CS 4753 Class Project 
Part 3:  Interface Design Mockup

Due: Monday, May 13, noon


Objectives

The objective of this assignment is to combine the various skills and
techniques that have learned thus far in this course to a user
interface design problem.  In part 1 a methodology for finding out
information about the user population was practiced.  Part 2 provided
practice in observing users and relating the user's behavior to the
design of your proposed interface.  Part 3 asks you to apply what you
have learned to making a prototype of your proposed interface.

The assignment also has a sub-objective, that of giving practice in
developing a good user interface within the constraints of the design
environment.  The classic constraint in user interface design is the
small amount of time allowed to build an acceptable interface for the
user.  Due dates for this assignment impose a similar constraint
requiring decisions about which user interface features can be included
in the design given the minimal amount of time available.  A second
constraint  as common as the first  is the constraints of the external
user, the software and the hardware environments.  User interface
designs need to adapt to the history of prior interfaces, to the
consistency requirements of similar interfaces and to the limitations
of the hardware and development software that will be used.  To
simulate a portion of these constraints, you are being asked to design
a prototype of your system in a user interface prototyping environment
discussed in class.


Directions

Your basic task is to design a prototype of your proposed user
interface using the prototyping tool.  The design will not be
a final implementation.

You are expected to apply the information you have gathered about your
intended user in the two previous assignments to your design. I recommend
that you follow the following steps:

*       Develop a set of design criteria about what the interface
should provide to its users.  This is more than the typical
requirements list for software design.  In addition to describing the
functions the system should perform, the design criteria should contain
user information. Use the information from parts 1 and 2 of the project to
aid in developing the design criteria.

*       Sketch out your design on paper prototyping environment. You are
encouraged to sketch out more than one design. Be sure that you record the
rationale for each design.

*       Elicit user input and recommendations for changing your design.  You
can query your friends, parents, colleagues, or significant others. Where
feasible, look for suggestions and inspiration in the online library of
interface examples.

*	Build a mock-up of your design using the prototyping environment.
You are not being asked to build a complete implementation of your design,
but enough of a prototype to demonstrate the design to users.

*       Repeat steps 2-4, adapting your design to match what you
have learned about the design from showing it to potential users.

* 	(OPTIONAL!!!!) If you desire, add some code or scripts behind your
interface so that the user can interact with it in a simplified manner.

*	Expect to use what you develop now in part 4 of the project to run
a usability study of your design.

*       Write up your design including a description of the processes
you went through in making the design follow the needs of the user.

*       Schedule with Dr. Potts and Eugene a time when you can demonstrate
your design.  This should take about 15 minutes.

What you should turn in:

(1) Your prototype. Instructions will be given separately detailing how to
submit the running prototype.

(2) A five page maximum write-up on the design process that was conducted.
The write-up should include, in order, the following items:

1.       A description of the final design.  This should be presented in
enough detail so that it is possible for a programmer to implement the
design.  Use printouts of specific screens to show what the user will
see and the actions available to the user at each state.  List the
design criteria that produced this design in the process in your
description.

2.       A discussion of the user information that you used to create
your design, e.g., data from the papers you read on people's use of
similar systems, your own studies of people's use of analogous systems,
or information gleaned form the questionnaires you administered, good (or
bad) examples that you found in the on-line library or with which you are
otherwise familiar.  This discussion should consider aspects of the user
as well as functional aspects of the task.

For example, if you were designing a calendar system, you might include
the functional information fact that people write down multiple
appointments occurring at the same time (if this is true) and use this
information to keep track of what other people are doing, not just what
their appointments are.  As user-oriented data you might indicate that
people have trouble with the limited amount of space available and
often put down abbreviated information which is indecipherable at a
later date (if you find this to be true).

Note that the included figures, diagrams, etc., can be put in an
appendix and they need not count against your 5 pages.

How you will be graded

You will be graded on the quality of your user interface, the
creativeness of your design in solving the user interface problems you
encountered and your ability to incorporate into the design process,
the user data you collected in project parts 1 and 2.

HINT:  All previous assignments have prepared you for this design
assignment.  Look back at the evaluations you have performed and
transfer the concepts in these evaluations to evaluating your design.

The group score for Part 3 will contribute 10 percent of your final grade.