User-Centered Design processes (UCD) aim to increase the usability and user experience of a product by a continuous and iterative application of well-established methods. These methods involve actual or future users of a product. Activities of UCD support software development in all phases: Requirements engineering and analysis, design, implementation, evaluation and future development. In this course, you will develop a mobile application for either an Android or iOS smartphone in an iterative process. After creating a concept for the application, you will implement a prototype and evaluate it with actual users. Over the course of the semester, you will be able to experience an exemplary User-Centered Design process. Based on ¿Usability Engineering¿ and ¿Interface and Interaction Design¿, this course teaches particular aspects of the field of ¿mobile apps¿ and therefore provides a foundation for developing mobile application user interfaces. The course¿s main focus lies on the user interface with corresponding interaction concepts as well as the application of the User-Centered Design process in a project.

The following topics will be covered in the lectures of this course: 

• Fundamentals in Mobile Application Engineering
• Development of Mobile Application Front-Ends (iOS/ Android)
• Design and Prototyping of Mobile User Interactions
• User Evaluation and Usability Testing of Mobile Applications
• Security in Mobile Infrastructures
• Advanced Aspects of Mobile Development

Didactic Approach: You will develop a project in groups over the course of the semester. Your task is to create a working prototype of a mobile app for Android or iOS and evaluate it with actual users. In the first part of the semester, introductive lectures teach the fundamentals, methods and technologies used for creating mobile applications. The lectures act as the basis for developing your project. In the practical part of this course you will attend workshops and work on separate subtasks with individual feedback sessions. This will help you to apply the learned concepts from the lectures in practice and run through parts of an exemplary UCD-process.

Due to the character of this course, the maximum number of participants will be limited.

Complementary lectures about advanced aspects of mobile development are available in this semester and can be attended on a voluntary basis. 

Effort for the student (ECTS-Breakdown):

• Preliminary Talk: 1h 
• Lectures (=4 x 90 min): 6hrs 
• Practical part of this course (in groups): 110h
• Workshops: 20h 
• Preparation for final presentations: 8h 
• Final presentations: 3h

Total: 150 hours (6 ECTS)