Assignment 04: System Description
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% |
In this assignment, you will make your design decisions concrete. They will be documented in two forms:
- a "map" of the system architecture, and
- a prototype of all or a portion of the system
The map may be a simplified state transition diagram, a user environment map (from Beyer & Holtzblatt), or some other graphical illustration of the system architecture. The prototype will instantiate all or portions of your design. It is not intended that it be the final version of the system; instead, it is a first prototype that can be used to evaluate some of your early design decisions.
The prototype will be demonstrated in class on
⇒ Monday, 25 Mar 2013
⇒ Wednesday, 27 Mar 2013
⇒ Monday, 01 Apr 2013
⇒ Wednesday, 03 Apr 2013
The map will be turned in with the final documentation on Wednesday, 10 Apr 2013; if you would like feedback on it prior to that time, I will try to review it.
If you are considering a web site, you might want to consider looking at this circa 1999 model of what a system description might look like. Yours does not have to include everything you see here, but you might want to think about whether or not your system description fully describes the system you have designed.
If you are considering a standalone system, this different, and more recent, system description might provide you with an example of what a fully developed standalone system task might look like.
Mobile apps are becoming more important. If you are considering an app, this recent example of a system description might provide you with a better example of what a fully developed mobile app task might look like.
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