The Recommendation Report project (RR) results in a 10 to 15 minute video presentation of your/team's recommendations for improving the design of its OoS. Drawing on your research findings, you propose refinements and explain how you think those changes might impact the usability and inclusivity of the OoS. The RR project challenges you to present your research to date and the conclusions you draw from that work, and thus to think like a researcher and a designer.
This project requires only one submission. All files are submitted to a Recommendation Report folder in your shared course space on Dropbox.com.
Document type: memo, video report
Document length: 150 words (memo), 10 to 15 minutes (video)
Project value: 400
Evaluation rubric: _RPW375_Eval_RecommendationReport.pdf
The Recommendation Report project brings together elements of research, design thinking, and technical description into a presentation for professional (i.e., educated, but nonexpert) listeners/viewers, including other designers (e.g., peers) and clients. Two strategies are key to your success with the project: creating a connection with audience members; and, discussing in detail how your proposed design changes represent effective design thinking.
Build your recommendation report on the foundation of your research on and experience with your chosen object of study. Explain the design: what is it, what purpose(s) does it serve? what are the core design elements? Explain the ways you studied it: methods, study designs, outcomes. Explore your lessons learned. Propose design changes. Your report takes the form of a video that runs 10 to 15 minutes.
Your video should include a variety of content elements: static framing screens, segments of video from user testing, audio overlays, images/video of your OoS, images/video of your proposed design changes. In other words, use every audible and visual content you have access to to build your discussion. Use static screens (e.g., slides) to connect everything and to provide structure for your report.
Your screening document (that is, the document that helps frame and anchor your video) should provide enough detail on the screens it includes that viewers can get a good sense of your discussion content even without you speaking. That means viewers (or readers) ought to be able to discern the core details and explanations from the content available on each screen. However, the document should be designed to serve primarily as the on-screen object during your video recording, and be the "glue" that connects your content.
Consider the following list of content and design elements. Decide what content suits your project narrative most effectively, and how to incorporate the elements that do.
Bring together all of the details of your project narrative, including your proposed design changes, through your video. Transition through as many on-screen content elements (e.g., framing doc, static images, video segments) as is necessary to tell the project story.
Test the resulting video file prior to submitting your project. Make sure that the audio is strong and clear and that the video is free of glitches.
Set up your report for streaming by posting the video file to Screencast.com (or another streaming service). One advantage of Screencast.com over some other services is that you control whether or not your files are publicly accessible. If you created an account here for the Screencast Design workshop, then you may remember that your video file is accompanied by a SHARE link. Copy that link and add it to your Memo of Transmittal (see below) prior to submission of the project.
A memo of transmittal introduces the accompanying document to its audience(s). Your memo should be addressed from you to me, and should introduce the accompanying project. Your memo should incorporate the following content elements.
Recommended tool(s): Techsmith Camtasia or Capture, Screencast-O-matic.com (all platforms), or Apple Quicktime (Mac) for the screencast; Adobe InDesign for the on-screen document; microphone; headphones
This section offers guidance for how to interpret the project and how to proceed with your work on it. Consider the following strategies.
You establish your technical writer/designer ethos with the way you present your descriptive details. Be as specific and concrete as you can throughout your discussion. The more 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 your OoS. Focus on the details that are important to understanding the thing you discuss.
Consider what viewers might find most useful. Provide as much detail, explanation, and evaluative discussion as you can in the allotted time.
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/video.
Do not use marketing images of your OoS from the vendor website. Do incorporate screenshots/screencaptures of your OoS in use.
Also, for any screens that you propose a redesign, implement images that you create using available tools and templates. For example, a search for "iPhone design templates" will gather a wealth of links to sites where you can download free design templates specific to Apple phone screens. You can search for parallel screens for other companies, devices, and product lines. For our purposes here, any screens you design can be hand drawn, although you are welcome to do something more sophisticated if you are able.
Establish a connection with your audience. Sustain that connection throughout your video. Consider what would help you create a connection to a topic, issue, or author, and seek to develop such connections with your audience now. For example, consider the needs and expectations of a professional such as yourself in seeking out a review like yours.
This section is designed to help you anticipate and avoid problems as you work on this project. Therefore, as you work, consider the following hints and tips.
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, concise, professional communication.
Focus on the little and big details. Proofread your on-screen document carefully. Make sure your audio is strong and clear. Review what you say and how you say it. Check the quality of your audio and video. Redo material that does not meet expectations. Test your SHARE link after you add it to the Memo.
Design a document that frame your core content. Because your video will likely transition through many kinds of on-screen content, it is most effective to design a document that fits on screen and requires no scrolling. That means using the landscape orientation rather than portrait in your design package.
I recommend Adobe InDesign for this project. Your transitions between pages during the video will go more smoothly if you convert your framing document to PDF before you record your video.
Although you can develop all of your screens directly in a package such as Techsmith Camtasia, you may find it easier in some ways to create slides in InDesign and import them to Camtasia. I have worked with both strategies, and for extensive screen development I prefer working in InDesign.
I offer this caution about using Microsoft PowerPoint. Although a slideshow created in PowerPoint suits your needs for this task, I strongly recommend that you avoid using any templates provided by Microsoft. Such templates are designed to meet outdated standards for projected documents, and are not at all appropriate for a professional document such as the one you need to create here.
Consider as well that when you want to integrate any other video content, such as a live demonstration of a site or tool, you can prepare in advance to make that content easier to integrate. If you resize and reposition the demo window so it fills the same space on screen as your pitch document, then you can pause during the recording process to switch over to that demo space in the recording window.
Screencasting tools allow you to designate a recording window, which may be a portion of your computer screen or the whole screen. The contents of that window are recorded during the screencasting process. Designate the pitch document as your recording window, rather than the whole screen. This is more professional. However, it is also more effective because it eliminates unnecessary screen content, and may allow you to record the screencast document at a larger scale.
Plan and rehearse your report so that you use the time allotted to you for your presentation. It is often obvious when presenters have not planned well or rehearsed their presentation. In such cases, they may have little to say, or struggle to do more than read from their screening document, or or simply stop because their time is running out. You do not have much time to discuss your topic, and thus need to emphasize organization in your planning. Plan the general presentation sections and the key details from each. Work your way through the topics toward your conclusion.
Once you have completed your recording and editing, review your video to make sure that (1) your delivery is professional, coherent, and well paced, (2) your video is clear and free of flaws, and (3) your audio is clear, audible, and free of distracting clicks or other background sounds.
Although it is possible to upload a video file (typically an .mp4 format file), such files can be large. Screencast.com allows you to share a link with others that, when selected, provides access to a video stream. Because most email packages (including SVSU Vmail) have limits on file size for attachments, this sharing option is often the most effective. Always test your link before you submit your project.
Read and attend carefully to these submission guidelines. Failure to do so may result in delays in receiving feedback on the draft of your project, or in points lost on the final evaluation of your project.
Create a project folder inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Remember, I can only view files that you place inside the shared folder. Until you place files in that space, you have not in practice submitted them.
Name the folder Recommendation Report.
Note. Do not share this folder with me. By placing it in your class folder, you have already shared it by default.
Make sure the project documents are available to me in the project folder by the final deadline. Model your filenames on the listed examples.
Note. Do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
There are 400 possible points for the this project. You will earn points according the following variation to the standard described on the policies page (40% content development, 40% delivery and design execution, and 20% professionalism & attention to detail; see Policies). The specific areas of emphasis for this project are drawn from the description and discussion of the project, and are detailed in the evaluation rubric (_RPW375_Eval_RecommendationReport.pdf).
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will post the details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file.
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