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User Interface Design and Implementation

A composite image of a paper mockup of the interface and a screen capture of the final interface.

SKINNI (Smart Kiosk Information Navigating and Noteposting Interface), the interface for the computer kiosks installed in MIT's new Stata Center, was originally developed as a class project in Fall 2003. (Image courtesy of the SKINNI group: Max Van Kleek, Tyler Horton, and Elizabeth Boyle.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

6.831

As Taught In

Fall 2004

Level

Graduate

Translated Versions

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Course Features

Course Description

6.831 introduces the principles of user interface development, focusing on three key areas:

  • Design: How to design good user interfaces, starting with human capabilities (including the human information processor model, perception, motor skills, color, attention, and errors) and using those capabilities to drive design techniques: task analysis, user-centered design, iterative design, usability guidelines, interaction styles, and graphic design principles.

  • Implementation: Techniques for building user interfaces, including low-fidelity prototypes, Wizard of Oz, and other prototyping tools; input models, output models, model-view-controller, layout, constraints, and toolkits.

  • Evaluation: Techniques for evaluating and measuring interface usability, including heuristic evaluation, predictive evaluation, and user testing.

The semester starts with various assignments, and ends with a substantial programming project. This course is worth 6 Engineering Design Points.