Overview

This assignment is the next phase in your project development - DESIGN. Now that you have a concept, it's time to do user research, create personas, and come up with designs. For this assignment, Joanne will divide each team of four into pairs. Each pair will complete this assignment independently of the other group pair, resulting in two sets of research data and personas, and two design options for each project. All pairs will present their designs in class on Tuesday 3/13 or Thursday 3/15. Both pairs from a team must present on the same day.

Part A: User Research -- Due 3/13 -- 33 points

The purpose of this part is to conduct valuable user research which will then inform your app design. You must use in-person interviews and surveys to gather data. The end result will be a text or pdf document with all the user and interview information described here, and a pdf of the survey results:

• Identify and describe the anticipated different types of primary users for your application.
• Develop a set of questions for a brief survey and find at least 10 people willing to take it, some from each user group. Try to find people who are not available for in person interviews to do the survey. Include basic (non-identifying) demographic data: age, schooling, job if any, gender, locale. Use an on-line survey system (try SurveyMonkey) to distribute and collect survey information. Use the information gathered as a starting point for the interviews.
• Create a set of topics or discussion points to guide your interviews, incorporating any feedback already received from the surveys. This might include design sketches for them to review and revise. For each type of user, conduct 2-5 interviews of real people in that category. Your survey and interview subjects should not overlap. Regardless of how many user types you identify, you must interview at least 6 different people. Keep notes on your interviews, along with non-identifying data about the people you interview. Call them subject1, subject2, etc, but include basic demographic data: age, schooling, job if any, gender, locale.

Grading breakdown: [3] user type descriptions, [12] survey questions and results, [18] interview results (prepared topics, user data, interview notes)

Part B: Personas -- Due 3/13 -- 12 points

Now that you have gotten user feedback and insights, create personas for each user type that your research revealed. These do not necessarily have to match your expected user types from Part A. It is possible that your research reveals more or fewer types of users. Give (anonymous) faces and fake names to your personas. Write biographical sketches for each, including only data relevant to their app usage. You should have about 2-5 personas, depending on your application. Submit your personas in one pdf document.

Part C: Design & Presentation -- Due 3/13-15 -- 30 points

Now that you've done the research, it's time for brainstorming and structuring your findings. Keeping good design principles in mind, develop the application framework. Identify the data that will be processed, your application components, activities, views, transitions and aesthetics. In other words, design the user interface.

Create a presentation of your findings and design for the rest of the class. Include your personas by way of introducing us to your expected user base. Show us, with as much detail as possible, how your app will work and look. It's up to each pair to decide if this will be done through a powerpoint presentation, display boards, or something else. Your goal here is to pitch (explain and defend) your design as the best possible option for this app. The rest of the class will be expected to question and critique your design decisions. You will have 10 minutes for your presentation, with 2-3 minutes for questions and critiques. Be prepared to submit your designs in some form (electronic or physical) to Joanne for further review and grading purposes.

Grading breakdown: [6] app features, [6] app functionality/usability, [6] app aesthetics, [12] presentation quality

After this assignment, it will be up to the group to decide on a final design for your app. You could either choose one of the pairs' designs, or create a hybrid. Hopefully you will incorporate any feedback the class gives during the presentations into your final designs.