teaching - gis user interface design

Most of the information we work with has a spatial notion. We are interested in learning how long it takes us to get to the movie theatre, we search the quickest route from one place to the next, or we look at our neighbourhood by using satellite imagery that is freely available in the Internet.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in all their different forms, i.e. mobile, web, 3D, and desktop GIS, provide means to achieve all this. But they have a lot to accomplish, i.e. entering, storing, representing, and analyzing the geographic data, so it would be a miracle if they were without fault and easy to use. Which they are not!
They mix metaphors, they intimidate users by using technical jargon, they offer bad and even worse messages and help, and they are still far from being interoperable. In fact, they often make the use of data provided by a colleague and taken from a different GIS impossible! This will all be part of this course, so be prepared for some interesting news on GIS.

Before we can come to GIS, their usability problems (and solutions), we need to take a look at the roots to understand what we ourselves can (and what the software vendors should) do.
Thus, what you can expect in this course is that you ...

• ... develop an understanding what Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability is and what it has to do with you as a user and as a developer
• ... learn to distinguish between the real world and the system world
• ... get introduced to important design principles that you might want to take into account in your own design efforts
• ... learn and apply techniques to assess user requirements and functional requirements
• ... learn simple "to-go" techniques to investigate (evaluate) user interfaces
• ... investigate various GIS on their usability
• ... learn about customization
• ... learn about new ways of designing interfaces

You should …

• ... have good general computer (software) skills
• ... be familiar with the internet and be used to surfing the net for information
• ... have good knowledge in at least one major GIS, hopefully having seen others in work, too.

We won't be able to do much programming, but it would certainly be a plus to the general skills required in this course.

The course will be split into 50 percent lectures and 50 percent exercises, paper presentation, and discussion. It will end with either a written exam or other proof of your gained knowledge.

The course will address diverse issues and the topic list will be like the following:

• Introduction
• Human-Computer Interaction vs. Human Factors vs. Usability Engineering vs. User Interface Design vs. Interaction Design vs. …
• Cognition
• Design Principles
  • Affordances / Constraints
  • Colour
  • Gestalt Principles
  • Fitts Law
  • ...
• Conceptualizing Interaction
  • Mental Models
  • Metaphor Design
• User Interface Design Lifecycle
  • User Requirements Analysis
  • System Design
  • System Construction
  • System Validation
• Customization
• Ontologies in User Interface Design
  • User Interface Languages
  • Geographic Languages

Title:The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman

Year:2002

Description:The "mother" of all usability books. He was the first to write about un-usable interfaces. This book is at least in the beginning very entertaining and helpful.

Title:Cognitive Psychology by John R. Anderson

Year:2004

Description:Not easy to read, but there are many very good points mentioned in this book. If you are interested in an in-depth text on recognition, memory, learning, ... this is the book to go for.

Title:Usability Engineering by Jakob Nielsen

Year:1994

Description:Excellent introduction. The author introduces in a very easy manner the complex issues of Usability Engineering. Probably one of the best books ever on this topic, but unfortunately too self-centered.

Title: The Elements of User Interface Design by Theo Mandel.

Year:1997

Description:Covers the same issues as the book by J. Nielsen but is much less self-centered and thus offers tons of valuable reading recommendations. Personally, I'd rather read this book, but the one by J. Nielsen is the classic recommendation.

Title:Interaction Design. Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. by Jennifer Preece.

Year:2002

Description:A highly recommended book with tons of well written ideas. Numerous examples help understand the topics and there is even a related website.

Title: Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests: How to Plan, Design and Conduct Effective Tests (Wiley Technical Communication Library) by Jeffrey Rubin.

Year:2001

Description:The best book for anyone interested in understanding what it takes to test the usability of a product. Thorough introduction.

Title: User and Task Analysis for Interface Design by JoAnn T. Hackos and Janice C. Redish.

Year:1998

Description:Again an extremely well readable book worth every minute you spend with it. The two authors bring user and task analysis to you!