Teachers: Denis Lalanne Enrico Bertini Maurizio Rigamonti

Introduction: Virtually every new piece of software developed today has some form of user interface through which the user can initiate a dialog with the system. One of the biggest challenges in designing interaction is how to ensure the final system will meet the user requirements and be used with effectiveness and satisfaction.The methods used in the development of interactive systems go under the name of "evaluation methods". During the last 30 years the Human-Computer Interaction field has studied and developed numerous methods, many of which are today part of the standard toolbox of interaction designers. As the whole field evolves and changes, new challenges arise and new methods or improvements of existing techniques are needed. Mobile and tangible interfaces are examples of latest trends that pose new challenges to the field.

Goals: The first goal of the seminar is introduce the student to the overall problem of evaluation in human-computer interaction, pointing out the main needs and solutions. Since the seminar is an opportunity to introduce recent research trends, novel research questions and approaches will be studied and discussed. The students are expected to choose, among several specific research questions, at least one topic and to analyze it in detail. The result of this analysis will be reported in a final presentation and in a written report (of 4-6 pages) that must be delivered the day of the presentation.

More precisely the objectives are:

  • Learn the basic principles of evaluation in human-computer interaction

  • Acquire sufficient knowledge on the whole set of evaluation methods available and understand when and how they can be used

  • Develop substantial knowledge about a specific evaluation problem and be able to present personal judgments on the topic

This seminar will be done in collaboration with the members and students of the research group "Cognitive Ergonomics" of Prof. Sauer.

Subscription: The interested students can contact Enrico Bertini or Maurizio Rigamonti. Please note: the seminar is limited to a number of 6-8 students. If you are interested send an email as soon as possible.The kick-off meeting will be announced soon on this page.

Agenda TBA

Date:

2008, Fall