Final deliverables: due December 14th

Your final deliverables are due on Monday, December 14th:

1) Term project paper: A written report and finalization of your term project, including improvements suggested after your presentation. Include wireframes and sitemaps/flowcharts, usability test task list and results, or other supporting material and visuals as appropriate. The podcast format was an option for the presentation, but isn’t the right format for this paper. I would in addition accept an interactive piece as final deliverable for this paper, as long as it includes a written report of your project, but not a powerpoint (powerpoint isn’t interactive). Please prepare your paper in a printable format (letter size as Word doc or PDF) and post it to your blog so other students can see it as well.

2) Journal summary: This journal entry obeys the same format you used in your previous entries. It should be posted on your blog, under a section for “COM597 – Theories and Practice of Interactivity”, with a date, a time stamp and a title. They should be in good writing, but do not need to be formal! 500-800 words. Your journal summary should explain what you learned through your journal entries and assignments in this class. Please don’t rehash/copy your entire journal entries, just make sure to write about what you learned through them.

You can turn in your final deliverables before the 14th, if you like. Please send both instructors a link to your final deliverables when you are done.

Class 9: Student Presentations (day 2)

Peer evaluations survey:
https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/carolfms/90048

Class 8: Student Presentations (day 1)

Peer evaluations survey: https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/carolfms/89636

Assignments for week 7

The assignment for next week is to propose a way to create “service envy” (as defined in your reading for week 6) in the mobile applications developer space. How can we create service envy on the AT&T developer site: http://developer.att.com/developer/. Write a 500 word paragraph and post it to your blog. Background information

Competitors:

Verizon Droid: http://phones.verizonwireless.com/motorola/droid/
Motodev: http://developer.motorola.com/docstools/motodevstudio/
Apple Developer: http://developer.apple.com/
Intel: http://bruceeric.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/intels-rock-star-campaign/
http://www.intel.com/tomorrow/#/time-machine/entertainment/future/

Please be sure to bring your wireframes to class again if you didn’t receive feedback from me last week.

On another note, we will have an in-class prototyping workshop on November 16th. Please bring any found objects such as bottles, caps, boxes, bubble wrap, markers in different colors, post-its, string, paper, tape, scissors – anything that can be made into something and which you can share with the class. I will provide some materials.
We will have a condensed version of this workshop in class: http://www.saketinidesign.com/Workshop2003/index.html

Assignments for week 6

As mentioned in class this week, your assignment for next week is to help improve the MCDM Media Space. This exercise is meant to help you learn how to use the visual vocabulary described in class, practice writing a use case and perhaps contribute to the Media Space.

1) Choose a task you consider relevant in the current Media Space, which can be improved. Create 2 versions of the task-flow diagram for this task (per description in your reading from last week and using the visual vocabulary explained in class):
a) version 1: task as it is now
b) version 2: your recommendation for how to improve the task
delivery: post task-flow diagrams to your blog, under a short sentence description of your task, AND bring print-outs of your task-flow diagrams to class, in a letter-sized sheet of paper, so that we may have a critique session.

2) Write a use case for the improved version of the task you chose, using the format described in “Designing the Obvious” and post to your blog, along with the diagrams.

3) Please bring your printed wireframes from week 2 again (letter-sized sheet of paper), so that I can give you feedback on this assignment in person.

4) Reading for next week is Chapter 6 of “Designing Interactions”, by Bill Moggridge.

Readings :: Week 5

For week 5, we have a guest speaker and a fantastic book, so it should be a fun week. For those without the time to read the whole thing, you’ll want to read chapters 1-5 and 9 of “Designing the Obvious”, by Robert Hoekman.  Enjoy!

Attention: To enable our guest speaker’s presentation, this week’s class will be held in room COM 304.

P.S.  If you’re having problems finding the reading, you can read the first chapter and change on Amazon.

week05

Readings :: Week 4

Some of you might be wondering: do I need to read the whole Measuring the User Experience book?  The answer is (prepare to cheer) no, but there is still a substantial amount you need to read: Chapters 1-6, and Chapter/sections 10.1 and 10.3.  Take notes – it will help.  For some of you, this may all be old-hat statistical research methodology; for others it may seem like you’re trying to learn a new/foreign language in less than a week.  In either instance, take some notes – it will help you, and your classmates.

Assignments for week 4:

Note: powerpoint from last class posted in course schedule page.

1) Journal entry about poor usability
The journal entries should be posted on your blog, under a section for “COM597 – Theories and Practice of Interactivity”, with a date and a title. They should be in good writing, but do not need to be formal! 500-800 words.

Read chapters 1 and 2 of Measuring the User Experience, by Thomas Tullis and William Albert. Use the concepts you learn in your reading to observe an object designed by man that you interact with in your daily life, which is poor in usability. Choose an object where the main interaction is not screen-based.

2) Design concept for an improved classroom/learning experience
Based on our brainstorming session, choose at least one of the highest voted ideas to propose a design solution to the new classroom/learning experience. Provide a visual representation of your solution. If your are resdesigning the class layout, what will it look like? If you are creating a screen-based piece, what will that look like? Post the design to your blog and print out a copy to bring into class.

Below is a list of the ideas that received the highest votes:

- classroom round table model (5)
- content presented at center of room (4)
- computer built into desk (5)
- students buzz to ask questions in order (8)
- students submit written questions to avoid interruption (2)
- more space for each student (2)
- record the class (6)
- electronic textbooks which can be shared and have interactive components (4)
- accomodate for different learning styles (4)
- incorporate google docs, google wave, twitter feeds (2)

Assignment for week 3: Readings + wireframes

For Week 3, be sure to have read chapters 1, 2 and 3 from Donald Norman’s Emotional Design.  You’ll enjoy the prologue as well, but I won’t require familiarity with it.

For the design process portion of the class, we’ll be talking a bit about thinking like a designer, and so you may well enjoy Tim Brown’s (IDEO) latest TED Talk.

Remember to bring your wireframes for the homepage and first tier landing page of either an existing site, which you are improving, or a new site, which you are creating. Print each screen on one letter-sized sheet of paper, along with a screenshot of the existing site you are improving, if this was your choice.

Assignment for week 2: Good and bad design

Find an example of 2D design which you think is good and an example which you think is bad. Why do you think each is good, or bad? Here are some questions you can ask yourself: is there visual interest? Is there balance, enough contrast, unity and variety between the shapes of elements on the layout? Does the type hierarchy and do the positive and negative spaces help your eye move in the right direction for you to engage with the information? If there is imagery, is it well incorporated into the design? Do the elements on the page work well together, or are they all doing their own thing? Please post 2 images and make comments to each of them, with your initial thoughts on why good or bad.

Readings: Stop Stealing Sheep + Laws of Simplicity (Ch. 1-2)