HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING
(SYST 470-1)
Fall 01
Instructor: Bill Killam, MA CHFP
Phone: Office (703) 729-0998, Cellular: (703) 626-6318
Office Hours: by Appointment
email: bkillam@user-centereddesign.com
Texts:
Bailey, R. W. Human Performance Engineering (3rd Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Prerequisite:
SYST 302, PSYC 100, or Permission of Instructor.
The purpose of this course is to help students understand the "human" component of system design. The course focuses on human characteristics and limitations and how these affect system design. Included are topics such as perception, cognition, memory, and decision making. It also includes system design issues for addressing these characteristics and limitations, methodologies for designing the human/computer interface, and tests for improving it during system development. The goal is improved system design by taking a "user-centered" design approach. Usability testing methods are also discussed including both user-based and non-user based approaches.
There is a mid-term exam and a final exam. Each is worth 30% of your grade. In addition, during each class session, students will be asked to identify key material for that session. The purpose of these oral reviews is to facilitate students' preparation for, and participation during, each class session. The exams will be derived from these questions. The homework accounts for 15% of the final grade. Finally, students are required to design and conduct a usability test. This will be done in teams and presented orally. Presentations will be given during the last two class sessions prior to the final exam. The presentation is worth a total of 25% of the grade.
HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING
(SYST 470-1)
Week 1 |
Introduction & Historical Perspective, System Design Re-defined |
Homework |
Bailey,
Chapters 1, Exercises 1A & 1B |
Week 2 |
Human Limits & Differences, Anthropometry, Sensing & Responding |
Homework |
Bailey,
Chapters 2 & 3, Exercises 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, & 3D |
Week 3 |
Memory, Attention, & Skill Development |
Homework |
Bailey,
Chapter 5, Exercise 5 |
Week 4 |
Cognitive Processing & Theories of Behavior (Motivation) |
Homework |
Bailey,
Chapters 4 & 6, Exercise 6 |
Week 5 |
Decision Making Models, Fairness, and Biases |
Homework |
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Week 6 |
Judgment Under Uncertainty, Improving Decision Making, & Mid Term Review |
Homework |
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Week 7 |
Midterm |
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The History of the GUI, Architectures to Support Good HFE, & HCI Design Guidelines |
Week 8 |
Spring Break – No Class |
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Week 9 |
Dimensions of Usability |
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Week 10 |
Human Performance Modeling, Testing, & Experimental Design |
Homework |
Bailey,
Chapters 8 & 11; Exercise 8A, 8B & 11A |
Week 11 |
Steps in the Design Process, Design Process Models |
Homework |
Bailey,
Chapter 7 & 9, Exercise 7, 9B, 9C |
Week 12 |
“The Usability Lifecycle” |
Homework |
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Week 13 |
TBD |
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Week 14 |
Student Presentations |
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Week 15 |
Student Presentations (cont.) & Review for Final |
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Week 16 |
Final Exam |
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