CS 552 - Assignment 6

CS552. User Interface Design

Assignment 6. Usability Engineering

Size of team:	1
What's due:	"Customized" version of template GUI code in a file called `Util.java`, plus HTML files containing online documentation, plus an HTML document that brief outlines what your usability engineering procedures were.
When it's due:	Midnight on Monday, June 1

To Do...

As in Assignment 2, you will make small changes to a template that implements a Java interface to a "programmer's assistant" tool. As before, you will only alter particular lines in the code, which are clearly identified by comments. This time, however, your interface must be designed specifically for the needs of first-time programmers.

In addition to applying the guidelines on color and other design elements that we have studied during the course, you must apply some of the "discount" usability engineering techniques described by Jakob Nielsen in his paper "Usability Engineering at a Discount," in Designing and Using Human-Computer Interfaces and Knowledge Based Systems, ed. G. Salvendy and M. J. Smith, Elsevier Science, 1989. That is, you must find some beginning programming students and involve them in the design of the interface. (Recall from the paper that it is not the number of subjects that matters as much as your preparation of materials before you actually meet with them. I recommend that you not try to implement anything in Java until you have gathered multiple rounds of user input; that is, stick with paper prototypes.)

Write a brief outline describing which procedures you actually implemented, at what points in the design process you implemented them, who the users were, and what you learned from them. This may be in the form of a bullet list or outline, but must be submitted as an HTML document.

Your interface will include the following:

Color and font selections and menu and control button organization that make it easy for beginning programmers to "see," understand, and apply your interface. Use the same list of basic functions you had for Assignment 2, and cover the same design elements as you did before. The only difference is that you are targeting a distinct user audience (and hopefully, will be guided by user feedback).
Status line messages that guide the user and clarify what is happening to his/her program. A simple Java method invocation makes it possible to update the contents of this message field. Be sure you initialize it to something appropriate when the interface first comes up.
An indication of what would appear in the main window. A Java method has been provided for displaying a string that explains what the full implementation of your interface would show in this window. For example, after the user opens a file for editing, you might display the following text string: "Editable version of source code will appear here. All edits will appear in dark green to distinguish them from the original code."
All appropriate File selection, error, warning, and information dialogs, using the components provided for you. Examples are shown of how to invoke these dialogs and supply them with appropriate messages. Note that you only have to implement the dialogs that would be invoked when the user makes menu or button selections (not the additional dialogs that might come if, for example, he/she tried to exit without saving edits.
"Dummy" versions of other dialogs or supplementary windows that you may need, such as a window to open a connection to a remote machine. An "empty" dialog has been provided for this. As with the main window, you should provide a text string describing what the full implementation would display in this window.
Online help documentation. Because this interface is intended for novice programmers, it is particularly important to have a clear, comprehensive help facility. You will implement a subset of the help facility, demonstrating
- what level of information will be provided
- how the user will access the information
- different documentation styles or "paths" through the documentation
Specifics about which tool features you must describe are given below, under "Specific Directions".
You must provide at least two types of help support. The first is a step-by-step description (tutorial) on how to use the tool to develop programs (at least in terms of the subset of features you will document). The second is a list of "topics" reflecting user goals and tasks (i.e., a "what I want to do" list showing the variety of tasks that the tool can be applied for). This is not the same as an index (which lists keywords or terms found in the text.
Each type of help support must be accessible from the "Help" menu. All you have to do is write a Web page (or set of pages) for each of the two types, and supply the URL when the Help window is popped up. (You are encouraged to think of other types of help that would also be useful for this tool and this audience. You don't have to implement them - just add a Help menu item and provide a "dummy" Web page that describes what kind of help the user would find there.

Note that the interface still will not actually "do" anything except bring up dialogs.

Specific Directions... Click asst6.tar to download the assignment tarfile. The tarfile, which will be available after May 25, contains all the assignment files. Follow the same procedures to un-tar, build, and run the example code as you did for Assignment 2.

Note that dialog controls have been added (see the "Dialogs" menu for examples) and that an HTML "help viewer" is available (from the "Help" menu).

You will implement the portion of the online help that describes compiling, linking, and running the program

in un-optimized form
in optimized form
as a preface to debugging
as a preface to performance analysis

(Assume that the performance analyzer is prof(), gprof(), or any other performance tool with which you are familiar.)

You're not responsible for describing the compiler, debugger, or performance tool itself, but you must make it clear what steps need to be taken in order to use these different procedures correctly (for example, the fact that the debugger cannot work with optimized code). Hopefully, the very design of your interface will prevent most errors from occurring. For example, you could pop up a warning dialog if the user tries to compile with both optimization and debugging info enabled. In this case, you wouldn't need to have much in the help file. If you didn't trap the error, however, you'd have to have very explicit and comprehensive info in the help file.

Collaborating with Others...

You may discuss the meaning of the tool's functions with any of your classmates and you may collaborate in finding test users. Your strategy for implementing usability engineering techniques and your interface implementation must be unique, however.

To Hand In...

Use the hand-in form to submit the location of a directory containing:

your revised version of file Util.java; this will be linked with my copy of the appropriate class files to grade your solution.
the HTML files that implement your online help facility; these can be named whatever you like, as they will be invoked only from within Util.java
an HTML file called ue-procs.html containing a bullet list or outline describing what usability engineering procedures you used in carrying out this assignment.