Abstract:

Proper development of Web-based systems and applications involve always 2 major components:
(i) on the one hand we need a system that is correctly designed in terms of the technology, and
(ii) on the other hand the functionality needs to be well thought and the interfaces aesthetically appealing and simple to provide a seamless user experience to the user.

In the academic year of 2020-2021, we conducted a pedagogical experiment involving students from two different undergraduate programs at our university. Students from the Computer Engineering program and the Design program jointly developed Web-based systems and applications following an interdisciplinary approach. Normally, students in these courses work separately on their own projects and have little contact with colleagues from other areas, hence their learning experience lacks a multidisciplinary component. When working on app and web development, Computer Engineering students usually focus on the technical dimension of digital artifacts, Which results in systems that are functionally sound but poor in terms of usability and user experience. Conversely, Design students usually create things that are conceptually interesting and aesthetically pleasing but, at best, significantly difficult to develop and implement.

At the inception of our research project was the idea that bringing together students from these two programs would provide them with an improved learning experience and new skills for their professional careers. On the one hand, Computer Engineering students would learn interaction design principles and would see some of these principles implemented in their Web-based systems, which would allow them to have a more solid understanding of the role that UX plays in the workings of a digital system. On the other hand, Design students would experience first-hand the technical challenges stemming from their design solutions.

Students from both programs were presented with a common project brief at the beginning of the semester containing all the details of the interdisciplinary project (e.g., a description of the synergy, a list of requirements they would need to fulfill, the milestones and deliverables they would have throughout the semester, how would they be assessed). Overall, the projects were carried out smoothly during the semester, with classes partially happening in the same room where they received guidance from teachers and two intermediate oral presentations to the whole class to share their progress and receive feedback. During these intermediate presentations, all students were allowed to ask questions and offer comments to their colleagues. The synergy ended up with a final public “pitch” to present the implemented prototype.

In this paper, we will describe this experiment in more detail, including how we approached the integration of students in their weekly classes and how they were organized into working groups, as well as detail the particularities of each project and the challenges that emerged. We will also present the results of a questionnaire shared with the students to understand their perception and satisfaction with the interdisciplinary project as well as the whole organization of the semester. Overall, our paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of how interdisciplinary experiences can improve the learning outcomes of students from different scientific areas.

Keywords:

Interdisciplinarity, design education, synergy.