| Date |
Topic |
Reading Due* |
Projects Due |
| 1/8 |
Introduction |
|
|
| 1/10 |
What is Usability? |
- Olive “Usability: Making the Web Work”
- “Usability 101” http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html
- Quensbury 5 dimensions
- Norman Chapter 1 (33) [G] |
|
| 1/15 |
Usability Then & Now |
- Prioritizing Web Usability preface
- Dumas “The great leap forward…”
http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2007_february/dumas_birth_of_usability_profession.pdf
- Shneiderman “Universal Usability
- Usability Testing and Research 9
- Morgan “Crossing Disciplines” [G] |
|
| 1/17 |
Web User Experience |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapters 1-2
- Pew Report on Internet, get the PDF file at
http://www.pewinternet.org/report_display.asp?r=148 (link to pdf at bottom of article)
- Cockburn & McKenzie, “What do Web Users do?...” [G] |
|
| 1/22 |
Web Usability Problems 1 |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapter 3 |
|
| 1/24 |
Web Usability Problems 2 |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapters 4-5
- Kim & Albers “Handheld & other …” [G] |
|
| 1/29 |
Navigation & Architecture * |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapter 6
- Farkas & Farks “Guidelines…”
- First Principles of Interaction Design
http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
- Ryan Et al. “The evolution of US…” [G] |
Grad:
Seminar Presentation Preference Emails due |
| 1/31 |
Visual Design Issues * |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapter 7
- Williams “Guidelines for Designing…”
- Winn “The Persuasive Power of Design Elements” [G] |
|
| 2/5 |
Writing for the Web
Adrian McLeer |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapter 8
- Farkas & Farkas chapter 10
- Spyridakis “Guidelines for Authoring Comprehensible Web Pages” [G] |
|
| 2/7 |
Heuristic Evaluation |
- Heuristic Evaluation: http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/ this includes the 5 links under “Jakob Nielsen's Online Writings…” which are:
- How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
- Ten Usability Heuristics
- Characteristics of Usability Problems…
- Severity Ratings
- Technology Transfer of Heuristic Evaluation and Usability Inspection
- van der Geest & Spyridakis “Developing Heuristics…” |
|
| 2/12 |
Heuristic Evaluation |
- de Jong & van der Geest “Characterizing Web Heuristics”- Kirmani & Rajasekaran “Heuristic Evaluation Quality” http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2007_february/kirmani_rajasekaran_heqs.html
- Chisnell et al “New Heuristics…”[G] |
|
| 2/14 |
Other Usability Feedback Methods |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 2
- Porter “Folksonomies…” http://www.uie.com/articles/folksonomies
- Rodgers et al “A Comparison of Two Evaluation Techniques” http://www.usabilitynews.org/
- de Jong & Rijnks “Dynamics of Iterative Reader Feedback…” [G]
- Spyridakis et al. “Internet-based research…” [G]
- de Jong & Schellens “Toward a document evaluation methodology” [optional for all, good if you care about research] |
|
| 2/19 |
Intro to Usability Testing |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 1
- Baehr “Usability and Accessibility”
- Sullivan “Beyond a narrow conception…”
- Grayling “If We Build It, Will They Come?” [G] |
|
| 2/21 |
User & Task Analysis |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 3
-Swenson “Audience-driven Web Design…” [G] |
|
| 2/26 |
The Testing Cycle |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 4
- Postava-Davignon et al. “Incorporating Usability Testing into the Documentation Process”
-Sienot “Pretesting Web Sites…” [G] |
|
| 2/28 |
Planning for Testing |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 5
- Grayling “Fear and Loathing…” [G] |
Website Critique & Recommendation |
| 3/3 |
Midpoint |
Last day to withdraw and possibly receive a "W" for full semester classes. |
|
| 3/4 |
Spring |
Break! |
|
| 3/6 |
|
|
|
| 3/11 |
Preparing for Testing |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 6
- Barnum et al. “Index Versus Full-text Search…” [G] |
|
| 3/13 |
Conducting the test |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 7
- Kantner “Techniques for managing a usability”
- Carstens & Patterson “Usability Testing of Travel Websites” http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2005_november/travel.html [G] |
|
| 3/18 |
Analyzing & Reporting the Results |
- Usability Testing and Research chapter 8 |
|
| 3/20 |
Collaboration & Teams * |
- Usability Testing and Research Appendix “Making it work as a team”
- Wambeam & Kramer “Design Teams and the Web”
- Jones "How We Collaborate" |
Usability Testing Plan |
| 3/25 |
Information & Support
Shae Anderson |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapter 9
- Quesenbery “On Beyond Help” [G]
- Applen “Tacit knowledge…” [G] |
|
| 3/27 |
Multimedia & Technology
Brian Snead |
- Prioritizing Web Usability chapter 10
- Horton chapters 12-13
-Beggs & Thede “Designing Web Audio”
-Vargas “Combining speech…” [G] |
|
| 4/1 |
Considering your Audience
Class Workshop
|
[Undergrads: read 3 of these 4]
-Chisnell “Who is the ‘Older Adult’…”
- Turns & Wagner “Characterizing Audience…”
- Coney & Steehouder “Role Playing on the Web…”
- van der Geest “Conducting Usability Studies…”
-"Usability Tools Podcast: Robust Personas” http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/11/21/usability-tools-podcast-robust-personas/ |
|
| 4/3 |
Tools, Techniques, & Discounts
Meet on the MOO! We'll cover the readings for 4/1 & 4/3 on the MOO. |
MOO info:
- Cooke “Eye Tracking”
- Yeats & Carter “The Role of the Highlights”
- Bojko “Using Eye Tracking” http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2006_may/bojko_eye_tracking.html
- Zimmerman et al. “Taking Usability Testing to the Field”
- Boy “The group elicitation”
-Russell “Hotspots and Hyperlinks…” http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/72/eyetracking.htm
-Bryne Et al.: “Eye tracking” [G]
- Jones “Lessons Learned from Discount Usability Engineering” [G] |
|
| 4/8 |
Should we think aloud? |
- van den Haak et al. “Evaluation of an Informational Web Site…”
- Krahmer “Thinking about thinking aloud…”
- van Waes “Thinking aloud as a method”
- Boren & Ramey “Thinking aloud…” [G] |
Usability Report & Recommendation |
| 4/10 |
Multiple Users in Testing? |
- Downey “Group Usability Testing…” http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2007may/group-utests.html
- van den Haak “Constructive interaction and collaborative work…”
- Als et al. “Comparison … with children” [G]-Van De Haak et al. “Employing think-aloud protocols…” [G] |
|
| 4/15 |
Access & Accessibility Issues
Michael Keleher |
- Slatin “The art of ALT…”
- Roberts “Using an Access-Centered Design…”
- Carter & Markel “Web accessibility for people with disabilities…”
- Theofanos & Redish “Helping Low-vision and Other Users”
-Nielsen “Accessibility Is Not Enough” http://www.useit.com/alertbox/accessibility.html
- Reece “ Accessibility Meets Usability” http://www.stc.org/confproceed/2002/PDFs/STC49-00000.pdf
- Jaeger “Beyond Section 508…” [G]
- Bayer & Pappas “Accessibility Testing…” [G] |
|
| 4/17 |
Cultural & User Differences
Laura Young |
- Bowie “Links, Landmarks”
- Hall “Cultural Differences and Usability Evaluation…”
- Zahed et al. “A conceptual framework for international Web design…”
- Nielsen "International Use"
- Bowie “Universe of Users” [G] |
|
| 4/22 |
Users & Rigor |
- Hughes “Rigor in Usability Testing”
- Spyridakis “The relevance of reliability and validity…”
-Nielsen “Why you only need to test with 5 users” http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
- Nielsen “Quantitative Studies…” http://www.useit.com/alertbox/quantitative_testing.html
- Faulker “Beyond the five-user assumption”
- Schulz et al. “Discovering user-generated metaphors…” |
|
| 4/24 |
Usability, Culture, the Web, and the future |
- Johnson et al. “User-Centered Technology in Participatory Culture…”
- Lund, “Post-Modern Usability” http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2006_november/lund_post_modern_usability.pdf |
(no Reading Response due, options/make up only) |
| 4/29 |
Final Exam Period (2:45-4:45) |
|
Website Redesign,
Redesign Presentation, &
Project Report |
