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Subject details

Upon successful completion of this subject you should be able to:

  1. analyse users’ needs, usability goals and user experience goals of a small-to-medium-sized software application
  2. use software and paper prototyping tools to design user interfaces that take into account human capabilities and constraints, users’ needs, usability goals and user experience goals
  3. critically analyse usability of sample interfaces and identify key features that make an outstanding user-centred interface
  4. critically evaluate the usability of a small-to-medium-sized software application
  5. create a ‘usability checklist’ that enhances the usability of a web or mobile application
  6. design a user interface, based on modelling or requirements specification
  7. motivate to your peers and IT specialists while you explain to them usability concepts, relevant alternatives, and decision recommendations
  8. work effectively in teams in the design of various components of the interface and peer-assess team members’ designs.
    • What is UCD?
    • Identifying users
    • Personas
    • The UCD design process
    • Getting Feedback
    • Interface Design
    • Interaction Patterns 1
    • UCD on mobile devices
    • Accessibility and testing
    • Analytics
    • Industry perspective (guest)
    • Revision

  • Study resources

    • Instructional methods

      • Audio/Video conferencing
      • Chat Rooms
      • Discussion forum/Discussion Board
      • E-Portfolios
      • Embedded Multimedia
      • Online Quizzes/Tests
      • Online assignment submission
      • Podcasting/Lecture capture
      • Standard Media
      • Streaming Multimedia
      • Web links

    • Online materials

      • Quizzes
      • Audio-Video streaming
      • FAQs
      • Online Assessment
      • Printable format materials
      • Simulations
      • Resources and Links

No eligibility requirements

Special requirements

  • OtherDetails -

    Stable broadband connection required to access online learning materials and live chat sessions / recordings. (note: mobile broadband users may have difficulties participating in live chat sessions) Unrestricted broadband access to use online prototyping tools such as invision an advantage.

User-centred design is a design methodology that focuses on the needs of end users; limitations of end users; preferences of end users; and business objectives. This subject is concerned with the development of interactive systems with a strong focus on user-centred design and usability principles. You will learn what characteristics of a user interface can make it easy or hard for people to use, and how to design user interfaces that take into account human capabilities and constraints. The emphasis will be on design first (iteratively, on paper or with mock-up software). The design principles you learn here will be applied in the follow up degrees in web and mobile application development.

  • Assignment 1 (20%)
  • Assignment 2 (30%)
  • Invigilated Exam (50%)

Click on the titles of the listed books below to find out more:

User-Centered Design

Travis Lowdermilk

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Related degrees

undergraduate RMI-CPT-DEG-2018

Bachelor of Information Technology
3 available majors
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  • Foundation Subjects
  • Core Subjects - Level 1
  • Core Subjects - Level 2