Info on Exam 2, CS305, Fall 2008
FINAL: (Last updated: Nov. 16, 2:15 pm)
Final updates based on what we said in class on Friday:
Only additions to what is listed below are these topics from Powerpoint
slides, Set 2: More Detailed Design. Nothing from these slides
from slide 24 on.
- Layout principles, but nothing on Gestalt principles (don't have access to scanner at home for the promised diagram).
- Hardware issues, but nothing on the table comparing pointing devices (again, can't scan table from UIDE book today).
- Tablet PC topics -- read article on website too!
- Fitts' Law -- read article on website too! also read pp. 713-715 in book
When: The "normal" time to take Exam 2 in class will be Monday, Nov. 17, in class.
It will be designed to be a 50 minute exam, closed book and no notes.
If you there is a problem with that day for you, contact me and we can try to make other arrangments.
Format:
The exam will be closed-book and no notes. It will be a mix of short answer and "writing questions",
but it is likely that many of the questions will be concept or writing questions.
Important: As noted early in the class, part of your score will be based on how well you express your
answers using the vocabulary and terminology as defined in HCI. For example, you may identify and describe a usability
problem but not in the way that someone trained in HCI would talk about it -- you will not get full credit
in this case.
What's covered: The exam will cover Units 4 and 5 on the web site. We may not include all the topics listed under Unit 5.
The slides are available
there.
Below is a summary of the readings also shown on the website:
From the ID-book textbook (in the order studied in class)
- Chap. 2 on conceptual models and prototyping.
- Chap. 11 through 11.3
- Chap. 6 through page 240
From the website for the "Duck Book", Patterns for Effective
Interface Design, we talked about "layout" issues from Chapter 14 in relation to some of the patterns.
So look at that site and study these patterns/topics (from the list down the the left-hand side of the window):
- Center stage; Visual Framework; Card Stack Also, Two-Panel Selector; One-Window Drilldown; Extras On Demand
Web links: the only web-links
you need to read are those listed as "Other Links to Read" on the Schedule page. These are:
(a) "Six Signs...", (b) "Prototyping for Tiny Fingers"; (c) "Duck Book" site as indicated above.
Topics:
Here's a list of topics. It's not guaranteed to be complete, but it's a good start to help you study
and assess what you know.
- Conceptual models, mental models, metaphors
- Prototyping
- Why do it, when
- Low-fidelity prototypes: techniques, goals, issues
- High-fidelity prototypes
- Planning Overall Flow, Design
- Content diagrams (chapter 8); UI Flow Diagrams (slides); menu trees
- Interaction Styles
- What goes into screens, menus?
- Examples of layout patterns (see the Duck Book info above)
- Physical UI Design
- Windows/screens
- Focus: window-focus, focus within windows
- Widgets within windows: Buttons, toolbars, menus
- Example screens and windows (from slides) and issues related to those