Project Assignment (3000 words)

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

https://miamioh.instructure.com/courses/129615/assignments/1474815 1/9

Project Assignment 02

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Available Sep 18 at 8am - Oct 23 at 11:59pm about 1 month

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This assignment covers the material in Chapter 5 of part 2, and the whole of part 3. It is worth 30% of the project for the course and should take about 10 hours to complete. The total word count should be about 3500 words or less.

*NOTE FROM COURSE STAFF: As we are finishing grading project one, we ask that in future project submission you break up each question by including the question in your report. This allows for grading to go quicker and ensure that you answer each part of the question"

In this assignment, you redesign the user interface of your system in order to improve the problematic task you identified in Assignment 01.

This redesign is intended to be a reflective exercise based upon the theory, principles, and guidelines presented in Chapter 5 of part 2, and part 3. We are as interested in the process of design as in the design decisions that you make, so you must justify your approach throughout. We suggest that you read the whole assignment before starting the redesign.

Ques�on 1: Introduc�on - [about 200 words, 3 points] Write a brief introduction, that:

(i) places the report in context as the second assignment for CSE212, with respect to Assignment 01 and the course as a whole.

(ii) summarizes the purpose and content of the report.

Ques�on 2: Work re-engineering - [about 600 words, 12 points] Work re-engineering is explained in Chapter 8.

2.1 (4 pts) Create a use scenario that describes how the redesigned user interface will support your selected task. Be sure to thoroughly explain how the new design will be an improvement upon the original/ current design of the system.

2.2 (8 pts) Create an essential use case for the use scenario. Justify how the different tasks have been allocated between the user and the system.

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

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Ques�on 3: Conceptual design - [about 900 words, 18 points] Conceptual design is explained in Chapter 8.

There are examples to the below 3 questions in the textbook and/or the slides.

3.1 (4 pts) Create a concrete use case corresponding to the essential use case. Mark up the concrete use case, indicating the task objects and attributes.

3.2 (6 pts) Based on the concrete use case and the work you carried out for Assignment 01, create an object–attribute–action table for the primary task objects.

3.3 (8 pts) Create a detailed content diagram for the part of the system you described in your essential use case. Explain the content diagram in relation to your system.

Ques�on 4: Prototype of the re-designed interface - [about 400 words, 20 points] Prototyping is explained in Chapter 6 and in various places in part 3.

Create a prototype of a re‐designed interface for the system you are studying. You can choose to create:

a low-fidelity prototype, either using paper, screen dumps, or drawings using software tools of your choice.

a high-fidelity prototype using the prototyping tool included with the course, or another tool of your choice.

Describe the new interface in your assignment. Provide sketches or screen dumps to illustrate how the users interact with the interface, and how it deals with the previously problematic task you identified in Assignment 01. This description should match the use scenario in Question 2.1 above. If it does not, explain why the two are different. You do not need to be concerned about producing a 'perfect' design at this point, as you will be undertaking a practical evaluation of the usability of your re-design, with users, for Assignment 03. Our suggestion is to use Invision, https://www.invisionapp.com/ (https://www.invisionapp.com/) because it will be very useful for your evaluations later in Assignment 3.

In your prototype, you can include images and other software components from sources such as the web, CD-ROMs, and others, but you must reference these in your assignment. Do not submit any software with your assignment. Even if you decide to create a high-fidelity prototype, you must find a way to create a self-contained report. Typically, this will involve taking screen dumps from your prototype and including these close to the relevant sections in your assignment.

Ques�on 5: Jus�fica�on of the redesigned interface - [about 1200 words, 40 points]

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

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5.1 (4 pts) Explain how your design uses the information in the content diagram from the conceptual design you created in Question 3, above.

5.2 (6 pts) Choose either (a) or (b) below.

Metaphor and interac�on styles are described in Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 respec�vely.

(a) Identify a metaphor used in your redesign. You could choose a small part of the interface, such as the symbol used on a particular icon, or you could choose a wider metaphor, such as the overall interaction style. Describe the metaphor and its use in the re-designed system. Explain how the metaphor promotes an appropriate user mental model. You may find that the steps of the human– action cycle are helpful here.

(b) If you did not use any metaphorical elements in your redesign, perhaps because you chose a command-line interface, explain how you arrived at this decision. Explain how your new design will promote an appropriate user mental model. You may find that the steps of the human–action cycle are helpful here.

Simplicity, structure, consistency, and tolerance are explained in Chapter 9.

5.3 (8 pts) Justify your design in terms of the four design principles, aiming for about 4 sentences each :

simplicity

structure

consistency

tolerance.

The choice of interac�on devices is explained in Chapter 12

5.4 (9 pts) Justify your choice of interaction devices for your redesign. Explain how your choice was influenced by the following considerations.

(a) The users, tasks, environment, and domain for this system. You will need to refer back to the work you carried out for Assignment 01 in order to do this.

(b) The technical characteristics of the devices.

(c) Organizational and financial constraints.

Your discussion must include a discussion of at least one device that you considered but was found not to be feasible. Explain your reasons for rejecting it.

The psychological principles and so�ware components are explained in Chapter 5 and Chapter 13 respec�vely.

5.5 (9 pts) Select three of the components listed below.

Text

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

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Grading rubric for Assignment 02

Color

Images

Moving images

Sound

Layout

For each of the components you selected above, justify the use of the components in your interface with reference to all of the following psychological principles:

users see what they expect to see

users have difficulty focusing on more than one activity at a time

it is easier to perceive a structured layout

it is easier to recognize something than recall it

You may find it helpful to contrast your improved choices with the use of software components in the original system.

Design areas are explained in Chapters 16, 17, and 18, which we do not cover explicitly in class. You will have to do some independent reading on this topic.

5.6 (4 pts) Identify the design area(s) you have chosen for your redesign. State which guidelines are appropriate to these design areas, and why. How have these specific guidelines influenced your redesign?

Ques�on 6: Conclusion and quality of the report - [about 200 words, 3 points for the conclusion, 4 points for quality] Write a conclusion that:

(i) describes what you have achieved in the report

(ii) re-states the main points of your work including any recommendations and proposed future actions.

Your report will also be assessed for its overall quality – its consistency, coherence, completeness, and legibility.

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

https://miamioh.instructure.com/courses/129615/assignments/1474815 5/9

Criteria Ratings Pts

3.0 pts

4.0 pts

8.0 pts

Question 1 Introduction

3.0 pts

Full Marks The introduction should explain the problem task and how you're going to solve it. You should put it in the overall context of the CSE212.

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 2.1

4.0 pts

Full Marks Use scenario (see Chapters 4 and 8). Note the difference between task and use scenarios. The use scenario can be rich, informal, open-ended, a description of real-world practice and experience, including users’ mental attitudes to pursuing their goal. It should not be constrained by how the current system operates. The grader will look for the following: • strict relevance to problem task described in Assignment 01 • specific example – i.e. concrete description of user(s) and task • full description of user/task behavior • explanation of improvement in general terms

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 2.2

8.0 pts

Full Marks Essential use case and task allocation. The essential use case(s) should be an abstraction of the user/system interface behavior from the scenario in Q2.1. Reference: Figure 4.4 and Figure 8.3. Look for: • Relation to the task in the use scenario in Q2.1 • Abstraction – generic, high level tasks • Clear user task definition • Clear system response description • Complete sequence of purpose/responsibilities • An understanding of the purpose of the technique • No reliance on the current system • Explicit change in task allocation from current system • Explanation as to why tasks have been so allocated

0.0 pts

No Marks

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

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Criteria Ratings Pts

4.0 pts

6.0 pts

8.0 pts

Question 3.1

4.0 pts

Full Marks Concrete use case. This should be a specific instance of the abstract (‘essential’) use case above. Examples are given in Figure 4.3 and Figure 8.6. Check that the design does fit the task you trying to solve. It should be sufficiently different from the concrete use case created in Assignment 01. 2 points for creating the concrete from the essential use case. Figure 8.8 shows how to mark up the use case for object definition. It is equivalent to the well-known software technique of identifying the nouns in a specification document. Objects are identified by a single underline and attributes by a double underline. However, note in Figure 8.9 that the library is not underlined as it is outside the scope of the problem. For students unfamiliar with object-oriented techniques, the brief discussion included Chapter 8 should clarify. 2 points for a sensible and complete mark-up.

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 3.2

6.0 pts

Full Marks Object-attribute-action table. This can be a difficult exercise, and so will need careful checking, as in any real-world development, the objects chosen would be the basis of the UI implementation. However, this is intended to be a thinking tool rather than an analytical/development tool. Scoping should have been made easier by the concrete use case technique, but make sure you exclude objects that are not in scope for the defined problem. Make sure there are no duplicate names for the same thing or confusing attributes with objects. Reference: Chapter 8. Grading suggestions: • For the correct format of the table – i.e. understanding what ‘object’, ‘attribute’ and ‘action’ are. [1] • For identification of all objects. [2] • Then for accuracy and completeness in filling in the table. [3]

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 3.3

8.0 pts

Full Marks Content diagram. This is getting into an actual design, as the ideas must, at least in theory, work. The concepts are dealt with in Chapter 8 and illustrated in Figures 8.11 to 8.19. Look for: • The main container with clear links and no objects [1] • Conventions in line with fig 11, [1] • All objects matching those identified in Q3.2 – to demonstrate clear follow-through from the analysis [1] • A content diagram, combined if necessary, as in Figure 8.19 but hoping for more detail, with all links satisfied (or a clear explanation as to why not), arrows checked forward and back. [2] • A clear, thorough explanation. [2] That leaves a mark for evidence of prototyping, attention to error handling, or other consideration beyond the specifics of the question. [1]

0.0 pts

No Marks

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Criteria Ratings Pts

20.0 pts

4.0 pts

6.0 pts

Question 4

20.0 pts

Full Marks Reference: Chapter 6 and various places in Part 3. Also following through from the content diagram produced in Q3.3. The 20 marks are intended to reward the effort put into the re- design. This should be allocated as much to the amount of thought as to the technical quality of the prototype • For the quality of illustration. [7] • For the quality of the description, which should demonstrate how the new system will work from the user’s point of view. [13]

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 5.1

4.0 pts

Full Marks Check for a complete correspondence between a content diagram and presented design, or a justification as to why not. Here there is an opportunity to point out why inadequate work on the use cases causes trouble down the line.

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 5.2

6.0 pts

Full Marks The question should be answered analytically not purely descriptively. It needs a basis in course concepts, which can come from the human-action cycle (See Chapter 10 and figure 10.26) so that justification of (a) or (b) is based on, for example: • identified problems in goal formation • inappropriate decisions in task breakdown • difficulties in seeing which actions to perform • difficulties in performing the actions • inadequate feedback: changed state of system unclear • inadequate feedback: results difficult to understand. Either (a) Using ideas from Chapter 10, the student should show how the chosen metaphor helps to address the identified problems. [6] Or (b) Using ideas from Chapter 10, to explain why no metaphor is appropriate: discussion should be related to the task action cycle or other specific usability problems with respect to the specific users/tasks and data already identified. [2] For demonstrating an understanding of the user’s model, the designer’s model, and the function of the system image as applied to the re-designed interface in the light of the identified problems. Reference: Chapter 4 and Chapter 10. [4]

0.0 pts

No Marks

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

https://miamioh.instructure.com/courses/129615/assignments/1474815 8/9

Criteria Ratings Pts

8.0 pts

9.0 pts

9.0 pts

Question 5.3

8.0 pts

Full Marks The principles are defined/explained clearly in Chapter 9. Answers should follow these definitions. Two points for each principle, with deductions for those who clearly haven’t read or understood the bookwork. Justification of consistency must be backed by students’ own thinking based on User Interface Design and Evaluation concepts, not by following the original system or Microsoft conventions [8]

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 5.4

9.0 pts

Full Marks This is dealt with in Chapter 12. The mark scheme is intended to reward students who make the context of use most important and to penalize students who allow technical, financial, and organizational constraints to prevent consideration of a wide range of devices. The rejected device can be the same for more than one part, but the justification must be distinctly different and correspond to the stated criteria. (a) Users/tasks/environment/domain. [6] (b) Technical characteristics. [2] (c) Organizational/financial constraints. [1]

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 5.5

9.0 pts

Full Marks Definitions and examples of the principles followed by their implications on design are given in Chapter 5 and Chapter 13. Again, the designs will vary so much it’s difficult to break down other than to say 3 points per component. Points should be awarded for addressing the principles and their implications explicitly as in the course material and applying them to specific interface features in the re-design. Points should be deducted for merely reiterating bookwork, vagueness, and generalities. [9]

0.0 pts

No Marks

2020/10/21 Project Assignment 02

https://miamioh.instructure.com/courses/129615/assignments/1474815 9/9

Total Points: 100.0

Criteria Ratings Pts

4.0 pts

7.0 pts

Question 5.6

4.0 pts

Full Marks For only 4 marks all that is required is • Identification of the design area(s) of the specific system: GUI, website, embedded system, other. (Chapters 16, 17, and 18) • Stating which guidelines are appropriate to the design area or areas and why. (Part 3 Appendices) • Explanation as to how the specific guidelines have influenced the re-design.

0.0 pts

No Marks

Question 6

7.0 pts

Full Marks For the conclusion - following the instructions in the Assignment Booklet - the student should: (i) describe what they have achieved in the report (ii) re-state the main points of their work, including any recommendations and proposed future actions Reward students who discuss their achievements and recommendations in terms of User Interface Design and Development concepts and techniques, rather than those who focus solely on their application. [3] For the overall quality, including illustration and spelling/grammar as well as the consistency, coherence, completeness, and legibility. [4]

0.0 pts

No Marks