University of California at Berkeley, Extension Program, Engineering Department

2 Saturdays

Dates for the Lectures:

1. March 16th: 10 to 5, 7 hours in the classroom
2. March 23rd: 10 to 5, 7 hours in the classroom

Fall 2011

www.unex.berkeley.edu

(1.5 academic semester unit in EECS)

This course analyses the sources of failures and frustrations of product users through the lens of cognitive science and psychology. The class will cover the basic principles of designing for errors and usability. Students gain the theoretical background and vocabulary with which to examine product design solutions to the most common user errors together with practical solutions. Students will learn about individual differences and how to translate such information into usable strategies for design.

Interaction with all products leads to failure, sometimes. Origins of Human Errors class is designed to give students an introduction into the psychological, cultural, and cognitive sources of typical problems that people experience while using everyday products and services.  This course analyses how, when, and why users fail. The class is taught in a lecture/discussion format.

RSA Animate: First as Tragedy, Then as Farce

“Effective Information Visualization” by Matthias Shapiro

“How Algorithms Shape Our World” by Kevin Slavin