It is tempting to start building an interface right away, but design needs to start with research and a software development plan (SDP). If you were building an actual system for an organization, you would need to determine the merits of the system. For this assignment, you will complete all of Section 1 in the Software Development Plan (SDP) Template [DOCX]Download Software Development Plan (SDP) Template [DOCX]. Please rename the file to yourcompanyname-SDP.docx.
Assignment Preparation Complete the following:
Choose a client for the project. The client can be a pretend company in a real industry, or the client can be an organization where you are currently employed. If you choose an organization for which you are currently employed, you will need to treat this client as if they are looking for a new solution. You will be analyzing and designing a new application for our organization. All of the work that you submit for this client must be your own original work. You cannot use work that teams within your organization have already developed or designed. For example, in Week 5, you will be asked to create a user interface prototype for your client. If you choose your current employer as your client, you must create a new interface for your proposed new system, you cannot use an existing interface as it already exists within your organization. You will use the same company throughout all assignments in this project and throughout the course. Complete your initial post for the Week 1 discussion. This will help you prepare for the assignment. Before you begin section 1 of this assignment, brainstorm about the industry itself. Take 15–30 minutes to note as many details as possible about who its main patron groups are and what makes the restaurant attractive to these people. You can do this by visiting the restaurant itself, visiting the website, or recalling from memory. A few key questions include:
What kind of industry is it? What are some user demographics of the industry (age, gender, culture, et cetera)? How often might the user purchase something in this industry? Note: You do not need to submit these brainstorming notes; use them to for completing Section 1.
Assignment Instructions Description Download the Software Development Plan (SDP) Template [DOCX]Download Software Development Plan (SDP) Template [DOCX] to your computer and rename it as yourcompanyname-SDP.docx. You will be using and adding content to this document throughout the course. For Week 1, you will research the industry and determine what type of system you might make.
State the company name and the URL of its website. Create a concise description of the company, based on your brainstorming notes. Aim to write one or two paragraphs, choosing only the key details to provide a complete picture of the company environment. User Research Plan If you were actually building this system, you would spend a lot of time conducting this research. For the purposes of this assignment, develop a plan as though you were going to do that hypothetical research. You would want to learn which groups of people are likely to visit this system, what is important to them, and what they need to accomplish. To help with this, make use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help define the groups of people that would likely visit the system of your choice based on the industry. Use it to help build some of the questions that you would want to ask. In Week 2, you will be developing a single, brief persona based on some of the ideas you generate here.
Create a plan for how you would identify users, their roles and tasks, their motivations, and their expectations for the experience. Please be sure to read or review all resources in the Week 1 studies before you begin. Using knowledge from Chapter 1 and other resources, write a plan that addresses all of the following:
Identify research techniques used to gather the information for defining the system purpose and scope. Develop a set of research questions to find out what users would expect from your interface. Formulate these priorities into questions that would be answered by representative patrons. Research industry standards and best practices for developing a purpose and scope of a system. What (hypothetically) would you hope to accomplish in your user research? How will you make this a vital part of the design process? Explain. Develop a user research method for learning what users will expect from your interface. How will you ask these questions—interview, surveys, or other methods? Are there other methods that you might use to get answers to your questions? Include representative users. Who are they, and how will you gain their cooperation? Develop the purpose and scope of the proposed system. Apply the purpose and scope of the proposed system to the Software Development Plan (SDP). Do not be deceived by this plan’s brevity. You will need to put some careful thought into your questions and your research approach, based on the resources provided in the Week 1 studies.
Design Strategies Next, think forward to the system you are about to build by employing the strategies you have explored in the Week 1 readings. Use ideas, concepts, and quotes from the Week 1 studies to describe the design strategies you plan to adopt in building your prototype system during one of the later assignments. Respond to some or all of the following questions:
What implications do the past experience, current context, and future goals of your user groups have for the design of your system? How would this change based on different groups of patrons? What are the implications that your own experiences and context might have on your design choices? What assumptions might you make about a good interface that might not be true for others? How might visual structure enhance users’ interaction with the system? What useful and important roles might color play in the design of the interactive experience? Is users’ peripheral vision likely to be a main factor in your design decision? Why or why not? Note: You will be gathering ideas and design strategies throughout the course. For this reason, it may be efficient to start a design journal document for yourself to keep track from week to week how you are planning to incorporate these design strategies into your prototype.
Refer to the Defining the System Scope and Purpose Rubric to ensure that you meet the grading criteria for this assignment.
Submission Requirements Deliverables: Submit the SDP with Section 1 completed. Writing: Write with few spelling, grammatical, or mechanical errors. Document Format: Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for resources and citations, if applicable. Refer to Evidence and APA for guidance. Competencies Measured By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:
Competency 1: Analyze the human factors of a system that impact a robust user experience. Identify research techniques used to gather the information for defining the system purpose and scope. Research industry standards and best practices for developing a purpose and scope of a system. Competency 2: Apply design strategies for effectively increasing user engagement. Develop the purpose and scope of the proposed system. Apply the purpose and scope of the proposed system to the Software Development Plan (SDP). Competency 6: Communicate effectively using professional standards embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Communicate according to assigned requirements for format and clarity