Topic outline

  • CS-E4900 - User-Centered Methods for Product and Service Design

    These MyCourses pages will be updated for the Autumn 2023 course in August.

    The course will be given on campus and starts on:

    Monday 4.9.2023 10:15 - 12:00 in Lecture hall T2 (CS building 1st floor, next to the main entrance)

    First lecture has compulsory attendance in order to be admitted to the course.

    Send all your questions and requests to:

    cs-e4900@aalto.fi

    Collaboration Rules

    In this course, you are encouraged to discuss course related perspectives and ideas with other students and the course staff, but all text and other contents that you submit must be written/made by yourself. You can use ideas that you find online, but you are not allowed to copy text from sources without referencing it properly and according to academic best practices.

    You are not allowed to submit any text or images that are e.g. generated by tools like ChatGPT or other generative AI tools.

    Guidance for the use of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning at Aalto University


    Learning Objectives

    • To be able to explain and apply methods for usability research emphasising:
      • methods for user research at the beginning of the user-centred design process in gathering user requirements for development;
      • tools and methods for analysing qualitative data.
    • To be able to search for relevant scientific publications.
    • To be able to write academically and reference properly.

    Main Activities

    1. Read through the provided materials (+1 of your own choosing) on user research methodology and write a reflective essay. After writing the essay you must also read and review three of your fellow students' essays.
    2. In assigned groups of 4-5 students:
      • Conduct a small observation and interview field study
      • Analyse your findings in a series of workshops and present your results as your final pitch.

    Selection Criteria

    The number of participants will be limited (120). Registrations will be prioritized in the following order:

    1. The students that have the course as a mandatory or optional part in SSE, Information Networks, ICT Innovation HCID, or HCI majors,
    2. The students that have the course as a mandatory or optional part in SSE, Information Networks, uSchool, or HCI minors,
    3. The students that have the course as an elective part of their major,
    4. The students that have the course as an elective part of their minor, and
    5. All other students based on registration order.