The first 2019 summer session will serve as a testbed for a combined CS 3724 Intro to HCI undergrad course with CS 5714 Usability Engineering grad course. This course will be very practitioner-focused, with lots of hands-on experiential learning. Most class sessions will have a lecture component that introduces HCI/usability methods and an activity component where students will exercise the methods. Topics to be covered include contextual inquiry, tech-centered observations, affinity diagramming, creative design, scientific inquiry in HCI, prototyping tools, video prototyping, analytic evaluation, and experimental design and testing.

This is a project-centered course that will have an outdoor component that should match well with the season! Mixed undergrad-grad teams will employ usability engineering techniques to design and test technologies to be used in outdoor settings around Virginia Tech, including the Hahn Horticultural Garden, the Duck Pond, and Smithfield Plantation.

Grad students will be expected to read about emerging methods in usability engineering and present them to the combined classes, connecting them to relevant materials that were covered in the lectures and activities. Each grad student will be asked to complete two readings. Undergrads will be asked to undertake an analytic evaluation in which they use a novel technology for an extended time and craft a reflection of it.

Note that there is no programming requirement for either the grad or undergrad versions of this course. Interested potential participants should feel free to email the course instructor, Dr. Scott McCrickard, with any additional questions.