Assigned Date: Wednesday, Sep. 22, 2021
Due Date: Various – see below.
Due Time: 30 mins before class
Assignment
Continue development via iterative refinement (as per previous assignment).
What’s Next
So far we have completed the following steps:
- Created a Dropbox Paper folder for your team / project.
- Please make sure these are accessible by everyone – you will be evaluated on them.
- Created a conceptual model of your application.
- There should be a Dropbox Paper entitled “Conceptual Model” in your folder always containing the latest version of your application’s conceptual model.
- Created a project outline with milestones. While not presented in class, this should also be available in your Dropbox Paper folder, in a paper entitled “Project Milestones”. Make sure it is always up to date.
- Created a paper prototype of your UI and interaction design.
- Created a software prototype – to demonstrate that you have a good idea on how to proceed with implementing your design. This has not been demonstrated yet, but it should be ready, and unfolding.
Next Steps:
- (Present on Wednesday, Oct. 20) Create a task analysis of your application. This should describe in terms of tasks (not keystrokes, mouse-actions, or UI elements) what users can do with the system, in order to be successful.
- There should be 7 +/- 2 tasks.
- Prioritize – most important / frequent first. It is OK for multiple tasks to be at the same level of importance.
- (Present on Friday, Oct. 22) Using results from your task analysis, update your paper prototype – the goal here is to make your user interface more efficient, i.e., more frequent tasks should be easier (fewer keystrokes, etc.) to achieve. Also, make sure all important user tasks are doable (e.g., bad example – seeing current temperature in Norman’s refrigerator).
- (Present on Monday, Oct. 25) Create a software prototype – to demonstrate how your design, task analysis, conceptual model, and paper prototype are progressively being reflected in your software implementation.
- Since we are using mutli-member teams, some things can happen in parallel (e.g., programming, etc.).
- This to make sure that the design (which should always drive the implementation) is getting nicely implemented in software.
- Again, REMEMBER:
- “20 hours of coding… can save you 2 hours of design”
- Design, design, design.
- Iterate between design, paper prototype, evaluate / refine… before coding something (a feature, character, etc.).
- This will save you tremendous amounts of time, and it create a MUCH BETTER software product in the end.
Evaluation
Your work will be evaluated by your peers for its merit across the following dimensions:
- Artistic merit of proposed project.
- Technical merit of proposed project.
- Synthesis – how well are the artistic and technical intertwined / combined to form the proposed project (are they both integral, or is one superfluous).
- How carefully you followed assignment instructions.
Additional instructions on how to evaluate the work of your peers will follow.
Grading
Your grade will be based on (a) how well you follow these instructions and the depth/quality of your work, and (b) how carefully and thoroughly you evaluated your peers’ contributions.