The Artifact Analysis (AA) workshop focuses on the research method of the same name that emerges out of UX Design. You will apply this method during the preparatory work for Stage 1 of the Design Assessment project. Your ultimate goal is to understand the AA process well enough to conduct your own independent examination of the Object of Study (OoS) you select for the DA report.
Your work on this assignment will result in the completion of 2 documents:
For the complete details about how to submit your work, see Submission Requirements.
The primary focus of this workshop experience is Artifact Analysis. AA is a research method that comes from UX Design. In the "UX Methods Toolkit," I provide the following description of this research tool.
Artifact Analysis is an intepretive method that relies on expert examination of design to determine its essential qualities, characteristics, features, and functions. Many studies of designs in action begin with artifact analysis, because this method requires systematic examination of the OoS.
This kind of analysis results in the cataloging of specific design details that are then contextualized by how users observe or encounter them. For example, I can observe the way the keys on the Apple Calculator app are organized on screen, and that the interface changes with the orientation of the phone. That is, the app configures differently in portrait and landscape. However, I can only determine the function of keys based on prior knowledge of mathematical symbols and operations, or by interacting with the app.
Artifact analysis uses both observation and interaction to construct an accurate and complete description of the features, functions, and configurations of the object of study. This systematic examination requires study of the thing itself independent of its use and study of the thing in the context(s) of use. However, the results of an artifact analysis are primarily descriptive rather than qualitative. That is, we employ other methods to assess the quality of (i.e., usability) the thing in use.
Artifact analysis is applicable any time we need to demonstrate that we have acquired a thorough understanding of a design and its use.
Remember that your learning objective is to learn from participating in an AA study how you might conduct a study on your own of the OoS you select for your work on the Design Assessment project.
This workshop is designed to offer experience with artifact analysis in support of your work on the Design Assessment project this semester. The workshop has 4 stages.
Although you may complete this workshop on your own, I strongly suggest that you work in collaboration with classmates. Teams of 3 peers are ideal. If you choose to work with others but are not able to work in person, I recommend that you use Microsoft Teams or some other live chat/video conference tool to conduct the workshop.
When you are ready to begin, prepare for the study by completing the following steps.
Limit your examination to 3 Canvas pages/areas. We primarily focus our attention during this course on 7 pages from the Canvas system: Syllabus, Announcements, Modules, Discussions, Files, Pages, and Grades. Select 3 of these areas to examine for this workshop.
To complete the artifact analysis, follow these steps.
Note. You may find this section easier to complete after filling out the List of Features (see next).
Note. Add lines to the form if you need more space to record individual features. Delete unused lines from the form if you worked in the editable Word version of the document.
Once you have worked through the full set of AA tasks, review your completed form, and if available, the recording of your work session. Look for design details that you may have missed. Add any missing details to the form that you discover during that process. Assess the clarity of your descriptions and explanations. Do they make sense? If not, then refine any such details that could be made more clear.
The final stage of the workshop requires you to craft and submit a summary report. Whether you worked independently or in a team, prepare your own report.
Your summary report should include the following details.
Convert your workshop form to PDF. As you prepare to submit your summary report, note that you need to attach your workshop form to your discussion post. If you completed the form digitally, convert it to PDF. If you entered notes by hand, then scan your form and export it as a PDF file. (Do not take a photo with your smartphone. Use a scanning app to capture and convert the pages.)
Think about design as you construct your report. Composing your report directly in the discussion forum limits your design choices, but still highlights the need to use basic information design principles (e.g., adding headings) to make your content more accessible to readers.
Present your report in 2 separate sections that correspond to the report elements described above. Within sections, separate individual ideas/discussion points into their own paragraphs or list entries. Signal the beginning of each discussion section with an appropriate heading.
Craft your summary report in the forum dedicated to this workshop on Canvas Discussions. Do not create a separate document for this report. Compose it in the forum. Attach the PDF of your completed Artifact Analysis Form to your post.
Note: Do not attach the recording of your work session. Do not post it to your Dropbox space either. Doing so will consume storage space you may need later this semester. That recording is for your benefit, however, so you need to store it somewhere where you have access to it.
Note: I provide some visual guidance in the discussion forum for determining how long your report should be. However, the real standard you seek to meet here is that of adequate and appropriate detail. In general, summary reports ask you to provide enough detail to demonstrate to peers and to me that you understood the activity on which you report, and that you completed the workshop as described. If your report is too brief, or if it lacks concrete, specific detail, expect to earn fewer than 50 points for your submission.
This section describes the standards by which your work will be evaluated for this workshop. Attend carefully to these details to earn full credit for this assignment.
There are 50 possible points for this workshop. You will earn points according to this standard.
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