Description: To explore the role of the human in the design and implementation of software. To prepare students to design and evaluate the quality of an interface between computer software and the human user. After completing this course, students should understand how to design software interfaces that are appropriate for the user, be familiar with a variety of interface design strategies, and be able to evaluate the quality of a software interface.

This course will focus on the software interface between the computer and the human. Concepts in human factors will be covered, specifically in terms of designing software interfaces. We will cover theories of human-computer interaction, including human cognitive limitations, syntactic versus semantic knowledge, transitionality, and the "outside-in" design approach. We will also study guidelines for designing computer interfaces of various models, including command interfaces, menus, desktop views, and GUI interfaces.

Prerequisite: SWE 619 and SWE Foundation material. This course will include a major implementation project-programming is required.

The course syllabus is on the instructor's website: http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/classes/632/