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Assignment 1, Jan 15, 2008 - First Night Survey
Every student who has registered for this course needs to fill out the "First Night Survey" , and hand it to the TA. The absolute last deadline for this is the Jan 29th, 2008.
Related Documents: First Night Survey
Related Deadlines: Jan 29th, 2008
Assignment 2, Jan 15, 2008 - Teams of 3
Every student needs to be in a team of 3 for various class projects and assignments. The teams need to be formed by Jan 29th, 2008. Use the discussion board "Teams of 3" on the DEN website to co-ordinate the process. If you do not form teams by Jan 29th, 2008, the TA will assign one to you.
Related Documents: "Teams of 3" Discussion Board
Related Deadlines: Jan 29th, 2008
Assignment 3, Feb 5th, 2008 - Usability Analysis
This is a TEAM, not individual assignment. Use the Team number you have received from the T.A. If you are not on an assigned team, the T.A. will assign you to a team.
For this assignment, please review an existing system (not a web site) and perform a usability study. That system can be a device (e.g. cell phone, microwave, DVD player, PDA, etc.) or a system (e.g. ATM machine, automated postage center, gas station pump, etc.) that has some user interface to analyze.
Since you were not the developer of this system, you may need to estimate the requirements of the system you picked to completely evaluate it. State all assumptions. Format for this homework is approximately 1-2 single-spaced typed pages.
Related Documents: Assignment 3 Grading Crtiteria
Related Deadlines: Feb 5th, 2008 by 6:30PM
Assignment 4, Feb 12th, 2008 - Game Usability Analysis
For this assignment, please apply what you learned in Homework 1 for Usability of an existing system (or device) and apply this knowledge to the Immune Attack game discussed on Feb. 5, 2008 in class.
Since you were not the developer of this system, you may need to estimate the requirements of the system you picked to completely evaluate it. State all assumptions. Format for this homework is 1-2 single-spaced typed pages.
Related Documents: Assignment 4 Grading Crtiteria
Related Deadlines: Feb 12th, 2008 by 6:30PM
Assignment 5, Feb 19, 2008 - GamePipe Lab Tour Summary
For this assignment, please document what campus students (and local DEN students) viewed in the GamePipe Lab Tour on 2/12/08. Apply what you learned in class and previous homework. State all assumptions about the games you heard about on February 12. Format for this homework is 1-2 single-spaced typed pages. Please involve your DEN teammate who could not attend the tour, even if it is to have them search the Internet for relevant references.
Related Documents: Assignment 5 Grading Criteria
Related Deadlines: Feb 19th, 2008
Assignment 6, Mar 2, 2008 - Mobile Interface Usability Design Implementation
This is a TEAM, not individual assignment.
For this assignment, please apply what you learned in the Mobile Interface Design Lecture for usability of an application on a mobile device or system and apply this knowledge to the implementation of a simple Calendar application that runs on mobile phones. Please keep in mind, that the target user is a business user, who will use this application to manage his schedule. Based on this information, make the necessary usability assumptions and design your application around this concept.
You will use J2ME and the Sun Wireless Toolkit to build and test your application. Please use the references on the slides, as well as on the class website to get started on J2ME. Your final deliverables will be:
You can limit your application to show just one calendar month (mobile calendar applications always allow you to see all months in the year, and many years in the past and present) since all we care about is usability and functionality designed around that usability.
The Users should be able to select different dates and add, view and delete appointments. That is the MINIMUM functionality we would like to see in the application. You can of course add other enhancements as you deem fit. Please try and look at your own phones calendar applications for further ideas.
Related Documents: Assignment 6 Grading Criteria
Related Deadlines: Mar 2nd, 2008
Assignment 7, Mar 25, 2008 - Web Site Critique (Due: 6.30 pm. PDT, March 25, 2008) --- Individual Assignment
Critique a web site design using what you have learned. Select a web site of a major corporation or government entity (a large city, state, etc., for example, http://www.cityofla.org) and comment on what you like or dislike about that web site. Base your critique on what was discussed in class, what is in your class notes. Include a screenshot of the home page as an attachment.
Base your critique on what was discussed in class and what is in your supplemental notes regarding web site design. Point out any comments you have with respect to the source; for instance, Jakob Neilsen's web site http://www.useit.com suggests --- , the course notes state --- or such other examples to further justify your critique.
Limit your comments to approximately one single-spaced, typed page. Comment on amount of "eye-catching" visuals, advertisements, or other astonishing interfaces, as well as appropriateness for basic functions we have discussed such as search, help, site maps, navigation aids, etc. What about icon design, use of color, ability to print? Supply a hardcopy of the home page of the web site also (black & white hardcopy is OK).
v = one or two pages web site critique and provided the URL of the web site reviewed. The critique is subjective and does not point to any references. It is obvious you did not review the material uploaded in the DEN web site regarding web site design, nor look at any relevant web-based references.
v- = resubmit this homework.
v+ = All important features of your selected web site are included in your critique. All comments are clear and hitting the point. You kept the comments to one page. You used references to substantiate your assessment of the web site. You made constructive suggestions on how the web site could be improved. You noticed any technology impacts of this site, e.g. too many unproven plug-ins or unreadable in older versions of Windows, etc. You experimented with the checklists provided in DEN handouts. You remembered the screenshot of the home page of the selected site.
Related Documents: Assignment 7 Grading Criteria
Related Deadlines: Mar 25th, 2008
Assignment 8, Apr 08/15, 2008 - Game Usability Analysis Revisited
This is a TEAM, not individual assignment. Please recall what you learned in Assignment 2 for Game Usability Analysis and Assignment 5: GamePipe Lab Tour. Recall the games you viewed in the lab: Ground Truth 2, Drum god and Euphonics.
You will be invited 4-8-08 back to the GamePipe Lab to view some current games under development by games designers. The games designers are looking for your input regarding the game design usability. Remember YOU are the experts.
Apply what you have learned in class to date to developing a questionnaire and/or checklist so you are prepared when you go into the lab. You must be prepared to evaluate their game(s) efficiently, providing feedback in a well-documented, organized fashion. There may be only time to take notes and observe, writing your comments down and delivering them later to the designers. You are essentially the “focus group”, providing feedback to the games designers to build better (more usable) games.
I fully understand that this will not work easily for remote DEN students who were unable to attend, so, we will work something out for DEN students to participate in this or an equivalent assignment. In the meantime, local DEN students need to come to class to participate. It will be announced which night (4-8-08) you need to be here.
Since you were not the developer of these system, you may need to estimate the requirements of the system to completely evaluate it. I will assume your interaction with the designers will clarify the game requirements. State all assumptions. Format for this homework is approximately 1-2 single-spaced typed pages. It can include a survey or checklist, with some explanation.
V- = Your team did not follow the directions above. You did not approach the problem with any of the techniques you learned in class. You did not state any assumptions about the requirements for the system. You only handed in about less than 1/2 typed page or more than 2 pages of text that did not cover the requested analysis in a coherent fashion. You are not organized for the review with the game designers.
V = Your team made assumptions about system usability requirements and applied some of the things you learned in class. Your analysis was not too coherent and did not refer to the things you learned from the class lectures or demos.
V+ = Your team completely stated assumptions about usability requirements for the games. You used a Usability Specification, similar mechanism (e.g. sample QUIS Survey), or something you developed to capture how the games should perform.
Related Documents: Assignment 8 Grading Criteria
Related Deadlines: Apr 8th, 2008 (depending on GamePipe Lab Tour)
Assignment 9: Game Usability Analysis Revisited II (Due 6.30 pm PDT, April 15, 2008).
This is a TEAM, not individual assignment. Please recall the games you viewed in the GamePipe Lab on April 8, 2008. Also recall what you learned in Assignment 2 for Game Usability Analysis and Assignment 5: GamePipe Lab Tour.
This assignment is the completion of your analysis of the games usability viewed on April 8, 2008. Include completed questionnaires and/or checklists you developed for Assignment 8. Fill out the questionnaires and/or checklists. It is OK to submit handwritten, completed questionnaires and/or checklists. Some of you may insist on retyping it in case the notes are illegible, and that is OK, too. Summarize your findings, observations and suggestions in a form that the Professor, T.A, grader, and (most importantly) the game designers can understand. Imagine that the games designers will 100% implement your suggestions --- write it in that tone (constructive design and usability suggestions, based on experience in CSCI 538).
Note for DEN students: Local DEN students should have been on campus to complete this assignment. Non-L.A. remote DEN students should participate with their team in any way to learn from this experience, even if it is to critique and do research (i.e. gather references) to justify what the in-class students observed. There is one or two all-DEN teams: I welcome your suggestion on how to participate in this assignment, or propose an equivalent exercise. My preference would be to analyze an on-line or existing game you all may have, using the same game usability technique as described here.
Since you were not the developer of these games, you may need to estimate the requirements of the system to completely evaluate it. I will assume your interaction with the designers will clarify the game requirements. State all assumptions. Format for this homework is approximately 2-3 single-spaced typed pages. Also include the actual raw data (e.g. handwritten (if legible) or typed notes). I would strongly suggest scanning your handwritten notes if you do not need to re-type, so you can submit the entire assignment electronically.
V- = Your team did not follow the directions above. You did not approach the problem with any of the techniques you learned in class. You did not state any assumptions about the requirements for the system. You only handed in about less than 1/2 typed page or more than 3 pages of text that did not cover the requested analysis in a coherent fashion. You are not organized for the review with the game designers.
V = Your team made assumptions about system usability requirements and applied some of the things you learned in class. Your analysis was not too coherent and did not refer to the things you learned from the class lectures or demos.
V+ = Your team completely stated assumptions about usability requirements for the games. You used a Usability Specification, similar mechanism (e.g. sample QUIS Survey), or something you developed to capture how the games should perform.
Related Documents: Assignment 9 Grading Criteria
Related Deadlines: Apr 15th, 2008 (depending on GamePipe Lab Tour)