Report and Video Due Tuesday March 10, 2020; Class Presentation March 12, 2020
In this assignment, you will refine the user interface for your project based on feedback from your early user testing in assignment 2, create a high-fidelity prototype of the user interface, and perform usability testing with members of your target user group. You will present an 80 second video of your project in class.
Your hi-fidelity prototype should be a program allowing full execution of your user interface. The prototype should be programmed in whatever language and programming environment is appropriate for your type of application, e.g., Java, Python, Swift, Unity, or web technologies.
While your prototype should implement your full user interface, it may not be necessary to implement the full back-end of your project. For example, if the implementation of your application requires doing searches over a suite of external services, it may be adequate to simulate these searches using a set of predetermined results stored in a file. Or if your system requires a massive database of information that you do not have access to, it may be sufficient to provide a subset of sample data that still allows interesting use of the system. Your goal should be to provide users with the full experience of using your system, without necessarily having to provide the full back-end implementation that would be required to create a real product. If you are unsure what back-end functionality to implement, see the instructor in office hours, or discuss with your teaching assistant.
Perform user testing with at least three members of your user community. Your tests should follow Gomoll and Nicol's approach, as described in lecture. I do not recommend using "guerilla" testing - perform tests in controlled settings with carefully selected members of your user group, and in a private situation where they can feel comfortable.
Pick representative tasks for your users to perform. Video record your sessions so that you can analyze them after (be sure to ask your users for permission first, and you need to tell them how the video will be used.) Analyze your tests to determine where your user interface leads to usability problems.
Prepare a two-minute video clip showing interesting highlights from your testing sessions. The video should illustrate
Please use the following structure for your report.
The title page should include the title of the project and the names of all group members.
Describe any important changes since your assignment 2 submission, such as changes to your target user group, problem, or major changes to your application. If there are no such changes, you do not need to include this section.
Describe the status of your prototype. List the tools that were used to create it. Detail significant known bugs and any important features that have not been implemented.
Detail any important ways in which your prototype does not provide the operation of a true product, e.g., due to simplifications in the back-end or available data.
List any code packages, art assets, or other parts of your application that were produced by third parties.
This section should report your method, findings and recommendations.
Method: Describe the method you used to perform user testing. Explain the characteristics of the users who performed the testing. List the tasks that users were asked to perform. Detail the instructions given to the users, and the procedures followed in the testing. Describe how data was captured during the test.
Findings: Describe the key findings from user testing.
Recommendations: Describe changes you plan to make to the user interface to address the findings from your testing.
You will perform a lightning presentation of your project in class. The presentation will take the form of an 80-second video. One member of your group will talk over the video as it plays in class.
The video should (very quickly!) introduce:
In order for all groups to be able to present in class, I will be very strict about the 80 second time limit. This means that you should practice your talk in advance to ensure you can deliver it on time.
I will combine all of the videos into a single slide deck based on your submissions on OnQ. It will not be possible for me to accept updates after the submission deadline.
Your group submission should be made using OnQ, and should consist of a report, a user testing video and a presentation video.
Your report should be a single document in PDF format. Please use 11 point type, 1.5 line spacing, with 1" margins. There should be one submission for the group.
The report should conclude with a group contribution statement, using the template on OnQ.
Your video should be in a file entitled groupNumber-user-testing.mp4. The video must be in MP4 format, with a resolution of 720p. The video must be compressed to a reasonable size, through application of the Handbrake video conversion tool. The length of the video should be approximately two minutes. It is extremely important that you adhere to these specifications.
Your video should be in a file entitled groupNumber-presentation.mp4. The video must be in MP4 format, with a resolution of 720p. The video must be compressed to a reasonable size, through application of the Handbrake video conversion tool. The length of the video may not exceed 80 seconds in length. It is extremely important that you adhere to these specifications.
In addition, each group member should submit a peer review form. This should be submitted to the individual peer review assignment submission. Your peer review should be in the form of a PDF document, and must be titled in the form groupNumber-lastName-firstName.pdf.
The assignment will be graded with the rubric provided in OnQ. Please review this rubric while completing the assignment.