The Design Assessment (DA) project focuses on examining a professionally relevant object of study (e.g., app, web site, interface) to assess its quality of design and overall usability. The DA is challenging because it demands a balance of three kinds of vision.
Note. This is a complex project that progresses through multiple stages of development (including Description, Community Evaluation, Heuristic Analysis, & UX Analysis). This assignment description thus presents a lot of details. Consider printing it for use as a checklist, and so you can annotate it as you work your way through the project.
The DA project develops through multiple stages, each of which requires you to submit one or more deliverables. The core content of your submissions at each stage is two documents.
By your final submission stage, your project folder should contain 16 files for my review. For the full list of core and supporting documents/files, see Submission Requirements.
The Design Assessment (DA) project connects to workplace practices that have become increasingly common across professions and industries. People are frequently asked to examine a variety of designs with the intention of assessing their quality, functionality, usability, and relative success at serving their intended audiences & purposes. These assessment processes serve a variety of purposes: refining an existing design; determining whether or not a particular product is worth adopting or investment. Your goal for this project is to evaluate a professionally relevant object of study (OoS), and present your assessments and conclusions in a detailed report.
To develop a complete understanding of the project and the processes involved in it, review this project description in its entirety before you begin, and take advantage of the supporting materials that are available through SVSU Canvas.
The DA project engages your emerging designer mindset in a variety of professionally productive ways. To fulfill your responsibilities as a researcher, you'll draw on your expertise and experience with a professionally relevant design (e.g., app, web site, interface), and continue to develop (or expand) your knowledge of usability studies and experience-centered design. Your work on the report itself will help you expand and refine your strategic knowledge of technical writing and information design.
The core knowledge and strategic thinking at the heart of this assignment is applicable across all disciplines and industries.
The key learning and design challenges for this project emphasize and highlight professional expertise, research design and execution, data analysis, peer collaboration, and information design.
One of the most critical applications of your knowledge during the course happens at the very beginning of the project. You get to select the thing you will study, the thing we refer to throughout as your Object of Study (OoS).
To speak credibly about any design, you must understand it thoroughly. The only way to accomplish that is to experience for yourself what it means to use the object of study. With that in mind, select your OoS based on your familiarity with it. The more experience you have with that OoS, the better the choice it will prove to be.
For greatest professional development value, it is also best to select a design that represents an area of expertise you are in the process of developing, or an industry within which you might seek employment, or a product category significant to your career goals. It might represent something you use to do your job or something that results from you doing your job.
Begin by listing for yourself at least 3 or 4 potential foci for the project. Consider the following possibilities.
Your DA can focus on an object of study from any category. However, do not select something to study that you do not already know well. Select an OoS with which you interact regularly, and with which you have a lot of experience and familiarity. To complete the research processes associated with the project, you must also have access to the OoS, and must be able to allow others to interact with it during your usability studies. Keep these things in mind when making your selection.
Note. You may not choose as your object of study for this project any of the apps or sites on which we focus during any of the workshops for this course. For example, because we examine SVSU Canvas during the Artifact Analysis workshop, you may not use it as your OoS for the Design Assessment project.
This is a complex project that evolves in stages over most of the semester. Each of the stages requires analytical / interpretive / evaluative research that informs the development of a specific segment of the DA report's content. The course is designed so that you learn the research methods you need to be able to apply during the weeks just prior to your needing them.
Develop the Description and User Community Assessment sections of the report (see DA Report Specifications below).
Add the Heuristic Analysis section to your existing report document.
Add the UX Analysis section to your existing report document.
Add the rest of the content sections (title page, abstract, overview, lessons learned, citations, appendices) to construct a complete Design Assessment draft.
I provide the Design Assessment - Project Stages guide to offer you a quick-reference tool for navigating the project stages. Consult this document before you begin the project and during each stage as you go. The course calendar lists the submission dates. Consult the supporting videos and sample documents (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) frequently as you progress through the developmental stages, and again as you revise for your final submission.
We focus on design in a variety of ways during this course, but that work culminates in you creating a comprehensive report that presents your research and analysis. We call this work information design, and that area of expertise is built upon a variety of processes and strategies such as information architecture, design theory and design thinking, rhetoric, and usability studies. To construct a document of any complexity, such as the DA Report, requires a systematic approach to design and awareness of audience needs and expectations. But we build that knowledge as we go, and you enter the course with some of what you need to know already.
Collaboration is often built in to courses at all levels with little or no preparation for doing it well. Although you'll complete the DA report at the core of this project on your own, you'll engage in collaborations with others along the way, including team learning during multiple research method workshops, and peer review of your DA prototype when the full report is assembled for the first time.
Every experience in the course is designed to support your learning processes for this assignment and the other project that complements it: the Design Pitch presentation. Every article, video, supporting document, workshop, and discussion from day one of the course until the final submission is systematically organized to support your learning, design, and thus your professional development. If you work through the materials and experiences provided for you, you are more likely to succeed. Every course experience or element of learning content that you skip along the way will cost you points in the final evaluation of this project.
Deliverables: memo, report
Document scope: 150 words (memo), 2500 to 3000 words + appendices (report)
Project value: 600 points (50 for each prototype stage; 400 for the final submission)
Evaluation rubric: _Eval_DesignAssessment.pdf
Recommended tool(s): Microsoft Word (beginner)/Adobe InDesign (designer); scanner/scanning app; smart phone w. digital camera/digital video capabilities
This section provides content & design specifications for the core deliverables.
Your complete DA report must provide the following content elements. Note. Although the content areas for the report that are described below (the sections from the Overview to the Appendices) are listed in the order they ought to appear in your report, the contents as a whole do not serve as an outline. The final three elements represent general design requirements that impact the full report.
Hint. The title page for this report should not exceed 1 page and is not numbered.
Hint. A good summary communicates the abbreviated-but-complete details from the document it summarizes. Write this element last. To assemble the initial version of the summary, write a 1-2 sentence summary of each major section, and assemble these into a paragraph.
Hint. The overview is not the same as the executive summary. The overview introduces the report. The summary distills the report. The overview functions as a preview of the report in outline form. I always suggest that you write this part after you have completed the document you need to introduce. That way, you know what you have said, and what you need to introduce to readers.
Hint. A good description emphasizes the details that are essential to understanding a design and how it functions. The description should be supported with images of the design in use. Provide enough images/figures to illustrate the key features and functions of the design. A good description never previews the accompanying evaluation of the OoS. That is, it does not use language that tells readers if the OoS is well or poorly designed. Save such commentary for the review sections that follow.
Hint. Gather the most credible reviews that you can for this segment of your discussion. Reviews that provide context and justification for both positive and negative commentary are always preferable to reviews that offer no framing explanations. Reviews that corroborate your own experiences are valuable, but do not limit yourself to those contributions. This segment might be effectively supported by a table that captures specific statements and contexts about the OoS.
Hint. Detail is essential here. Describe and explain each heuristic criterion. Explain how each criterion applies to the OoS. Score the OoS in the context of each criterion. Provide additional images to illustrate your discussion points, or refer back to images you have already included in the Description segment of the report.
Hint. This section is another where concrete detail is essential. Your explanation of the trials, how they went, and of the users' experiences of participating are the only source of understanding your readers will have. Provide figures to illustrate and tables to organize the key elements of your study trials and their results.
Hint. This discussion draws on the insights you've accumulated from your full stage-by-stage review of the OoS. Present your observations as design conclusions. A good review might focus on a handful of key assessments or on a broader selection of conclusions. Frame your assessments in the needs and expectations of users in your professional community.
Hint. Citation is a process for demonstrating how and when you draw on professionally relevant resources during your assessment process. We often frame this as joining the conversation about a particular topic of discussion. Your citations may include published articles and books, vendor websites, sales websites, publications for professional organizations, and more. Cite the heuristic standard you implement. Cite every image that you borrow. (You need not cite original images that you created.) This process is an essential element of your professional respect and responsibility.
Hint. Appendices are useful for integrating details about your OoS and the work you do during the semester that are important to readers, but that might be too long to include in the main report without disrupting the readers' movement through the document. For example, if you used a scenario to run your usability study, the description/script for it might be a couple of pages long. Rather than present it in the main report, place it in an appendix and direct readers to it. Introduce and summarize it in the main report.
Hint. Whenever possible, use images that you capture or create. Do not use images from advertisements, especially those that do not show the OoS in use. All images must be identified by figure numbers and titles. Use these identifiers to direct readers to their location in the document.
Hint. Tables are useful devices for organizing details. All tables must be numbered and titled, like images. Use those identifiers to direct readers to their location in the document.
Hint. I provide design samples and explanations to help you understand how to create professional, usable documents. Draw on that supporting content as you work. Do not use the sample documents as templates, but do note the patterns that shape content in them. Note the way other documents you interact with present information. What strategies feel most professional to you? Learn from and emulate those strategies in your own work.
Consult the supporting documents I have provided (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance, including the Design Assessment Teaching Doc and DA Stage 1 documents.
A memo of transmittal introduces the document it accompanies, providing context for its audience(s). Such memos alert recipients to the function, location, and content of the project files and call for appropriate action. You will craft such a memo for each submission stage. Every memo should be addressed from you to me.
Your stage-specific memos should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Consult the sample memos I have provided (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
Your final memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Once again, consult the sample memos I have provided (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
This section is designed to help you be strategic in the development of your project documents. Consider the following hints and tips. Use this set of recommendations as a checklist for quality control.
I provide a recommended schedule and guidance for staying on pace to help you organize the time you invest in the DA project. Most students find the recommended pace very manageable. Keep in mind that every project stage builds on what has come before. Thus if you allow yourself to fall behind, it will impact your ability to catch up. Although there are gaps in the schedule that offer you opportunities to catch up, history suggests that it is best to keep the pace.
I have provided a lot of supporting material to guide you during this project. Take the time to review it all, and consider how you might apply that knowledge to your work. Every piece of course content is provided to assist you in being more successful with your work.
Although this project requires you to consider your personal experience and expertise with the OoS, it is also an opportunity to approach that design from an objective, professional perspective. For example, when you determine the design qualities to apply during your heuristic analysis, begin by researching how your profession thinks about design, and what your profession thinks about that particular kind of design. What knowledge are you developing? How does it apply to problem solving in professional contexts? This is what I mean when I say that you must apply your personal and professional expertise to your work.
Professional organizations often offer standards for heuristic analysis, or principles for developing such a standard. For example, in my world, the Society for Technical Communication, the Association of Technical Writing Teachers, the Usability Experience Professional Association, and the federal government of the United States all provide tools I might apply in the study of a design. And those organizations represent a small list. There are many others. By this point in your studies, you should be aware of where to seek knowledge of such things.
Draw on your experience with your object of study when you decide what design elements are most significant to understanding it and when you present your assessment of it. Your experience will show in the details you choose to focus on in your discussion, in the explanations you provide throughout, and in the quality of your conclusions about the OoS. If you cannot speak with authority about the OoS, it will show in a lack of detail, and in a lack of authenticity in your discussion.
Use data and detail from your own description, studies, and experiences to construct careful arguments about the OoS. Keep in mind that everything you present, whether description or assessment, is an argument. Audience members may only have your observations and interpretations to rely on for understanding the OoS. Readers need your explanations to understand your arguments.
The content of your report should progress from section to section, with each segment building on and referencing the previous discussion(s). That means you cannot present conclusions about features or functions that you did not previously discuss. It also means you cannot evaluate elements of the designs during your heuristic analysis or your usability study that you did not introduce during the description of the design.
You establish your designer ethos (i.e., credibility, authority) during your description of the OoS. Eliminate biased, evaluative language from this section to demonstrate your respect for and understanding of the design. Once you have established credibility with your audience, you earn permission to interpret and assess. Be careful, respectful, and professional when presenting your arguments.
Remember that communication in professional and technical contexts values highly the ability to write and speak with economy, directness, and professionalism. Another way of saying this is to make every word count. Stay focused on the details necessary to understand your OoS, the research you conduct, and the conclusions you draw from your work. Write and rewrite until your explanations make sense, and represent careful, professional communication.
Be as specific and concrete as you can throughout your discussion. The more meaningful details you incorporate into your report, the more observant you appear to be. That helps establish and maintain your credibility and authority. However, it is also important to focus on the details that truly matter for understanding and interpreting the OoS. For example, do not focus on superficial or cosmetic details (e.g., color, texture) unless these are important to understanding the design.
Whether or not the design itself is easily presented visually, all designs are more easily understood through visual representation. Show design elements, features, arrangement, use in context, or any other details that you can through images. Be inventive, if necessary. Show the set up of your study, the participants during their trials, and any other images that might help readers understand your study of the OoS.
Data is important to this project. Present data from your studies in ways that make sense based on the kind of data you integrate into your discussion, and based on what will make that content most easily understood by readers. Thus use graphs, or tables, or charts as is most appropriate to the data.
Observe what makes design in general, and reports in particular, effective and authentic. Incorporate those observations into the construction of your report. Edit carefully, seeking to express your ideas clearly and concisely. Edit out loud with the intent of writing in such a manner that your sentences sound professional and focused. Strive for high levels of professionalism and consistency in your work. Refine your document continuously throughout the stages of of the project.
Research reports as a genre. You have ample tools and resources for doing so, including the supplemental materials I post for class and a variety of publicly accessible resources available through the Internet. Develop a design that supports your content effectively and that establishes a strong professional ethos.
As you progress from one project stage to the next, you will add to and refine your report. Because your final submission must include each of the prototype stages as separate documents, I recommend that you begin with a file called YourLastName_DAStage1 (see Submission Requirements below). When you complete the work for that project stage, duplicate the file and rename the copy YourLastName_DAStage2. Use that new file to continue your work on the report. When you complete the next stage, duplicate the file and rename the copy YourLastName_DAStage3, and so on.
The revisions and refinements you make during the developmental stages of this project may help you understand your thinking, writing, and design processes, and therefore your professional development, in more-sophisticated ways. Archive your stage-specific prototypes throughout your coursework so you are able to examine your growth and maturation along the way. The conscious you become as a learner, the more effective you will be at recognizing strengths and weaknesses in your work.
Read and attend carefully to these submission details. Failure to do so may result in delays in receiving feedback during the prototype evaluation stage, or in points lost on the evaluations of your stage-specific and final submissions.
Each of the 4 project stages requires you to add files to your project folder. Model your filenames on the examples listed in the sections below.
Create a project folder inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Name the folder Design Assessment.
Remember that I can only view files that you place inside that shared folder. Until you place the project files in that space, you have not submitted them. That said, do not share this project folder with me. By placing a file in your class folder, you have already shared it by default. Also, do not add subfolders. As long as you follow the file-naming protocols established here, I will be able to access the work I need to see when I need to see it.
Stage 1 requires you to submit 3 documents. Model your file names on the examples provided here.
Stage 2 requires you to add 3 documents to your project folder. Leave the Stage 1 files in the folder. Model your file names on the examples provided here.
Stage 3 requires you to add 3 more documents to your project folder. Leave the files from the previous stages in the folder. Model your file names on the examples provided here.
Stage 4 requires you to add 2 more documents to your project folder. Leave the files from the previous stages in the folder. Model your file names on the examples provided here.
Note. Again, do not share individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default. Also, do not add subfolders. As long as you follow the file-naming protocols established here, I will be able to access the work I need to see when I need to see it.
When you prepare your final submission for the DA project, you'll add the files listed below to those in the project folder from the previous stages. There will be 16 files in the folder. If you have fewer than or more than 16 files in your folder, check the file list for each stage against those in your folder. As always, model your filenames on the examples provided here.
Note. Remember, do not share the individual files with me. Do not add subfolders. Keep all of your project files in the project folder, and follow the file-naming protocols to keep everything organized.
This section describes the standards by which your stage-specific and final submissions will be evaluated.
There are 50 possible points for each project stage. Cumulatively, the 4 developmental stages contribute up to 200 points to your total for the course. You will earn points according to the following standard.
The final project submission is worth 400 possible points. You will earn points according to the standard described on the policies page (see Policies for a description of these categories).
The specific areas of emphasis for the DA project are drawn from this description and our in-class discussions of the project (including the supporting teaching materials that I provide to you along the way). Review the project rubric (_Eval_DesignAssessment.pdf) for the specific qualities and characteristics emphasized in each evaluation category.
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will provide the supporting details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file. Look for a Microsoft Word file in your shared class space on Dropbox with a filename that that follows this pattern:
YourLastName_Eval_DesignAssessment.docx.
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