ITI41620 Design for Cooperation (Spring 2025)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Compulsory course in the Master`s programme in Applied Computer Science with specialisation in interaction design, full-time and part-time.

Recommended requirements

ITI41520 Interaction Design

Lecture Semester

2nd semester (spring) in the full-time and part-time programme.

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

Knowledge:

The student is familiar with

• central theories and concepts for understanding how people cooperate, both in workplaces and in everyday life

• methods, tools and techniques for co-designing IT solutions in support of such cooperative practices

Skills:

The student is able to

• use methods, tools, and techniques for co-designing IT solutions in support of cooperative practices

General competence

The student can

• conduct methodologically and ethically sound research according to the scientific standards in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and Participatory Design (PD)

Content

The course introduces the students to Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), an interdisciplinary research field concerned with understanding how to support cooperative practices by technology design.

The course gives an overview of central theories and concepts for understanding how people cooperate, both in workplaces and in everyday life.

Additionally, the course introduces the students to Participatory Design (PD), a design approach focused on user involvement in the design of technologies meant for them.

The course gives and overview of the principles of PD and introduces the students to a toolbox of methods, tools and techniques that they can use to enable democratic design practices in the design of IT solutions for such cooperative practices.

Forms of teaching and learning

There will be lectures, plenary discussions and project work.

The lectures and plenary discussions will focus on:

• classical case studies in CSCW and PD

• central theories and concepts in CSCW and PD

• methods, tools and techniques for co-designing support for cooperative practices

The project work will lead to the writing of one scientific paper and will be conducted according to the requirements and deadlines set by the professors responsible for the course.

Workload

Approx. 280 hours.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

The student must have finished and submitted their project work.

Coursework requirements must be accepted to qualify for the exam.

Examination

Individual oral exam and scientific paper

The exam is divided into two parts:

• Individual oral exam (50%): Based on the course curriculum. Duration 30 min. Some supporting material, specified by the professors, will be allowed.

• Individual scientific paper (50%): Based on the project work.

Grading scale A - F in both parts. Both parts of the exam must be passed to pass the exam as a whole.

Examiners

One external and one internal examiner, or two internal examiners will be involved in the assessment.

Conditions for resit/rescheduled exams

Upon re-examination, each part of the examination can be retaken.

Course evaluation

This course is evaluated by a:

• Final course evaluation (compulsory)

The responsible for the course compiles a report based on the feedback from the students and his/her own experience with the course. The report is discussed by the study quality committee at the Department of Computer Science and Communication.

Literature

The current reading list for 2024 Spring can be found in Leganto