INLS 582_002, Systems Analysis
Useful Information
Textbooks
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Textbook: Beyer, H. & Holtzblatt, K. (1998). Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.
I expect there are used copies available, if you don't want to purchase a new one.
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UML books: We'll be using the Miles & Hamilton as the main text for UML, but the syllabus also includes optional readings
from Pilone & Pitman, which I have used for the past few semesters.
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Miles, R. & Hamilton, K. (2006). Learning UML 2.0. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Available on the web (through
UNC's License at Safari, or you
may purchase it.
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Pilone, D. & Pitman, N. (2005). UML 2.0 in a Nutshell. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Available
on the web (through UNC's license) at Safari,
or you may purchase it.
Other readings are available through E-reserves or will be linked from the schedule as necessary.
Software
The SILS lab staff frequently update software options, so information in this section may change. If you know about other
software that would be helpful for this class, please let me know!
You will need a graphics tool for drawing models.
Microsoft Visio provides templates for the UML models we'll be drawing, as well as many other
useful features. It is available through the SILS lab
for all students registered for the class. If you are unfamiliar with Visio, you may find the
Microsoft Office Online Training
for Visio helpful.
As long as they have the required elements for each model, you may use other drawing tools, such as:
If you do use a tool other than Visio or Powerpoint, please hand in your models as pdf files, or paste them into Word documents.
Please do not submit .jpg or .png files. Be sure you acquire the tool in plenty of time for your homework assignments!
Homework Guidelines
Resources
Recommended Reading
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Bang, Molly. Picture this:
perception & composition. Boston: Little, Brown, 1991.
How do color, contrast, shape, and position affect human understanding and inference? Picture This is
a picture-book fairytale for designers.
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Intriago, Patricia. Dot.
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011.
This ingenious children's book is actually a short course in semiotics with four-year-olds as its target audience.
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McCloud, Scott. Understanding comics:
the invisible art. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994.
Effective comics and effective information design have a lot in common. This book will help you understand what you're
communicating when you communicate visually.
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Norman, Donald A. The design of
everyday things. Boston: Basic Books, 2002.
This is possibly the single best introduction to user interface design published to date. Norman introduces the
basic concepts of user interaction through amusing examples, and presents the user interface cycle using a
vocabulary that's become standard in the field. All without talking about computers (much). You should own this book.
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Napier, John. Hands.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1993.
The human hand is the fundamental tool and the point of engagement for a plurality of user interfaces. Understanding
its nature, its strengths, and its limitations will make your designs better. In this slim volume, Napier, a
primatologist, presents an engaging (but dense!) anatomical and sociocultural history of this most important appendage.
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Tufte, Edward R. The visual display
of quantitative information. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press, 2001.
Everything you need to know about displaying information with graphics. A classic. Buy two copies and give one as a gift.
(An aside: When he's not busy being the master of information design, Tufte is a renowned sculptor.)