CS3025: Human-Computer Interaction

The deliverables for this project will be:

1. [Value 15] Your design document and presentation. (Due: February 10, 2004)
   This should include: an overview (system goals, etc.), a description of the intended users (and corresponding design constraints), screen mockups, and a brief user guide (maybe 2 pages) that explains how a user will interact with your system (refer to your screen mock-ups). Whenever possible, provide some justification (reasons) for the design decisions that you make. Each group will also present their design to the class.
2. [Value 5] Your prototype implementation. (Due: March 9, 2004)
   Your prototype interface should be as close as possible to what a fully functional product would look like, but the functionality does not need to be complete. You should ask for advice on what type of functionality should be included if you are not sure. You want to have a prototype that can be used by subjects to evaluate the usability of a completed system. There should be sufficient functionality for a subject to assess the strengths and weaknesses based on the working subset. A subject should be able to imagine the completed system based on the prototype. The "look" of the interface should be complete, including non-functioning menu items, icons, etc. Your prototype must run on some platform available in the building so that both subjects and the instructor can access it.
3. [Value 5] Your usability study (evaluation) plan. (Due: March 16, 2004)
   Remember that you will be testing if the objectives of your system have been met, so you want to start with what the objectives are! This short document should also:
   1. Provide a brief summary describing the nature of the experiment: expectations; considerations; etc.
   2. Identify the usability factor(s) to be measured (the dependent variables)
   3. Describe the tasks that your users will perform (discuss briefly any concerns that need to be kept in mind to ensure no bias creeps in)
   4. Identify the independent variables (the changing conditions)
   5. Describe the subject pool (how you are going to recruit them, how you are going to assess the background they bring to your study (if this is a concern), etc.)
   6. Indicate what, specifically, you will measure and how
   7. Describe what analysis you will perform on the collected data (this will not be cast in stone, as it will undoubtedly change somewhat once you take a first look at your collected data)
4. [Value 25] Your usability study report and project presentation (Due: March 30, 2004)

Please note that the most important products are the interfcae design and the final report. The real purpose of the prototype and the evaluation plan is to facilitate the usability testing.

Additional Notes

For this project, you will work in your previously-assigned project groups.

Each group should choose one of the following topics to carry through the rest of the term:

• Design an interface for software that would introduce middle school students to the field of Computer Science. This software would be distributed by the UNB Faculty of Computer Science to raise awareness of (and interest in) the field.

• Design an interface for software that would teach young children the geography of Canada.
  To keep this simple enough to accomplish in the next few weeks, you can restrict the information your application will convey to that which you perceive as "central" to this topic (e.g. provinces and territories, major cities and towns, major rivers and lakes, description and location of major language and cultural groups, etc.) Your design should enable easy expansion (to include other related information without having to completely redesign your interface). Your application should teach and test.

• Design an interface for a hand-held display device that is:
  1. a tour guide for someone visiting the city of Fredericton (Visitors can rent the device and use it during their stay.), OR
  2. a gardening instruction manual for a novice gardener to use in the garden, OR
  3. an instruction manual on navigation for a sailor, OR
  4. a golf assistant/tutor to be used by golfers while out on the course.
  If you wish, your prototype can use a regular computer screen to simulate a hand-held device.

• Design a Web interface for a local (Fredericton-area) babysitting service. This site will serve two main client groups: 1) Parents/guardians will use this system to search for (and request) babysitters, and 2) People looking for babysitting jobs will use this system to submit/update their information.
  You need to design interfaces for both user groups.

• Other project ideas will be considered, but you must receive Natalie's approval by January 19.

Last modified January 2004