Assignments
| Assignment | Description | Due on | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | user analysis | 06 Feb | 10% |
| 02 | task analysis | 25 Feb | 10% |
| 03 | your rationale for the design decisions made | 06 Mar | 20% |
| 04 | prototype and system description | 10 Apr | 20% |
| 05a | usability inspection of a design developed by one of your classmates | 17 Apr | 10% |
| 05b | response to a usability inspection of your design | 22 Apr | 05% |
| 06 | planning a usability test of your own design | 06 May | 15% |
| participation | in class and online | daily | 10% |
Assignments 01-04:
Design and Implementation of an Interface Prototype
This series of assignments involves designing a prototype of an interface for an information system and developing a description of that interface.
The design process involves
- identifying and describing the intended users of the system (Assignment 01),
- identifying and describing the essence of the task to be supported by the system (Assignment 02),
- and making justifiable decisions about the design (Assignment 03).
The description of the interface includes
- graphical overview of the system and a prototype of the interface (Assignment 04).
- For assignment 04, documentation of the interface includes
Each of the assignments will be due in draft form as we cover the necessary background material in class, so that you can have feedback while you're working on the overall project. These drafts will be due on particular dates, but the grade will not be assigned until all the portions of the project are complete (i.e., your work on a particular assignment may be revised prior to the grade being assigned).
For those who are working in teams, each team member will receive the same grade on the project. The evaluation criteria for these projects will emphasize the quality and justification of your design decisions. They also include the quality (clarity, appropriateness for users/tasks) of the design itself and the quality (specificity, completeness) of the user and task analyses. Throughout your documentation, strive for clarity.
The complete documentation of the system is due on
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
It will integrate the final versions of assignments 01-04. A sample outline for the system documentation is available. You do not need to follow it strictly, but it does give you some idea of the material that should be covered.
This is the version that will be graded. The entire package should be turned in, by sending the instructor an email note which will include a URL link to the place in your web storage space where you have saved the document. It should be a single document (in pdf, Word, or similar format). You may point the evaluators to a "working" prototype if you wish, but all screen views should also be available in the documentation package.
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Assignments 05 & 06: Evaluation
Interface design and evaluation go hand in hand. Thus, this course will provide an opportunity for you to participate in two types of evaluation assignments:
- usability inspection of a design developed by one of your classmates (Assignment 05)
- and the planning of a usability test of your own design (Assignment 06)
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Class participation
Class participation is encouraged, expected, and appreciated. Each student is expected to participate actively in both the class blog and in face-to-face class discussions. These forms of class participation will be evaluated in terms of their contribution to the class's learning opportunities, and will account for 10% of the course grade.