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Usability Evaluation Methods (INFO20004)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Sarah Webber
s.webber@unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
AIMS
How do we know if our digital designs will be usable and useful when people take them up in their work or social lives? Poor designs lead to errors and frustration and result in a substantial waste of money and resources. It is crucial that digital designers carefully evaluate and iterate their designs throughout a well-structured process. In this subject, students will build on the foundational material from the prerequisite subject Fundamentals of Interaction Design to learn the key industry methods and tools used to conduct usability evaluations and develop understanding about when these methods should be applied and how to interpret their findings.
INDICATIVE CONTENT
- Theoretical foundations of usability evaluation
- Usability and user experience
- Lab-based evaluation methods (e.g., observation, eye-tracking, think aloud)
- Field studies / “in the wild” evaluations
- Expert- and user-based evaluations
- Analysis of usability evaluation data
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students are expected to be able to:
- Conduct a broad range of evaluation methods for digital technologies, and to select appropriate methods in terms of their strengths and limits; including ethnographic field study, user surveys, field experiments, laboratory experiments, and user experience trials
- Interpret and communicate different types of usability data, including field observations, interviews, online use-logs, measurements of errors and efficacy
- Apply contemporary knowledge of the tools and resources of an industry-standard usability-testing laboratory
- Evaluate usability findings to inform the re-design and further development of digital technologies
Generic skills
On completion of this subject, students should have developed the following generic skills:
- An ability to undertake problem identification, formulation and solution
- The capacity to solve problems, including the collection and evaluation of information
- The ability to communicate designs and design thinking
- The ability to analyse and report different forms of data
- The capacity for critical and independent thought and reflection
- Profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of scholarship
- An expectation of the need to undertake lifelong learning, and the capacity to do so
Last updated: 8 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
INFO10003 | Fundamentals of Interaction Design | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
INFO30004 Usability Engineering
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 8 April 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Assignment 1 - Evaluation Plan: Group project (3-4 students) to develop an evaluation plan for a given interactive technology (2000 words - 10%) and a presentation (2 minutes - 5%), due in week 6, requiring approximately 20 hours of work per student. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO's) 1, 2 and 3 are addressed in the group project.
| Week 6 | 15% |
Assignment 2 - Evaluation Report: Group project (3-4 students) to collect and analyse data to evaluate the usability of a given interactive technology. Students will present their evaluation methods and findings in a written report (3000 to 4000 words - 20%) plus video presentation (5 minutes - 10%), due in week 11, requiring approximately 30 hours of work per student. ILO's 2 and 4 are addressed in the group project.
| Week 11 | 30% |
Quizzes - Five best results from regular short online quizzes.
| Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
Open-book examination
| During the examination period | 45% |
Last updated: 8 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator Sarah Webber Coordinator Martin Gibbs Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 36 hours, comprising of one 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 22 July 2024 to 20 October 2024 Last self-enrol date 2 August 2024 Census date 2 September 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 September 2024 Assessment period ends 15 November 2024 Semester 2 contact information
Sarah Webber
s.webber@unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 8 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
There are no prescribed texts, although the subject will draw on selected chapters from the following book:
Olson and Kellogg (2014) Ways of Knowing in HCI. Springer
- Subject notes
LEARNING AND TEACHING METHODS
The subject is delivered in 2-hour lectures plus 1-hour tutorials per week. Outside class, students will study the relevant theory and apply the learnings through reading, practising with exercising and conducting group work activities. Lab - Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
Subject coordinator approval required
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 8 April 2024