UCD Assignment

BA/BSc Design for Interactive Media (Top-up) 2006/07
ADM302 - User-Centred Design

ASSIGNMENT

Tutors: Stuart Neil and Debbie Lamont
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Assignment Introduction.

There are three aspects to the assessment:

Assignment and presentation of personal work (75%)
Contribution to discourse through seminars and tutorials (10%)
Personal Progress Journal (15%)

The assignment will consist of a written report, prototype and presentation.

Work done for the module should be reflected in your online personal progress journal.

The assessment of this module is based on the aims and learning outcomes which you will find in the module handbook.

Marking criteria

A Pass will be awarded where students successfully undertake the following:
Evaluate forms of interactivity relating to various technologies and contexts
Critically appraise developments within a number of disciplines relating to the design of interaction
Identify and evaluate concepts for both conventional and novel forms of interactive software products or systems
Consider technical requirements and possibilities for the design and development of interactive products or systems
Critically assess issues pertinent to the designing for communities and for collaboration

A Merit will be awarded where students as well as addressing the above, show the ability to:
Combine existing elements to create something new
Communicate your ideas clearly
Plan your work well
Form hypotheses from your research
Draw conclusions from your research

A Distinction will be awarded where, as well as the above, students demonstrate the ability to:
Make a judgement using a recognised standard
Make generalisations from your conclusions
Develop evaluation criteria
Make decisions
Identify subjective values in your research






Assessment Schedule

Assignment
Number
Weighting
Type
Handout Date
Submission Date
1
25
Written Report
24/10/06
10/11/06
2
40
Prototype
24/10/06
10/11/06
3
10
Presentation
24/10/06
14+15/11/06
CDS
10



PP Journal
15





Module Schedule

Date
Time
Who

What
24/10/06
10am
Debbie Lamont & Stuart Neil
Introduction to module
25/10/06
10am
Stuart Neil
Practical Development
31/10/06
10am
1pm
Debbie Lamont & John-Paul Jones
Design Prototyping and construction
01/11/06
10am
Stuart Neil
Practical Development
07/11/06
10am
1pm
Debbie Lamont & John-Paul Jones
Testing and evaluation
08/11/06
10am
Stuart Neil
Practical Development
14/11/06
10am – 4pm

Debbie Lamont & John-Paul Jones
Presentations
15/11/06
10am – 4pm
Stuart Neil
Presentations
































Overall Aim

Using a user-centred approach, you are going to redesign the product chosen in the previous module (‘Design for Interaction’), create a prototype of your redesign and then test it for usefulness and usability.

You will be required to submit a written assignment in formal report format (1000-1500 words) (to be published within your Blog) incorporating stages one and two of the assignment (detailed below).

Stage One - Redesign

Based on your evaluation of the original product from the last module (‘Design for Interaction’), you are going to redesign the product and produce a prototype using appropriate development methods and prototyping techniques.

Your written work will be marked on the following criteria:

Ø Demonstration of an understanding of the user-centred design methods and prototyping techniques chosen by discussing, evaluating and justifying the approach taken and practical application of them;

Ø Relating the redesigned product to the concepts & principles of key thinkers in the field of HCI & Usability (e.g. Jakob Nielsen, Donald Norman, Jenny Preece, Christine Faulkner and Ben Shneiderman);

Ø Implementation of theories learned from the ‘Design for Interaction’ module (e.g. consideration of the core cognitive processes, creating an accurate mental model for the user, appropriate use of interface metaphors and styles of interaction adopted).

Your prototypes will be marked on the following criteria:

Ø Choice of appropriate prototyping and development methods;
Ø Effective application of specialist technical and practical skills.

Stage Two - Testing

Evaluate your redesigned prototype using Nielsen’s Discounted Usability Engineering method (‘DUE’).

Your written work will be marked on the following criteria:

Ø Demonstration of an understanding of the DUE technique by discussing, evaluating and justifying the approach taken and practical application of it;

The write-up of the test results and recommendations made for a further redesign.









Stage Three - Presentation

You are required to make a 15-minute presentation to the rest of the class. The presentation will pull together all the work you have done for this module, i.e. redesign and testing. It will also allow you to explain how successful (or not!) your approach was and any problems encountered during the development lifecycle.

It would be useful to begin with a brief introduction on the original design of your product (from the ‘Design for Interaction’ module).

If you did not have time to incorporate the recommendations from your testing into a further redesign, please ensure you discuss/show visuals of a possible redesign at the end of your presentation.

Similarly to the preceding module (‘Design for Interaction’), your presentation will be marked on the following criteria:

Ø Presentation delivery;
Ø Structure of presentation;
Ø Content of presentation;
Ø Relevance of material;
Ø Use of visual aids.