Module: Interaction Design

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Interaction Design
Module Code	MCO1007 (ITS: CM269)
Faculty	Humanities & Social Sciences	School	Communications
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

Using an interdisciplinary approach, this module provides students with an understanding of the theories and practices used in designing interactive experiences with digital media. The content focuses on the fundamentals of Interaction Design (IXD) and User Experience (UX), requiring students to reflect on the opportunities and challenges of human-computer interaction. It adopts industry standard tools and methods for designing, prototyping, user-testing, and collaboration in teamwork. Students should be able to develop the skills required in the industry, and to be able to critically assess third-party interactive design work.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate knowledge and critical evaluation of theories and applied principles of human-centred design in the assessment and development of user-experience, including HCI interfaces.
2. Be able to identify the main components of UX and interaction design, its pros and cons, and design HCI according to good practices for user-centred interaction design.
3. Create an industry-level design report incorporating details of a product, its interface, interaction, and limitations of design
4. Develop skills required in team work and project development
5. Recognise and implement the appropriate use of prototyping systems and software to create an industry-standard simple UI prototype.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Lectures
Assignment Completion	20	Weekly Homework Tasks in groups in the early semester
Assignment Completion	25	IXD Research & Report
Class Presentation	36	Main Assignment: Prototype design, development, production, and testing, in small teams
Independent Study	20	No Description
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	10821	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Dónal Mulligan	Module Teacher	Andreas Aurelio Rauh Ortega, Kata Szita

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Group assignment	Early group assignments for randomly shuffled small groups of students encourage new collaborations and the practice of team roles and dynamics. This unit comprises 4 x IxD Team Tasks, worth up to 5 points each, in Weeks 02, 03, 04, 05. These tasks begin in seminars, in assigned groups, and require completion at home during the same week. The tasks relate to the week's topic and involve applied practice in a collaborative IxD challenge.	20%	As required
Report(s)	This assessment point requires an IxD Analysis Report from each student and is worth up to 20 points, and delivered in Reading Week (07). The report is completed individually, assessing a specific resource related to your group's ongoing work and suggesting potential IxD improvements for it.	20%	Week 7
Group project	The main assignment of the module requires a UI prototype, which is collaboratively planned, designed, implemented, tested and refined in your group. The digital prototype and a short report are required elements and Peer Review applies and may alter individual grades based on tracked deviations from a fair and equal contribution by all members of the group.	60%	Sem 1 End

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Principles & Practice in IXD
Focus on designing interactions, not just on designing appearances.

IXD Workflows & Industry Stages
Learn key methods: goals → personas → interfaces → prototyping → testing

Seminar-based IXD, UI, and UX topic exploration
Mix theory + practice in themed lectures, group challenges, and iterative projects.

Team Dynamics & Project Workflows
Build skills transferable to other design contexts and professional practice. Focus on group roles, work processes, and fair delegation.

Industry Standard UI/UX Prototyping
Use Figma for digital prototyping in the second half of the semester.

Portfolio Prototype Design
Finish with a well-tested, refined interactive design prototype for a functional domestic device control app.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Bryce L. Allen: 1996, Information tasks, Academic Press, San Diego, 0120510405
written and edited by Stuart K. Card, Jock D. Mackinlay, Ben Shneiderman: 1999, Readings in information visualization, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, San Francisco, Calif., 1558605339
edited by Usama M. Fayyad ... [et al.]: 0, Advances in knowledge discovery and data mining, 0262560976
Jennifer Fleming,: 1999, Web Navigation: Designing the User Experience, 1565923510
edited by Christian Gram and Gilbert Cocton [sic]: 1996, Design principles for interactive software, Chapman & Hall, London, 0412724707
edited by Robert Jacobson: 1999, Information design, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 0262600358
Nicholas V. Iuppa: 2001, Interactive design for new media and the Web, Focal press, Boston, 0240804147
edited by Morten Kyng and Lars Mathiassen: 1997, Computers and design in context, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 9780262112239
Kevin Mullet, Darrell Sano: 1995, Designing visual interfaces, SunSoft Press, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 0133033899
Donald A. Norman: 2002, The design of everyday things, Basic Books, New York, 0465067107
Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld: 2007, Information architecture for the World Wide Web, O'Reilly, Sebastopol, CA, 0596527349
Ben Schneiderman: 2009, Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective HumanComputer Interaction, 9780321601483
Valery I. Frants, Jacob Shapiro, Vladimir G. Voiskunskii: 1997, Automated information retrieval, 0122661702
Karen Sparck Jones (Editor), Peter Willett (Editor): 1997, Readings in Information Retrieval, 1558604545
Rory Stuart: 1996, The design of virtual environments, McGraw-Hill, New York, 0070632995
Edward R. Tufte: 1997, Visual explanations, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Conn., 0961392126
Tay Vaughan: 2008, Multimedia, McGraw-Hill, New York, 0072264519
Susan Weinschenk, Pamela Jamar, Sarah C. Yeo: 1997, GUI design essentials, 0471175498
Richard Saul Wurman, Peter Bradford (Editor): 1997, Information Architects, 978-0823064557

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None