• Description

What is interaction? The Real Academia Española (RAE) defines interaction as "The action that is exercised reciprocally between two or more objects, persons, agents, forces, functions, etc.". Within the areas of this definition, what we will work on in this course will be the interaction between people and technology. We will not focus on the study of people or technology, but we will focus on studying how to design this bridge between the two.
 

When we talk about interaction design, the Interaction Design Foundation defines it as what happens between users and products. But of products, there are many types of, on which ones will we focus? Within the framework of this course, we will focus on products from the technological field and, more specifically, on what constitutes a bridge between this technological product or software and the person: the user interfaces of web pages and apps. But what is an interface? Quoting the RAE again, it defines interface as "the connection, physical or logical, between a computer and a user [...]". When we talk about designing it, we have to devise the public side of a piece of software: what the user will see and manipulate to perform specific actions. For example, the portal to buy a ticket to a concert or the form offered by an application to make hotel or flight reservations. In this context, in this course, we will focus on the part of the interaction design that designs interfaces understood and assimilated by users, allowing them to complete their goals in the best possible way. The main objective will be to provide the necessary knowledge and skills so that you can design and evaluate an interface.

• The subject within the syllabus as a whole

This is a compulsory course that helps identify and conceptualize the foundations of the design of interaction and the design of interfaces.

• Professional fields to which it applies

The multidisciplinary nature of the HCI (Human Computer Interaction) course makes its study very useful to both students and professionals from interdisciplinary fields, such as:

• Computer science
• Engineering
• Data Science
• Audiovisual communication
• Graphic design
• Industrial design
• Psychology

• Prior knowledge

The class is independent of the other courses of the degree. However, it is recommended that the student taking the course have basic notions of programming, HTML, CSS, and software engineering, especially the application development life cycle.

• Information prior to enrolment

To enroll this course it is recommended to have completed (or to study in parallel) the "Software
Engineering" course.

• Learning objectives and results

The competencies of the degree concerning the course are:

• Evaluate software solutions and draw proposals for development projects, considering the resources, the available alternatives, and the market conditions.
• Design and build computer applications using development, integration, and reuse techniques.
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• Apply specific software engineering techniques to the different stages of a project's life cycle.
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• Design people-centric solutions.

The main objective of this course is for the student to be able to design user-centered technological systems. This objective is achieved in the following learning outcomes:

• Understand the fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction and the human, technological, and design aspects that make up it.
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• Understand User-Centered Design, the stages that comprise it, and its iterative process.
• Understand how to apply User-Centered Design in analyzing, developing, and evaluating interactive systems and computer applications.
• Understand how to evaluate the accessibility of websites.

• Content

The contents of the course are structured into the five blocks presented below. All of them use the learning resources of the course as well as complementary readings.

Block 1: Research: Exploring the Scenario

• Understand the types of users in our interactive service.
• Explore similar existing tools to understand what is being done and how.
• Analyze how the basics of Human-Computer Interaction are being applied in the given case.

Block 2: Definition: Synthesis of the proposal

• Define major events' flow to find aspects we can improve or clarify.
• Carry out a user test with potential stakeholders involved to analyze their needs.
• Develop the first drafts of possible solutions.

Block 3: Universal design and accessibility

• Explore what universal design is.
• Understand what accessibility is and how we can adapt it to our design.
• How can we analyze our proposal to see if it is accessible?

Block 4: Generation: implementation of a low-fidelity prototype

• Generating a low-level prototype.
• Draw a user journey following the Happy Path approach.
• Check how we are applying the fundamental concepts of the field of study.

Block 5: Evaluation: prototype testing and assessment

• Perform a user test again to evaluate the improvement.
• Evaluate the usability of a colleague's proposal.
• Evaluate the accessibility of our proposal.
• Preparation of the final report.

• View the UOC learning resources used in the subject

• Additional information on support tools and learning resources

The subject's didactic material consists of didactic modules (in multiformat) and complementary readings that the teacher will make available in the classroom.

In addition to the subject's material, it is recommended to consult other books, such as those contained in the recommended bibliography of each module, or links to websites that also appear there or others that may be suggested throughout the course.

The software that the student knows previously and is suitable for completion can be used to carry out the assignment assignments. In addition, the teacher can recommend the tools best suited to the objectives to be achieved in practice.

• Guidelines on assessment at the UOC

The assessment process is based on the student's personal work and presupposes authenticity of authorship and originality of the exercises completed.

Lack of authenticity of authorship or originality of assessment tests, copying or plagiarism, the fraudulent attempt to obtain a better academic result, collusion to copy or concealing or abetting copying, use of unauthorized material or devices during assessment, inter alia, are offences that may lead to serious academic or other sanctions.

Firstly, you will fail the course (D/0) if you commit any of these offences when completing activities defined as assessable in the course plan, including the final tests. Offences considered to be misconduct include, among others, the use of unauthorized material or devices during the tests, such as social media or internet search engines, or the copying of text from external sources (internet, class notes, books, articles, other students' essays or tests, etc.) without including the corresponding reference.

And secondly, the UOC's academic regulations state that any misconduct during assessment, in addition to leading to the student failing the course, may also lead to disciplinary procedures and sanctions.

The UOC reserves the right to request that students identify themselves and/or provide evidence of the authorship of their work, throughout the assessment process, and by the means the UOC specifies (synchronous or asynchronous). For this purpose, the UOC may require students to use a microphone, webcam or other devices during the assessment process, and to make sure that they are working correctly.

The checking of students' knowledge to verify authorship of their work will under no circumstances constitute a second assessment.

• View the assessment model