Goal:

The goal of this assignment is to learn how to build prototypes of user interface ideas using an interactive user interface builder. To achieve this, you will revise your interface design, and then use interactive tools to build a prototype of the design.

UI Redesign:

Using the results of your low-fi prototyping sessions, come up with a revised UI design and storyboard. Make sure the ideas will work for your tasks scenarios. The scenarios used in the low-fi assignment should be sufficient for this if properly designed; we may suggest you alter or expand these.

You have a very short period of time to come up with this prototype, so you should focus on only showing what is essential and try to avoid writing code where it is not necessary. This short period should force you to make some hard choices. You will have the opportunity to tell us what you had to leave out and why.

Prototyping:

Use a prototyping tool (e.g., Visual Basic, Dream Weaver+Cold Fusion, Director) or a user interface builder (e.g., Visual Cafe, tcl/TK) to create a prototype of your application.

This prototype should allow us to run through the three scenarios that you have developed. The underlying functionality does not have to work fully; you can fake much of the output. For example, the airline reservation system project does not need to compute real schedules with a real database backend. Instead it can have several "canned" schedules just stored away in a file.

Your prototype must run on the SIMS lab machines and must be in your project directory in such a way as we have access to it. Other students will also have to be able to run your interface in order to do the heuristic evaluation. Include a web page that informs us how to run the application and tells us any obvious things that aren't implemented.

(If you have a web interface then there shouldn't be any permissions issues. If instead you have a stand-alone GUI, one alternative is to make an executable file that we can copy into our own directories. We shouldn't have to install a bunch of software to get your interface to run; we should be able to double click on some executable file or else run something from a web browser. If you have problems with this, send mail to Dan.)

Write-up:

This is a group assignment, so please work as a group. Note which parts each of your team members contributes to.

Your write-up should be four printed pages of text (plus figures). Please turn in one hardcopy during class on the due date as well as having the information up on the web. The writeup should use the following outline where number of pages per section are approximate:

1. Problem and solution overview (1 paragraph)
2. Tasks (1/4 page)
• 3 representative scenarios based on earlier task analyses (you can reuse the descriptions from earlier assignments if they are still applicable)
3. Revised Interface design (1 page + screen dumps)
   • differences as a result of low-fi testing (refer to screen dumps)
   • storyboards of the 3 scenarios (annotated screen dumps)
   • sketches of screens you planned but did not have implemented (if applicable)
4. Prototype overview (2 pages)
• overview of the UI you actually implemented (reference figures from next section)
• what was left out and why
• any "wizard of oz" techniques that are required to make it work
• tools you used
• how the tools helped
• how the tools did not help
• problems with the tools
5. Screen dumps (as many as needed)
6. Description of how to run the interface and the scenarios
   • Remember this will be used by people doing the heuristic evaluation of your interface
   • This description (along with the screen dumps) falls outside the four page limit.

One of the members of your team will demo your interface after discussing the overall problem, the representative tasks you chose, and the overall user interface idea and how it evolved from your low-fidelity prototype. You can use either online PowerPoint slides or web pages, but you must put the presentation in your group web site. You will have only 6 minutes for this demo/talk, so practice it in advance and make sure you meet the time constraint. There will be 1 additional minute for Q&A. The demo/talk will probably be scheduled to be on April 1.

The following talk structure is recommended:

• Give an overview of what you are going to discuss
• First discuss the overall problem
• Then the representative tasks
• Then the overall UI idea including differences from low-fi prototype and rationale
• Summary

The assignment will be graded on the following factors:
• How good were the user interface ideas presented?
  • Are they novel and creative?
  • Are they appropriate for the supported tasks?

• How well does the new design:
  • Accommodate the original task analysis?
  • Incorporate the results of the low-fi prototyping study?
  • Incorporate general sound reasoning?

• How much functionality was achieved in the interface prootype?
  • Enough to illustrate the representative tasks?
  • Enough to give a flavor of the interface?
  • Appropriate amount given difficulty of interface ideas?

• Does the writeup:
  • Properly cover the required material?
  • Exhibit good writing?

• Is the class presentation:
  • Clear and informative?
  • Within the time constraints?