Project Assignment 6
DDA Prototype available here
Startup instructions
- ! You must have any smartphone ready
- navigate to the url above on your smartphone browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.)
- first window you should see should be your feed
- posts that are in you feed are hardcoded and represent what other users have posted
- Using navigation menu you should be able to switch to map window
- ! Profile and log out windows are NOT done - and should redirect you back to feed view
- ! When creating an event and writing date and time - type it as text - there is not "calendar/time" feature available as for this first prototype
- ! When searching for people available for a walk near you, all users are hardcoded and have same information - will be changed in later improvements
Briefing
DDA is a mobile app that allows people connect with dog owners community. Users can meet up with people around them for a quick walk or an organized event. They also can ask for advices online or share their experiences by posting stories, recommendation, etc.
Hi, we’re designing a new dog dating app, that will help you meet other dog owners, plan dog related events, and ask for dog advice. We are conducting a study to find out what people think about this. We will not record or publish any information with your name. This is for a course we’re taking in Human-Computer Interaction from Prof. Bickmore in the College of Computer and Information Science. Your participation is voluntary and you can stop anytime and ask that your data not be used. It should take about 20 minutes... Can you help us out with this?
Great. As I mentioned, we’re working on a new dog dating app. The purpose of today’s session is for you to help us figure out how to make this web interface more user-friendly before we finish developing it. But believe it or not, we aren’t going to use a computer. As you’ll see, we’ve actually created paper versions of the screens, and our team member, here, will be playing the computer.
We’ll give you some tasks that we think are representative of what people might do with our app in real life, such as planning an event, request a dog play date, and ask for advice. Your job is to tell us what makes sense, what’s confusing, and whether it works the way you’d expect it to. The other members of the team will just be watching and quietly taking notes. Keep in mind that we’re testing the interface--we’re not testing you—so if you run into any problems it’s not your fault and it means that there’s something we need to change. I’ll be sitting next to you, and I can help you if you want.
The prototype still has some rough edges—we’re still thinking through how it should work and some parts of it are incomplete. Before we cast it in concrete, we want to get some feedback about how well this design works.
Our team member, here, will be playing the computer. He/she may seem like a pretty smart computer, but he/she has no speech recognition and no artificial intelligence. Since machines can’t talk, he’s/she’s not allowed to explain anything. If you want to do something, you’ll need to interact with the prototype just as you would on a smartphone. Use your finger to click on buttons. These labels indicate places where you can type something in, and here’s your keyboard (give pen). It’s OK to write on this.
Please tell us what makes sense to you, what’s confusing, and any other questions that come to mind. Your questions are especially valuable, but I may not answer them right away because our goal is to change the interface so it answers them.
Remember that we’re testing the interface—we’re not testing you. Are you ready to start? OK, here’s the first thing we’d like you to do. Take a minute to read this and let me know if it makes sense. If so, then whenever you’re ready please show us what you would do first.
Tasks
Task One: Plan an Event You’ll find yourself on the app, already logged in as Dan. Your goal is to create an event post with the following information: Midweek BBQ! on 10/28 at 3:15pm; at Northwest Park; description: “b.y.o.bones”. The event must be public for all your DDA friends. Once you have created the event, post it! All done!
Task Two: Ask for Advice You’ll find yourself already logged into the app as Dan. You saw an ad in Pet Vogue about this new leash called Lazer Leash and you want to know if your DDA friends have tried it. Your goal is to post an advice question: “Has anyone tried out the new Lazer Leash?” Next, post it. All done!
Task Three: Find a Dog Playdate You’ll find yourself already logged into DDA as Dan. Your goal is to switch to map mode from the current feed mode, find some user, and send him an invite that says: “Want to meet up at North Park?”. Once you have sent the invitation, you have completed this task. All done!
Project Assignment 5b
Project 4 - follow the link
Project 3
Project 3
Project 2