An academic response to industry's need for HCI education: a case study

In the 1990s, organisations rely heavily on information technology to support their operations and give them a competitive edge in the local and global marketplace. The need to incorporate human-computer interaction (HCI) and especially 'usability', into software design and system development is increasingly evident. If industry is to pay more attention to improving the usability of its software and systems, courses need to be established so that students gain knowledge and skills that are important in the real-world and experience realistic situations that address usability issues. To date, the provision of HCI education for practitioners has not been addressed substantively by most Australian universities. The paper describes the course that responds to industry needs. It reviews the course objectives, content resources and some teaching strategies. It also provides insights into problems of conducting courses relating to industry needs and plans for future development of the academic programme.