Outcomes addressed in this activity:
Unit Outcomes:
•Compare various techniques for exploring emerging design ideas.
•Apply heuristic evaluation to a physical design.
Course Outcome:
•IT302-2: Evaluate human-computer interaction principles and the discovery process.
GEL Outcome:
•GEL-1.1: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition oforiginal materials in Standard American English.
Assignment Instructions and Requirements:
Heuristics are an important part of the designer's job. For this assignment, you will investigate Jakob Nielsen's 10 heuristics and apply the principles to a specific software application's interface.
Part of this assignment's value is to practice paraphrasing information; if you are unsure how to rewrite from source material, please visit the Writing Center or check for resources offered by your professor in the classroom. Make sure you follow APA style requirements as you prepare your Assignment.
Gathering Information Before Writing
Use the textbook and/or other suitable sources to learn about Jakob Nielsen's 10 Heuristics for User Interface Design. Pick one of the following interfaces to complete the assignment and use the same one for all heuristic evaluations in your paper. Approved choices:
•Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
•Photoshop, Dreamweaver, or Flash
•Your favorite email system
•An anti-virus software interface
•Quicken or another financial software application
The Assignment Itself
For each of the 10 heuristics:
•Write the heuristic itself as a paper subheading. These subheadings should be:
1.Visibility of system status
2.Match between system and the real world
3.User control and freedom
4.Consistency and standards
Unit 4 [IT302: Human-Computer Interaction]
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
10. Help and documentation
• In a first paragraph under each heading, summarize or paraphrase what that heuristic means. Use source material and in-text citation at the end of this paragraph, but do not quote or copy from your sources.
• In a second paragraph under each heading, apply the heuristic to your chosen application, explaining if and/or how it meets expectations. If not, surmise why the developers did not consider the heuristic.
• Each heuristic's two paragraphs combined must be at least 45 words in length.
Provide a last page for properly-formatted APA reference entries.
Additional Requirements
• Your paper should show an understanding of the unit reading.
• Use the textbook and/or other sources appropriate for university work.
• Submit your work as a Word document in APA format. You must use 10- or 12-size Times New Roman or Arial font and meet other formatting requirements. Please note that an Abstract page and Table of Contents are not required.
• Cite your sources within the body of the paper and provide a list of references at the end in a separate References page. In-text citations and references should be properly formatted according to APA guidelines.
• Use subheadings as instructed so that your professor clearly sees where each of the parts begins.
Written work should be free of spelling, grammar, and APA errors. Points deducted from the grade for each writing, spelling, or grammar error are at your instructor's discretion.
Please download the file "Writing Center Resources" from Doc Sharing to assist you with meeting APA expectations. Ensure that your work is not copied from any sources. Copying does not prove an understanding of the material, and plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Directions for Submitting Your Assignment:
• Use the following convention to name your Assignment: IT302-Unit4-LastName-FirstName, where your own name is typed (example: IT302-Unit4-Bhatt-Ajay). Submit the completed document as an attachment to the Unit 4 Assignment Dropbox before the deadline.
Requirements for the assignment continue following the badging information below.
Challenge Levels
Anyone up for a challenge? This course offers you the opportunity to go beyond the required course material. Two Challenge Levels are offered to supercharge your coursework: Design Whiz and Rock Star Professional.
Challenge Levels are a great way for you to learn more about the topic, better improve your existing skills and abilities, and/or highlight how knowledgeable you are in the unit material. These levels do not count for additional points or guarantee a higher grade.
Challenge Levels offer you an opportunity to stand out, learn more, and gain confidence.
To start, follow the rubric and project instructions as you normally would. If you choose to try it, supplement your project with the challenge levels. Reach out to your instructor and do some research for resources. The "Design Whiz" level adds to the basic level, and the "Rock-Star Professional" level adds more challenges to the "Design Whiz" level.
You must complete the "Design Whiz" level before you attempt the "Rock-Star Professional" level.
If you start a challenge level, but it becomes too difficult to handle, please stick with the basic project instructions as found in the rubric to calculate your grade.
Most importantly-have fun with it!
Your Challenge Levels for this week:
Design Whiz
Add an introductory paragraph (before your 10 heuristics) that explains the basic concept of heuristics and who is responsible for the ones used here. Include in-text citation - and a new reference entry if necessary.
Rock-Star Professional