Other team member: Scott Blair, Qiong Yuan, Kuang-You Cheng

Blogger.com is one of the top free blog platforms which provide online editing of blog contents services. Blog.com is another free blog platform with a different editing style. Our team conducted a within-subject usability test of blog.com and blogger.com with 24 participants who had some blogging experience but never used these two sites before. Our objective for the testing was to collect both quantitative and qualitative data of new users perform common tasks for the first time on blog.com and blogger.com. We hope the results of the usability data can be used to compare the efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction of these two blog platforms and see if there is statistically significant difference performing the common tasks between these two sites.

Project final presentation

Other team member: Scott Blair, Qiong Yuan, Kuang-You Cheng

This is a usability evaluation for Brother PT-1230PC PC-Connectable Label Maker. The evaluation was conducted through quantitative and qualitative data gathering that enabled the research team to determine positive findings, existing usability issues, and finally provide recommendations for future design guideline.

Through 6 carefully designed usability testing sessions, the research team discovered that this label maker provides flexibility and convenience of use for label making; however user also have difficulties associating icons with their predictions while editing and printing labels. Based on our findings, we propose our recommendations that for the next iteration/design of this product, user would have a less confusing experience by (1) improving the editing environment through distinguishable icons, (2) when editing label properties have the contents adjustments correspond in a consistent manner, (3) providing accurate tool tip information that will aid the user's understanding of a function.

Project final presentation

Other team member:

Julie Goldberg, Qiong Yuan,Julia Haines , Laura Lee, Keiko Sakan

Car Sharing Music Service

This in-car music media integration unites navigation and entertainment functionalities within a car sharing environment. Leave your CDs and MP3 players at home and take your music with you.

Project narritive and persona

Hi-Fi phone app (by Nai-Hwa Chiang, Laura Lee)

Web interface (by Julie Goldberg, Julia Haines)

Car interface (by Keiko Sakan, Qiong Yuan)

Other team member: Justin Hernandez, Laura Lee, David Prahl, Tasj Nicole Yabut

Face2Face Time wants to help address the problem of isolation that the elderly face. By enabling memorable and engaging interactions for families though a rich audio and visual experience, Face2Face Time helps bring families closer together, even when separated by great physical distances. For a monthly fee, families could use Face2Face Time as an easy to use and enjoyable website that allows them to share and create memories through activities such as viewing photos, or playing games.

In order to provide a targeted and memorable experience to these families, Ultimate Experience will outline how our user-centered design process will help create designs and ideas that will facilitate the growth and success of Face2Face Time.

Project final report

Project final presentation

This project was aimed to understand how user-centered design applied to a website design, by using the learning from the class, student should be able to compare and point out the advantages and disadvantages of using UCD within the overall design process.

In the end, student would be able to make suggestions that helps to improve the UCD process of this company.

Project final report

Other team member: John Jarosz, Stefan Keir, Clifton McIntosh, Dan Meyer, Roy Torres

This app is for those who are out and about running errands and need to locate a business within walking or driving distance from their present location. The errandmate app allows the user to select a business, such as cleaners, grocery store, bank, major department store, etc., or if you know the name of the business - you can type it in. The maps feature will "queue" them up in order by distance from you in nearest to farthest and offer directions between the (in this case ) 4 map points (grocery, laundry, video, home).

Unlike apps like Google's 'My Location' on Google Maps, this app will be able to seamlessly plan a day's worth of errands or tasks. The user will be able to store a profile that keeps track of their history and preferences. Also when you select a business you will see the star rating and user reviews. This can help you to avoid a bad experience. In addition, businesses can be involved by offering special coupons, interacting with customers, and more - thus becoming a source of revenue. The rest is run by the community in terms of recommendations, votes, critiques, and so on. The above features offer in an increase in value from the other applications currently available.

Project final report

Prototype

Other team member: Erica Yamada,Yuhsin Chiu

The project was aiming to catagorize the calls go into 311 call center, the primary research has been conducted in Fall of 2008, and the team gathered basic understanding of the feature and service type of 311 call center.

Therefore, in the project we interpret the research and create prototype that describe the intercations different users might go through in different scenario. Thus, provide them a channel of mobile solution.

Project final report

iPhone Prototype (designed and Flash developed by Erica Yamada)

Regular phone prototype (designed by Nai-Hwa Chiang and Yuhsin Chiu, Flash developed by Erica Yamada)