The purpose of this assignment:
- To document the purpose of your project
- To prepare for data gathering and requirements analysis
Please do the following:
The following suggestions for getting started on your project are
negotiable, with the exception of the root concept and project plan,
which I want everyone to do
Let me know in advance if you think something different
than the sequence we went through with the calendar project fits
your project better. We will write up a plan that is specific to
your project. Remember, in the star model we can move from any design
activity to any other, as long as it is driven by evaluation!
All Projects
Prepare a Root
Concept document that includes
- high level vision
- rationale (for technology)
- stakeholders (you may use a usage-centered desgin role map if
there are many of them)
- assumptions and constraints
Also give me a rough timeline for your project's work over the
next 7 weeks (within the framework of the assignment
schedule).
Projects that are starting new systems from scratch
Prepare an Interview
Guide:
- goal of the interview
- which stakeholders will be interviewed?
- open-ended prompts (ways to get the users to start talking about
needs) with space to record comments
- specific questions (specific information you need to know)
with space to record answers
If your product is to be used in a specific location such as a
workplace, also include plans and forms for observing and documenting
the workplace (what kinds of computers are there? how is the space
organized? what other artifacts are used in the task you will be
supporting?) and the activity that takes place in the workspace.
How will you collect and analyze artifacts involved in the activity
to be supported?
(You should be getting enough information to write problem scenarios,
do claims analysis, do hierarchical task analysis, write use cases,
etc. -- but that will be next week.)
Projects that are revising existing systems
Prepare the interview guide and plans for workspace observations
as above, but instead of workplace and project analysis, provide
plans for usability testing. You will need to read ahead in the
readings for next week.
Presenting your plans
- Write all of this up in a way that you think would be useful
for supporting your actual work. For example, if you need to make
observations in the workplace or record comments during an interview,
you may find it useful to prepare forms that allow you to quickly
record such observations and comments.
- Write a brief memo that keeps your boss informed of your plans.
This page will reference (link to) to the root concept
and your plans for requirements analysis.
- Start a new thread that
links to this memo in the Assignment 8 discussion. Only one project
member should do this (one thread per project).
- Then
view and comment on the plans for some other projects, including
the one before yours.
- Throughout all of this and in the future, use your workspace "section" in
any way that you find useful to organize your work.
Due 3/8 thorugh 3/12 (see below)
If your plans are ready 3/8 we will discuss them in class 3/9.
If they are ready 3/12 we will discuss them 3/14. First come first
serve.
I'm doing it this way to spread our discussions out over two class
periods in which we also cover other material. All future project
assignments will dedicate an entire Monday to their discussion,
and therefore be due the Saturday before in order to allow time
for review.
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