90720 - Usability & User Experience Design

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Docente: Fabio Vitali
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: INF/01
  • Language: English

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is able to design, implement and evaluate software systems with respect to the dimensions of practicality, experience, affection, meaning and value that they may have on the target audience. Characteristics such as ease of use, usefulness and efficiency are fundamental for the positive evaluation of the user experience of the system. The student will be able to focus the functional analysis of the software on the characteristics and needs of the target audience, will be able to drive the development process so as to guarantee a constant connection between the technical and implementation features and the expectation of the audience, and will be able to evaluate whether and according to which metrics a software satisfies these expectations.

Course contents

Teaching will be mostly in English (some explanations will be repeated in Italian if needed and when asked). The exam will be allowed in both Italian and English. The course content is divided in distinct parts:

  1. Background The evolution of the discipline from Human Computer Interaction to User Experience Design. A description of its scope: the human, the computer, and their interaction.
  2. Usability analysis and design A systematic discussion of the techniques and standards for the management of the process of user experience design, with particular attention to the phases of usability analysis (with and without the participation of users) and the user- and goal-oriented usability design methodologies.
  3. Guidelines, patterns and methods for usability design A discussion, with historical aspects, of the framework on which the concrete aspects of usability design is based. we will also give strong attention to the problem of usability for web applications and mobile apps.

Readings/Bibliography

Parts of the course are based on:

  • Human Computer Interaction, Alan Dix, Janet E. Finlay, Gregory D. Abowd, Russell Beale. Prentice Hall; ISBN: 978-0132390484
  • The Design of Everyday Things , Donald A. Norman, MIT Print, January 2014, ISBN: 978-0262525671
  • Elements of User Experience,The: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond, 2nd Edition, Jesse James Garrett, New Riders, 2011, ISBN: 978-0321683687

Teaching methods

Teaching will be mostly in English. The course is centered around on the attendance to face-to-face classes and the implementation (in group or individually) of a few small projects, such as the usability analysis of an existing application and the design or redesign of a computer-based service.

Assessment methods

The assessment is based on the evaluation of a project to be carried out individually or in a team of 2-3 people plus a written test at the end of the course. Foreign students may want to approach the teacher and agree on a project customized to their needs and interests.

The final score is in the range 0 to 30.


Teaching tools

The web site of the course virtuale.unibo.it contains slides, discussions and tools for the successful completion of the programme

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Vitali