UMUC-Europe Syllabus

IFSM 303 Human Factors in Information Systems (3) Recommended: IFSM 201. A general survey of the application of human factors to the design and use of information systems. Topics include the history, evolution and current state of the human/computer interface. The contributions of psychology, engineering, and physiology to the development of ergonomics are described.

Course Goals/Objectives:

After completing this course, the student should be able to: Identify and discuss human factors design considerations in development of the user interface of modern information systems Demonstrate an understanding of how numerous disciplines impact the design of the user interfaces of information systems Research and discuss the history and background leading up to the state-of-the-art in human factor design considerations for the modern information system Analyze, evaluate, and report on through written documents and practical application, human factors in existing information systems Differentiate between the use of human factors in information systems nationally and globally Analyze the ethical issues involved in human factors design of modern information systems

Course Introduction:

Human Computer Interaction and Design is one of those fields that people don't hear much about. Considering that we all interact with machines, computers and other information systems in our daily lives, it might behoove us to understand the specific design processes involved in creating system interfaces. The goal of this course is to provide you with an understanding of what factors contribute to an effective interface design and an appreciation of how understanding human computer interaction can greatly enhance the design of usable information systems. Our course will introduce you to some of these processes and allow you to try hands-on exercises that will give you a better undrestanding of the complete design process used in human factors research. My goal in this course is to help you understand what it takes to design effective systems, how to validate assumptions about what is or isn't user-friendly, and provide tools and techniques to ensure that the human factors are effectively addressed. So what lies ahead for you for the next coupole of months? Expect a challenging semester and a fast paced couse that encourages you to be creative and have some fun while you're at it. We explore Human Computer INteraction and Design from various aspects. We start by examining some of the theoretical background involved in this discipline and then move quickly into human performance aspects such as anthropometrics and cognition. We will discover how users work with systems in groups and in their work environment [ethnography] as well as how users are affected by a system's interface. Once we tackle the basics, our course moves into the study of interaction design concepts where we will learn the steps involved in designing new system interfaces based on a user-centered approach. Finally we move into the area of evaluating information system interfaces. Here you will have a chance to create usability tests and evaluation methods based on a real world systems.

Grading Information and Criteria:

Grades will be based on the following class assignments: Homework Assignments/class projects 30% Midterm 20% Paper/Project w/presentation 25% Final Exam 25% Grading Scale: Grades are awarded as follows: A 90 - 100 % B 80 - 89 % C 70 - 79 % D 60 - 69 % F below 60 % Incomplete: The mark of I (Incomplete) is given only upon the request of a student whose work in a course has been satisfactory, (C or better) and who is unable to complete the course because of illness or other circumstances beyond his/her control. Please consult the UMUC Undergraduate Catalog for further information on grading policies. Late policy: Permission must be obtained in advance if an assignment is to be submitted late. Late submission of assignments will result in a lower grade (15%) and is strongly discouraged. Assignments later than one week past the due date will not be accepted unless the student shows good cause for the need of an extension. Good cause is due to an emergency situation and NOT because a student has over committed him/herself by talking too many other classes at the same time! Attendance: Class attendance is expected and required. Attendance in the case of DE means that students are checking into Web Tycho a minimum of twice a week and as often as necessary to complete the week's requirements. Class discussion should not be considered optional but as a requirement of the course. It is a prime indicator of a student's interest and motivation. If you must "miss class" for an unavoidable duty assignment or emergency, contact the instructor immediately. If you are working in a group, you should let your team members know that you will be absent as they are counting on you to do your part. Please refer to The Student Handbook. Writing and Research: Effective writing is critical to the intellectual life of university students and graduates within the workplace. Effective managers are usually effective communicators. Your work in this course must demonstrate your ability to master and effectively communicate course content. Effective writing * Meets the needs of the reader * Adequately covers the subject * Uses expected conventions of format and organizations * Demonstrates use of credible reasoning and evidence * Satisfies standards of style and grammatical correctness * Requires 100% compliance with UMUC's zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism.

Other Information:

Student expectations: Class Preparation / Participation: Assigned readings should be completed before the class session for which the topic is scheduled. Class discussions are designed to reinforce the assigned text, to present additional material, and discuss current issues. Students are expected to read and master the assigned readings independently and apply the material to the discussion. Learning means being involved, participating, and enjoying the class. Participation is the degree to which a student makes a responsible effort in class and makes a contribution to class discussions. Participation is encouraged and expected. If you are absent you cannot participate! Examinations: Students are expected to take all exams during the posted exam window (See course schedule). Students are responsible for obtaining information about quizzes and examination schedules and policies. Make-up examinations and tests may be given to students who for valid reasons are unable to take exams at the scheduled time. Instructors are not required to offer make-up examinations because of a student's absence unless the student can present evidence that it was caused by unavoidable circumstances or occurred on a religious holiday. In such cases, an examination may be rescheduled for the mutual convenience of student and teacher and must cover only the material for which the student was originally responsible. Such a rescheduling must not cause a conflict with the student's other classes. Please refer to the UMUC European Division, Undergraduate Catalog for additional information on make-up exams. All completed exams and papers will be kept permanently by the instructor once submitted. Exams and papers will be distributed temporarily to students for perusal immediately after they have been graded. A student may request a previously submitted assignment or exam for temporary review at any time. However, a student may not keep it once it has been submitted and graded. Therefore, if a student wants a copy of his/her assignment, it should be copied or saved to disk prior to submission. Your final exam will be given during the final week of class. It will be an essay type exam. In the case of DE it will be on-line. Academic Dishonesty, Plagiarism, On-line Checking services: Writing a term paper is hard work and takes considerable time to do correctly. Perhaps this is one reason that the cases of student plagiarism have dramatically increased in the last few years. Students can avoid plagiarism by carefully following accepted scholarly practices. Please refer to the UMUC European Division, Undergraduate Catalog, for the policy on academic dishonesty and plagiarism. Additional information on scholarly practices and guidelines will be given in the paper/project descriptions. Students that pursue unscholarly practices can expect a 0 for the assignment grade without a chance to resubmit the assignment. Student's written work is subject to being electronically checked for academic dishonesty. This may include Internet checking services. The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from Internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by urnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Schedule: All attempts will be made to stick to the course schedule below, however, I reserve the right to make changes to the schedule for the successful progress of the course. It is your responsibility to know if, when, and what changes have been made to the schedule.

Project Descriptions:

Term paper with grading criteria: Each paper is worth 25 points. (25% of grade) The following point breakdown will be used for grading your papers. The instructor assigns paper topics. Contents: 15 points Have you clearly stated your topic /stand and then supported that topic / stand? Have you brought in all relative points to cover the topic? What about adequate examples? Each idea that you bring in should support the main topic. Your ideas should flow between major points. Human Factors /design tie in: 5 points Does the paper adequately tie in with an HF topic covered in the course? Have you supported that tie-in with relative sources, view points, etc? Sources: 3 points You must use a minimum of seven (7) sources for your paper. Your textbook is not considered a valid source for papers in this course and should not be used. Texts from previous courses should only be used minimally. Technical: 2 points Use the following paper format: a. Title page b. Abstract or executive summary c. Body of paper (7 - 10 pages - double space, font size 10) d. Graphs /charts (if applicable) e. Reference/Bibliography section ALL Papers must be submitted using the APA standard documentation style. Papers that are not properly formatted in this documentation style will be returned for correction and considered LATE! Points will be deducted additionally for the following: Late papers - Automatic 3 point deduction Grammar / proofing problems - 3 to 6 points based on severity of problem. Blatant plagiarism - automatic failure of paper! A word about plagiarism and unintentional plagiarism ...Don't fall victim to this crime! When in doubt - Source it out! Anytime you are using more that six consecutive words from anyone article or source it must be referenced and should appear in quotation marks. Check your documentation style! All ideas, graphs, diagrams, pictures, etc. are copyright protected and deserve credit and therefore must be cited in your paper. Paraphrased ideas and articles need to be referenced/ cited as well. Ideas from other sources should be put in your own words, yet even so, they must be cited in your paper. Neglecting to cite references constitutes plagiarism. A plagiarized paper can result in course failure. If you have any questions, be sure to ask me. If you are looking for a quick reference on writing a term paper, let me suggest a reference manual called: "A Pocket Style Manual" by Diana Hacker, Bedford Books, 1997, ISBN # 0-312-11596-2, available at UMUC or Amazon.com. You can also find on-line information about the above sources by going to the UMUC on-line library that is available through the UMUC website at: www.umuc.edu/library. Project Alternative: Some students may want to pursue an individual or group project. I encourage projects as this allows students the opportunity to try out something of direct interest to him or her. Projects are typically a hands-on activity involving some form of research and experimentation in the area of Human Factors. Each student wishing to pursue a project should contact me at the beginning of the course (Week 1-2) so that the requirements for the project can be individually developed and tailored for the subject matter at hand. Each student should submit a project proposal which includes the goals and learning objectives to be accomplished, method of process, and projected milestone timetable. Additional guidance will be given individually. Article Review: (Homework alternative) You are to find a current article (one year old or less) dealing with some aspect of our course - Human Factors. The topic must deal with a Human factors concept and may not be an advertisement. You are expected to summarize the article in one to one and a half pages, typed, double-spaced. The summary should be an overview of the important concepts brought out by the author paraphrased in your own words. Additionally, you need to give me a half page critique on what you read. Your critique can include your thoughts /reactions about the article, usefulness of the topic or idea, it relevance to the field of HF, etc. The maximum length of the article review is two (2) pages! You must include a copy of the article when submitting it. (DE classes) Articles will be submitted to the WT article conference area and are to be emailed or mailed to me. The acceptable format is html or Word format. All files must be scanned for viruses! Infected files will receive a failing grade!

Academic Policies:

Cases of plagiarism are handled consistent with current UMUC guidelines. See the UMUC policies at the following URL: http://www.umuc.edu/policy/

Course Schedule:

All readings from the assigned course text Session 1 Intro To HCI/ID Ch 1 Pg. 28 Design folly exercise Plagiarism exercise Session 2 Design Space Ch 2 Pg. 68 Session 3 The Human Being Ch 3 Average person discussion, anthropometrics Wright/Patterson AF site Session 4 Collaboration Ch 4 Pg. 136 Session 5 User Interface Models Ch 5 Pg. 162 Session 6 SDLC of Design Ch 5 (continued), Ch 6 Pg. 234 (can be modified-instructors choice) Session 7 Set Requirements Ch 7 Pg. 277 Session 8 Conceptual Design Ch 8 Week 3 assignment cont. Paper outline/Project update due Session 9 Midterm Exam CH 1-8 Session 10 User Centered Approach Ch 9 Pg. 357 Session 11 Evaluation Techniques Ch 10-11 Session 12 Observation Styles Ch 12 Class /small group project. Class Project outline: Pg. 423 (modified to fit system chosen from week 3 or select separate class evaluation/experiment design for this case study). Use pages 385, 423 and 455 as a guide. The class conducts usability testing by creating and running an experiment and evaluating the data collected for the selected system or software. Separate small groups for each task will be created. Session 13 The End User Ch 13 Expert Involvement Session 14 User Testing Ch 14 Session 15 Review/presentations Papers/project Due Session 16 FINAL EXAM Comprehensive