Course syllabus

Course-PM

DAT356 / DIT046 DAT356 / DIT046 Requirements and user experience lp2 HT21 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Computer Science and Engineering

Contact details

Examiner:   Jennifer Horkoff

Course responsible:   Jennifer Horkoff

jenho@chalmers.se

Course Assistants:

DAT356/DIT046	Anis	Bourbia	gusbourban@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Altug	Altetmek	gusaltetal@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Leïla	Bencheikh	bencheikh.leila92@gmail.com
DAT356/DIT046	Gregory	Sastrawidjaya	gsastraw@gmail.com
DAT356/DIT046	Fayona	Cowperthwaite	guscowfa@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Sandra	Smoler Eisenberg	gussmosa@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Victoria	Vu	gusvuvij@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Ann-Sofie	Eriksson	guserianfy@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Nils	Dunlop	gusdunlni@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Annan	Lao	guslaoan@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Amanda	de Souza Turquis	gusdesam@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Richard	Novenius	gusnovri@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Negin	Hashmati	gushashne@student.gu.se
DAT356/DIT046	Khan Mohammad	Habibullah	khanmo@chalmers.se

TAs Who is Grading What

Course Representatives:

GU

Sabin-Daniel Sirbu <gussirbsa@student.gu.se>

Aleksey Zorin <guszorial@student.gu.se>

Shariq Shahbaz <gusshahbsh@student.gu.se>

Kevin Collins <guscollke@student.gu.se>

Aditya Aniruddha Khadkikar <guskhadad@student.gu.se>

Chalmers

Emil Holmsten <emilcarlholmsten@gmail.com>

Jonatan Axetorn <jonatankattegatt@gmail.com>                    

Course evaluation

• Final meeting protocol
• Questionnaire results DIT046
• Questionnaire results DAT356

 

Course purpose

The course provides students with an introduction to the field of requirements engineering and user experience. It provides a solid foundation by defining foundational concepts like stakeholders, requirements, usability and specifications. It also presents the process of identifying, modeling and documenting the requirements of a software product. Emphasis is given to concepts and techniques such as quality requirements, creative requirements, scenarios, and personas. The second part of the course focuses on usability aspects.

The course will focus on implementing the requirements gathered in the first part as part of UX designs. Further, the course presents methods of prototyping (for example, digital mockups) and presents some techniques to evaluate the usability of a software product (for instance, via user studies). Finally, the course will provide students with hands-on experience in designing graphical user interfaces (GUI). 

Schedule

TimeEdit

Course literature

Course Book for UX Part

Designing Interfaces 3rd or 2nd Edition, by Tidwell, Brewer & Valencia (2nd edition by Tidwell only)

         

Note 1: If you are buying the book new, buy the 3rd edition, but you can probably find 2nd edition versions used.   Don't buy the first edition.  

Note 2: You can find a PDF of this book online (2nd edition), but if there is a hall exam exam, the exam is open book, and you cannot bring the PDF to the exam.  If you want to use the book in the hall exam, you need a real physical book.

Course Readings for RE Part

For the RE part of the course, the main source is the course slides.   But we also have a few  additional papers to supplement the material.   These papers are available for free through Canvas.    Some of these are copyright, so don't post them openly online.  Some of the papers are to read, and some are for reference, in case more help is needed with course topics.

Papers to Read

See the folder here:  https://chalmers.instructure.com/courses/16202/files/folder/Readings/Mandatory%20Readings

Papers to Use as a Reference (look up material if needed)

See the folder here:  https://chalmers.instructure.com/courses/16202/files/folder/Readings/Optional%20Readings%20(for%20Reference)

Course design

The teaching consists of lectures, group work, exercises, as well as supervision in connection to the exercises.

Note:  in Autumn 2021 we will be returning back to physical lectures and question sessions as per mandates from both GU and Chalmers.  However, it is my intention to stream lectures (connection allowing), and to record lectures (pending permission from all students in each lecture, as per GDPR).   Help sessions will be both in person and through Zoom.  The final written hall exam in January will be a physical exam in Gothenburg.  

This course will use Canvas for all communication and assignment submission.  Any real-time lectures will take place using online communication platforms such as Zoom.  

Communication Policy:  whenever possible, questions should be asked in Discussions forum of Canvas.  You can email the instructor directly (jenho@chalmers.se), but any question which is generally applicable to class will be directed to the Canvas discussion forum. 

Language of instruction: English 

Changes made since the last occasion

Since the last instance, we are going back to in person activities.   The former exercise session has been changed to give more time for lectures and live examples.  

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

Knowledge and understanding

• Identify key RE and UX concepts such as functional and non-functional requirements, usability, and UX design patterns
• Describe important differences between a variety of requirements modeling techniques
• Describe the benefits and drawbacks between specific elicitation techniques
• Explain the role of verification and validation in RE and UX

Skills and abilities

• Apply concepts to write good-quality requirements
• Draw several types of requirements models
• Capture personas and scenarios
• Apply UX design patterns to create prototypes from requirements
• Conduct and report on user studies

Judgement and approach

• Evaluate and select between available elicitation techniques
• Evaluate benefits and drawbacks of different requirements representations
• Evaluate the appropriateness of specific UX patterns for a design
• Evaluate and improve upon a UX design

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen (GU) and Study plan (Chalmers)

Examination form

NOTE:  the 2021 version of the syllabi has introduced an error that will be corrected in 2022.   The syllabi says take-home exam, while the examination is a written hall exam as in the past.  

Sub-courses

1. Written Hall Examination (Tentamen), 4.5 credits
   Grading scale: Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3) and Fail (U)
2. Assignments (Inlämningsuppgifter), 3 credits
   Grading scale: Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3) and Fail (U)

Assessment

The course is examined by an individual written exam carried out in an examination hall at the end of course and written assignments normally carried out in groups of students.
The assignments part is examined on the basis of solutions to compulsory problems handed in during the course and on the basis of individual contribution to the group work.
Retake examinations of the assignments part consist of written group or individual assignments.

There will be three group written assignments.  Each assignment is equally weighted.  Specific requirements for the assignments will be provided on Canvas.

Students are required to complete written self- and peer-assessment forms during the course which will be part of the assessment of the student's individual contribution to the project.  The instructor may adjust the individual grades of a student depending on this evaluation. 

Grading Scale
The grading scale comprises: Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3) and Fail (U).

Students receive grades on the assignments and the exam parts of the course. To pass the whole course, students must pass both the assignment and exam parts of the course.
If both parts have a passing grade, the final grade is determined by combining the scales for both the exam and the assignments, with the exam grade weighted slightly higher. 

Examples:
U on exam, 3 on assignments:  overall grade of U

3 on exam, 4 on assignments: overall grade of 3

3 on exam, 5 on assignments: overall grade of 4

Assignment and Exam Grade Calculations

The final grade for the assignment part of the course (3 credits) will be an average of the grade for each of the three assignments.  In order to pass the assignments, you must get at least 40% on all three assignments.   If each assignments has a grade of higher than 40% and If the average grade across the assignments is passing, the students will receive a passing grade for the assignment part of the course (either 3, 4 or 5).  Failing one of three assignments does not necessarily mean there will be a failing grade for the assignments part of the course, as long as the grade for that assignment is 40% or more. 

Passing grades for the assignment parts of the course starts at 60%.   For the exam, passing is 50%.

The average grade for the assignments will be converted to Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3) and Fail (U) as follows.

Grading Scale for Assignments

Average % Grade	Final Grade
0-59%	U
60-69%	3
70-79%	4
80-100%	5

Grading Scale for the Exam

Average % Grade	Final Grade
0-49%	U
50-64%	3
65-79%	4
80-100%	5

 

Failing Assignments

If the final grade of the assignments is a failing grade (one assignment <40% or average <60%), all three assignments must redone and resubmitted with a new case.  The redone assignments are handed in again at a date after course completion.  A new case will be provided.  Information on the resubmission and new case can be found here:  https://chalmers.instructure.com/courses/16202/discussion_topics/92111    Redone assignments can be done in groups or individually.

 Assignment Re-submission Dates

 Note: if you and/or your group intend to resubmit the failed assignment part of the course, please notify the course responsible two weeks in advance.

Assignment re-submissions are due on the following dates.

• First Round:  March 18^th, 2022
• Second Round:  May 13^th, 2022
• Third Round:  August 12^th, 2022

Failing the Exam

Retake examinations of the assignments part consist of written individual assignments. If a student, who has failed the same examined component twice, wishes to change examiner before the next examination, a written application shall be sent to the department  responsible for the course and shall be granted unless there are special reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6, Section 22 of Higher Education Ordinance).

In cases where a course has been discontinued or has undergone major changes, the student shall normally be guaranteed at least three examination occasions (including the ordinary examination) during a period of at least one year from the last time the course was given.

Examination  Dates (Both DIT046 and DAT356)

See the following for any updates: 

https://studentportal.gu.se/english/my-studies/cse/Examination (Links to an external site.)

 Authorized examination aids:  Tidwell's “Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design.  3rd or 2nd Edition”

Note: if the exam is a hall exam, the book must be a  bound book, not a printed copy.

Schedule

Study Period: 1 November 2021- 18 December 2021

Lecture session 1: Monday at 10:15-12

Lecture session 2: Wednesday at 10:15-12, roughly every other Wednesday 13:15-15 

Assignment Help session: Every other Wednesday at 13:15-15 with possible extension to 17

Location:   The main lectures alternate between Babord and Styrbord.   Assignment help is in these rooms or Omega, Alfa, Beta or Gamma.  See schedule below and TimeEdit.  We have chosen large rooms to accommodate distancing, if possible.  

Also Zoom:  https://chalmers.zoom.us/j/69346659933 

A preliminary schedule will be available below in the course summary, topics and times may be changed during the course.

Legend:  Lecture (L), Examples (E), Open Rooms (O), Guest Lecture (GL), Question Session (Q), Assignments (A)

Week	Date	Time	Location	L/E/A#	Topics
44	Nov 1, 2021	10:15-12:00	Babord	L1	Course Intro & Practicalities
44	Nov 3, 2021	10:15-12:00	Babord	L2	Requirements Creativity, Scoping & Modeling (Context, Goals)
44	Nov 3, 2021	13:15-15:00	Styrbord	E	Examples from Lecture Material
45	Nov. 8, 2021	8:15-10:00	Styrbord	L3	Requirements Modeling (Goals, Use Cases, Customer Journey Map)
45	Nov. 10, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L4	Requirements Concepts, Documenting & Quality (including sustainability)
45	Nov. 10, 2021	13:15-15:00	Babord	E	Examples from Lecture Material
46	Nov. 15, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L5	Requirements Elicitation, Personas, Scenarios, Prioritization
46	Nov. 17, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	GL	Intro to UX & Prototyping
46	Nov. 17, 2021	13:15-15:00	Babord/Alfa	Q	A1 Questions (Jennifer/TAs)
46	Nov. 17, 2021	15:00-17:00	Babord/Alfa	Q	A1 Questions (TAs)
46	Nov. 19, 2021	12:00 AM		A1	Assignment 1 Due
47	Nov. 22, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L6	UX Design Patterns 1
47	Nov. 24, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L7	Guest Lecture RE:  Mikael Söderholm CarWeaver, eART Enabling Tools, Volvo Cars
47	Nov. 24, 2021	13:15-15:00	Babord	E	Examples from Lecture Material
48	Nov. 29, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L8	UX Design Patterns 2 & Mobile Patterns
48	Dec. 1, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L9	UX Design Principles & Usability
48	Dec. 1, 2021	13:15-15:00	Babord/Gamma	Q	A2 Questions (Jennifer/TAs)
48	Dec. 1, 2021	13:15-15:00	Babord/Gamma	Q	A2 Questions (TAs)
48	Dec. 3, 2021	12:00 AM		A2	Assignment 2 Due
49	Dec. 6, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L10	Usability Testing
49	Dec. 8, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L11	Videos, Validation, & Verification
49	Dec. 8, 2021	13:15-15:00	Babord	E	Examples from Lecture Material
50	Dec. 13, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	GL	Guest Lecture
50	Dec. 15, 2021	10:15-12:00	Styrbord	L12	Course Review
50	Dec. 15, 2021	13:15-15:00	Beta/Delta	E7	A3 Questions/User Studies (Jennifer, TAs)
50	Dec. 15, 2021	13:15-15:00	Beta/Delta	E7	A3 Questions/User Studies (TAs)
51	Dec. 17, 2021	12:00 AM		A3	Assignment 3 Due
3	January 12, 2022			Exam	Double Check Exam Time and Date

Additional information

Plagiarism or free-riding is not allowed; cases of such will lead to grade adjustments and potentially failing assignments or the exam.

See Gothenburg University Rules regarding plagiarism: http://studentportal.gu.se/english/study-environment-and-rules/plagiarism-and-cheating/