CPSC 481 Tutorial 1

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CPSC 481 – Tutorial 1 Assignment 1 & TCSD example part I Brennan Jones [email protected] (based on previous tutorials by Alice Thudt, Fateme Rajabiyazdi, and David Ledo)

Transcript of CPSC 481 Tutorial 1

CPSC 481 – Tutorial 1Assignment 1 & TCSD example part I

Brennan Jones

[email protected]

(based on previous tutorials by Alice Thudt, Fateme Rajabiyazdi, and David Ledo)

About Me

• MSc student in the Interactions Lab

• Research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)

• Working on designing novel technologies for video conferencing on-the-go

How to contact me

• My email address:• [email protected]

• Please always include “CPSC 481” in the subject

• Please expect a response within 24 hours on weekdays; within 48 hours on weekends and holidays• I will respond quicker when deadlines loom

• My tutorial website:• http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~bdgjones/cpsc481

Next Week

• I won’t be here.

• Sowmya (the other TA for this course) will be covering for me.

About You

• What is your name?

• Something interesting about yourself?

• Why are you interested in HCI?

• What do you expect from the course?

Today

• Assignment overview• Groups, deadlines, etc.

• Task-Centred System Design example

• Design exercise

Groups

• Students must work in groups of 3• Group members must be from within the same tutorial

section

• I have a sign-up sheet with me• Please sign up in groups on the sign up sheet

• Or, email me your groups by Tomorrow at 5pm

• Otherwise, I will assign you a group

Grades

• You must pass the assignments to pass the course.

• Tutorials will represent 50% of your final grade.

• Writing of your report must be professional in appearance, grammar, and style.

• Late assignments will not be accepted without medical documentation.

Project

Two parts:

• Assignment 1: Task-Centred System Design and Prototyping (20%)

• Assignment 2: Iterative Design Project (30%)

Project

Assignment 1: Task-Centred System Design and Prototyping (20%)

• Deliverables:• Presentations given in tutorial Sep. 21 (next week) and

Sep. 28 (the week after)

• Design portfolio due Oct. 7 in class

Project

Assignment 2: Iterative Design Project (30%)

• You will build on the previous assignment through the rest of an interface design cycle

• Deliverables:• Prototype redesigns

• System implementation

• Summaries of evaluations and design critiques

• Demonstration of your system

Portfolio

• 1” 3-ring binder

• Indexed and labeled section separators

• Cover of binder includes project title and student names

• Inside cover includes name and email of group members

• 1st page is the table of contents

• 2nd page is the grading sheet

• Up to 20 pages (1.5 line spacing, Times New Roman, size 12)• Excluding title, index, appendices, and Section 3 (prototypes)

Messy/poorly-organized portfolios will NOT be graded.

Assignment 1

Two presentations:

1. First one (next week) – TCSD steps 1&2• Background information

• Expected users and their work contexts

• Concrete task examples

• List of requirements

2. Second one (in two weeks) – TCSD steps 3&4• Prototypes (sketches, not code)

• Team discussion and walkthrough evaluation

Task-Centred System Design

1. Identification

2. User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Task-Centred System Design

1. Identification

2. User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Presentation 1 (next week).

Task-Centred System Design

1. Identification

2. User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Presentation 2 (the week after).

First Presentation

• Date: Sep. 21 for T01

• Length: 5 to 7 minutes• You WILL be cut off!

• Use PowerPoint or PDF and load material on the lab computer and make sure it runs smoothly

First Presentation Outline

• Background & Environment• Why is the system needed?

• What the system will be used for

• System constraints• Financial, technical, legacy system, OS

• Identify potential users and prioritize them• Typical, occasional, unusual

• Work contexts• Setting and typical situations for the users

• Bring 1 task example with discussion• Select a frequent and important task from your main user group

• Tentative list of requirements• Must, should, could, and not include

Second Presentation

• Will regard prototyping and walkthrough

• Date: Sep. 28 for T01

Design Ideas

• Keep it simple!• Be realistic—you need to be able to complete your

design.

• See Appendix 3 of your assignment for ideas

• Or, come up with your own• But always check your ideas with me first!

Task-Centred System DesignExample Walkthrough: Library System

Task-Centred System Design

1. Identification

2. User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Task-Centred System Design

1. Identification

2. User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Background

The situation:

• A small library has contracted you to build a computer system that will let librarians and their assistants deal with routine requests by the library clients. The computer(s) will be situated on the check-in/check-out counter.

Background

Aspects to consider:• Small library that serves a town of about 10,000 people• Approximately 500 people use the library each day• Library has books, CDs, and cassette tapes• All holdings have a barcode that is stored in a database• The library also has a computer system that allows its

clients to peruse its holdings with computers that are set up on booths in the middle of the library. This system is satisfactory and will not have to be replaced

• However, the computer system used by librarians and their assistants is badly out of date and awkward to use. This is one that will be replaced in this project.

What did we get out of that?

• Scope:• What we will do vs. what we won’t do.

• Users (this is particularly important):• We are creating a system for librarians and their

assistants

• From the background, we now know this system will not be for clients

Users - Background

• The users of the system are experienced staff: librarians and library assistants.

• Library staff are all experienced at routine library operations.

• The library expects all its staff to be trained on system use either formally or by apprenticeship.

• The staff is experienced with PCs and familiar with the usual suite of applications that run on Windows.

Work Context

• Librarians do many chores, such as re-shelving books, tidying up the library, helping clients find books, sort new holdings, etc.

• One of their chores is to work the counter, which is the emphasis of this project.

Work Context

The library varies greatly in the number of patrons that visit it.

• During quiet periods:• Staff do routine chores and only go to the counter when a

client approaches it.

• During busy periods:• One staff member is always at the counter, and calls other

staff to the counter when the line-up starts growing.• Line-ups routinely grow to about 3-5 people, with longer line-

ups being rare.• Customers rarely have to wait more than 5 minutes before

being served.

Uses of the Envisioned System

The system will handle routine counter work, which now includes:• Helping staff answer customer requests• Telling clients their status (i.e., what books the have

out, what fines they have pending, etc.)• Checking for late fines and informing clients• Collecting fines• Providing new library cards• Checking for expired cards• Renewing library cards• Phoning people who have overdue books

System Constraints

• The library already has a well-maintained computer system that contains all the holdings in a reasonably fast database. The library does not expect to change this system, and requires that the new system links to it.

• The library also has several ancient Pentium-powered PCs running Windows XP which are already located in the counter. They expect that your system will be built on that platform.

• There is a modest budget of $2000 for additional equipment if needed.

What do we have so far?

Background & Environment

What the system will be used for

System constraints

Identify potential users and prioritize them

Work contexts

• Task examples

• Tentative list of requirements• Must, should, could, and not include

Concrete Task Examples

For details on what makes a good task, read the assigned readings, as well as the assignment specifications, along with Appendix 1.

• Go to the work site:• Interview staff and end users.• Observe people doing real tasks.

• If not possible:• Be as realistic as you can.

Defining good tasks is fundamental for your success on the next steps!

General Tips for Good Tasks

• Say what the user wants to do• NOT HOW

• Don’t make assumptions about the interface (now is not the time to start thinking about the interface)

• Be specific

• Describe a complete job• Based on a realistic situation

• Don’t write a task example that only talks about searching for the patron’s library number

Concrete Task Example #1

These examples were created by talking to the library staff and observing them at work:

Joan Hart, a regular and experienced library employee, is working behind the counter. Marie Smith, a regular library customer brings three books to the counter <The Lions of Al Rassan, Ender’s Shadow, Self-Help Books for Dummies> and asks that they be checked out. Marie doesn’t have her library card so Joan finds Marie’s library number, checks out the books for her and reminds Marie that she has some late fines to pay. Marie says she will pay for them next time. Joan gives Marie the books, and Marie leaves.

Discussion

• This is a fairly routine task, as validated by Joan:• Books are checked out, and the client is reminded of late

fees.

• It also illustrates some working practices:• Most clients do not have their cards, and expect

librarians to look them up. This is acceptable library policy. Similarly, staff can choose to allow customers to defer paying their fees.

• Joan is also a typical system user, while Marie is a typical client.

Concrete Task Example #2

Joan’s next client is River Tam. River is a regular library patron and is somewhat notorious for exceeding book checkout limits, returning books late, never having her library card, and accumulating library fines. She is returning 5 books (2 which are overdue) <The Miko, Macbeth II: The Revenge, Against the Giants, The Necronomicon, and The Complete Works of Bill Waterson>. When Joan starts checking them in she notices that one of the books is missing its bar code number. She looks up the title, checks it in, and sets it aside for repair…

Concrete Task Example #2 (cont’d)

…while she is doing this, River brings 3 more books <Cooking for Psychics, The Last Light of the Sun, Great Weapons of World War II> and 4 CDs <Big Shiny Tunes 2, Abbey Road, The Soundtrack from Top Gun and Def Leppard: Greatest Hits> to the counter. Joan starts checking out River’s holdings. She notices that he has reached the maximum level of a $10 fine in overdue books. She tells River about the fine, and she reluctantly pays it. After checking out two of River’s books, Joan notices that River has already reached the maximum number of allowable books to be checked out and asks River if she can check the rest out on her son’s account, and she says yes. She continues using her son’s account until all books are checked out. River then asks if she can renew any books that are overdue: 3 of them are, and Joan does this for her.

Discussion

• Complex task that contains many situations that, while less routine, are still important.

• Contains some elements of:• Library policy (e.g., dealing with maximum fines)

• Some workarounds (e.g., accounts that have reached the maximum number of check-outs)

• And some less routine situations (e.g., damaged books)

Requirements

• Absolutely must include:• Rapid check-in and check-out of holdings• Lookup of books• Status of customer holdings (e.g., books checked out, books

overdue, fines)• Ability to clear fines• …

• Should include:• …

• Could include:• …

• Exclude:• …

Make sure you explain why each item falls into each category.

First Presentation Outline

Background & EnvironmentWhy is the system needed?

What the system will be used for

System constraintsFinancial, technical, legacy system, OS

Identify potential users and prioritize themTypical, occasional, unusual

Work contextsSetting and typical situations for the users

Bring 1 task example with discussionSelect a frequent and important task from your main user group

Tentative list of requirementsMust, should, could, and not include

Task-Centred System Design

1. ✓ Identification

2. ✓ User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Task-Centred System Design

1. ✓ Identification

2. ✓ User-centred requirements analysis

3. Design through scenarios

4. Evaluate via task-centred walkthroughs

Design Exercise

• Get together in groups of 3

• Brainstorm ideas

• Sketch designs for the library system

The best way to come up with good ideas is to come up with LOTS of ideas!

Next week

First Presentation Outline

• Background & Environment• Why is the system needed?

• What the system will be used for

• System constraints• Financial, technical, legacy system, OS

• Identify potential users and prioritize them• Typical, occasional, unusual

• Work contexts• Setting and typical situations for the users

• Bring 1 task example with discussion• Select a frequent and important task from your main user group

• Tentative list of requirements• Must, should, could, and not include

For Next Week

• Sowmya will be covering.

• Each group will present steps 1 and 2 on Monday, September 21st.

• I will present an example walkthrough for steps 3 and 4.

• Please start working on your projects NOW!