Project Type: Human-Computer Interaction
Overview
An HCI-based project is likely to be design-focused, considering issues such as feasibility, desirability and viability. The emphasis may be on making something (hardware, software or other digital or tangible artifacts), investigating the needs and desires of users to inform design or better understand an area, or evaluating something (software, hardware, or other). It may be a mixture of these. The project may employ a variety of design techniques along with qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.
Methodology will depend on the aims of the project. Students will demonstrate key HCI skills relating to the design process, data gathering, and selecting and developing a concept. Development of an ethics application may play a large part in the project. Project elements may include one or more of:
- Appropriate use of design techniques such as personas, user journeys, affinity diagramming and stakeholder mapping.
- Qualitative research methods to understand users such as interviews, focus groups, participatory design sessions, questionnaires, and thematic analysis.
- Quantitative methods such as data collection from questionnaires or experiments.
Suggested report/dissertation content
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Title page | See general guidance. |
| Abstract | Ditto |
| Declaration | Ditto |
| Contents page | Ditto |
| Introduction | Ditto |
| Background | Ditto |
| Context survey | Ditto |
| Methodology | Describe and justify the methodology that you adopted, including your software engineering approach if relevant. |
| Requirements gathering and specification | Describe the data gathering process and resulting requirements for any artifact you develop. |
| Design and Implementation | Describe your design process and design decisions in detail, along with reasoning and justifications for your decisions. The implementation section should describe how the artifact was implemented, and highlight any areas that were especially challenging. Design and Implementation may be separate chapters if preferred, depending on the project. |
| Artifact description | Describe the final artifact submitted in detail. This separate chapter may not be needed if the description of the final artifact submitted is better presented alongside implementation details in an implementation chapter, depending on the project. |
| Evaluation and critical appraisal | See general guidance. |
| Conclusions and further work | Ditto |
| References | Ditto |
| Appendix: ethics | Ditto |
| Appendix: optional further material | Ditto |
This structure can be varied with supervisor approval.
Mark descriptors
- 1-3: Little evidence of any attempt to complete the project.
- 4-6: Little evidence of any acceptable attempt to complete the project, with no substantial relevant material submitted.
- 7: A project addressing a bare minimum of the basic requirements, with methods incorrectly or inconsistently applied, and demonstrating little understanding of the topic, further reading, research, or organisation of the material into a coherent presentation or argument.
- 8-10: A project addressing some of the basic requirements, with adequate reporting, but with significant limitations such as a partially built artifact, or partially completed data gathering, or poor analysis and lack of coherent outcomes.
- 11-13: A project achieving most of the primary objectives together with a report describing clearly what was done, with good style, or a project achieving most of the primary and secondary objectives, but with a write up that is less clear on methodology and design process.
- 14-16: A project achieving all the primary objectives and most of the secondary objectives, with a clear and well-presented report.
- 17-18: A project achieving all the primary and secondary objectives, with an excellent report demonstrating depth of research into the topic area and clear application of appropriate methods.
- 19-20: A project achieving all the primary and secondary objectives, with an outstanding report demonstrating unusual clarity, exceptional engagement, and significant insight into the topic.