Project

Deliverables

Introduction and Idea

Prepare and present 2 slides, in the provided presentation shared by the entire class:

• 1 slide introducing yourself to the class.
• 1 slide introducing an idea for a project direction.

Presentation will be limited to 2 minutes.

Slides Due: Wed Apr 2, 8pm

Presentation: In-Class, Thu Apr 3

Group Brainstorm

As a potential group, brainstorm 3 possible project directions, in the provided document shared by the entire class:

• Must be submitted with a group, as represented in the provided signup document.
• Group membership may also continue to evolve after this assignment.
• Each idea must not exceed 100 words.
• Images may be included and do not count against the word limit.
• Possible project directions may draw inspiration from anything. They must also credit any major inspiration.

Submit via Canvas.

All members of a project group should submit the PDF (i.e., because this is easiest for course staff while groups are still potentially in flux).

Due: Wed Apr 9, 8pm

Groups Finalized

Finalize a project group in the provided signup document shared by the entire class.

Due: Sun Apr 13, 8pm

Design Proposal

Submit a design proposal that does not exceed 1000 words.

• Author this assignment in the Drive folder corresponding to your project group.
• Create a subfolder called "Design Proposal", keep all documents in this folder.
• Begin by copying the provided template document.
• Include images where helpful to illustrate your design.
• Images do not count against the word limit.

Include the following sections:

• Describe the overall concept of your design.
  • This must not exceed 100 words.
  • An overall design concept might be more than you can implement in this course.
• Describe the elements of your design within which you will focus your exploration of human-AI interaction.
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Vertical prototyping emphasizes deep exploration of a portion of an overall design. Describe what you intend to deeply design and implement. Ensure this portion of your design emphasizes human-AI interaction.
  • Briefly describe any key aspects of your overall design concept that you will not aim to design and implement. Describe how you anticipate your design process mocking or working around these omissions.
• Illustrate 3 primary task scenarios. Recall a scenario demonstrates how a task is accomplished with a design.
  • Each scenario must not exceed 200 words.
  • In one sentence, describe the task (i.e., what is accomplished).
  • Use images to illustrate the scenario via a walkthrough of each key step in accomplishing the task with your design. These can be sketches, mockups, or other illustrations of how a person will experience the scenario.
  • Convey the walkthrough in enough detail that course staff can understand step-by-step interaction with your design. We expect each scenario will include multiple images, but do not expect more than 6 images in a scenario. In the next formative research assignment, you will use these scenarios as part of describing your design and seeking feedback from formative research participants.
  • Any text used in the walkthrough does not count against the word limit.
  • Describe your initial exploration of language model support needed in the proposed interaction. Consider when and how your design will invoke the language model throughout the scenario. Consider the expected input and output for these language model invocations. Consider exploring specific prompts, such as by using conversational AI tools or Python notebooks to probe the capabilities needed in your scenario.
  • Summarize key activities and learnings in your initial exploration of language model support. If understanding those requires additional supporting documentation, provide that in the same folder in a human-readable format (e.g., another document, PDFs). Appropriately reference this supporting documentation in your description. We do not intend this to be a burden, so you may decide whether you feel such documentation is necessary for engaging with course staff around your design.
• Reflect upon your design proposal relative to a principle of human-AI interaction (e.g., a principle articulated in one of the papers discussed in "Principles of Human-AI Interaction").
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Begin by stating and crediting the principle, then reflect on your design proposal relative to that principle.
  • This reflection should focus on a goal for formative research relative to the principle. This will require identifying a principle that is relevant to one or more elements of your design proposal, then reflecting on the need to more thoroughly explore these elements of your design relative to the principle. Consider what decisions you might aim to make, what you might aim to learn, or how your design might evolve in response to formative research.

Submit via Canvas.

Due: Mon Apr 21, 8pm

Formative Research

Submit formative research that does not exceed 1200 words.

• Author this assignment in the Drive folder corresponding to your project group.
• Create a subfolder called "Formative Research", keep all documents in this folder.
• Begin by copying the provided template document.
• Include images where helpful to illustrate your research.
• Images do not count against the word limit.

Include the following sections:

• Report on formative research with 2 participants.
  • Each must not exceed 250 words.
  • We generally expect groups will choose to conduct interviews around their design proposal (e.g., seeking feedback on the overall concept and on details of specific scenarios). However, you can choose a research method that is appropriate for your goals.
  • Describe the formative research method used with each participant (e.g., what you aimed to learn, key details of how you applied your method, who the participant was and why you recruited them).
  • Summarize the most important findings from the session. These will be actionable opportunities or insights that changed or refined your thinking about your design.
  • Include specific evidence from your research to support your findings. We generally expect this will be quotes or other specific feedback from the participant.
• Report on formative research with an AI.
  • This must not exceed 250 words.
  • Because language models can encode human experiences, it has been proposed that they can support design research. For example, see Simulating the Human in HCD with ChatGPT: Redesigning Interaction Design with AI.
  • Describe an exploration of trying to use an AI to gain insights into your design problem or proposed solution. For example, describe what types of insights you hoped AI might provide, how you explored its ability to provide those insights, and how you iterated in your prompting throughout that exploration.
  • If your exploration proves useful, detail the insights that you surfaced. These will be actionable opportunities or insights that changed or refined your thinking about your design.
  • If your exploration does not prove useful, detail why you feel AI responses were not helpful. Describe what you tried in your exploration of whether you could obtain more helpful AI responses.
  • Include specific evidence from your exploration to support your findings. We generally expect this will be excerpts of specific prompts or responses that illustrate your findings.
• Summarize changes to your design based on your formative research findings.
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Describe how your findings prompted you to changes aspects of your design, being sure to describe the relationship between findings and the resulting changes
  • If your findings have not motivated changes, instead describe how findings validate specific aspects of your existing design.
  • Note you will separately provide updated task scenarios.
• Describe your planned technology stack.
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Describe a specific combination of technologies you plan to use to implement your design.
  • Provide a rationale for choosing this technology stack. For example, note alternatives you considered and why you prefer your chosen combination.
• Reflect upon your formative research relative to a principle of human-AI interaction (e.g., a principle articulated in one of the papers discussed in "Principles of Human-AI Interaction").
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Begin by stating and crediting the principle, then reflect on your formative research relative to that principle.
  • This reflection should focus on a specific finding and how it motivated changes or validated your design. This will require identifying a principle that is relevant to one or more elements of your design, then considering your findings and changes relative to the principle. Consider how the finding shaped new understanding of the principle, how your changes align with or were informed by the principle, or how the principle highlights a challenge or design tension around the finding.

Submit a Design Status Report as a separate document.

• Follow guidance in Design Status Reports.

Submit via Canvas.

Due: Wed Apr 30, 8pm

Interactive Prototype

Continue design and development, implementing at least one of the task scenarios in your interactive prototype.

Submit an update on your interactive prototype that does not exceed 500 words.

• Author this assignment in the Drive folder corresponding to your project group.
• Create a subfolder called "Interactive Prototype", keep all documents in this folder.
• Begin by copying the provided template document.
• Include images where helpful to illustrate your prototype.
• Images do not count against the word limit.

Include the following sections:

• Describe the task scenarios currently implemented in your interactive prototype.
  • This does not count against the word limit.
  • Limit this to a single sentence per implemented task scenario.
  • These sentences may be taken from the design status report, but you should ensure they reflect what is actually implemented in your interactive prototype.
• Summarize the most important changes or new details in your design, as developed through your design and implementation efforts in your interactive prototype.
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Describe how feedback or work toward implementing the task scenarios prompted you to change aspects of your design or define new details in aspects of your design. Be sure to describe the relationship between your evolving understanding and the resulting changes. For example, describe specific feedback, implementation issues, usability issues, or other issues revealed in your prototyping. Then explain how this prompted you to change or define new detail in your design.
  • If your progress has not motivated changes or the definition of new details, instead describe how your progress validates specific aspects of your existing design.
  • If your progress has not required navigating meaningful issues, consider that you may need to change or grow the scope of your design and your scenarios.
  • Note you will separately provide updated task scenarios in your design status report.
• Describe one thing you learned or insight you gained through progress in design and development of your prototype.
  • This must not exceed 200 words.
  • We are open to a wide range of learning as part of this assignment, including but not limited to learning about designing with and around AI, your chosen interface framework, your chosen AI tool, or their integration in your prototype.
  • Describe what you learned and how you applied that learning in your prototype.
• Reflect upon your current interactive prototype relative to a principle of human-AI interaction (e.g., a principle articulated in one of the papers discussed in "Principles of Human-AI Interaction").
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Begin by stating and crediting the principle, then reflect on your interactive prototype relative to that principle.
  • This reflection should focus on a specific aspect of your implementation, which could be a technical detail of your implementation or could be a change or new detail in your design. This will require identifying a principle that is relevant to one or more elements of your design, then considering your design and implementation progress relative to the principle. Consider how progress in design or implementation shaped new understanding of the principle, how your design or implementation aligns with or was informed by the principle, or how the principle highlights a challenge or design tension around your implementation.

Submit a Design Status Report as a separate document.

• Follow guidance in Design Status Reports.
• Be sure the report captures your current thinking for all task scenarios, including any you have not yet implemented in your prototype.

Submit a video demonstrating key functionality of your interactive prototype.

• Must not exceed 2 minutes in length per demonstrated task scenario.
• Include narration explaining how the task scenario is supported in the prototype.

Ensure the full code of your interactive prototype is committed to your GitLab project.

• Include a brief README.md that details how to build and run your prototype.
• You may choose to omit an API key needed to run your prototype. If so, clearly document such additional necessary configuration in the README.
• Be responsive to any questions from the course staff regarding your prototype.

Submit via Canvas.

Due: Sun May 11, 8pm

Revised Prototype

Continue design and development, implementing at least two of the task scenarios in your interactive prototype.

Collaborate with assigned groups to conduct two peer critiques, using the provided template.

Submit an update on your interactive prototype that does not exceed 600 words.

• Author this assignment in the Drive folder corresponding to your project group.
• Create a subfolder called "Revised Prototype", keep all documents in this folder.
• Begin by copying the provided template document.
• Include images where helpful to illustrate your prototype.
• Images do not count against the word limit.

Include the following sections:

• Describe the task scenarios currently implemented in your interactive prototype.
  • This does not count against the word limit.
  • Limit this to a single sentence per implemented task scenario.
  • These sentences may be taken from the design status report, but you should ensure they reflect what is actually implemented in your interactive prototype.
• Summarize the most important changes or new details in your design, as developed through your continuing design and implementation efforts in your interactive prototype.
  • This must not exceed 250 words.
  • Describe how feedback or work toward implementing the task scenarios prompted you to change aspects of your design or define new details in aspects of your design. Be sure to describe the relationship between your evolving understanding and the resulting changes. For example, describe specific feedback, implementation issues, usability issues, or other issues revealed in your prototyping. Then explain how this prompted you to change or define new detail in your design.
  • If your progress has not motivated changes or the definition of new details, instead describe how your progress validates specific aspects of your existing design.
  • If your progress has not required navigating meaningful issues, consider that you may need to change or grow the scope of your design and your scenarios.
  • Note you will separately provide updated task scenarios in your design status report.
• Describe one thing you learned or insight you gained through progress in design and development of your prototype.
  • This must not exceed 200 words.
  • We are open to a wide range of learning as part of this assignment, including but not limited to learning about designing with and around AI, your chosen interface framework, your chosen AI tool, or their integration in your prototype.
  • Describe what you learned and how you applied that learning in your prototype.
• Reflect upon your current interactive prototype relative to a principle of human-AI interaction (e.g., a principle articulated in one of the papers discussed in "Principles of Human-AI Interaction").
  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Begin by stating and crediting the principle, then reflect on your interactive prototype relative to that principle.
  • This reflection should focus on a specific aspect of your progress in design and implementation, which could be a change or new detail in your design or could be a technical detail of your implementation. This will require identifying a principle that is relevant to one or more elements of your design, then considering your design and implementation progress relative to the principle. Consider how progress in design or implementation shaped new understanding of the principle, how your design or implementation aligns with or was informed by the principle, or how the principle highlights a challenge or design tension around your implementation.

Submit a Design Status Report as a separate document.

• Follow guidance in Design Status Reports.
• Be sure the report captures your current thinking for all task scenarios, including any you have not yet implemented in your prototype.
• Be sure implemented scenarios include screen captures, updated from prior sketches.

Submit the two completed peer critiques.

• Ensure these include your takeaways.

Submit a video demonstrating key functionality of your interactive prototype.

• Must not exceed 2 minutes in length per demonstrated task scenario.
• Include narration explaining how the task scenario is supported in the prototype.

Ensure the full code of your interactive prototype is committed to your GitLab project.

• Include a brief README.md that details how to build and run your prototype.
• You may choose to omit an API key needed to run your prototype. If so, clearly document such additional necessary configuration in the README.
• Be responsive to any questions from the course staff regarding your prototype.

Due: Sun May 25, 8pm

Submit via Canvas.

Poster

Create a poster that communicates your design and related findings, insights, or learnings. Present your work in a visual form that quickly conveys its most important aspects. Your poster should include:

• Project Title
• Your Names
• Motivation and Approach
  • The need, opportunity, or problem explored in your design.
  • The overall concept of your design and your focus within that concept.
• Key Human-AI Interaction Functionality
  • This likely corresponds to your 3 task scenarios.
• Key Findings, Insights, or Learnings
  • Include 3 key findings, insights, or learnings.
  • At least 1 should relate to your interface design.
  • At least 1 should relate to the underlying use of a language model.

For consistency in printing and display, your poster must be 32" x 40" (i.e., portrait, vertical).

The staff have assembled several templates you can use as a starting point:

• Powerpoint Template A
• Powerpoint Template B
• Powerpoint Template C

You should heavily modify the template to be unique and represent your project:

• Posters are intended to support a conversation about your project.
• Your poster should emphasize images and include limited amounts of text.
• Be sure images are clear and legible (e.g., with appropriate contrast).
• Modify the template colors to ensure your poster is unique.

As you plan content for your poster, be mindful that you will also have a demo and a video available during the final poster showcase.

Submit via Canvas. Due to frequent challenges in printing, submit both:

• A PDF of your poster.
• The source file for your poster (e.g., a PPTX file).

We then expect teams to be available and responsive via email for feedback and rapid iteration to finalize the poster.

Due: Fri May 30, 8pm

Final Prototype

Continue design and development, implementing the three task scenarios in your interactive prototype.

Conduct at least one usability test with a participant. The participant may not be a classmate.

Submit a report that does not exceed 750 words.

• Author this assignment in the Drive folder corresponding to your project group.
• Create a subfolder called "Final Prototype", keep all documents in this folder.
• Begin by copying the provided template document.
• Include images where helpful to illustrate your prototype or insights from your usability testing.
• Images do not count against the word limit.

Include the following sections:

• Report on the usability testing method used with the participant.

  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Describe your testing method and participant, emphasizing how you structured usability testing to learn (e.g., how you structured the usability testing sessions, any details of usability testing you designed to support learning about your prototype, how you presented usability testing tasks to participants, any relevant background or details of the participant).
  • Names of participants should be replaced with pseudonyms in all documents. It is important to protect participant anonymity, even in the case that reporting seems harmless.

• Report on two key insights from your usability testing.

  • Each insight must not exceed 100 words.
  • Insights can be issues surfaced in the design of your prototype or observations that validate a key aspect in the design of the prototype.
  • Include at least one image of the relevant portion of the prototype. This may be directly within this section, or you may clearly reference a specific image in your design status report to provide a larger context.
  • Describe the specific critical incident or evidence that led to the insight. These can be either positive or negative. We generally expect this will be a quote, other specific feedback from a participant, or a description of an observation.

• Summarize the most important changes or new details in your design, as developed through your continuing design, implementation, and usability testing efforts in your interactive prototype.

  • This must not exceed 250 words.
  • Describe how feedback, work toward implementing the task scenarios, or insights from usability testing prompted you to change aspects of your design or define new details in aspects of your design. Be sure to describe the relationship between your evolving understanding and the resulting changes. For example, describe specific feedback, implementation issues, usability issues, or other issues revealed in your prototyping. Then explain how this prompted you to change or define new detail in your design.
  • If your findings have not motivated changes, instead describe how findings validate specific aspects of your existing design.
  • Note you will separately provide updated task scenarios in your design status report.

• Reflect upon your current interactive prototype and usability testing relative to a principle of human-AI interaction (e.g., a principle articulated in one of the papers discussed in "Principles of Human-AI Interaction").

  • This must not exceed 150 words.
  • Begin by stating and crediting the principle, then reflect on your interactive prototype and usability testing relative to that principle.
  • This reflection should focus on a specific insight and how it motivates changes or validates your design. This will require identifying a principle that is relevant to one or more elements of your design, then considering your insights and changes relative to the principle. Consider how the insight shaped new understanding of the principle, how your changes align with or were informed by the principle, or how the principle highlights a challenge or design tension around the insight.

Submit a Design Status Report as a separate document.

• Follow guidance in Design Status Reports.
• Be sure the report captures your current thinking for all task scenarios, including any you have not yet implemented in your prototype.
• Be sure implemented scenarios include screen captures, updated from prior sketches.

Submit a video demonstrating key functionality of your interactive prototype.

• Must not exceed 2 minutes in length per demonstrated task scenario.
• Include narration explaining how the task scenario is supported in the prototype.
• As you prepare this video, be mindful of two future needs.
  • Your presentation may want to use a short video segment to convey an interaction.
  • We strongly encourage you to create a video that can be silently played on a loop during the poster showcase (e.g., on a laptop or tablet alongside your poster). This could be a silent title slide for each task scenario, then a short video segment of that task scenario.
• If helpful or needed, you may submit multiple videos in this assignment. Be sure each video is clearly named to indicate what we will see in that video. For example, you might submit a short and polished video conveying the interaction in each task scenario, appropriate for later re-use and without any narration. You might then also submit a longer unedited version of the same video, including narration intended for course staff.

Ensure the full code of your interactive prototype is committed to your GitLab project.

• Include a brief README.md that details how to build and run your prototype.
• You may choose to omit an API key needed to run your prototype. If so, clearly document such additional necessary configuration in the README.
• Be responsive to any questions from the course staff regarding your prototype.

Submit via Canvas.

Due: Sun Jun 1, 8pm

Presentation

Prepare a presentation of your project:

• Begin by copying the provided template document.

Your presentation should include:

• Motivation and Approach
  • The need, opportunity, or problem explored in your design.
  • The overall concept of your design and your focus within that concept.
• 3 Task Scenarios
  • Briefly convey what the interaction is (e.g., with a few images from a scenario walkthrough, with a short video segment).
  • Briefly convey a relevant aspect of the implementation. This should typically be about the underlying AI implementation, but you can convey what was most important and unique in implementing this task scenario.
• 2 Key Findings, Insights, or Learnings
  • From across the entire project sequence, share a finding, insight, or learning that feels most important or had the most impact on your project.

Presentations should be 6 to 8 minutes in length, which will allow time for discussion and questions.

Slides Due: Mon Jun 2, 8pm

Presentation: In-Class, Tue Jun 3

Poster Showcase

The final poster showcase will be during the same time as class, but in the CSE/Allen atrium. The course staff will print your poster, and event staff will provide an easel, a mounting board, and a table.

During the final poster session:

• You should ensure at least one member of your team is always at your poster.
• You should otherwise engage with other posters and teams around their work.
• You should be prepared to further show and discuss your prototype via demo or video.

We strongly encourage you to create a video that can be silently played on a loop during the poster showcase (e.g., on a laptop or tablet alongside your poster). This could be a silent title slide for each task scenario, then a short video segment of that task scenario.

The final poster showcase is graded only for participation, intended as a celebration of your work.

Poster Showcase: In-Class, Thu Jun 5

Design Status Reports

Several deliverables include a design status report. The format of each design status report is consistent, so that you can maintain and evolve such reports throughout the project.

Submit each design status report in a separate document that does not exceed 700 words.

• Author this in the same Drive folder as the relevant deliverable.
• Begin by copying the provided template document.
• Include images where helpful to illustrate your design.
• Images do not count against the word limit.

Include the following sections:

• Summarize your current design. Include a brief description of its overall concept and where you are focusing your exploration of human-AI interaction within that overall concept.
  • This must not exceed 100 words.
  • Each design status report will include this summary. You may simply copy it forward between deliverables, but should ensure it remains current as your design and your approach evolve in the project.
• Illustrate 3 primary task scenarios. Recall a scenario demonstrates how a task is accomplished with a design. You will continue updating these task scenarios as you develop your design.
  • Each scenario must not exceed 200 words.
  • Each design status report will include your task scenarios. You may copy them forward between assignments, but should ensure they remain current as your design and your approach evolve in the project.
  • In one sentence, describe the task (i.e., what is accomplished).
  • Use images to illustrate the scenario via a walkthrough of each key step in accomplishing the task with your design. These can be sketches, mockups, or other illustrations of how a person will experience the scenario. As you develop more of your project, these should become screenshots showing interaction with your design.
  • Convey the walkthrough in enough detail that course staff can understand step-by-step interaction with your design. We expect each scenario will include multiple images, but do not expect more than 6 images in a scenario.
  • Any text used in the walkthrough does not count against the word limit.
  • After the walkthrough, highlight key specific changes or details of your design that are most important for understanding your design. Share a brief rationale for those specific aspects of your design.
  • Describe your current understanding of language model support needed in the proposed interaction. Consider when and how your design will invoke the language model throughout the scenario. Consider the expected input and output for these language model invocations.
  • If understanding your approach to language model support requires additional supporting documentation, provide that in the same folder in a human-readable format (e.g., another document, PDFs). Appropriately reference this supporting documentation in your description. We do not intend this to be a burden, so you may decide whether you feel such documentation is necessary for engaging with course staff around your design.