In this assignment you will use the contextual inquiry methodology
to learn more about the work practices of your target users. The interviews will help you
perform a task analysis of your idea. Finally, you will design rough sketches
of your proposed user interface.
You will submit two (2) copies of a printed essay of no more than 6 pages of text in class. You must also put a copy of the essay online. Your essay should follow the outline below and will be graded using the writing guidelines detailed on the back of this handout.
This overview should be a concise statement of the problem you are tackling and a brief synopsis of your proposed solution.
Describe the rationale behind your choice of target users. For each of the three (3) users, give some details of their background, the environment where you observed their work, and your role as the apprentice. Identify tasks and themes that the users shared in common in their work practices. Then, note anything unique about each interview and comment on the rationale behind these events.
Answer the standard task analysis questions. Use examples from your interviews when applicable.
Next, you need to analyze the new and existing tasks. These should be real world tasks that have details (e.g., programming the VCR to watch the Simpson's on Tuesday). These tasks should not have any specific relation to the exact interface you will propose next.
Give a rationale for your design ideas. This section should clearly indicate the functionality of your artifact and what the user interface will be like (described and sketched -- references the figures in your text). You should then describe three scenarios of how someone would use it to accomplish three of the tasks above. Scenarios include the steps users will go through to accomplish the task. You should include "storyboards" of the sequences described in your three scenarios. The solution section should be the bulk of the write-up and take approximately 3 pages.
Note: a paper prototype is not needed on the 20th. It will be due on Sept 27th.