Final Project
Introduction
The first step for your final project was to write a proposal and get it approved by the instructors. The next steps depend on what kind of project you choose to do. If you are designing a new viz, or applying a known viz to interesting data, then you should have an initial prototype done by April 21. It's up to you how interactive your prototype is. It is best if you want to mock it up first using paper or a very simple prototyping tool like powerpoint or director. If you decide to implement your design, you should first show your design to some people to get their honest reaction before you begin coding. You do not have to code a full working version of your design; it's up to you how interactive it is. The next step is to do an evaluation, with real participants, on your design. You must have at least 3 participants and you should find people who would be logical end-users for your design. (e.g., if you are designing a viz for musicians, the testers should be musicians.) See information from IS213 on how to run informal usability studies. If instead you are evaluating an existing visualization, you must identify the target user population and their associated data and tasks. You should test on least 15 participants and they should be logical end-users for the system you are testing. You'll give a progress report on the April 21st deadline. On the final deadline you'll report results of your study and suggestions for improvements.Project Due Dates
- April 2: Project proposal due. Turn in earlier to get feedback sooner.
- April 9: (if not sooner) Receive feedback on proposals.
- April 21 and 23: In-class mid-project reports.
- May 5 and 7: In-class final project reports.
- May 10: Final writeup due.
- May 12: Poster session open to everyone.
Project Writeup Details
By Saturday May 10 (by 9am), please turn in your final project writeup. The description should include:- Name(s) of student(s) involved
- Project goals, including what kinds of tasks the interface containing the visualization is targeted towards.
- Discussion of related work.
- A description of the visualization, with adequate screenshots or illustrations.
- What data were used to accomplish the goals.
- Which tools were be used to accomplish the goals.
- What steps were required to accomplish goals.
- What kinds of results you obtained.
- Links to demos, documents, or whatever is needed to show the visualization.
- A small thumbnail image to be used to illustrate your visualization on the course web pages.
Project Expectations
For design projects, the design must follow good information visualization practices, as we've discussed all semester in class. These projects should take into account the proper use of visualization components such as color, size, position, animation, and so on. I will be very unhappy with improper use of visual properties. Applications of visualization to analysis or presentation problems should attempt to take usability issues into account, and should help the user achieve insight on the underlying data or problem that was not possible without the visualization. By insight I mean making the non-visible visible, or showing trends or patterns or outliers or missing information, or by presenting the underlying information in a more understandable way. If you're inventing a new kind of visualization, it might be that the underlying results are not entirely successful. That is ok, but be sure to follow good design principles and thoroughly discuss what did and did not work in your design. If you are evaluating an existing visualization, you must identify the target user population and their associated data and tasks. You should test on least 15 participants and they should be logical end-users for the system you are testing.Project Grading
- Class presentation of project results (must fit within designated time limits) (10%)
- Quality of final writeup (40%)
- Quality of actual project (50%)