DESIGN FOR USER EXPERIENCE (ITP 310)

Spring 2013 Syllabus

Instructor Rob Parke Day / Time Thurs 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Department Information Technology Program Location KAP-160

Email [email protected]
Office Hours Listed on course website

Prerequisites none
Credit 2 units

Required Textbooks
Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug, ISBN: 0321344758
The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web, Jesse James Garret, ISBN: 0735712026
Designing for the Digital Age, by Kim Goodwin, ISBN: 0470229101

Recommended Textbooks
Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content, Colleen Jones, ISBN: 0321733010
Usability Engineering: Process, Products, and Examples, Laura Leventhal and Julie Barnes, ISBN: 0131570080
Interaction Design: Beyond Human - Computer Interaction (3rd edition), Yvonne Rogers, Helen Sharp, and Jenny
Preece, ISBN: 0470665769

Course Objectives
Teach the fundamental concepts, techniques, practices, workflows, and tools associated with the practice of user
experience design in web and mobile experiences.

Students will learn how to apply these concepts through a semester-long, team-based, project. You will create an
online and mobile, experience for an online-based startup company. You get to determine what your team’s
company will do.
Lecture
Average 1 to 1.5 hours per week

Lab
Average 1 to 1.5 hours per week

Course Structure
Each class begins with lecture and is followed immediately by lab in the classroom. Labs are done during class time
and are due that day by end of class.

Exam formats
There will be two midterm exams. There is no final exam, as the final project will take the place of the final exam

Evaluation
The following point structure will be used in determining the grade for the course. Final letter grade will be based
upon the total points received, the highest total in the class, and the average of the class.
In-class labs 20%
Two Midterm Exams 50%
Final Project 30%

Grade Scale
A 100-93 B- 82-80 D+ 69-67
A- 92-90 C+ 79-77 D 66-65
B+ 89-87 C 76-73 F 64 or below
B 86-83 C- 72-70

Attendance and Drops

It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw officially from a course.
Students are expected to attend all class meetings, and they must notify the instructor about absences due to illness
prior to class. Student will be dropped from the class for excessive absences as well as for missing the first class
meeting.

Class Policies
Attendance - Students should notify instructor by email in advance if a class will be missed. Students are expected to
come to class on time and attend each class.
Assignments - Exercises are posted weekly under Assignments on Blackboard. Exercises are to be submitted online
via Blackboard. It is the student’s responsibility to turn in assigned exercises on or before deadlines as set by the
instructor. If student misses class, assignment is still due that day and can be turned in on Blackboard from
anywhere in the world with internet access. If absent due to illness, bring written note from medical facility to get
exception.

Late Submissions – No assignments or labs are accepted late without prior approval by the professor.

Make-up policies – Students are not allowed to make-up any missed assignment, lab, or exam, without approval of
the professor prior to the due date.

ITP Labs
Before logging onto an ITP computer, students must ensure that they have emailed or saved projects created during
the class or lab session. Any work not saved will be erased after restarting the computer. ITP is not responsible for
any word lost.

ITP offers Open Lab use for all students enrolled in ITP classes. These open labs are held beginning the second
week of classes through the last week of classes. Please contact your instructor for specific times and days for the
current semester.

Academic Integrity
The use of unauthorized material, communication with fellow students during an examination, attempting to
benefit from the work of another student, and similar behavior that defeats the intent of an examination or other
class work is unacceptable to the University. It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and
inadvertent behavior resulting from the nervous tension accompanying examinations. When the professor
determines that a violation has occurred, appropriate action, as determined by the instructor, will be taken.

Although working together is encouraged, all work claimed as yours must in fact be your own effort. Students who
plagiarize the work of other students will receive zero points and possibly be referred to Student Judicial Affairs and
Community Standards (SJACS).

All students should read, understand, and abide by the University Student Conduct Code listed in SCampus, and
available at: http://web-app.usc.edu/scampus/university-student-conduct-code/

Academic Accommodations – Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS)

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability
Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained
from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to your TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is
located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is
(213) 740-0776.

Cell Phone / Distraction Policy

Out of respect for all students, please turn off all phones or MP3 players and refrain from answering, texting,
checking email, or updating Facebook / Twitter / etc. during class.

Syllabus / Course Changes

This syllabus is a guideline so it is each student’s responsibility to note any changes that are made.
 COURSE OUTLINE
Note: schedule subject to change

Week 1 – What is User Experience (UX) Design

Reading:
Krug: Chapter 1
Garret: Chapters 1 and 2
Goodwin: Chapter 1
Lab
Design a better TV/DVD Remote

Week 2 – Understanding Users

Required Reading:
Krug: Chapter 2
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes: Chapter 14
Jones: Chapter 5
Interaction Design: Chapters 2 and 3
Lab
Chunking and Foreign-Language Website Exploration

Week 3 – Principles of UX Design; Prototyping

Required Reading:
Krug: Chapter 3 through 6
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes: Chapters 3, 9, and 10
Jones: Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Johnson: Chapter 1
Interaction Design: Chapters 5 and 8
Lab:

Week 4 – Conducting User Research; Project Requirements and Planning

Required Reading:
Goodwin: Chapters 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13
Garrett: Chapters 3 and 4
Optional Reading:
Interaction Design: Chapter 7
 Lab:

Week 5 – The Structure: Information Architecture and Interaction Design

Required Reading:
Goodwin: Chapters 10, 11, 14 and 15
Garrett: Chapter 5
Optional Reading:
Interaction Design: Chapter 6
Lab:

Week 6 – Midterm 1; Usability Testing

Required Reading:
Krug: Chapters 8 and 9
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes: Chapters 11, 12, and 23
Lab:

Week 7 – The Skeleton: Interface, Navigation and Information Design

Required Reading:
Krug: Chapter 7
Goodwin: Chapter 16
Garrett: Chapter 6
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes: Chapter 5
Jones:
Johnson:
Lab:

Week 8 – Designing and Planning the User Interface

Required Reading:
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes: Chapter 7
Jones: Chapter 6
Lab:

Week 9 – Principles and Patterns in Design Language

Required Reading:
Krug: Chapter 10
 Goodwin: Chapter 17
Garrett: Chapter 7
Lab:

Week 10 – Interaction Styles

TBD

Week 11 – Guidelines and Standards

Required Reading:
Krug:
Goodwin:
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes:
Jones:
Johnson:
Lab:

Week 12 – Accessibility
Required Reading:
Krug: Chapter 11
Goodwin:
Optional Reading:
Leventhal & Barnes:
Jones:
Johnson:
Lab:

Week 13 – Midterm 2

Week 14 – TBD

Week 15 – Final Project Presentations

 COURSE OUTLINE
Note: Schedule subject to change

Week 1 Course introduction. Overview of the Internet and the World Wide Web and
related technologies. Introduction to HTML

Week 2 Basic HTML, FTP and ‘uploading’ files to a server

Lab: First Web page (due W3)

Week 3 Review of Basic HTML, ‘Good code.’ Working with images. Intro to Styles
Assignment: Resume (due W4)

Week 4 “Divs”, layout and the “box” model

Assignment: Article Layout (due W5)

Week 5 Intro to Stylesheets, div layouts continued.

Assignment: Calendar (due W6)

Week 6 Introduction to Web design, color issues,

Introduction to Graphic Production and Photoshop
Lab: Graphic redesign (due W7)
Assignment: Major project proposal (due W7)

Week 7 HTML Forms

Assignment: Survey (due W8)
Assignment: Major project front page and graphics (due W10)

Week 8 HTML Review, Using a ‘visual editor’, Introduction to Dreamweaver.

Lab: Practice exam (due W9)
Assignment: News Article (due W9)

Week 9 Written and Practical HTML Exam

Week 10 Web technologies overview, The Web development industry, Next-generation

development
Assignment: Technology Paper (due W11)
Week 11 Introduction to Dynamic HTML, ‘Behaviors’ in Dreamweaver
Lab: Behaviors (due W12)

Week 12 Imagemaps, intermediate graphics production, Animated GIFs.

Lab: Animated banner (due W13)

Week 13 TBA

Week 14 TBA

Week 15 Dreamweaver wrap-up, Taking your site beyond USC, Web Hosting and
domains

Major projects posted by 6 p.m. to assignment page

Student Presentations of Major Projects