Questionairre Results

By doing the questionairre i discovered that the clients which we are user testing are between the ages of 18 to 32.

They all have the common interest in liking The Simpsons cartoon figures as they are human like and colourful and look "cute" and "funny".

When i asked the clients what there favourite websites were they all said Facebook. The reason for this was because they said they liked to communicate with there friends. From research which i have done i think that for an intellectually disabled person it is easier for them to talk to people virtually then face to face as they get uncomfortable when face to face but over facebook they feel at ease and more confident.

Also part of the questionnaire asked them about the icons which were found in a powerpoint, theses icons are shown above. Before i even showed the icons to the clients i said to Christine that i didnt think the piggy bank icon would be very obvious to our certain clients due to there disability and i felt that we needed to rethink that icon. The feedback which i received from our clients was pretty much the same they didnt quite understand the whole piggy bank icon and they said they would just prefer a building of a bank as it would be more obvious as to what i was. The clients liked the hospital icon but felt that maybe it would look better as a smaller building not a skyscraper as you wouldnt get a skyscraper hospital. When it came to the school icon the clients and Tony felt that this was not accurate as they do not feel like they go to a school but rather a training center or work would be a preferred icon to use so christine will be further developing these icons.

Also the clients made the suggestion to make the icons more 3D like as it would look more sophisticated and modern.

When asked the question what colours would you like to be included in the app the most common answers were pink from girls and blue from the boys from colour research which i have done i think the reason for this is because it makes them feel secure in there gender and also the y said they liked the more pastel like blues and pinks so i think this is because it has a calming effect on the mind.

http://www.squidoo.com/colorexpert


Stephanie Botrel

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1. What is your name?

2. How old are you?

3. What mobile phone do you have?

4. What is your favorite colour?

5. Name some of the website which you use?

6. What is your favourite website?

7. Do you like our icons shown on the powerpoint?

8. What does each one of the icons mean on the powerpoint?

9. Do you like the cartoon like characters we have used? If not why and what would you prefer us to use?

10. Do you prefer flat animation in comparison to 3D animation?

Stephanie Botrel

2nd User Testing

With the feedback which i gave to Christine on the first user test of the character design we discovered how the clients would prefer a human character and this is what Christine came up with.
When i brought these characters (plus other character which are shown in a few links below in a post by christine) to the cope foundation the clients and Tony loved the ones which are shown here, they liked the fact that they were super heroes as they thought that they would act as a person who helps them to remember important details about themselves.
Feedback which i received was to keep the characters but make it so they could personalize them to what they were wearing, hair colour etc.
Also to refine the sketches and make them look more 3D and like the characters from the simpsons as it was a very popular style which i found out during the questionairre that the clients filled in for me.

Stephanie Botrel

Coding for Android

While researching the best methods for coding the application I came across numerous helpful tutorials which will help us to create the app.

One of the main concerns when creating this was whether we would have to store the data externally using a combination of both Flash and PHP. However myself and Lauren met Val to discuss this and she told us that the creating the app could be accomplished using Flash CS5 Professional and then convert it to a mobile app using the Adobe Air extension.

In conducting further research I saw that the app could save data internally using the SharedObject Class in Actionscript 3.The following are a list of tutorials that I think will prove very helpful in completing the project.

Password Validation:

http://marianomike.com/2009/03/18/easy-flash-as3-password-validation/

SharedObjects:

http://active.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tools-tips/quick-tip-working-with-sharedobjects/

http://www.flepstudio.org/forum/tutorials/418-sharedobject-actionscript-3-0-a.html

http://www.emanueleferonato.com/2008/12/28/understanding-as3-shared-objects/

http://www.republicofcode.com/tutorials/flash/as3sharedobject/


Alan

The Project Proposal(Feb 25th)

MM3 Media Project 6

Group 4 Alan, Christine ,Lauren & Stephanie

Brief

"There are a number of everyday scenarios where clients are asked to provide personal details about themselves - everything from height and shoe size to PPS numbers, doctors' names etc - which can present them with difficulties at the level of basic recall in context or in the provision of the information in the format required. Can a digital media solution offer some support and assistance in this regard?"

Project Proposal

Our aim is to create an android application for mobile phones that is freely available via download from the Doras website.The information will contain important details such as pps numbers,bank numbers,doctors names etc. This information will be entered into the application by the user and a trustee figure.The user then will be able to customise a character which will serve as a guide in the application that the user can interact with.

When any information is needed the user will then be able to access this information which will be divided into categories represented by 3 icons e.g. bank and any sensitive information will be represented by a money icon, any health details will be represented by a red cross icon and any school/work related details will be represented by a book and pen icon. With the aid of the guide they will be able to access this information.

Lastly as a security measure relating to the bank and any other sensitive details users will be asked a series of simple easy to remember security questions.They will then finally be asked a enter a security code and if any problems are encountered in recalling this code the user will be prompted to ring their trustee figure who would also know this code.

Alan, Christine ,Lauren & Stephanie

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

In-House Usability Testing:

· Initially I will be doing in-house usability testing, testing if it is simple enough for the average person to use e.g. People in my class.

Q/A Testing:

· I will make out questions and surveys for our users and then analyse the answers.

One to One:

· I no one of the girls in the Dora’s center in Cope so I will be testing all of our work on her on a regular basis, this will help to maintain a healthy progression for our application.

Stephanie Botrel

Goals of Usability Testing

Goals of Usability Testing

To make sure that a user can complete the tasks they are expected to complete.

· Must be able to use the application easily and without becoming frustrated.

Must check the:

· Functionality: The application must present the user with the appropriate functionality. If the functionality of an application is percieved as inadequate, customers may feel lost.

· Layout and Design: Good layout and design allow a user to easily complete tasks. If buttons etc are placed in the wrong place, users will get frustrated and might look for an alternative product.

· Interaction: The flow of an application must be natural and allow the user to easily complete tasks. If a user believes they have been sent to the wrong page and have to manually backtrack in order to find the page for which thay were looking, they can become frustrated and abandon the application.

Stephanie Botrel

1st Usabilty Test

The first test which i had to carry out were that of the first character designs which Christine gave to me.

When i brought these designs down to the cope foundation the clients did like them however some felt that they were a bit too immature and childish for some of the age group but they loved the cartoon style which they had.

Tony suggested that when the clients are in situations when they cant remember something that they rely on the person closest to them so that maybe it would be a good idea to make it a human character rather then a animal or made-up symbol etc.

I reported back to Christine and advised her to make the character a human cartoon which would act like a buddy to the client.

Stephanie Botrel

3D Effect for Characters

Christine Roche

Female Character animated

Christine Roche

Other Character Sketches

Choosing a Character mock up on Android Phone

The user will be asked to choose a character, male or female. They will be slightly animated e.g. blinking and different facial expressions.

Christine Roche

Mock Up of Background with the 3 Icons

The image bellow displays a mock up of what the final app will look like on an android phone. The sun is the log out button.

Christine Roche

Usability Testing Tips

Usability Testing Tips

1. Mobile Matters: Must make sure that the students can use the android mobiles.

2. Users: Speak their language – don’t make presumptions on what the clients will understand and be able to read. Verify the language/words/pictures we are going to use with the clients.

3. Schedule Tasks: Start with what is most important for your clients to understand. Test in that order.

4. Be prepared: Present users with a working site for best results; wait to do the main usability testing when the application is made. It is disappointing for the user when they cant get a sense for the application.

Stephanie Botrel

Rough idea of Icons

There will be three icons, one for a Hospital, one for a bank and one for school. Bellow are some rough sketches of what they might look like.

Christine Roche

Male and Female Characters Mock up

This is a mock up of what the female character will look like. The question mark represents the question that the client needs answering e.g. "What's my account number?" I made these characters by drawing them in pencil and scanning them up onto my laptop. I then opened them up on photoshop where I cut them out using the pen tool and I coloured them in appropriately.

Below is a mock up of the male character. Both characters have a red cape on them to symbolize that they are like super heros by helping people find the answers to personal information queries.

Christine Roche

Character Design

These are some of the characters that I came up with which I thought would be fun and interesting for our clients. There are characters suitable for both male and female. When we visited Doras we found out that the clients like characters such as Goofy and Bart Simpson, real basic characters. This is what I tried to capture below.

They are fun and colourful, however after speaking with Tony, we decided as a group that it would be more appropriate or gender friendly to have a female and male character instead that they can choose from.

Christine Roche

Cope Visit 24/02/11

Stephanie Botrel and I(Christine Roche) went to Doras on the 24/02/11. We got an up close view of how Doras functions and we got to speak directly to our clients. We got alot of useful information from speaking to them for an hour. We got a better insight into what Tony meant when he said that our application "needs to be bog standard." We evaluated that most of the clients have android phones which is obviously a brilliant sign as this type of phone is what our application will be on.

As we pitched our idea to the clients we found that they all seemed to really like what we were proposing. A boy named Kenneth threw many valid questions at us e.g. "How do you get the application onto our phones?" Another young man named Ross gave us an idea for one of the security questions, "What was your first pets name?" This made us see that the questions need to be something personal to them and very easy to remember.

Tony gave us a list of questions that any one of the clients may need in a certain scenario such as an overnight stay.

Name:_________________________ DOB:___________________

Name & Address of Parents/Gardians: __________________________________

Phone No:_______________

Does he/she have any medical condition of which we need to be aware?__________

Please specify:_____________________________

Is she/he on any medication?_____________________

(If yes the mediacal staff from this trip will be in contact with you)

In case of headache/period pain etc, is he/she allowed paracetamol?________

Is your son/daughter able to manage their own medication? ________

Does he/she have any allergies to foods/medications etc?_______

Please specify:_______

Does he/she have any dietary requirements? _________________

Does he/she have any particular food dislikes?______________

Is assistance required with regard to personal care? (e.g. help with shower, dressing, shaving etc.) _____________________

Would he/she mind sharing a room with other people?_______

Does he/she sleep with the lights on or off?_________

Does he/she have any sleeping problems?___________

Will he/she manage his/her own money?_________

Does he/she have any problem using public transport?___________

If the group is out at a social event does

1. He/She drink alcohol?_________ How many?______

2. He/She drink soft drinks?_____

Will he/she wish to attend a religious service?________

If so please state the denomination __________

Many bits of information that they might need are stored in there phone e.g. medication they are on etc.

There will be three icons, Bank, Hospital and School. Examples of information they will enter into each will be as follows:

Bank: PPS number, pin code, account number, address of bank, phone number of bank etc.

Hospital: Allergies, medication they take, blood type, next of kin etc.

School: Address, computer password, email address and password etc.

Christine Roche & Stephanie Botrel

What We Want Applicaiotn To Do

1. User downloads app from Doras/CIT website onto his/her android phone.

2. Open up app on phone.

3. Three icons will pop up: Bank, School and Doctor icons.

4. User enters all relevant information with a trusted person.

5. They then chose a character e.g. boy character or girl character.

6. Then they are asked for 3 security questions for use as a security password when they want to log in. Something that is easy to remember e.g. What's your mothers maiden name?/What's your date of birth?/What's your pets name?

7. If they enter the wrong password in 3 times, they are asked for a master password. Only the user and the trusted person knows the master password. If they cannot remember the password, the trusted person's number appears and they can ring them.

8. There is also and edit button and of course a log out button.

By downloading this application, the user will have access to all the information they would normally forget e.g. PPS number or the doctors phone number etc. This avoids embarrassment as they have the personal information they need at their fingertips.

Christine Roche, Alan Spillane, Lauren Murphy, Stephanie Botrel

Post Presentation

We had a group meeting to discuss how the presentation went and we each reviewed each others feedback from Phil and Gearoid. We gave each other constructive critisism. Because Phil and Gearoid both said that the work load didn't seem that it was being easily shared we delegated roles more evenly after the presentation. We broke it down for the week ahead.

Lauren: Speak to Gary and Val

Begin coding (main programmer)

Stephanie: Make tutorials

Usability testing

Christine: Design the characters, background and icons

Alan: Begin coding (main programmer)

Make gantt chart

Christine Roche, Stephanie Botrel, Alan Spillane, Lauren Murphy

Usability Testing

I will be covering the usability testing of our project to ensure that it bests suits the demands of our users. I will have to ensure that the functionality of both the website and the android application is simple so that the user does not get overwhelmed making our application unusable.

I have done research into the usability testing methods and techniques that I could use such as, Coaching Method, Retrospective Thinking, Thinking-Aloud Protocol and Performance Measurement.

For the moment I have narrowed it down to 2 methods:

v Coaching Method

v Performance Measurement

The Coaching Method

This is where the participants whom are involved in being user tested are allowed to ask any system related questions to an expert coach who will help the user to the best of their ability. The purpose of this technique is to discover the information needs of the user to possibly redesign the interface to avoid the need for the user to ask questions.

Performance Measurement and Retrospective Thinking

Performance Measurement is a technique that is used to obtain quantitative data about the test participants’ performance when they perform the tasks during usability testing. There should be no interaction between the user and tester to so that it doesn’t affect the quantitative performance data.

To obtain dependable results, at least 5 participants are , however, 7 or 8 or more would be more desirable.

Audio Recording

I will also be recording audio of the users when they are asking/answering questions, the reason it will not be visuals as well is because it is not permitted in the cope foundation to take pictures or videos of the clients.

Stephanie Botrel