CS352 - Information System Design
Time
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM, Monday and Wednesday
Location
Mudd 412A
Textbooks
- Greenbaum, J., & Kyng, M. (1991). Design at work: Cooperative design
o
computer systems. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability engineering. Chestnut Hill, MA:
AP Professional.
- Norman, D. A. (1990). The design of everyday things. New York:
Doubleday.
- CS 352 course pack
Course content
The design of information systems
has historically been somewhat notorious for being haphazard
and inattentive to the needs and desires of the people who will actually use
the systems. As with any other artifact or tool, good design
is necessary to maximize the productivity and effectiveness of any
information system.
The world we live in contains many examples of poorly designed systems,
ranging from user-unfriendly operating systems to VCR control panels to
the Aegis missile system
(which the crew of the USS Vincennes used to identify an ascending passenger
airliner as a descending fighter jet). This course will attempt to identify
aspects of good and bad design, with the ultimate goal of turning all of us
into better designers of information systems. To this end, we will explore
design principles, methods, intuitions, and examples.
The course will include class discussion of a variety of readings, some
in-class activities, small projects, and a large semester project.
Class discussion
Most class sessions will involve presentation and discussion of one or
more readings from one of the textbooks or the course pack. Every student
will have responsibilities associated with each reading. In addition, there
will be one student assigned to lead and/or manage the discussion each day.
In keeping with the college-wide desire to integrate the development of
writing skills into the curriculum, there will be a relatively heavy
concentration in this course on reading and writing skills.
At the beginning of each class session, every student must bring a writeup
and list of questions pertaining to the day's reading. The writeups should
include discussion of at least the following questions:
- What are the main points of the reading?
- Are there any ways the authors could have improved the presentation
of their points?
- What does this reading say or suggest about design of information
systems in particular?
- After reading the material, how will you change your approach to
information system design in general, and your semester project in
particular?
The writeups should be written in a professional style, using grammatical
and correctly spelled English sentences. The writeups should be in essay
format (not a ``laundry list'' of sentences), and approximately
1 to 2 pages long. They should use a standard bibliography and refernce
style, when appropriate.
The list of questions should include 1 to 3 questions the student has about
the reading, and may be presented in list format. The questions should
be used by the student during class discussion, and may be turned in at
the end of class.
The student discussion leader for each class session will present a summary
and analysis of the reading (roughly along the lines of the writeups),
and will lead a discussion involving the student questions about the writeup.
Discussion leaders are encouraged to do extra work to find topics or answers
to questions related to the reading, and may use whatever presentation
materials they feel are most effective.
Class activities and small projects
During the course of the semester, some class time will involve class
activities in small groups, followed by presentation of results and
experiences by each group. In addition, there will be a couple of small
projects related to information systems design, which students will complete
outside of class.
Semester project
The most significant piece of work in this course will be large group
projects, presented at the end of the semester. Each group will identify a
client and a type of information system to develop. The group will design the
information system in close cooperation with requirements specified by the
client. We will brainstorm project and client ideas in class, but ultimately
each group is responsible to generate their own project and client. I will
stay out of the client-designer relationship as much as possible (hopefully
entirely) so groups can establish their own, ``uncontaminated'' rapport with
the client. When identifying potential clients, however, you may tell them
that I will be happy to answer any questions they have about their role in
your projects.
When choosing a project it is very important to satisfy the following:
- The project will address a significant information-processing problem
for the client
- There is enough design work for the entire group to be actively involved
- The client has the time and willingness to work with the group, including
a handful of meetings during the semester to consult
on design issues, requirements, and testing
Grading
I will compute final grades for the course using the following proportions:
- 15%: Class participation, including attendance at lectures and
participation in discussion
- 10%: Discussion leadership for assigned readings
- 40%: Small projects, in-class presentations, writing assignments, etc.
- 35%: Semester project
In my grading policy, I generally consider that if you do everything I ask you
to do (and do it well),
that is worth about 90% of the total points, which would be
somewhere around the A- or low A range. Earning a high A requires extra
effort or especially creative approaches to the assignments.
Late assignments
It is very inconvenient for me to accept work past the deadline, because
it complicates my grading. Late assignments will receive a penalty of
10% of the total points for each day late (so you will receive 0 for
anything more than 9 days late).
Absences
Because we only meet twice a week, and because discussion is such an important
part of this class, it is very important not to miss any class sessions.
College policy allows each student two ``unexcused'' absences without
affecting the students grade. If you have more than two unexcused absences,
it will mean you have missed a substantial percentage of the class, and it
will significantly affect your grade.
Working together
Most of the the writeups you turn in will be individual assignments,
meaning the final work you turn in must be substantially your own. Most of
the projects you work on will be group assignments, meaning the final
work you turn in must contain substantial contributions from each group
member.
In either event, I encourage you to use outside sources, papers, fellow
class members, and others
to help you complete your assignments. Relying on other
people's help does not consititute cheating. However, presenting the
results of other people's efforts as your own does constitue
cheating. Thus, you must credit the contributions of other sources
in the presentation of your work. The best way to do that is through a
standard reference style. If you have questions about using and citing
references, please ask me and/or look at examples in the readings for this
class.
Randolph M. Jones
(rjones@colby.edu)
