Assignment M2 (Spring 2020)

Answer the following prompt in a maximum of 8 pages (excluding references) in JDF format. Any content beyond 8 pages will not be considered for a grade. 8 pages is a maximum, not a target; our recommended per-section lengths intentionally add to less than 8 pages to leave you room to decide where to delve into more detail. This length is intentionally set expecting that your submission will include diagrams, drawings, pictures, etc. These should be incorporated into the body of the paper unless specifically required to be included in an appendix.

If you would like to include additional information beyond the word limit, you may include it in clearly-marked appendices. These materials will not be used in grading your assignment, but they may help you get better feedback from your classmates and grader. For example, you might include copies of previous assignments, copies of your surveys, raw data, interview transcripts, raw notes, etc.: anything that does not directly address the assignment’s questions, but rather helps understand your progress as a whole.

In this assignment, you’ll execute the needfinding plan that you outlined in Assignment M1.

Abstract: ~0.25 pages

First, include an abstract that briefly introduces your project and gives context on the task you’re investigating throughout all your M assignments. You’ll include this abstract in each M assignment to give the grader and your peers context on what you’re working on. If you’d like to include more context than you can fit into 50 words, feel free to include an appendix containing an extended abstract.

Needfinding Execution 1: ~1 page

For the first needfinding plan that you outlined in Assignment M1, execute it and report the results. The type of information you report will depend on the approach you selected, but you should generally report the raw results. These might be the raw notes you took for something like naturalistic or participant observation; survey results if you performed a survey; interview quotes if you conducted interviews; and so on. You may provide long-form raw results in an appendix and focus on summarizing the results in the body of the assignment.

Then, briefly summarize the takeaways from this particular plan.

Last, report on the concretes steps you took to control for the biases you anticipated previously.

In all these steps, remember that it is completely acceptable to fail. If your needfinding approach did not glean useful data, discuss why you believe that is the case. If you were unsuccessful in controlling for biases, discuss what you should have done differently.

Needfinding Execution 2: ~1 page

Repeat the steps for Needfinding Execution 1 for the second needfinding plan you outlined in Assignment M1. Remember to include the raw results, a brief summary of the main takeaways, and a report on the concrete steps you took to control for biases during needfinding.

Needfinding Execution 3: ~1 page

Repeat the steps for Needfinding Execution 1 and Needfinding Execution 2 for the third needfinding plan you outlined in Assignment M1. Remember to include the raw results, a brief summary of the main takeaways, and a report on the concrete steps you took to control for biases during needfinding.

Data Inventory: ~1.75 pages

Based on the observations from your three needfinding exercises, complete your data inventory. Answer the seven questions outlined with regard to needfinding (and remember, the video gives more detail on the questions than the image alone).

For each question, specifically tie the answer to some of the observations you made throughout your needfinding exercises, and remember to keep your answers related to the problem space you defined previously. Remember again that you’re allowed to fail: if you did not gather the information necessary to answer a particular part of the data inventory, report what you should have done differently or what you would do next to answer it.

Defining Requirements: ~0.5 pages

Then, define the requirements drawn out of this data inventory, as described by the Defining the Requirements lecture. What are the requirements of your interface in terms of questions like functionalities it must provide, learnability goals it must meet, or accessibility standards it must support (as well as others)? What metrics or criteria would you use to evaluate the success of a prototype that attempts to address these requirements? Depending on your results and your project, you will likely emphasize some requirements over others; for example, if you are focusing on novice users, learnability will likely take a higher priority, whereas if you are focusing on experts, you may care more about efficiency.

Continued Needfinding: ~0.5 pages

Finally, briefly outline the next iteration of needfinding in which you might engage based solely on this initial experience. What remaining questions are there that would benefit from additional needfinding investigation? What new questions arose during this initial round of needfinding? What types of exercises would you do next to address these remaining or new questions?

Submission Instructions

Complete your assignment using JDF, then save your submission as a PDF. Assignments should be submitted to the corresponding assignment submission page in Canvas. You should submit a single PDF for this  assignment. This PDF will be ported over to Peer Feedback for peer review by your classmates. If your assignment involves things (like videos, working prototypes, etc.) that cannot be provided in PDF, you should provide them separately (through OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and submit a PDF that links to or otherwise describes how to access that material.

This is an individual assignment. All work you submit should be your own. Make sure to cite any sources you reference, and use quotes and in-line citations to mark any direct quotes.

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

Grading Information

Your assignment will be graded on a 20-point scale coinciding with a rubric designed to mirror the question structure. Make sure to answer every question posted by the prompt. Pay special attention to bolded words and question marks in the question text.

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.