Prototyping Assignment

The prototyping assignment will be due 10/2 in class.  You will be expected to give an approx 10-min presentation describing your idea, users, scenarios and displaying your prototype.  The following must be turned in by the previous day:

  • 2-4 personas -A persona is an idealized representation of a user of your system.  Each persona should consist of a textual description, supplemented by graphics if possible. The persona should include details like age, education, employment, access to technology, and current information needs and limitations.  We will talk more about personas on Friday.
  • 3 scenarios – Starting with this your personas’ goals, decide the key tasks that your system will support. Tasks are specific sets of actions that will allow users to achieve their goals. Using your personas as actors, depict in a scenario or storyboard how your system will be used to achieve these tasks (creative use of graphics is encouraged, even if you can’t draw or sketch!)
  • 1-2 prototypes – Develop early stage prototypes of your system using paper, HTML, Flash, Photoshop or any other set of tools you are familiar with.  The prototypes should be used to convey the idea behind your solution to a broad audience.

Please let me or Paul know if you have any questions with this assignment.

New Slides and Readings

The Prototyping slides are now online.

Also, the reading for Digital Green is available here.

Im also going to talk a little bit about developing personas, which is another design method that is useful for early-stage conceptualization.  Readings here:

Pruitt, J. and Grudin, J. (2003) Personas: practice and theory. Proc. DUX ’03.
Alan Cooper, The Inmates are Running the Asylum, Chapter 9.

More on the prototyping assignment in my next post.  See you Friday!

Readings for Prototyping Class

Please see below for the readings for next week’s class.  For accessing some of the readings you will need an I-School account, which you can request from https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/arf/.

See you in class!

Slideshow: Overview of Ag-ICT Trip to Ethiopia

Team Ethiopia’s Slideshow from Friday (9/4):  Ethiopia Trip

Slideshow: Challenges and Seed Ideas from Team Uganda

Click here to view the entire slideshow.

slide

Readings and Slides from First Two Classes

Here are links to the readings and slides for the first two classes:

Lecture 1, August 28:

Lecture 2, September 4:

Let me know if you have any problems downloading the files.

Google Doc, Mailing List, Wiki

A few updates on the course:

Ive set up a Google Doc to start discussing project ideas.  Ive also set up a Google Group for the class.  You should receive an email invitation shortly.  The group URL is http://groups.google.com/group/sicti-i290-7/

There is also a Wiki set up for the course, if you need it once you are set into your project groups.  It is at
https://wiki.ischool.berkeley.edu/twiki/bin/view/Sicti/WebHome.

You will need an I-School account to access it – which you can request using this form: https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/arf/

Ive decided to hold off the requirement on group formation for an extra week until people have a better chance to acclimatize, listen to the range of ideas and self-organize.  The next class will focus on people who went to Africa over the summer sharing their experiences, including the partners they visited and projects they observed.  The following class on 9/11 will be individuals and those groups that have formed pitching their ideas to the rest of the class to try to recruit members.  Those who are taking the class for three units will be required to present at least one idea individually on 9/4.  Others are not required to be in a group by then.  Of course, it is great if you are, and I fully encourage you to join a group as soon as possible, but the deadline for the paragraph write-up and commitment to a group will be extended until the following class on 9/18.