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CS 446 Assignment

Conceptual Design

Prepare low fidelity prototypes of your program's user interface to communicate to others the functionality, look, and feel of your program.

  1. Prepare a paper prototype to get early feedback on your vision for the your project
    • Design the paper prototype based on techniques illustrated in the video Paper Prototyping
    • Test your paper prototype with peer group members during class time

  2. Write a persona describing your program's typical primary user, their environment, and what he or she wishes to do with your program (one page)
  3. Include a hand-drawn sketch of the Main Screen for your program's user interface (one page)
    • Title this page "Main Screen for Program xxx" where xxx is the name of your program
    • Base this sketch on feedback you received from the paper prototype session

  4. Develop three Concrete Use Cases for your program (one page each)
    • Give each use case page a clear title describing the real-world task being accomplished
    • Figure 8.6 on page 146 of the textbook shows an example of a concrete use case

  5. Prepare storyboards to accompany each of the three use cases to illustrate the look and feel of the program (one to two pages each)
    • Hand-drawn screen snapshots of the interface at particular points through the use concrete case work best
    • Annotate the storyboard's snapshots with text to describe the user interaction
    • Title each storyboard with the corresponding concrete use case title

Draft Persona and Paper Prototype

Prepare a draft persona for feedback. Revise your draft persona based on the peer review to include in your portfolio.

Prepare a paper prototype to test with your peer group during class. The effectiveness of your paper prototype for gathering early feedback will be assessed during the class session. You do not need to include your paper prototype materials in your portfolio.

Draft Storyboard

Prepare one draft concrete use case and the corresponding storyboard for classroom peer review. Revise your draft use case and storyboard based on the peer review to include for your graded version. Develop two additional concrete use cases with storyboards for the portfolio.

Grading criteria

Your grade will be based on the quality of your initial design as well as the usefulness of your documents in communicating your program's functionality, look, and feel.

A scoring rubric (PDF, 2-pages) will be used for assessing this assignment. You are encouraged to print this rubric and use it as a checklist for expectations, completeness, and quality assurance.

Honor code: The program's design needs to be your own. You may base your design on other programs you have seen elsewhere, but do not simply duplicate existing program interfaces as if they were your own.

Submission Guidelines

Turn in your three-ring portfolio binder with the previous assignments.

Inside the Conceptual Design Tab, include (in this order)

  1. Revised Persona (typed, one page)
    • You do not need to include your draft persona or paper prototype
  2. Hand-drawn sketch of your program's Main Screen (one page)
    • Title this page "Main Screen for Program xxx" where xxx is the name of your program
  3. Three Concrete Use Cases (one page each)
    • Title each page with the real-world concrete use case being explained
    • You do not need to include the draft version used for peer review
  4. Three Storyboards (one or two pages each)
    • Title each page with the real-world concrete use case being illustrated
    • You do not need to include the draft version used for peer review
  5. Your time log that details and totals your effort spent on the conceptual design phase of the prototype project

Note: Your peer assessment of your teammates' helpfulness in peer-reviewing was already collected at the conclusion of the paper-prototype peer reviews.