MSc in Computing Interaction Design
Unique Features
The integration of both technical and creative skills that are needed for usable successful interactive products.
In-depth knowledge of the user, reflecting the state of the art of research and practice in industry and academia.
Close involvement of speakers from industry and access to a network of interaction design employers.
Careers advice and assistance with CV preparation and job applications
Course Content
Interaction design is becoming more challenging because of advances in technology – pervasive, ubiquitous, multimodal and adaptive – are changing the nature of interactive systems such as those for the internet, interactive TV, games and mobile devices.
The context is further complicated when these changes are combined with newer development processes focused on rapid application development, agile and extreme programming and the recognition that users need to be placed at the centre of design process.
Given this scenario, this programme focuses on a specific element of the systems design process – namely the capture of requirements, the design of user interactions and their presentation to the user in increasingly creative formats.
The Programme addresses three key strands of study. These strands provide a coherency and structure to the Programme which will enable students to get maximum benefit from the Programme. The strands within the Programme are:
Current Design Practice
This strand focuses on the methods of analysis and design currently used in Industry. The focus on interaction design allows students to gain an insight into a vast array of interactive systems in different platforms, including mobile. The strand further develops this theme by providing students with a thorough grounding in the current highly user oriented aspects of the IT industry. As new technologies emerge their integration into users’ everyday lives is of outmost importance.
Advances in Technology
This strand provides students with a focus on the key interactive technologies that underpin new paradigms of interaction. Students develop detailed practical knowledge cutting edge areas in mobile devices, multimedia technology and social software.
Management and Social, Legal and Ethical Issues
This strand enables students to gain a detailed awareness of the key issues that surround the design and integration of interactive systems, with an emphasis on the challenges posed by participatory design. Students will gain knowledge of the change management issues facing
organizations as they introduce user-centred design and development methods as well as the legal and social issues surrounding this area.
Modules
Design for Mobile Devices
From the humble beginnings of pocket calculators and pagers, through to modern PDAs and portable games consoles, the acceptance and widespread use of mobile devices has grown exponentially in the last forty years as has the technology. Multifunctional devices combining telephony, wireless networking and multimedia capture and playback are now commonplace. This module explores the unique issues and opportunities that designing for mobile devices present, such as limited design spaces, presentation and accessibility issues and design for multi-platform applications. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the design process and hand-on experience in developing for a variety of contemporary devices.
User Centred Design
This module aims to provide the student with a good understanding of user-centred design (UCD) principles and frameworks. This is accomplished by introducing the student to various requirement elicitation and evaluation techniques involving users, including the practice of adopting a socio-technical approach for the design of interactive systems. All phases of the process will be described, critically analysed and exemplified. The practical exposition UCD techniques will be executed through the use of low fidelity prototyping scenarios. The integration of UCD with novel software developments methods, such as Agile, is also discussed.
On completion of this module the students will have understood the way in which UCD and prototyping techniques are used within the general practice of software engineering.
Advanced Rich Media
This module provides the essential knowledge and skills concerning the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and the major phenomena surrounding them. HCI itself is an interdisciplinary area. It is emerging as a specialty concern within several disciplines such as computer science, psychology and industrial design, each with different emphases. In this module the focus is on computing aspects of HCI – the application, design and engineering of human interfaces,
On completion of this module the students will have understood the way in which knowledge of human computer interaction is used within the general practice of software engineering.
Interactive Systems Prototyping
Prototyping is particularly meaningful as a design model for developing interactive software and systems. The process of putting together, and iteratively refining, a working model (prototype) in order to test designs, illustrate ideas or features and to gather user feedback is well-suited to software and systems where there is a high degree of interaction.
This module provides an in-depth understanding of prototyping in all its forms. Utilising standard scripting languages, the module also provides students with the opportunity to explore and exploits the use of prototyping in the specification, design and development of an interaction-intensive digital artefact.
Designing Social Software
This module explores the use of the world wide web (www) as a mechanism for the creation and support of social networks and as an enabler for collaborative cognition and communities of practice.
The growth of the social web (Web 2.0) is considered from psychosocial, historical and technical standpoints. Students will have the opportunity to develop their design knowledge and technical skills within the context of Web 2.0, in order to produce social applications. Such applications may be designed from the bottom up, or be the combination (mashup) of content from more than one third party source accessed via public interfaces or APIs (application programming interfaces).
Research Methods
This module provides a grounding in research methods which is at Masters level. The module is free-standing, but links easily with subsequent or concurrent preparation of a dissertation. The module addresses core content areas appropriate to research in a management context, and supports participants to achieve appropriate levels of competence in these areas. It will be equally relevant to all participants who wish to broaden their armoury of research tools, and deepen their understanding of issues relating to management research – whether that is for work-related purposes or in support of further academic work.
The module is intended to equip participants with an overview of research methods across a broad range of management contexts. It builds on technical expertise which the students may have from previous – or may acquire concurrently as they study this module.
Dissertation
The dissertation provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate the mastery of a particular subject area by the completion of an extended piece of self-managed research. The aim of the dissertation is to develop and test your ability to conceptualise, appraise and critically evaluate a significant topic in the field of the Masters through a process of research and present findings in the form of a 15,000 word dissertation.
jose.abdelnour-nocera@tvu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer
Institute for Information Technology
Thames Valley University
Room TC371
St Mary’s Road, Ealing – London W5 5RF
