Course Syllabus

810:171

Software Systems

Spring Semester 2001

Basics

Instructor: Eugene Wallingford

• Office: 327 Wright
• Phone: 273-5919
• E-Mail: wallingf@cs.uni.edu
• WWW: http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/

• Office Hours: click

Resources

• Required Texts:
  • Designing the User Interface, by Ben Shneiderman
  • The Case of the Killer Robot, by Richard G. Epstein

• The course web page:
  • http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/teaching/171/

• The course discussion list:
  • 810-171-01@uni.edu

Course Goals

Most of your undergraduate computer science program focuses on specific kinds of software. Even then, our focus tends to be on the relationship between the designer, or the programmer, and the software itself. This is as it should be, since you are learning how to create and use some of the most complex systems known to man.

This course takes you in a different direction. We will focus on the relationship of the software system with its environment and in particular with the people who will use it. From this perspective, the task of software designers looks quite different. They must concern themselves not only with the correctness and maintenance of software but also with its usability and its potential effects on the world at large.

This course aims to help students develop a deep understanding of the issues underlying software's role in the world. The primary component of the course does so by inviting the student to consider strategies for effective human-computer interaction. Secondary components of the course raise fundamental questions about the societal role of software systems and the software developer's concomitant professional and ethical responsibilities. We will try to consider a number of different kinds of software, from numerical applications to artificial intelligence programs, so that your experience is broad as well as deep.

By the end of the semester, you should feel comfortable:

• designing user interfaces based on basic principles of design and human psychology,
• critiquing user interfaces following the same ideas, and
• discussing rationally the software developer's professional and ethical responsibilites to software users and society as a whole.

Course Requirements

• Class sessions -- Our class meetings will consist primarily of discussion and in-class exercises. I will deliver few, if any, lectures on assigned reading. As a result, in order to participate fully in the course, you must complete assigned reading and exercises prior to the session in which we discuss them. I do not take attendance, but you will have a hard time participating in the course if you do not attend class sessions.

• Homework assignments -- Over the course of the term, you will complete a number of outside homework assignments. These assignments will involve applying techniques that you read about and discuss in class, writing essays on various topics, and perhaps running and discussing programs that I make available to you.

• Exams -- You will take two mid-term exams during the semester and a comprehensive final exam at the end of the course. The mid-term exams will last fifty minutes. Tentative dates for the exams appear on the schedule below. Ordinarily, any change to the schedule will be announced at least one week in advance.

Course Evaluation

Grades will be determined on the basis of your performance in class and on homework assignments and examinations. Final grades will be based on the following distribution:

Grades will be assigned using an absolute scale:

• 90% or above for an A,
• 80% or above for a B,
• 70% or above for a C,
• 60% or above for a D, and
• below 60% for an F.

This means that there is no curve.

Course Policies

• I try to accommodate student needs whenever possible, but I can only do so if I know about them. If you ever have to make alternate arrangements for a class session, an exam, or an assignment, please contact me in advance. The safest way to make such arrangements is by notifying me via e-mail or phone of your circumstances and of how you can be reached.

• My regularly-scheduled office hours are times when I am committed to provide assistance to you. No matter how busy I may appear when you arrive, the office hours are for you. You are welcome -- and encouraged -- to make use of that time. I am also available by appointment at other times if you cannot make an office hour.

• All assignments are due at their assigned date and time. In order to receive partial credit, always submit your best effort at that time. Late work will not be accepted.

• I encourage you to work together on homework assignments, to help you understand the problems better and to encounter different points of view about possible solutions. However, any work you submit must be your own. Additionally, any collaborations should be acknowledged explicitly in the work submitted. Undocumented or unacceptable collaboration will be considered a form of academic dishonesty.

• UNI has an established policy of academic integrity. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. See the UNI catalog for details on the university's policy.

Computing Environment

Since this is not a "programming course", our use of computing resources will be qualitatively different than in most other CS courses. First, we will use the web and e-mail to communicate with one another. I will post materials for the course to the 171 web page, and we will make use of other web-based resources when appropriate. We will also have a class-wide mailing list, by which we carry on discussion outside the confines of class meetings. Be sure that you remain current in your use of these resources!

Second, we will critique existing software systems and user interfaces on-line. This component of the course may require you to use PCs, Macintoshes, or Sun workstations. If you do not have an account on chaos, the CNS file server, please apply for one soon.

Third, we may design and implement interfaces using HTML and perhaps some other tools. You will be able to use just about any machine for these projects, since we have browsers for HTML on all platforms.

Those of you who have never used HTML, a PC, a Mac, or a Sun before can receive some hands-on training from the department's computer use specialist. As the course progresses, you can, of course, obtain help from me, your classmates, and the lab assistants whenever necessary.

Tentative Schedule

The following schedule gives a rough sketch of the topics we will cover and and the timing of our coverage. I have also included several distinguished dates this semester. As we go along, this schedule will become more complete and more accurate. Check back often!

I expect that we will cover 10 or so chapters in Designing the User Interface. We will scatter throughout the semester coverage of 6-12 topics from The Case of the Killer Robot, and several outside resources.

The FINAL EXAM is Wednesday, May 2, 2001, from 8:00 AM - 9:50 AM