autumn 2007
Assignment 6: Interactive Prototype — Grade Value: 5%
Due by 11am on Thursday, November 1 (Submitted Online)
brief
Your goal is to create an interactive prototype that implements the "main"
functionality of your system, i.e., the three major tasks specified in your
paper prototype. It should be black-and-white; colors and fonts will come later.
assignment
Create an interactive prototype that allows users to perform the three tasks
you used for your paper prototype. You may use any tool you wish; we recommend
Adobe Flash. The prototype only needs to work for the three tasks;
"completing" the other functionality will be next week.
For this assignment, your prototype need not run on a mobile device --
it's fine if it runs on a laptop. However, it should be clearly designed for
mobile use, in form and function.
Focus on making a prototype that a user can interact with, rather than
making a completely functional program. For example, it may not offer help
or documentation, query a database back-end, or handle all errors
gracefully. In the following assignment ("Functional Prototype"), you will
build and flesh out your prototype, which will then run on a mobile device.
Aim for something in
between a completely canned demo -- supporting only one possible set of
responses -- and a feature-complete application, which uses live sensors,
databases, or web services.
Instead of a full write-up, your group will turn in a link to a 30-second
screencast or video
that shows what you implemented.
design goals
- Develop the first interactive prototype
- Build out enough of an interface that can be used for three main tasks
submit online
- A web link to a 30-second screencast demonstrating basic use for one
important task.
- The video need not be narrated, captioned, or heavily edited.
- (You may use screen recording software available at
CamStudio.org or
JingProject.com, edit the media
with Movie Maker on Windows or iMovie on Mac, and upload the result
through Jing or to
YouTube.com)
evaluation criteria
- Does the prototype work?
- Clarity of the prototype -- is it clear what you are actually prototyping?
- Can the prototype be used to run the
major interface tasks?
- Prototype completeness -- is the prototype functional/complete enough to
offer useful and actionable feedback?
in studio
- Your group will have its first 15-minute design review during studio. Please bring a
working version of your interactive prototype so it can be run and reviewed.
- In the design review, you will (0) spend a few minutes presenting
what you have done and (1) get feedback on your progress from your
studio leader as well as another member of the teaching staff (professor
Klemmer or another course assistant)
grading rubric
The assignment was graded out of 50 points. The points were broken down as follows:
- 10 points for presentation
- 15 points for completeness,
- were all three tasks actually
supported? was the prototype functional/complete enough to offer useful and actionable feedback?
and execution
- does the prototype work, and can a user follow more than one interaction path?
- 25 points for clarity of design:
- is it clear, from screen to screen, what is
being prototyped? does the prototype communicate effectively? is there an appropriate level of visual refinement?
- how well did the group identify and target a specific user group and usage scenario,
and how deep were the design insights that came out of that exploration?
student examples
