CS 6750 - Human-Computer Interaction

Why I took this course

I took this course in Spring 2024 and it was my first module in the OMSCS program. It had been some time since I last studied in a formal structured environment and I wanted a way to ease back into that rhythm and rebuild momentum.

I have long been interested in HCI especially in how its principles appear in real world product development. Over time I have come to feel that this is an area many developers tend to overlook despite its importance in shaping usable systems.

Overall Review

This course is taught by Dr. David Joyner and the standard is very high. This is reflected in the lecture content, the assignment design and the support provided by the TAs. The course covers the core concepts of HCI and goes beyond teaching how to assess and build a good interface between users and systems.

As someone who is quite new to this field, I feel that the course has helped quantify and formalize much of my previously intuitive understanding and practical know-how into concrete scientific and methodological frameworks.

This course was revamped in 2024 and I took it in the first revamped semester. The course difficulty is higher with a heavier workload and more frequent assessment checkpoints in the form of quizzes. This is partly because OMSCS introduced the HCI specialization and the core courses in that track became more rigorous to reflect this change.

This course also requires ALOT of writing and No coding. And for the sake of sanity you should learn to use LaTeX as well.

Lectures

There are a total of 5 big units and they are listed below:

Unit 1.1	Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction
Unit 1.2	Introduction to CS6750
Unit 1.3	Exploring HCI
Unit 2.1	Introduction to Principles
Unit 2.2	Feedback Cycles
Unit 2.3	Direct Manipulation and Invisible Interfaces
Unit 2.4	Human Abilities
Unit 2.5	Design Principles and Heuristics
Unit 2.6	Mental Models and Representations
Unit 2.7	Task Analysis
Unit 2.8	Distributed Cognition
Unit 2.9	Interfaces and Politics
Unit 2.10	Conclusion to Principles
Unit 3.1	Introduction to Methods
Unit 3.2	Ethics and Human Research
Unit 3.3	Needfinding and Requirements Gathering
Unit 3.4	Design Alternatives
Unit 3.5	Prototyping
Unit 3.6	Evaluation
Unit 3.7	HCI and Agile Development
Unit 3.8	Conclusion to Methods
Unit 4.1	Technologies
Unit 4.2	Ideas
Unit 4.3	Domains
Unit 5.1	Course Recap
Unit 5.2	Related Fields
Unit 5.3	Next Steps

Course Assessment

Your grade in this class is generally made of five components: four quizzes, two tests, four homeworks, two projects, and class participation.

Quizzes (20%)

There are four quizzes in this course: Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3, and Quiz 4. Each quiz contains five open-ended short-answer questions intended to be answered in a paragraph or two. On each quiz, four of the questions are derived from the course video material, and the fifth will be based on one or more readings from the corresponding lessons. Each quiz is 90 minutes.

Tests (20%)

There are two proctored tests in this course, each with 30 questions. Each question is multiple-choice, multiple-correct with five choices and between 1 and 4 correct answers. Partial credit is awarded. Test 1 covers the first half of each unit (Lessons 2.1 through 2.6 and 3.1 through 3.4), and Test 2 covers roughly the second half of each unit (Lessons 2.7 through 2.10 and 3.5 through 3.8).

Homework (20%)

There are four written homework assignments in this course: Homework 1, Homework 2, Homework 3, and Homework 4. These written assignments primarily—though not exclusively—focus on Unit 2 content. Each homework asks you to answer four provided questions, each of which is weighted equally. All assignments should be written using JDF.

Projects (30%)

There are two projects in this class: an individual project and a team project, each worth 15% of your overall grade. Each project follows the same sequence: you will plan and perform some initial needfinding; brainstorm design alternatives; create three prototypes; plan and perform an evaluation of these prototypes and conduct further needfinding; brainstorm a next prototype; create a new, higher-fidelity prototype; and plan and perform an evaluation of this prototype. A video prototype is required for this final, higher-fidelity prototype as well. The individual and team projects differ primarily on their scope: the team project will expect more needfinding, higher-fidelity prototypes, and more thorough evaluation. Both projects should be written using JDF.

Class Participation (10%)

For this part you basically have to review your classmates’ assignment and project progress.

For detailed questions on each homework as well as project scope, you are refer to the Spring 2024 HCI Syllabus.

Time Commitment

There are lecture videos to watch and additional reading materials to review each week. In addition you will be working on assignments or project work. When you are not doing these you are likely studying for quizzes and tests. I would say the workload is on the heavy side at about 15 to 20 hours per week for me.

Conclusion

Overall I really enjoyed this module as I learned a great deal of new knowledge and it has helped me both in product development and in communicating with product managers and UI/UX specialists.