CIS 454/562 Authoring Web Sites

Spring 2009
Teacher: Adam Reed, EE, PhD, CTT (areed2@calstatela.edu)
Class: Mondays, 6:10-10:00 PM, SHC367A
Office Hours: Tuesdays 4:20-6:00 PM and Wednesdays 6:10-8:30 PM, Room ST-616

Course Description:

An organization's IS manager is expected to contribute to the productivity of the enterprise, and to make information accessible as needed. The organization's web site is often the most visible means toward those ends. This course teaches the concepts and techniques of organizing, presenting, and acquiring information through a website; tailoring the content, organization, and interactivity of the web site to achieve its purpose; and making the web site easy to find, inviting, and a pleasure to use and to return to.

Time demands:

This course requires, in addition to 4 hours of lab/lecture per week, between 8 and 16 hours per week in independent study and practice. Students with prior user interface experience will need about 8 hours per week in addition to class; students without prior user interface experience may need up to 16 hours per week in addition to class time.

Web Resources:

This page: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/areed2/P09.562webs.html

On-Line Textbook:

Robert Hoekman Jr.: Designing the Moment: Web Interface Design Concepts in Action

Tentative Schedule of Lessons:

  1. Introduction; Measuring Productivity: User Time and Loaded Salary.
  2. Hoekman, Introduction and Part I
  3. Hoekman, Part II
  4. Hoekman, Part III
  5. Hoekman, Part IV
  6. Hoekman, Part V
  7. Hoekman, Part VI
  8. Hoekman, Part VII; "The Keys to Great Design"
  9. Student Project Presentations.

Grading:

The primary grading inputs are class participation, written input (e-mailed to areed2@calstatela.edu) and the course project. In CIS 562, a graduate course, grades will be A, A-, B+, B, B-, and F. I will raise to an A or A- the grade of any student from whom I learn, by way of class participation or project, a new concept, insight, or technique. Concrete information about programs or bugs may also raise your grade somewhat, if it is useful and perceptive.

Project:

The course project is a business case document to improve an existing organizational web site of your choice. In this document you will select and justify a set of specific improvements, and quantify the expected cost and benefits of the work. The business case wil be written from the perspective of the IS manager responsible for the web site, and addressed to management levels able to provide resources for the work.

An example of a business case document for a technology improvement project is available on the Web. (Only Part II of the document, that is, the part after the anchor to which this link will take you, is the business case document proper, to be used as an example of the format for your assignment. Note that the loaded salary figure is unrealistically low for a US project - the example is the work of a student from India, where costs are lower.)

Participation:

Questions from which students may benefit will be answered in class. I will not answer individual questions during breaks or after class. If you wish to discuss something during office hours, please send me e-mail at least a day in advance; if the answer to your question may be of general interest I will discuss it in class. Questions and insights during class are encouraged; if I learn something new to me from your question I may raise your grade accordingly.

Study Partners:

You are expected to select a study partner among your colleagues in the class (or two study partners, so that you will meet in a group of three). You will exchange telephone numbers and e-mail addresses among partners, and meet with your parner or partners each week to review your understanding of current course content. Please make sure to bring to class any issues that come up in reviewing matters with your study partner. If you miss any class work you are responsible for obtaining your study partner's notes and recollections, and for asking whatever questions you find necessary to fill out your understanding. As soon as you have begun work on your projects, you and your study partner will continuously review and provide feedback on each other's work.