BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI

WORK INTEGRATED LEARNING PROGRAMMES

M. Tech (Software Systems) in Collaboration with WIPRO (WASE)
II Semester 2023 - 2024

COURSE HANDOUT
Part A: Content Design

Course Title Usability Engineering

Course No(s) SSWTZG547
Credit Units 5 (~ Total Hours/week of Student’s Effort in Learning)
5 (1+2+2) ~ @ 5Hours/week:
Lecture (1.5) + Lab/Assignments(1.5) + Self-study(2)

Course Introduction & Motivation

In the current digital economy where end-users are inundated with variety of gadgets, appliances, multi-
function always-on portable devices such as mobile phones, tablets and smart-watches etc., Usability—the
design of product with focus on ease-of-use—assumes paramount importance over functionality. Thus,
Usability has become a dominant criteria for success in today’s crowded marketplace. However, there is
severe shortage of Usability Designers as these skills unlike Technical skills are not embraced by the generic
IT professionals. Also the “Digital India” initiative by the Government of India towards making all
transactions in consumer and business space go digital is adding impetus for design of user-friendly devices
and mobile applications to cater to all segments of diverse Indian population with multitude of languages,
cultures and different-abilities.

Course Objectives
CO1 Understand the psychology underlying user-interface and usability design guidelines keeping in
mind human behavioural and perceptual capabilities and limitations that affect interface design.

CO2 Understand the basic principles of Goal-directed user interface design and standard patterns and
key modelling concepts involved in Visual interface design for software interfaces.

CO3 Understand development methodologies and lifecycle models for building user interfaces and
prototyping in user interface design and how to test them.

Text Books/References
About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin.
T1
Christopher Nooessel, 4th Edition, WILEY
Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web and Mobile Usability (3rd
R1
Edition) Paperback by Steve Krug (Author), 3rd Edition
R2 The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Don Norman
Module Structure
No Title of the Module Ref.#
 (Chap)
Usability Engineering: Introduction, Motivation and
M1 T2(C2), R1(C1)
Definitions
Designing for Usability: Industrial Design, Form vs Function,
M2 T1(C1), IM
Interaction Design
Usability Design Principles: Psychology of Human-Device
M3 T2(C5), R1, IM
Interaction, Design Heuristics, Gestalt Principles of Design
M4 Goal-Directed Design: Modelling of Users, Personas, Scenarios T1(C1-C5), R3, IM
T1(C12-13),
M5 Usability Design: Role of Metaphors, Idioms and Affordances
R1(C4)

M6 Visual Interface Design: Web/Mobile Interfaces, Design of

T1(C14, C20-25)
eCommerce sites, Role of Sensory Interfaces in User Experience
Usability Engineering: “Empathy to Ethnography to
M7 Engineering”—A Lifecycle view, Rapid Prototyping & T2(C4), R4, IM
Refinement

Interface Standards, Designing for Accessibility and T1(C14,C26),

M8
Internationalization T2(C10), R5
M9 Usability Testing and Assessments T2(C6,C7)
Technology in Interaction Design: Augmented Intelligence (AI),
Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Chatbots/Personal IM, Product
M10
Assistants (examples from Apple, Amazon, Google and Literature / Blogs
Microsoft)
#T1,T2 (Text Books); IM: Instructor-provided Material (PPTs or PDF documents); ORG: Material/documents
sourced from students’ organization
While effort is made to ensure the topics covered in this course are in alignment with referenced text-books,
due to changing technologies and emerging practices in this field, it is strongly advised that students refer to
their own sources on the net or their own organizations for comprehensive understanding of the concepts.
Learning Outcomes

LO1 Identify the user interface design rules that are based on human psychology of perception,
learning, reasoning, remembrance and human cognition.

LO2 Apply Goal directed design principles to create human-centred software interfaces.

LO3 Acquire the knowledge of various research techniques to recognize user needs and model them
with the help of personas.

LO4 Associate the standard patterns and principles to develop good design and test them.

LO5 Demonstrate how to design a good user interface with a mock-up tool.

Course Overview & Terminology

This course--consisting of lectures, case-studies and demonstrations--aims to introduce the science, art and
engineering behind the design of user-friendly interfaces for all kinds of digital products—from mobile
phones and smart-watches to microwave ovens and automobiles. Though it is the software that implements
the User Interface, the skills expected of Usability Engineer (like Graphic Designers or Product Designers) are
quite distinct from that of traditional software engineer. This course is highly recommended for all
professionals engaged in the conceptual design and development of products and services targeted for use by
ordinary citizens. Contents of this course include:

■ Introduction of Usability Engineering as a professional discipline

■ Iterative Design Process: Research-Ethnography-Rapid Prototyping
■ Designing for the Web, Mobile, Consumer and Industrial Devices/Equipment
■ Universal Interfaces, Internalization, Localization and designing for Devyangs

As different Text books/Authors/Organizations adopt different words to refer to the same underlying concept
(albeit minor differences in semantics), without loss of generality we shall adopt the following words
synonymously during the course

Word / Acronym Adopted in Other Related Words / Acronyms in use by

Remarks
this Course Organizations / Authors
Product Design, Industrial Design, Usability
Design Design for Usability
Design
GUI, HUI, HCI, MMI (Man Machine User Interface with x
UI (User Interface)
Interface)
HDI (Human-Device Device – more generic and
HCI
Interface) contemporary word
IxD (Interaction Design) Interaction Design Interaction between User and Product
Generic umbrella term beyond usage of
UX (User Experience)
single product/service
Personas Archetypes, Models Modelling of different Users
Iterative Design Cycle: Ethnographic As the word ‘Engineering’
Usability Design (UD)
Research – Prototyping -- Refinement encompasses ‘Design’ in its life-cycle,
Involves full life-cycle from Design to the two words at times are used
Usability Engineering (UE)
Development to Testing synonymously
Actual end-user (citizen, customer, A Human who uses the product
User
consumer) who uses the product/service

Content Structure

Type Title Description

M1: Usability Engineering--Introduction, Motivation and Definitions
LS1.1 Introduction to 1.1 Introduction to Usability
Usability—a This session introduces the notion of Usability as a science of designing
Science, Art or effective human interfaces with machines; Distinguish Usability vs User
Engineering? Experience (UX) vs Interaction Design (IxD); Why Usability matters in
today’s technology-driven world; Examples of products with good and
bad Usability
CS1.0 CS1.0 Discuss how Usability is different from Functional Requirements;
Identify products in our daily lives with bad (or “unusable”) interfaces;
Why Product/Visual Designers are much sought after in the industry;
Skills expected of a Designer; Highlight the role of ‘Design’ in the
success of Apple products; Let students articulate the attributes of an
 exciting UX or Product they used or Service they experienced recently;
Debate whether Usability is a scientific discipline or the outcome of
select creative artists
M2: Designing for Usability
LS2.1 Designing ‘Usable’ 2.1 Elements of Design for Usability
Products, Services This session highlights the elements of a good Design; Trade-offs in the
and Customer architects’ metaphor “Form follows Function”; Design of Graphical
Experiences Interfaces and Digital Products or Information Appliances; Stakeholders
in the Design process; Introduction of the emerging concept of ‘Design
Thinking’ of Organizations and Systems
LS2.2 The Design Process 2.2 Design as an Iterative Process
Illustrates the evolutionary aspect of Product development process to
include ‘Design’ in its early stages; Design as an iterative process with
user feedback and refinement; Empathy and Ethnographic-research;
Goal-Directed Design Process; Managing conflicting interests of
Stakeholders; Adoption of Agile methods in Usability Engineering
CS2.0 CS 2.0: Discuss (with examples) how Software Engineering is different
from Usability Engineering; Why is the User the most important
Stakeholder? Why should Designers should involve early on in the
process even before Requirements capture; How empathy and
ethnography play a key role in arriving at effective User Interaction
Model
M3: Usability Design Principles
LS3.1 Usability Heuristics RL3.1 Design Problems and Perception biases
Design problem and design rules. What is Perception? Visual Perception,
Perception biases.
LS3.2 Gestalt Principles of LS3.2 Gestalt Principles
Design Application of Gestalt psychology to the Design of Visual Elements;
How Gestalt principles drive aesthetics as well as rapid cognition in
graphic communications; Illustration of application of Gestalt principles
with examples. Additional principles commonly used in design -
Progressive disclosure, Fitt’s law and Hick’s Law.
CS3.0 CS3.0: Discuss (with examples) how Visual Communication Design (in
the form of web pages, graphic displays and information brochures, etc.)
helps rapid and effective communication in Human-Device Interface (as
in mobile apps, error messaging, automotive displays, technical/business
presentations); Heuristics are rules-of-thumb (which worked well for
several decades much before the advent of computer devices) based on
psychology of human perception, therefore, let students discuss and
discover new heuristics that they may find relevant for their devices
(mobiles, tablets or public display boards, machines, appliances, etc.);
share examples of best web-sites, gaming devices, and analyse the
application of any of these ten Usability Heuristics or Gestalt Principles.
M4: Goal-Directed Design--Modelling Users in Context
LS4.1 Goal-Directed LS4.1 Goals vs Tasks and Activities
Design This module highlights focus on the end ‘Goal’ or objective of an
interface/device vis-à-vis elaboration of tasks and activities which are
intermediate steps; How identifying Goal (the real Human motivation)
 gives the Designer the freedom to explore ideas for effective Interaction;
Illustrate the Goal-Directed Design process from Research to Refinement.
LS4.2 Modelling of Users RL4.2 User Modelling: Personas, Goals
using Personas and This session highlights the importance of Mental Models in the Design
Goals process: Differences between User model, Represented Model (Design)
and Implementation Model (Development); “Ideal Final Result (IFR)” – a
thought-experiment approach to visualize Goals; How to identify
different Personas of Users based on their behaviour, demographics, age,
etc.; Constructing scenarios (contexts) of usage
CS 4.0 CS4.0: Discuss (with examples) how Goals are different from Product
Features and therefore Tasks and Activities; Let students stretch their
imagination to discover the ultimate Goal (IFR tool can be used) of any
product/device/service they are trying to design (smart watch, mobile
app, kitchen appliance or eGov service); Discuss why design of a mobile
phone, automobile, Tablet or ATM for senior citizens should be different
from that of college students (the need for Modelling of Users as
Personas); Importance of ethnographic studies (and field observations of
actual users sampling the product) in refining the design prototype (use
IDEO shopping-cart example referred in M7)
M5: Usability Design--Role of Metaphors, Idioms and Affordances
LS5.1 Basic Visual LS5.1 Basic Visual Principles
Principles Explores the basic Visual design principles and how to be considerate
when designing keeping in mind these principles
LS5.2 Role of Metaphors, LS5.2 Metaphors, Idioms, and Affordances
Idioms and Metaphors make the unfamiliar familiar, this session highlights: Different
Affordances visual, physical or cognitive metaphors for adoption in UI design;
Idiomatic interfaces in GUI design; Limitations of Metaphors; Idiomatic
interfaces; The concept of Affordance and how Manual Affordances
guide intuitive IxD
CS5.0 CS5.0: This is an important session which highlights key differences
between good and great UIs; Let Students explore their products, gadgets
and appliances in their workplaces and homes and also their past
experiences in interacting online with Government services to surface
various good and bad Metaphors, Idioms and the appreciation of
Affordances.
M6: Visual Interface Design for the Web & Mobile
LS6.1 Web & Mobile LS6.1 Design of Web & Mobile Interfaces
Interfaces This session introduces visual communication design principles as
applied to websites or mobile apps; The choice of appropriate colours for
GUI elements based on science and local culture; Depth and breadth of
Hierarchy of Menus; Visual balance and symmetry; Adoption of Icons;
Reducing visual noise and clutter on screen
LS6.2 Design of LS6.2 Design of eCommerce Site
eCommerce Sites With digital economy in its boom period and as plethora of online
eCommerce sites compete to seek customers’ attention (eyeballs), it is
often their design (mobile apps or website) make all the difference to
their success in the marketplace; This session walks through examples of
good and bad online shopping sites by highlighting the relevant visual
 design principles
LS6.3 Sensory Interfaces in LS6.3 Role of Sensory Interfaces in IxD
User IxD Beyond keyboard, mouse and touch, display and audio, the evolution of
digital products with multiple sensors such as location, motion and haptic
interfaces (touch), etc., are making dramatic transformation to User
Experience and application design; This session highlights recent
advances in sensory interfaces supported by various mobile devices and
their operating systems; Application of multi-sensory interfaces in the
design of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
environments
CS6.0 CS6.0: As much of today’s IxD activities revolves around visual
communication, designing of screens for either web or mobile should
become an internalized skills for Usability professionals; Let Students get
a solid grounding on this by illustrating various existing applications and
mobile devices and the role played by Usability Engineers coupled with
advances in multi-sensory Interface Technologies; Also, highlight the
differences between designing for the web and mobile screens (OS-
specific apps) and technology/tools for easy porting across devices with
different form factors (Desktop, Mobile, Tablet, and Smartwatch)
M7: Usability Engineering—A Lifecycle view, Rapid Prototyping & Refinement
LS7.1 Life-cycle view of LS7.1 Usability Engineering --A Life-cycle view
Usability Usability Engineering unlike the water-fall model of Software
Engineering Engineering is not a linear flow of activities from the beginning to the
end of the development life-cycle – It’s an iterative process with
continuous refinement through ethnographic studies and stakeholder
engagement; This session introduces the actual engineering process of
realizing Usable Designs starting from Design to Development to Testing
LS7.2 Design as an LS7.2 Design—an Iterative Process
Iterative Process Empathy for Users and their ethnographic study marks the beginning of
the Design process with Rapid Prototyping and field trials with Users in
an iterative cycle of Design-Test-Refine; This session walks through the
typical Iterative Design Process employed by Usability Engineers
CS7.0 CS7.0: Discuss with Students how they develop traditional software
products and what ‘Design’ (in the sense of Usability vis-à-vis Technical
Design they are familiar with) means to them and how they plan to
include Usability in their Development model; Draw parallels between
Agile Methods for Requirements Definition and Usability Engineering
and debate if Agile approach can be the right choice for Usability
Engineering; Let students discuss adopting this process for the design of
an ATM for rural population in India.
M8: Interface Standards and Designing for Accessibility
LS8.1 Interface Standards LS8.1 User Interface Standards
UI Standards ensure consistency of behaviour across applications and
devices; This session explores the relevance of standards and their
‘impediment’ to progress; Highlight the defacto standards set by Apple,
Microsoft and Google
LS8.2 Internationalization LS8.3 Internationalization User Interfaces
& Localization The choice of icons, colours and fonts is primarily dictated by local
 customs, culture and language; This session drives the importance of
universal conventions for reducing users’ cognitive overhead when
products are targeted for international market as well as tailored to local
customs, culture and political sensitivities; Adoption of Unicode
character-set for multiple global languages
LS8.3 Designing for LS8.2 Designing for Accessibility (for Devyangs)
Accessibility This session considers issues related to Accessibility for Differently-
abled persons (Devyangs) by defining relevant Personas and Working
sets; Laws governing Accessibility in different countries; Walkthrough
the W3C standard for Web Accessibility (WCAG 2.0); Survey of existing
national and international standards for mobile and Web Accessibility
CS8.0 CS8.0: Debate the choice of Microsoft’s Windows vs Apple’s iOS vs
Google’s Android OS as de facto standard for UI; Discuss evolution of
mobile interfaces from feature phones to today’s smart phones; Identify
products and services in workplaces that demand Accessibility
M9: Usability Testing and Assessments
LS9.1 Usability Testing and LS9.1 Usability Testing and Assessments
Assessment Unlike functionality testing in software products, testing of Usability is
not to be confined to the pre-release phase, and Usability test planning
and test-case design is integrated into the iterative Design process (~
TDD in Agile Testing); This session examines various test strategies
(manual, naïve-user, in-field, automated) that are applicable for Usability
testing; Beyond quantitative testing, also highlighted various qualitative
assessment of Usability by mute observation, field surveys and
questionnaire
CS9.0 CS 9.0: Discuss how modelling of users (Personas) helps in Usability test
planning, alpha-testing vs beta-testing; Deciding when to release a
product in the market; Handling post-release User complaints (cite cases
of global product recall and their repercussions on company’s brand
value, etc.)
M10: Technology in Interaction Design
LS10.1 Technology in LS10.1 Application of Technology in IxD
Interaction Design Low-cost sensors and emergence of Internet-of-Things (IoT) are
contributing to generation of enormous amounts of data for analysis and
communication; This session explores various new technologies of
Speech Processing, Image Recognition, Artificial Intelligence and Haptic
Interfaces, etc. that are taking HCI to new heights (Chatbots, Personal
Assistants, VR/AR devices, etc.)
CS10.0 CS10.0: Let Students identify new technologies that are defining HDI in
mobiles, desktops, home automation products, automobiles,
entertainment electronics, etc.; In the advent of increasing complexity of
digital products, discuss how the strategy of “Simplicity” and
“Minimalism” is positioning Apple as the Design Company—a role
model for Usability Engineers
###

Part B: Contact Session Plan

 Academic Term Second Semester 2022 - 2023
Course Title Usability Engineering
Course No SSWT ZG547

Time Type Description References

Contact Session - 1
M1 : Usability Engineering: Introduction, Motivation and Definitions
RL 1.1 Introduction to Usability--Definition, Terminology and User-centricity
Pre
RL 1.2 Empathy and Ethnography
CS
RL 1.3 Usability vs User-Experience
Discuss how Usability is different from Functional Requirements T2(C2),
During Identify products in our daily lives with bad (or “unusable”) interfaces R1(C1)
CS 4
CS Why Product/Visual Designers are much sought after in the industry
Skills expected of a Designer;
Post
CS
Contact Session - 2
M1 : Usability Engineering: Introduction, Motivation and Definitions
RL 1.4 Examples of Bad Usability in GUI
RL 1.5 Examples of Bad Usability in Products
Pre
RL 1.6.1 Simplicity is Usability Part - 1
CS
RL 1.6.2 Simplicity is Usability Part - 2
RL 1.7 Usability is a Sub-Culture
Highlight the role of ‘Design’ in the success of Apple products T2(C2),
Let students articulate the attributes of an exciting UX or Product they R1(C1)
During
CS 4 used or Service they experienced recently
CS
Debate whether Usability is a scientific discipline or the outcome of
select creative artists
Post
CS
Contact Session - 3
M2 : Designing for Usability: Industrial Design, Form vs Function, Interaction Design
RL 2.1 Usability Engineering in Brief
RL 2.2.1 Elements of Good Desig - HCI Design
Pre
RL 2.2.2 Elements of Good Design - Design Process
CS
RL 2.3.1 The Design as an Iterative Process Part - 1
RL 2.3.2 The Design as an Iterative Process Part - 2
Discuss (with examples) how Software Engineering is different from
Usability Engineering T1(C1), IM
Why is the User the most important Stakeholder?
During
CS 4 Why should Designers should involve early on in the process even
CS
before Requirements capture
How empathy and ethnography play a key role in arriving at effective
User Interaction Model
Post
CS
Contact Session - 4
M3 : Usability Design Principles: Psychology of Human-Device Interaction, Design Heuristics, Gestalt
Principles of Design
Pre RL 3.1.1 Why Design ? T2(C5), R1,
CS RL 3.1.2 Design Basis IM
 RL 3.1.3 Design Problems
RL 3.1.4 Design Rules
RL 3.1.5 Perception biased by Experience
RL 3.1.6 Attentional Blink
RL 3.1.7 Perception biased by Current Context
RL 3.1.8 McGurk effect
RL 3.1.9 Perception biased by Experience & Context Examples
RL 3.1.10 Perception biased by Goals
Discuss (with examples) how Visual Communication Design (in the
form of web pages, graphic displays and information brochures, etc.)
During
CS 4 helps rapid and effective communication in Human-Device Interface
CS
(as in mobile apps, error messaging, automotive displays,
technical/business presentations)
Post
CS
Contact Session - 5
M3 : Usability Design Principles: Psychology of Human-Device Interaction, Design Heuristics, Gestalt
Principles of Design
RL 3.2.1 Visual Perception
RL 3.2.2 Proximity
RL 3.2.3 Similarity
RL 3.2.4 Continuity
RL 3.2.5 Closure
Pre RL 3.2.6 Figure/Ground
CS RL 3.2.7 Common Fate
RL 3.2.8 Symmetry
RL 3.2.9 Additional Principles
RL 3.2.10 Progressive disclosure T2(C5), R1,
RL 3.2.11 Hick’s Law IM
RL 3.2.12 Fitt’s Law
Heuristics are rules-of-thumb (which worked well for several decades
much before the advent of computer devices) based on psychology of
human perception, therefore, let students discuss and discover new
During
CS 5 heuristics that they may find relevant for their devices (mobiles, tablets
CS
or public display boards, machines, appliances, etc.)
Share examples of best web-sites, gaming devices, and analyse the
application of any of these ten Usability Heuristics or Gestalt Principles.
Post
CS
Contact Session - 6
M4 : Goal-Directed Design: Modelling of Users, Personas, Scenarios
RL 4.1.1 Goal Oriented Design
RL 4.1.2 Symptoms of digital products – 1
RL 4.1.3 Software Lifecycle with Designers
Pre RL 4.1.4 Goals versus Excise tasks
CS RL 4.1.5 Goal directed design process
RL 4.1.6 Customer & User Interviews Part - 1
RL 4.1.7.1 Customer & User Interviews Part - 2 T1(C1-C5),
RL 4.1.7.2 Customer & User Interviews Part - 3 R3, IM
Discuss (with examples) how Goals are different from Product
Features and therefore Tasks and Activities
During
CS 6 Let students stretch their imagination to discover the ultimate Goal (IFR
CS
tool can be used) of any product/device/service they are trying to
design (smart watch, mobile app, kitchen appliance or eGov service)
Post
CS
 Contact Session - 7
M4 : Goal-Directed Design: Modelling of Users, Personas, Scenarios
RL 4.2.1 Implementation models and Mental models
RL 4.2.2 Represented Model & Implementation Model
RL 4.2.3 Mechanical-Age Vs Information-Age representation model
RL 4.2.4 User Identification & Perpetual intermediates
Pre RL 4.2.5 Understanding Users: Qualitative research
CS RL 4.2.6 Personas Part - 1
RL 4.2.7 Personas Part - 2
RL 4.2.8 Personas Part - 3
RL 4.2.9 Personas Part - 4 T1(C1-C5),
RL 4.2.10 Constructing Personas R3, IM
Discuss why design of a mobile phone, automobile, Tablet or ATM for
senior citizens should be different from that of college students (the
During need for Modelling of Users as Personas)
CS 7
CS Importance of ethnographic studies (and field observations of actual
users sampling the product) in refining the design prototype (use IDEO
shopping-cart example referred in M7)
Post
CS
Contact Session - 8
Review
During
CS 8 Review of previous Modules M1 to M4 for Mid Term exam preperation
CS
Contact Session - 9
M5 : Usability Design: Role of Metaphors, Idioms and Affordances
RL 5.1.1 Consistency
RL 5.1.2 Hierarchy
RL 5.1.3 Characteristics of Hierarchy Part - 1
RL 5.1.4 Characteristics of Hierarchy Part - 2
RL 5.1.5 Characteristics of Hierarchy Part - 3
Pre
RL 5.1.6 Characteristics of Hierarchy Part - 4
CS
RL 5.1.7 Defining a Hierarchy
T1(C12-13),
RL 5.1.8 Case Study - 1 R1(C4)
RL 5.1.9 Case Study - 2
RL 5.1.10 Mapping of controls
RL 5.1.11 Personality
During
CS 9 Highlight key differences between good and great UIs
CS
Post
CS
Contact Session - 10
M5 : Usability Design: Role of Metaphors, Idioms and Affordances
RL 5.2.1 Manual Affordances
RL 5.2.2 Metaphors
Pre
RL 5.2.3 Idiomatic interfaces
CS
RL 5.2.4 Limitations of Metaphors
RL 5.2.5 Building Idioms T1(C12-13),
Let Students explore their products, gadgets and appliances in their R1(C4)
During workplaces and homes and also their past experiences in interacting
CS 10
CS online with Government services to surface various good and bad
Metaphors, Idioms and the appreciation of Affordances.
Post
CS
Contact Session - 11
M6 : Visual Interface Design: Web/Mobile Interfaces, Design of eCommerce sites, Role of Sensory
 Interfaces in User Experience
RL 6.1.1 Building blocks of Visual Interface design
RL 6.1.2 Visual Design principles
RL 6.1.3 Good design flow
RL 6.1.4 Visual information design
RL 6.1.5 Integration of data and graphics
Pre
RL 6.1.6 Case Study
CS
RL 6.2.1 eCommerce Websites - Visual Analysis & Best Practices Part - 1
RL 6.2.2 eCommerce Websites - Visual Analysis & Best Practices Part - 2
RL 6.2.3 Review of eGov Site for Usability - Design Principles
RL 6.2.4 Review of eGov Site for Usability - Examples
RL 6.2.5 Review of eGov Site for Usability Summary
T1(C14, C20-
As much of today’s IxD activities revolves around visual
25)
communication, designing of screens for either web or mobile should
become an internalized skills for Usability professionals
Let Students get a solid grounding on this by illustrating various
existing applications and mobile devices and the role played by
During
CS 11 Usability Engineers coupled with advances in multi-sensory Interface
CS
Technologies
Also, highlight the differences between designing for the web and
mobile screens (OS-specific apps) and technology/tools for easy
porting across devices with different form factors (Desktop, Mobile,
Tablet, and Smartwatch)
Post
CS
Contact Session - 12
M7 : Usability Engineering: “Empathy to Ethnography to Engineering”—A Lifecycle view, Rapid
Prototyping & Refinement
RL 7.1.1 Life-cycle view of Usability Engineering Part - 1
Pre RL 7.1.2 Life-cycle view of Usability Engineering Part - 2
CS RL 7.2.1 Prototyping & Evaluation Part - 1
RL 7.2.2 Prototyping & Evaluation Part - 2
Discuss with Students how they develop traditional software products
and what ‘Design’ (in the sense of Usability vis-à-vis Technical Design
they are familiar with) means to them and how they plan to include T2(C4), R4,
Usability in their Development model; IM
During
CS 12 Draw parallels between Agile Methods for Requirements Definition and
CS
Usability Engineering and debate if Agile approach can be the right
choice for Usability Engineering
Let students discuss adopting this process for the design of an ATM for
rural population in India.
Post
CS
Contact Session - 13
M8 : Interface Standards, Designing for Accessibility and Internationalization
RL 8.1.1 Standards Part - 1
RL 8.1.2 Standards Part - 2
Pre
RL 8.2.1 Accessibility
CS
RL 8.2.1 Accessibility Examples
RL 8.2.3. Internationalization
Debate the choice of Microsoft’s Windows vs Apple’s iOS vs Google’s T1(C14,C26),
Android OS as de facto standard for UI T2(C10), R5
During
CS 13 Discuss evolution of mobile interfaces from feature phones to today’s
CS
smart phones
Identify products and services in workplaces that demand Accessibility
Post
CS
 Contact Session - 14
M9 : Usability Testing and Assessments
Usability Testing and Evaluation - Introduction, Goals, Formative vs
RL 9.1
Summative Testing, Performance Measures
Pre RL 9.2 Preparing for Usability Test, Sequence of Steps for Testing
CS
RL 9.3.1 Usability Evaluation Methods Part - 1
RL 9.3.2 Usability Evaluation Methods Part - 2
Discuss how modelling of users (Personas) helps in Usability test T2(C6,C7)
planning, alpha-testing vs beta-testing
During
CS 14 Deciding when to release a product in the market
CS
Handling post-release User complaints (cite cases of global product
recall and their repercussions on company’s brand value, etc.)
Post
CS
Contact Session - 15
M10 : Technology in Interaction Design: Augmented Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing
(NLP), and Chatbots/Personal Assistants
RL 10.1.1 Multi-sensory Interfaces Part - 1
RL 10.1.2 Multi-sensory Interfaces Part - 2
RL 10.2.1 Human-Computer Interfaces Part - 1
Pre
RL 10.2.2 Human-Computer Interfaces Part - 2
CS
RL 10.3 Cartographic Interfaces
RL 10.4 Geovisualization and 3D Displays
RL 10.5 Usability Engineering Summary IM, Product
Let Students identify new technologies that are defining HDI in Literature /
mobiles, desktops, home automation products, automobiles, Blogs
During entertainment electronics, etc.
CS 15
CS In the advent of increasing complexity of digital products, discuss how
the strategy of “Simplicity” and “Minimalism” is positioning Apple as the
Design Company—a role model for Usability Engineers
Post
CS
Contact Session - 16
Review
During Review of previous Modules M5 to M10 for Comprehensive exam
CS 16
CS preparation

Experiential Learning Components (ELC) for Work-Integrated Learning

The ELCs can be used by the Instructor for discussion in the Contact Sessions or used by Students as
examples of self-study or given as Assignments/Design Projects by Instructors. They could be in any of the
following form:
 Assignment Topics for Research/Self-Study and Presentation
 Case-problems for Design
 Making of Design Prototypes

A set of typical case-problems/products for study/design are presented here for students to apply their
knowledge on “Design for Usability.” Relevant materials are provided to students via shared folders.

[Instructors can enrich this list by adding more cases/projects from their own experience or as specified by
the students’ organization]
# ELC: Discussion/Assignment Topic/Case-study/Project
1 Walkthrough websites of Good & Bad GUI
 Analyze the factors that contributed to the success of Nokia 3310 Feature phone which is staging a
2
comeback in 2017
3 Design Aadhar-enabled PoS machine for enabling all digital transactions in rural India
4 Discuss why Apple is considered more as a Design Company than a Technology Leader
. …

Assignment Instructions (Representative, to be tailored to the actual Assignment/Project):

Topic: Chose any ONE product/service/software/facility/etc. that you got frustrated with (w.r.f to Usability
experience)
a) Describe the 'painful' experience
b) Analyze/Identify the Principle(s) (Usability Hieurstic) overlooked/ignored in it design
c) Suggest a modified design

Suggested Reading Materials (attached): NNG Usability Heuristics; Normal Design Principles; Making
Considerate Software
(Note this is only suggested, students are free to browse any paper/book/internet source on the topic for
guidance on Usability).

Tools for Prototyping/Wire-frame Modelling: The following are the open-source/freeware tools or Demo
versions students can download and use for designing their mock-up GUI (screen prototypes of web/mobile
interfaces)

1. The 7 Best Prototyping Tools for UI and UX Designers in 2016

https://blog.prototypr.io/the-7-best-prototyping-tools-for-ui-and-ux-designers-in-2016-701263ae65e8
2. Wire-frame mockup tool: https://balsamiq.com

Assignments
▪ Each student is given an individual assignment on any of the topics discussed in the class;
Assignment Topics are based on practical problems experienced or part of work-items or
tools used by collaborating organizations
▪ Assignments are take-home and deadline-driven (typically of 2-4 weeks duration) announced
post Mid-semester examination
▪ Students to spend at least 16 hours of work in study, research, building prototypes, discussion
and preparation of the model/report and presentation.
▪ As part of deliverables for evaluation, the student is expected to demonstrate or prepare a
report and make a short-presentation in the class