Spring 2008

IEOR170: Industrial Design & Human Factors

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm, Dwinelle 160

Overview · Announcements · Organization · Schedule · Grading

overview

This course surveys topics related to the design of products and interfaces ranging from alarm clocks, cell phones, and aircraft cockpits to logos, presentations, and web sites. Design of such systems requires familiarity with Human Factors and Ergonomics, including the physics and perception of color, sound, and touch, as well as familiarity with case studies and contemporary practices in interface design and usability testing. Students will solve a series of design problems individually and in teams.

In addition to lectures, the class will feature in-depth case studies and guest speakers who can provide current perspectives on the topics covered in the course. Students will work, individually and in teams, to design and prototype a series of exercises and one final project which will be analyzed through in-class critique. The goals of the course are to familiarize students with fundamentals of human factors/ergonomics, increase student awareness of design in everyday experience, and enhance student skills in creativity and presentation. This course is intended primarily for engineering students. It requires senior standing in but no prior knowledge of design.

announcements

No announcements yet.

 

organization

The course is organized into four major topics as described below. The midterm will cover only material presented in class up until that date. The final project will be comprehensive and will cover all class material.

1. Industrial Design (Jan 22 - Feb 7)

* Values and Metrics in Design
* Form and Function
* Ergonomics
* Human-centered process

2. Sensory Perception in Design (Feb 12 - Mar 15)

* Visual perception
* Auditory perception and voice
* Tactile perception, haptic interfaces.

3. Human Factors (Mar 27 - Apr 5)

* Limitations and capabilities of human motion
* Emotion
* Cognition
* Embodiment

4. Design in the Modern World (Apr 8 - May 8)

* Environmental Effects
* Wicked Problems
* Implicit interactions
* Narrative
* Critical Design

schedule

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Week	Tuesday	Thursday	Reading
1	January 22 topic: Introduction PDF exercise: 5 design processes	January 24 topic: Design Processes PDF exercise: get notebook, pens	Dreyfuss Ch. 1, 2, & 3, 10 Step Design Process
2	January 29 topic: Form & Function pdf exercise: sketching	January 31 topic:Ergonomics & Scale PDF	Kelley, T. The Art of Innovation.The Perfect Brainstorm 2002 McKim Ch. 20-21 Introduction to Ergonomics optional: Nelms Rapid Viz Ching
3	February 5 topic: Understanding people pdf exercise: portable effects	February 7 guest lecture: Arna Ionescu, IDEO	Patnaik & Becker, Needfinding Fulton-Suri, Thoughtless Acts Beyer Holtzblatt, Contextual Inquiry Moggridge, Designing For People
4	February 12 topic: Visual Perception pdf exercise: website redesign	February 14 guest lecture:Dan Maynes-Aminzade, Stanford HCI exercise: point of view	Poggio, Vision by Man and Machine Sacks, The man who mistook his wife for a hat Sacks, Case of the Colorblind Painter
5	February 19 topic: Sound & Voices pdf exercise: design & experiment design	February 21 guest lecture: Leila Takayama, Stanford Communications pdf exercise: run pilot experiment	Buxton, Gaver & Bly, Auditory Interfaces: Overview, Ch. 2, 4, 5, 6 Nass, Wired for Speech
6	February 26 topic: Attitudes, Preferences & Emotion pdf	February 28 guest lecture: Wendy Castleman, Intuit exercise: Website Experiment	Norman, Emotional Design, Ch.1 Nass & Brave, Emotion in HCI Scheuren, Designing a Questionnaire, Ch.6 Craig & Burrett, Design of a HF Questionnaire for Cockpit Assessment optional: Isbister, et al. Developing an Affective Evaulation Tool
7	March 4 topic: Motion pdf	March 6 guest lecture: Kimiko Ryokai, Berkeley Center for New Media, and UC Berkeley School of Information	Mandel, Making Good Time Fitts, Controlling the Amplitude of Movement Crossman, Acquisition of Speed Skill
8	March 11 guest lecture: Ken Goldberg, IEOR exercise: technique review	March 13 topic: Midterm Exam In Class grade distribution, Solutions
9	March 18 topic: Touch pdf also:final project description	March 20 guest lecture: Bill Verplank	Burdea, Haptic Sensing and Control Sharp, et al. Usability Testing Verplank, Interaction Design
Spring Break - March 25 - 31
10	April 1 topic: Embodiment & Affordances pdf	April 3 topic: Cognition pdf	Norman, Design of Everyday Things Card, Moran & Newell Human Model Processor(first 11 pages)
11	April 8 topic: Sustainable Design pdf	April 10 guest lecture: Bill Cockayne, Change Research elevator pitch	Papanek, Design for the Real World, Ch.4
12	April 15 topic: Wicked Problems pdf	April 17 guest lecture: Hugh Dubberly, Dubberly Designs	Rittel & Webber, Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning Dubberly, Towards a Model of Innovation Apple's Knowledge Navigator concept Video (1987)
13	April 22 activity: In-class Project Work pdf	April 24 activity: In-class Project Work pdf
14	April 29 topic: Narrative pdf	May 1 guest lecture: Barbara Barry, MIT Media Lab	Simmons, What Story Can Do That Facts Can't
15	May 6 topic: Critical Design pdf	May 8 final exam

grading

* 25% Design Exercises
Design Exercises are intended to expose you to useful techniques in design. There will be both individual and team assignments. They will be graded on a scale of 0-10.
* 25% Design Project
An individual design project will be assigned after the mid-term. You will be asked to apply design and evaluation techniques from the design exercises to a design problem of your choosing. Examples of design projects are improving your personal webpage, developing a better map of campus, and devising ways to keep your hands warm when you ski. For this project, the selection and resolution of the problem is less important than your justification of your selection of techniques, judicious implementation and adaptation of the techniques and good documentation of your process. This is a design project, not a technology innovation project; please use the technical skills you have but apply and test them using design.
* 15% Design Notebook
Your design notebook will be used to reflect your work and thoughts on the design exercises, and your process for your design project.
* 15% In-class participation
Your presence and active engagement in the class is critical.
* 10% Midterm
* 10% Final
Both the mid-term and final will be largely multiple-choice, and will be based equally on lectures and readings.

late work and absence policy

No late assignments will be accepted, but you may submit them early.

The participation grade will consider both lecture and out-of-class participation.

regrade policy

We are willing to consider regrades on assignments, but reserve the right to regrade the entire assignment when a regrade is requested. To make a regrade request, please see one of the course staff at her or his office hours.

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