Principles of Usability, User Experience and User Interfaces (TIEVA36)

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Who can take this course

This course gets you started in Interactive Technology and Human-Technology Interaction.

  • Are you starting your studies in the HTI or other M.Sc. program and wish to take courses in Interactive Technology?
    If you do not have any background in Human-Technology Interaction and want to study Interactive Technology at TUNI, PUXUI can be a required course: it gives the basics. Ask your tutor teacher, if you should include PUXUI into your Personal study plan (HOPS).
  • Are you an exchange student at TUNI (in any discipline)? You can take this course. It does not require knowledge of programming or previous studies in human-technology interaction.
  • Are you a student interested in the field of Human-Technology Interaction? You can take PUXUI as part of “optional studies”, “vapaavalintaiset opinnot”.

Note to Finnish-speaking students in the Bachelor study program of Computer Science

  • Corresponding course units “TIEP2 Johdatus vuorovaikutteiseen teknologiaan” and “TIEA1 Käyttöliittymien perusteet” are arranged in Finnish and you should study according to their requirements. PUXUI combines their key points. Since their materials overlap, you cannot take PUXUI.

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course the student

  • knows about important paradigms and milestones in the history of human-computer interaction
  • understands the importance of user-centered design for the success of products
  • understands basics of human perceptual and cognitive processes and motor functions, and their importance to interaction design
  • recognizes basic controls and interaction styles in graphical user interfaces and is able to describe how they should be applied in web design
  • knows where to look for information about platform specific user experience design guidelines for graphical user interfaces
  • can apply principles of good design in expert evaluation and find design errors in user interfaces.

Content

What will be covered: This course introduces many basic concepts (usability, user experience, accessibility, conceptual and mental models, user-centered design, human senses and computer input and output modalities, usability evaluation methods, mobile computing, ubiquitous computing, interaction styles and style guides).

The information given in the Curricula Guide will be supplemented in Moodle with self-study material. No lectures or face-to-face meetings with the teacher will be arranged. The course can be taken online except the examination which requires access to an EXAM facility.

The course book is Design of everyday things (revised and expanded edition) 2013.

Registration is non-stop

The course area in TUNI moodle is currently being revised. The area will be opened for students in middle of September 2019.

You can sign up to this course by sending an email to Saila Ovaska @tuni.fi with the heading: PUXUI sign-up. The course key will be sent to you by email.

Technically, the course is scheduled for eight weeks self-study ending in an exam. Your own study pace can be slower; there are no set deadlines. There will be  examination weeks in each semester in the electronic exam service, during which you can take the exam. The exams will be graded after the exam period, and you can retake it once if you did not pass.

The course is graded with PASS / FAIL.

Overlapping course contents

Beware: there is overlap with courses such as

  • TIEP2 Johdatus vuorovaikutteiseen teknologiaan and TIEA1 Käyttöliittymien perusteet
  • HTIS86 Fundamentals of Human-Technology Interaction (summer school course)
  • At Hervanta Campus: UX Basics / Käyttäjäkokemuksen perusteet.

Because of the overlap, they cannot be included in the same Personal study plan.