CSCI 499 Unit #1

Purpose

Begin to think about what it means to be "user friendly"
Understand how perception impacts user's experience
Learn how Gestalt principles relate to UI design

Preparation

Be sure you have read about Chapter Summaries, including how to do well. Please create one document with all chapter questions and summaries.

Introduction - Reading Assignment

Read:

Mind in Mind Introduction.

Chapter question. Consider table I.1. Which guideline(s) sound like they would be easy? Which sound hard? Why? No right answer here, and some guidelines won't be in either list. The point is just to begin thinking about how we can design better software.

Chapter 1 - Reading Assignment

Read:

Mind in Mind Chapter 1.

Create a Chapter summary.

Chapter 1 Exercise

Visit at least 3 websites for travel (e.g., Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Kayak, Hipmunk). Or maybe look at AirBnb, HomeAway etc. Find possible sites:

Chapter question: What patterns do you see? How do these relate to users' goals? Do any of the sites have a really distinct flavor/approach?

Chapter 2 - Reading Assignment

Read:

Chapter/Links question. Identify at least 3 principles (from the links as well as the text) that you think are most important for UI design. Justify each selection with an example from the readings. No need to describe the example, just give a reference and explain why you think it's important.

I'm looking for something like:


Principle: Enclosure, as illustrated in source 2 using Facebook posts.
Why? It's common to have a number of related items. This example has title, 
text, picture, etc. Orders have item, quantity, description. Trips have flight 
numbers, dates, airline. Informally it appears that most apps have pieces of 
associated data. Having an "enclosure" allows the user to easily grasp the 
entire item as well as quickly scroll from one item to the next. Without the 
enclosure, the cognitive load (requirements on the user to make sense of it all) would 
be much greater (e.g., at a quick scan some information may not be seen, or 
the time it takes to review the information would increase to an unacceptable 
level, etc.).

In addition, find one more example (positive or negative) of your own. Two options:

Take a look at some sites and think about what principle(s) are at play. In your document, include a screenshot and a sentence or two that explain which principle is involved
I found the links above using google searches. Do you own search (e.g., using the name of a principle and UI Design) and find another resource with good info. In your document, include a link and list either a) what principle(s) are on that page that were not mentioned in other sources or b) what really good example is on that page.

Submission

Submit your document with ALL of the above as a .pdf. As mentioned in chapter summaries, the name of your file should be your last name and the unit, e.g., RaderUnit1.pdf. NOTE: please use the naming convention for all future units.

Evaluation

Evaluation of reading assignments was described in Chapter Summaries.

Evaluation of chapter 1 exercise is based on identifying several clear patterns with associated goals.

There will be separate grades for Chapter 1 Reading Assignments, Chapter 1 Exercise, and Chapter 2 Reading Assignment.

NOTE: in general there are no "right" answers for our assignments, so evaluations will be based on perceived effort and thought. Submissions that appear to have been done quickly (likely from 11 pm to midnight on the due date) will not receive top scores.