Usability Projects

Usability Projects

Ideas for Usability Studies of existing systems

In (part of) the third, fourth, and fifth week you will do a small usability study of an existing system. You can either pick one of the following topics or come up with one of your own. If you decide to do the latter, please clear this with one of the teachers well ahead of time.

Using a specific Android, iPad or iPhone app

Assignment: Let people use a specific app on an Android mobile device, iPad (or the like) or iPhone. Do not start the app for them, let them find it themselves. A few examples:

• Create a shopping list using speech using Appie (from Albert Heijn)
• Plan a trip to for instance Roosendaal via Arnhem, on a specific date and time, using NS Reisplanner
• Tweet a picture to Twitter, using the Twitter app
• Find the times for a specific movie (e.g. Nova Zembla) in Pathé Breda, 5 days from now, using the Pathé app.
• Find which actor is playing the role of Tank in the movie the Matrix using the IMDB app
• Think of your own reasonably difficult task. (Encouraged!)

Possible solutions: To be determined.

Prerequisites: A mobile device (Android, iPad, iPhone) with internet connection.

Plan a walking trip with Google Maps

Assignment: Plan a walking trip to somewhere via at least 2 places (for instance, Groningen to Leek, via Peize and Altena), using Google Maps. Create a printout of the trip.

Possible solutions: To be determined.

Prerequisites: A computer, browser, internet and a printer. Google Maps

Picture placement using Word

Let some people try out aligning three images horizontally in Word.

Assignment: Open a new word document and add three pictures of equal size. Then align these pictures horizontally (that is place them on a single line). Make sure that the spacing between the first and the second picture equals the spacing between the second and the third. Also ensure that the left and right images are flush with the margin.

Possible solutions: Use a table of three columns to contain the pictures and give the columns equal width. Then left align the first image, center align the next and right align the last image. Even this might not automatically ensure that the images are flush with the margin.

Prerequisites: Microsoft Word

Table in bordered alinea using Word

Sometimes you create an alinea with a border around it, for example, when one wishes to typeset some example exercise differently. Now suppose this exercise needs a table and you want to include this table inside the bordered alinea. When you do this, the alinea splits.

Assignment: Start from this word document. The task is to keep the original look and feel intact and move the table inside the border. Note that the end result should have just one rectangular border and not two.

Possible solutions: You can create a table with the same look and feel and just one cell and then include the other table inside.

Prerequisites: Word document, Microsoft Word.

Ordered Collages using Picasa

Picasa allows you to create various kinds of collages. Having create a grid based collage, sometimes you want to reorder them. For example, reverse the order.

Assignment: For this exercise start with an ordinary grid collage and add some photos/pictures (say 9). Then, somehow rearrange these photos in backward order.

Possible solutions: To be determined.

Prerequisites: Picasa 3, some photos/pictures

Hint: It might be useful to create some images with numbers in them so the ordering is visible more easily.

Sending an text message (SMS) with an unknown phone

Not every mobile phone operating system is as intuitive as one might like. In this test you will ask someone to send an SMS on a phone (or OS of that phone) he or she does not know.

Assignment: Send a given SMS to a given number using a phone you have not used before. Alternatively: send the SMS to a person in the addresbook.

Prerequisites: (Unknown) mobile phone(s), with working SMS capability.

Storing contact information on an unknown phone

Not every mobile phone operating system is as intuitive as one might like. In this test you will ask someone to store a full set of contact information (name, mobile number, home number, fax) in a phone they have not used before.

Assignment: Store a given set of contact information on a given phone that you have not used before.

Prerequisites: (Unknown) mobile phone(s).

Use of a mobile phone by elderly people

Especially elderly people seem to have some trouble operating modern mobile phones. Test this and perhaps you can come up with some possible improvements.

Assignment: Given a phone number call that number using a mobile phone. You can increase the difficulty by for example giving a contact's name instead of the number itself or maybe enable the keyboard lock first.

Prerequisites: One or more mobile phones, with calling capabilities.

Programming a VCR

Programming a VCR to record a program at a given time is sometimes very difficult. Test this using your VCR at home, or alternatively use another one that is less well known by your family. Alternatively you could also use your DVR.

Assignment: Given a program, say Het acht uur journaal on Nederland 1, program your VCR to record this program.

Prerequisites: A working VCR or DVR.

Setting an alarm clock

Start with one of those nice RuG digital alarm clocks or another similar model with two buttons and try to set the time and an alarm. This is often very difficult due to lack of feedback.

Assignment: Set the digital alarm clock to the correct current time and program it to go off 5 minutes from now.

Prerequisites: A digital alarm clock.