Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles are practiced in the design and evaluation of most software, greatly impacting the lives of anyone who uses interactive technology and other products. There are many ways to design and build applications for people, so what methods can increase the likelihood that our design is the most useful, intuitive, and enjoyable? This course provides an introduction to the field of human-computer interaction, through a user-centered approach to designing and evaluating interactive systems.
HCI draws on methods from computer science, the social and cognitive sciences, and interaction design. In this course we will use these methods to:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Course Topics can be found on the Schedule page.
This course involves the following components:
There is a two-part Course Reading Packet available which includes most of the required readings, as well as some optional readings. Please be sure to retrieve your copies (one blue, one white) from the CS Department Office.
Readings are assigned throughout the semester. You are required to contribute a discussion post to the appropriately-named channel on our course Slack workspace, by the deadline set on the Schedule. Discussion posts should be a minimum of 140 words (~6 sentences), and should include your response to the reading, including: a question, dis/agreement, something surprising, a point of confusion, criticism, a connection to your personal experiences, etc. It should be clear from your discussion post that you studiously completed the reading. Some readings may have specific prompts or additional instructions. Please see the Reading Assignments pages for details:
This course makes heavy use of industry methods for designing software. Students are expected to purchase/borrow supplies as needed for these methods, including:
The following software packages may be necessary to complete course assignments over the course of the semester. Some of these are available through Williams College machines, some are free, and some have temporary trials available. More instruction about accessing some of these services will be provided when needed:
Strive to do good work because you care about your own opportunities to learn, including the opportunities this course provides in working with a group in an intensive project.
In order to learn the most from our in‐person meetings, it is necessary to attend each session and to complete the assignments. Peer feedback will often be given on assignments the following class session, and so if you have not done the assignment, it will be difficult to discuss your efforts with classmates. This category also includes cleaning up your workspace at the end of class and providing respectful feedback to your peers.
The overall course grade will be computed as follows:
Your 2 lowest discussion forum post grades will be dropped.
Each assignment will also provide a point breakdown intended to convey how it will be graded. Design is an inherently subjective practice, and so grading in this course is necessarily subjective. The stated project requirements are the minimum, leaving room for groups to wow me with your work.
Because the course is designed around feedback on project milestones, grades given to those milestones indicate that you have invested sufficient effort and insight at the time of the milestone. You will get feedback and are expected to continue acting upon that feedback in your design process. The bulk of project grades is therefore attached to the final deliverables, which are evaluated on their quality.
I expect groups to take collective responsibility and to resolve any coordination issues. I am always happy to make suggestions with regard to your effort and coordination. If an issue needs to be raised with me, I expect it to be raised early enough to be addressed. If necessary, I reserve the ability to adjust an individual’s grade with regard to the group project.
The Total grade percentage shown in the Glow gradebook is not representative of your actual standing in the course.
The grade break down is as follows: A (93.3+), A- (90+), B+ (86.6+), B (83.3+), B- (80+), C+ (76.6+), C (73.3+), C- (70+). Final grades will not be rounded and it is very unlikely that there will be a curve.
Many assignments are due the night before class. I will implement this as 11:59pm. In order to be prepared to give you feedback, the instructor must have your submission in the morning. Submitting the day of class, just before class, or in class is therefore unacceptable, risking zero credit.
Submissions should be in PDF format (i.e., not plain text, not Word, not a Google Drive link), a website URL, or dependent on accompanying instructions. A PDF should be printable, containing everything I need to review and grade the assignment (e.g., your name). Each Assignment will describe the Submission process (sometimes we'll use Glow and often we'll use websites or something else).
Late work will be suspect to one letter drop in grade for each day that assignment is late, as well as a 0 for the presentation portion of any assignment with a presentation component. If you are absent for a Group Presentation, without an excuse approved by the professor, you will receive a '0' for the Presentation portion of the deliverable (this will not impact your teammates' grades).
At Williams, we operate under the course unit system (rather than the credit hour system) as the metric required by many employers, granting organizations, graduate schools, and federal agencies. In addition to the 3 hours we spend together during our class meeting time, you should expect to spend (on average) at least 10 hours per week on the academic and creative work related to class. If you find that you are spending considerably more (or considerably less!) time to engage with this course academically, please contact me so that we can determine the best course of action as you approach the materials. Should you have any additional questions about the relationship of course units to credit hours, refer to the Office of the Registrar, which explains our course unit equivalency in greater detail.
If formal accommodations need to be made to meet your specific learning or physical abilities, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss appropriate accommodations. Please also contact the Director of Accessible Education, Dr. G. L. Wallace (413‐597‐4672) or the Dean’s office (413‐597‐4171). We will work together to ensure this class is as accessible and inclusive as possible. Also, students experiencing mental or physical health challenges that are significantly affecting their academic work are encouraged to contact me or to speak with a dean. The deans can be reached at 413‐597‐4171.
Homework and assignments are to be the sole work of each student unless the assignment explicitly states otherwise. Students may discuss issues related to an assignment, provided that such discussions are cited in the material turned in. Any ideas, code, images, or text that is not original to the student(s) must have the original source cited, both in the code comments and in the display text. Uncredited collaborations will be considered a violation of the honor code and will be handled appropriately. For a full description of the Computer Science Honor Code, please see https://csci.williams.edu/the-cs-honor-code-and-computer-usage-policy/ If in doubt of what is appropriate, do not hesitate to ask.
This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the faculty. Students will be notified of such changes ahead of time via email.