Course Number: IAT 452
Course Title: Design Environments
Credit Hours: 3 Vector: 3-0-2 (lecture-tutorial-lab)
Course Description
Examines how people work with computers to do design tasks and how design environments can be designed and adapted to better support design work. Covers the structure of design tasks, how computers support design, the architecture of systems that support design work and gives practical experience in changing design systems to better serve given tasks. Uses contemporary design systems such as games authoring environments, drawings systems and parametric design systems as examples.
Prerequisite: Completion of 48 credits, including CMPT 225.
Recommended: None.
Corequisite: None.
Special Instructions: None.
Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved:
None.
This is one of five core upper division courses in the Technology in Arts and Design (TAD) Stream. Together with the four other core courses it covers the key technologies and methodologies applied in the creative, design and other human-centred applications. Specifically, this course concentrates on systems that support design work, where “design” is taken broadly as a process of making proposals for change. It is common practice that such systems are adapted by end-user organizations. This course will provide a robust intellectual structure for and practical experience in such adaptation.
Will this be a required or elective course in the curriculum; probable enrolment when offered?
This is a core required course for the Technology in Arts and Design Stream. It is an elective for other streams. The expected registration would be 30 students per offering.
Indicate Semester and Year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter.
First offering: Fall 2005.
Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course? Will the course be taught by sessional or limited term faculty?
Rob Woodbury, Brian Fisher, Tom Calvert. Faculty teaching in the Interaction Design Stream (Jim Budd, Russell Taylor and Ron Wakkary) have needed expertise for aspects of this course.
Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?
No.
Is this course considered a `duplicate' of any current or prior course under the University's duplicate course policy? Specify, as appropriate.
No.
Note: Senate has approved (S.93-11) that no new course should be approved by Senate until funding has been committed for necessary library materials. Each new course proposal must be accompanied by a library report and, if appropriate, confirmation that funding arrangements have been addressed.
Provide details on how existing instructional resources will be redistributed to accommodate this new course. For instance, will another course be eliminated or will the frequency of offering of other courses be reduced; are there changes in pedagogical style or class sizes that allow for this additional course offering.
Does the course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?
No.
Does this course require computing resources (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.
The course requires access to a computer lab with appropriate hardware and software. Licenses for exemplary systems will be required, for instance, Bentley Microstation, Virtools, and Maya. There are many open source authoring tools available as well.
People work with computers to produce representations of artifacts. Important side-effects include learning about the representation, problem being addressed and system being used. The task is characterized by high cognitive load, performance measured by quality of artifact produced and change of user internal state as a result of using the tool. An extension of the task is doing all of this in collaboration with others.
The complex task of representation authoring has several facets. These include the structure of human cognition when engaged in complex tasks; models of learning; methods for evaluating task performance; the structure of suitable models and metaphors upon which representations can be based; interaction design for representation authoring and the actual symbol systems that must be implemented to support the task.
The course will cover each of these issues through lectures and workshops. Using actual authoring systems, for example, a games authoring system, students will observe how such systems support (and fail to support) work; design and implement new interface devices and system operations; and evaluate their work in use. Most contemporary authoring systems enable changes to interface and functionality through scripting languages and plug-ins – a practical outcome of this course is knowing how to adapt tools to work, rather than simply accepting what is delivered from a software firm.
Assessable work will include students proposing, designing, building and testing elements of such systems. A final examination will test for understanding of the generic material.
Course outline (as topics)
Task analysis of representation authoring. Schon’s model of reflective practice. Cognition, learning, meta-modeling, reuse, and workflow as issues.
Human performance in cognitively complex tasks.
Performance metrics.
Design models for representation authoring. Single person-single representation. Alternatives. Collaboration.
The architecture of systems for representation authoring, including interface, representation, representation conversion.
Designing interfaces
Testing. Measures of system performance. Measures of artifact performance.
Grading will be based on performance in a mid-term exam, individual assignments and a team based course project. Assignments 30%, mid-term 30% and course project 40%.
We have yet to locate a single text that covers the range of topics addressed in this course. While there are several books published in this area, to our knowledge there is not yet a definitive text. We aim to put together a course pack using reference material and other books on ubiquitous environments.