User-Centered Research and Evaluation (UCRE)

Course Information

Course Number

HCI Undergraduate: 05-410
HCI Graduate: 05-610

Program Requirement

This is a required course for
MHCI
BS in HCI
Additional Major in Interdisciplinary HCI

Course Description

User-Centered Research & Evaluation teaches a mixed-methods approach to investigating complex challenges through observational research, interviews, usability evaluations, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Emphasis is placed on developing a deep understanding of people's behaviors, needs, and motivations, and the contexts in which technology is used.

Working in interdisciplinary teams, students apply these methods to a realistic technology challenge, learning how to synthesize research into meaningful insights, identify opportunities for innovation, and communicate findings to stakeholders. By the end of the course, students are prepared to use evidence-based research to inform the design, development, and evaluation of human-centered technologies.

This is a companion course to courses in interaction design (05-650) and software implementation (05-630, 05-631). The course is open to undergrads and graduate-level non-HCI majors. First-year students (freshmen) must get permission from the instructor.
 

*Note on scheduling: 

UCRE involves both lecture and extensive practice opportunities. Typically, lectures occur on Wednesdays with the associated practice session happening in the lab section on Monday. However, there are some weeks in which both days are needed for lectures, and some weeks in which both days are needed for more extensive practice. Therefore, lecture and lab sections are reserved on both days, but will never overlap.

Semester Offered and Units

Semester: Fall and Spring
Undergraduate: 12 units
Graduate: 12 units

Enrollment Requirements

When registering for this course, undergraduate students are automatically placed the wait list and will be manually added to the class by the academic coordinator based on several factors: whether or not they are in the additional HCI major, their year in school (e.g. seniors, juniors, etc.) and the current semester. In the Fall, this course is NOT open to students outside the HCI major. However, in the Spring semester, the course is open to all students.

Syllabus

Course Syllabus
CMU authentication only

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