CS 584 Homeworks

Note: This course does not have a TA. Thus, not all homeworks will be graded. (You will not know in advance which ones those are.)

• Class participation contribution. Bring in a paper that is an example of evidence-free work that purports to contribute to humans doing some aspect of software development.
  Hand-in specs:None. This is class discussion only. Dr. Burnett does not want any hard- or soft-copy handin on this one.


• HW 1 (see schedule for due date): Pick a (1) consumer, (2) that consumer's software development task and (3) the tool/feature/language you're designing (4) teammate for your final project. Be specific about each of (1), (2), (3), and (4). A paragraph or two in total is plenty. Dr. Burnett must approve these.
  Hand-in specs: Email to Dr. Burnett. Please put HW1 in your subject line.


• HW 2 (see schedule for due date): apply 3 Cognitive Dimensions (CDs) to the use of some programming environment/language you are familiar with (eg, Java in Eclipse, Visual Basic in Visual Studio, Gidget, Alice, etc.).
  What does "applying a CD" look like: See the JVLC'96 Green/Petre paper (which you are also reading) for examples.
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW2 in your subject line.


• HW 3 (see schedule for due date): 4 discussion questions on two of Petre, Subrahmaniyan, and Grigoreanu, as follows: (4 questions total from each student except those presenting that day.)
  • A-E: Petre and Subrahmaniyan.
  • F-R: Subrahmaniyan and Grigoreanu.
  • S-Z: Grigoreanu and Petre
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW3 in your subject line.


• HW 4 (see schedule for due date): 4 discussion questions both papers we're reading this week (2 questions on each, so 4 questions total over these papers, plus 1 insight):
  Also provide one insight or idea that you gained from this batch of papers on your own project.
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW4 in your subject line.


• HW 5 (see schedule for due date): 4 discussion questions on three of Fleming, Raffle, Ko, Lee, and Myers, as follows: (4 questions total from each student except those presenting one of these papers.)
  • A-E: Fleming, Raffle, Ko.
  • F-R: Ko, Lee, Myers.
  • S-Z: Lee, Myers, Fleming
  (1 on each, 1 more to total 4 questions, plus 1 insight):
  Also provide one insight or idea that you gained from this batch of papers on your own project.
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW5 in your subject line.


• HW #predesign (see schedule for due date): This assignment is mainly to keep you on track for your project.
  Do whatever research you can into your consumer and their habits, problems, and tasks. Any combination of interviewing, observing, just remembering and jotting down things you can remember, collecting artifacts that you can (like their spreadsheets or worksheets) is fine.
  I realize that some consumers will be more available to you than others. Thus, if you make a solid effort to do research that is reasonable for your situation, you get a "1"; else a "0".
  What to hand in: 1. your research and 2. a list of insights you got from doing that research. (If you have artifacts, notes, or whatever, you can type them, scan them in, or whatever is easiest.)
  How to hand in: You can email this one directly to me (not the class list), in case there is something in your notes that you feel weird about sharing widely. Please put "HW predesign" in your subject line.


• HW 6 (see schedule for due date): 4 discussion questions on three of Oviatt, Heer, Blackwell, Wilson, and Kelleher as follows: (4 questions total from each student except those presenting one of these papers.)
  • A-E: Oviatt, Heer, Blackwell.
  • F-R: Blackwell, Wilson, Kelleher
  • S-Z: Heer, Wilson, Oviatt
  (1 on each, 1 more to total 4 questions, plus 1 insight):
  Also provide one insight or idea that you gained from this batch of papers on your own project.
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW6 in your subject line.


• HW 7 (see schedule for due date): apply 3 Representation Benchmarks (RBs) to your project. Choose RBs that are not based on the CDs you used for HW 2.
  What does "applying an RB" look like: See the Yang et al. paper on RBs (which you are currently reading) for examples.
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW7 in your subject line.


• HW 8 (see schedule for due date): 2 (just two!) discussion questions on the readings as follows, plus 1 insight:
  • A-E: Cao, Segal.
  • F-R: Segal, Li.
  • S-Z: Li, Cao.
  (1 on each paper assigned to you, plus 1 insight).
  Also provide one insight or idea that you gained from this batch of papers on your own project.
  Hand-in specs: Email to class mailing list. Please put HW8 in your subject line.


• Design Gallery #1 (see schedule for due date): User Research Insights and Concepts, very early-stage Prototype sketches.
  Prepare a "poster" of your Insights and Concepts, and with potentially some very early-stage Prototype ideas. The most important part is this: justify all of your concept ideas and prototype ideas with either user research or one of the theory principles (eg, a cognitive dimension, something from information foraging theory, or whatever).
  The "poster" is made up of individual bits of paper that you've arranged on a piece of posterboard or something like it. (No need to use the departments fancy poster printer.) Include anything you need from your user research to make your justifications clear. For the sketches themselves, feel free to draw them by hand and scan them in. Fiddling with drawing using a computer-based drawing package is not the best way to spend your time.
  Hand-in specs: Turn in the collection of pieces of paper (scanned in) by emailing to me. Please put DESIGN GALLERY 1 in your subject line.


• Design Gallery #2 (see schedule for due date): Emerging Prototype plus use of your selected 1-2 Intellectual Techniques. Your prototype is by now well along. Show its emerging storyboard, your 1-2 Intellectual Techniques, with the prototype decisions well justified using your intellectual techniques and/or your user research.
  What to actually turn in and how to make your poster: same as for Design Gallery #1.