CMSC 434 Exam 1 Topics General Outline
Use this as a guide; the outline is not necessarily exhaustive or in order of presentation.

I. Lectures

A. Psychology of Everyday Things
  1. Good and bad designs
  2. Pathelogical examples
  3. Design -vs- User Error
  4. The ultimate goal of good design
  5. The role of user-friendly terminology

B. Task-Centered Design
  1. Develop examples
  2. Use tasks in design
  3. Validate and rewrite tasks
  4. Prioritize
  5. Create low level prototype
  6. Walkthrough using scenario

C. User-Centered Design
  1. Waterfall model
  2. System centered design
  3. Usability
    1. Ease of learning
    2. Recall
    3. Productivity
    4. Minimal error rates
    5. High user satisfaction
  4. Participatory design

D. Prototyping
  1. Low fidelity prototype
    1. Paper-based
    2. Storyboarding
    3. Physical simulation
    4. Tutorials and manuals
  2. Medium fidelity prototype
    1. Computer-based prototypes
    2. Vertical
    3. Horizontal
    4. Scenario
    5. Throw-away, incremental and evolutionary integration
    6. Wizard of Oz

E. Qualitative Methods for Usability Evaluation
  1. Introspection method
  2. Conceptual model extraction
  3. Direct observation
    1. Simple observation methods
    2. Think-aloud
    3. Constructive interaction
  4. Interviews
    1. Retrospective testing
    2. Questionaires/surveys
  5. Continuous evaluation

F. Design Psychology, Representation, Manipulation
  1. Metaphor, cognitive model, look and feel
  2. POET principles
  3. Cultural standards
  4. Target audience
  5. Things that make design hard
  6. Different representations for data
  7. Metaphor pros and cons
  8. Direct manipulation

II. Some sources of information
  1. Homework 1 and 2
  2. Project 1
  3. In-class exercises
  4. Design of Everyday Things - Chapter 1 (required reading) [log into ELMS before clicking the link]
  5. Lewis/Rieman Chapter 2 - Getting to Know Users and their Tasks (required reading)
  6. Rettig - Prototyping for Tiny Fingers (required reading)
  7. "Designing the User Interface" Chapters 1-4 (these and only these were optional but recommended)


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