall unit mark of 50% or more
If a student does not achieve 40% or more in the unit examination or the unit non-examination assessment then a mark of no greater than 44-N will be recorded for the unit.
Further, a student MUST achieve a mark of 50% or above in the exam to be awarded a grade of C or higher. If a student achieves more than 40% but less than 50% in the exam and has 40% or more in the non-examination assessment then a mark of no greater than 55P will be recorded for the unit.
Title : Assignment 1: Menu design
Description :
Weighting : 15%
Criteria for assessment :
The criteria for assessment will be provided with the assignment specification and is available on Moodle.
Due date : During the tutorial Week 6
Title : Assignment 2: Evaluating for usability
Description :
Weighting : 30%
Criteria for assessment :
The criteria for assessment will be provided with the assignment specification and is available on Moodle.
Due date : 29th May 2009, 4pm
Remarks ( optional - leave blank for none ) :
Assignment 2 is a group assignment. Groups must be organised and finalised by week 6. No other arrangements will be allowed.
Title : Active participation in tutorial and Online discussion
Description :
Weighting : 15%
Criteria for assessment :
Due date : Throughout the semester
Weighting : 40%
Length : 3 hours
Type ( open/closed book ) : Closed book
The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.
Requests for extensions must be made only to the unit lecturer at your campus at least two days before the due date. You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission. The length of an extension will be partly determined by when the extension was asked for. It will be assumed that students have been working on the assignment up to the point the extension was applied for.Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.
Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/
We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with the University Plagiarism policy and procedure (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) which applies to students detected plagiarising.
In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work.
When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer.
Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.
Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.
Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.
The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.
The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.
Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:
Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.