Module aims and objectives:
The aims of the module are:
(1) to make students familiar with human-centered design processes and appropriate assessment and evaluation techniques,
(2) to allow them to critically choose and apply appropriate human-centred design methods while considering design constraints, and
(3) to give them the practical and theoretical skills for designing, prototyping, and evaluating novel interactive systems.
Module description:
This module will equip students with the practical skills needed for the design and assessment of interactive systems.
The module includes the introduction to design and evaluation practice. It is strongly based on principles of design, on the study of designs both good and bad, and on the essential skills and methods that user experience practitioners need. Topics covered include ways of representing designs, methods for establishing the needs of users, approaches to devise suitable forms of solution to design problems, methods of visual design, sketching and prototyping, and the use of evaluation methods. Existing designs, covering a wide spectrum, will be subjected to scrutiny and discussion, and practice sessions will enable students to gain proficiency in using taught methods.

Module learning outcomes:

Knowledge and understanding of: Methods for eliciting and specifying requirements; techniques for producing successful designs; use of prototypes and prototyping methodology in design; user-centred evaluation and requirements gathering techniques pertinent to HCI studies.
	Intellectual (thinking skills) – able to: Elicit appropriate human-centered requirements; apply design techniques to a design problem; apply theories of evaluation to practical examples and understand issues around the strengths and limitations of techniques, and how to select appropriate techniques for studies. Critical analysis of tools and situations.
	Practical skills: Learning to use various toolkits and techniques of user experience design and evaluation; prototyping and sketching skills; develop one or more prototypes of a design; use prototypes in the design process; practical application of user-centred evaluation methods; collecting and analysing data; reporting findings for multiple audiences.
	Transferable skills: argumentation and communication of ideas; critical reading; group working, presentation skills; portfolio skills.