Assignment P2 (Spring 2017)

Due: Sunday, January 29th, 2017, by 11:59PM UTC-12 (Anywhere on Earth). This assignment is based on lessons 2.3 (Direct Manipulation and Invisible Interfaces) and 2.4 (Human Abilities).

Assignment Instructions

Select and answer three of the following four questions in a maximum of 400 words each; if you supply more than 400 words, the grader will stop reading at the 400th word, and you will not receive credit for anything written after that. Clearly delineate where each answer starts and ends. You are encouraged but not required to complement your responses with diagrams, drawings, pictures, etc.; these do not count against the word limit, though any captions, text in tables, etc. does.

  1. The current process that Georgia Tech uses for enrolling in classes is not very direct. First, briefly describe one of the processes by which people look up and enroll in classes at Georgia Tech (~75 words). Then, describe a redesign of the system that more significantly direct manipulation (~150 words). Finally, describe two specific benefits of this redesign beyond general usability (~125 words).
  2. Select an interface (besides driving) that you use on a regular basis that has become invisible by learning; that is, an interface that you used to spend a lot of time thinking about, but now ignore in favor of focusing on the task. First, describe the components of the interface you used to think about a lot while using it (~100 words). Then, describe your thought process now, and especially explain why you no longer have to spend as much time focusing on the interface (~100 words). Finally, briefly describe how you might redesign the original interface to get you to the point of invisibility more quickly (~150 words).
  3. Take the example of driving a car. In the lectures, we discuss three types of human perception that are commonly used in user interface design. Describe how each of these three types of human perception are used to give the driver feedback while driving a car (~50 words each). Then, for each type of human perception, design how it could be used to give the driver feedback about something that does not currently use that modality (~50 words each). Finally, briefly name a different kind of human perception outside these three, and name one way it is or could be used for feedback to the driver (~50 words). For the purposes of this question, you can assume an older, simple car; you will not be penalized for designing a “new” feature that actually already exists in some advanced or high-end cars.
  4. In the lecture, we give five suggestions for reducing cognitive load in interface design: using multiple modalities, letting the modalities complement each other, giving the user control of the pace, emphasizing essential content while minimizing clutter, and offloading tasks from the user onto the interface. Select two of these tips. For each tip, select an interface from your everyday life that violates the suggestion. Briefly describe the interface (~50 words) and the violation of the tip (~50 words), and then describe a redesign of the interface that would incorporate the tip into its design (~75 words).

Submission Instructions

Assignments should be submitted to the corresponding assignment on T-Square in accordance with the Assignment Submission Instructions. Most importantly, you should submit a single PDF for each assignment. This PDF will be ported over to Peer Feedback for peer review by your classmates. If your assignment involves things (like videos, working software prototypes, etc.) that cannot be provided in PDF, you should provide them separately (either through the class Resources folder or your own upload destination) and submit a PDF that describes how to access the assignment.

This is an individual assignment. Every student should submit an assignment individually.

Late work is not accepted without advanced agreement except in cases of medical or family emergencies. In the case of an emergency, please contact the Dean of Students.

Grading Information

You are to choose three of the four questions above to answer, and each question is graded out of 5 possible points; thus, the assignment as a whole is graded out of 15 possible points. If you answer more than three questions, the first three will be graded. Your grade and feedback will be returned to you via T-Square. An announcement will be made via Piazza when grades are returned.

Peer Review

After submission, your assignment will be ported to Peer Feedback for review by your classmates. Grading is not the primary function of this peer review process; the primary function is simply to give you the opportunity to read and comment on your classmates’ ideas, and receive additional feedback on your own. All grades will come from the graders alone.

You will typically be assigned three classmates to review. You receive 1.5 participation points for completing a peer review by the end of the day Thursday; 1.0 for completing a peer review by the end of the day Sunday; and 0.5 for completing it after Sunday but before the end of the semester. For more details, see the participation policy.