Please note! Course description is confirmed for two academic years, which means that in general, e.g. Learning outcomes, assessment methods and key content stays unchanged. However, via course syllabus, it is possible to specify or change the course execution in each realization of the course, such as how the contact sessions are organized, assessment methods weighted or materials used.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Apply observation-based research methods to inquire about people's behavior for user experiences.
  • Analyze collected data to gain insight into people's needs, which can be fulfilled by a user experience involving an interactive artifact or installation.
  • Generate user experiences for an interactive system that addresses people's wishes and aspirations.
  • Build an interactive prototype with a suitable fidelity level to evaluate user experience for a given project.
  • Evaluate the overall user experience of an interaction design with appropriate evaluation methods.

Credits: 6

Schedule: 10.01.2025 - 14.02.2025

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Andres Lucero Vera

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content
  • valid for whole curriculum period:

    The course will introduce the fundamentals of user experience and interaction design, for MA-level students. Theories, methodologies, and pragmatic considerations on design for the interaction between humans and a wide range of systems and services are covered, from desktop computers to embedded and ubiquitous systems. By participating in the course, students get acquainted with practical methods and tools needed to grow to a role of user experience or interaction designer in industry.

Assessment Methods and Criteria
  • valid for whole curriculum period:

    Assessment of learning takes place at the end of the course to establish student performance. A final grade is determined by the following:

    • Group project: 50%
    • Individual active participation: 50% (asking questions and making comments during class, showing up to every class on time and staying until the end of each session).
    • Contact teaching: for every missed session, a student's final grade will be lowered by 1 point, until reaching the minimum attendance of 80%.

Workload
  • valid for whole curriculum period:

    • Workload total hours: 162 (=6 ECTS)

      • Guided studying, contact teaching: 41
      • Independent studying: 88
      • Time to think: 32
      • Giving course feedback: 1

DETAILS

Study Material
  • valid for whole curriculum period:

    The course materials first consist of slides prepared for each lecture, which are shared with students before each class. Materials also consist of different artifacts created and used by the teacher in their (industrial) research work.

    In addition, reading materials consist of the Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction book by Rogers, Y., Sharp, H., & Preece, J. (2023). In addition, further reading materials that are available to students online through the Aalto library are included at the end of each lecture in the slides.

Substitutes for Courses
Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information
  • valid for whole curriculum period:

    Teaching Language: English

    Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Spring III
    2025-2026 Spring III

    Registration:

    Registration for Courses in Sisu. Minimum number of students 10, maximum 50. Students who have completed Bachelor's Degree will be prioritized.

    Priority order for selection of students:

    1. CoID students;
    2. USchool students;
    3. SCI CCIS/HCI students and ENG Mechanical Engineering / Product Development students;
    4. Exchange students;
    5. Other ARTS Design MA students;
    6. Other Aalto students

    Otherwise, priority order to courses is according to the order of priority decided by the Academic committee for School of Arts, Design and Architecture https//www.aalto.fi/en/services/registering-to-courses-and-the-order-of-priority-at-aalto-arts