Readings from The Design of Everyday Things
Read chapters 3 and 4 of the Norman book. ("Knowledge in the Head and in the World" and "Knowing What to Do")
Readings for Cognitive Psychology
Parkin, Chapter 1
Cognitive Psychology & IA: From Theory to Practice
Photocopy of chapter 2 of Koster's A Theory of Fun for Game Design (handed out in class on 12/6)
Readings on Presentation Skills
A significant portion of your grade in this class will be based on how well you present your work. Presentation skills are important not just for your grade in this class, but also for your success in the business world. Here are some good resources for giving good presentations:
Readings on Visual Perception
Parkin, chapter 2
Chapters 1 & 2 of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (handed out in class)
Readings on Attention
- Parkin, Chapter 3
- Getting out from under (Beset by interruptions, information overload, and irksome technology, knowledge workers need help. A survival guide.). Fortune Magazine, 15 March 2006.
Readings on Task Analysis
- Chapter 8 ("Contextual Inquiry, Task Analysis, Card Sorting") of Mike Kuniavsky's Observing the User Experience. The full text of this book is available through the RIT Library web site, in the Books 24x7 resource.
- Usability Net: Task Analysis
- Goal Mapping Using Task Analysis
- Performa a Task Analysis (read through the subsections on "Perform a Task Analysis" and "Techniques and Methods" )
- The Task Analysis Grid, by Todd Warfel
Readings on Problem Solving and Reasoning
- Parkin, Chapters 14-15
- Induction and Deduction
- Problem Solving Methods (also try this interactive Tower of Hanoi puzzle.
- Nielsen's How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
- Nielsen's Ten Usability Heuristics
Readings on Cultural and Individual Differences
These readings are intended as reference sources for topics discussed in class.
- Introduction to Web Accessibility
- Cultural Differences in Collaborative Editing of Wikipedia
- Crosscurrents: Cultural Dimensions and Global Web User-Interface Design (handed out in class, uploaded to myCourses)
- How Fluent is Your Interface? (handed out in class, uploaded to myCourses)
- Simulations from WebAIM (bottom of page--Screen Reader Simulation, Low Vision Simulation, Dyslexia Simulation, Distractability Simulation)
Readings on User-Centered Design
- Wikipedia entry on User-Centered Design
- BBC "Glass Wall" document (in MyCourses)
- "User Profiles" from Chapter 7 of Kuniavsky book (in MyCourses)
- IBM Ease of Use Documents: What is User Centered Design, User-Centered Design Principles, and User-Centered Design Process