CMSC 838G - Fall 2006
Prof Guimbretière

Advanced Introduction to HCI

Previous work review and objectives (Due 02/22/07)

The goal of the first part of your project assignment is for your group:

What to do

Finding related works

Using UMD library resources (introduction to resources in CS, INSPEC), and/or a recent papers in the area of your project, establish a short list of papers which are the most closely related to you project (2-3 papers). Using these papers and their references extend your list to around 10 papers. Using the ACM digital library will be a very good starting point for this class.

For many projects, it might also be useful to look at what has been done in the commercial world. That can be done either by looking at product description on the web or, if possible, by trying out demonstration products. The information gathered that way might be a good starting point to find further published works on your topic.

Using the information gathered during your research, identify a couple of goals your project will be focusing on. A goal might be demonstrating that a certain system can be build, or that a certain kind of interaction will be faster than current approaches, or finding a solution to an open problem you identified during your research. With your list of goals in hand, establish what has been done in the past to reach that specific goal. Then identify how your work will draw from (or improve upon) the state of the art. 

Deliverables

Your deliverable will have two parts:

• A one and a half column introduction to your project. The introduction should motivate the work you are going to present. It should start with a high level example of how the work will be useful, then drill down to the specifics of your work, and end with the (expected at this point) goals. The introduction is probably the most difficult part to write in a paper, so it is important for you to start to think about it early. You will be asked to improve it during each checkpoint;

• A one to two column "Related Work" section to summarize your findings about the current state of the art and how your project will draw from (or improve upon) it.

Presentation

Two to three group will be asked to present their work in class on the due date. Presentation should be 10 minutes long and will be followed by 10 minutes of questions/answer. It should include:

• A brief introduction of the topics;

• An overview of your work (including key reference);

• A more in depth discussion of one or two key goals of your project;

• A presentation of how your project will relate to the state of the art;

• A conclusion.

While the presentation should focus on the substance rather than the form, a reasonable presentation style is expected.