Experimentation & Evaluation

COURSE OBJECTIVES

To teach the basic skills needed to design and conduct experiments in order to evaluate computer systems or system features.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Computer scientists build complex systems or choose among existing systems to satisfy perceived needs and requirements. The system is then deployed in an environment consisting of humans and other systems. How do we know the impact of the system on the environment and how well it meets the perceived requirements? A fundamental skill in informatics is the ability to design experiments for evaluating computer systems. In this course, the students will acquire a basic understanding of how to design such experiments and what pitfalls to avoid during design and experimentation. Basic concepts of experimental design, data measurement, qualitative and quantitative evaluation, and evaluation with and without users will be covered.

LEARNING METHODS
Lectures, presentations, homework assignments and in-class discussions.

EXAMINATION INFORMATION
Oral final exam.

PREREQUISITES

• Probability & Statistics
• Programming Fundamentals 2
• Software Atelier 2: Human-Computer Interaction
• Software Atelier 3: The Web

REFERENCES

• We will provide the necessary material in class.