Assignment 4

Intro:
This week was a tough week. During this week we did the work from last week all over again. Besides we had to make the assignment for week 4.. But after all we made it! Here you can check out the assignment for this week:

Summary:
This week we made a summary out of a text about The New World of Working.

"The New World of Working"

The existence of software has made it possible for people to communicate and access data they need. Over the time software challenges have come up that really need to be tackled. That’s why we need to create a software that help info workers to adapt to the changing work environment and build on capabilities we have today.

The changes

There are change changes that give people new and better ways to work and also come with challenges; the global market is evolving, business is becoming more transparent and a generation of young people is entering the workforce which is being on and on connected al the time.One of the challenges is that information overload is becoming a drag on productivity.

How we will work

The way we will work is as following: improvement of personal productivity, work with pattern recognition and adaptive filtering, use unified communication, use of presence info, team collaboration, optimizing supply chains, finding the right information, spotting trends for business intelligence and finally having insights and a structured workflow.

How to make this happen

The aim is to make all this happen through a next-generation productivity platform that builds on the solid foundation of today’s  Microsoft Office system of programs and services. These programs and services will help people with their workflow to get things done more effectively, easily and to access more. Microsoft has been innovation for the information worker for a long time and we have just begun  to scratch the surface of how software can help people realize their full potential.

Ways/technologies already in practice

-          Unified communication

-          Improving personal productivity

-          Team collaboration

Not yet realized technologies/ways of working

-          Insights and structured workflow

In my opinion I do not think that this will be realized soon because for instance; to get the structured workflow is not as easy as it seems. It will take a long time to have a structured workflow around the world. Different countries have different ways of working and some of them are comfortable the way it’s going right now, even when it’s not structured. So, to get the whole world involved in this will be tough nut to crack.

NWOW flexible working survey  vs Bill Gates vision:

The notable differences are that whiles Bill Gates is optimistic about getting a smooth but organized workflow  the survey  shows the contrary of it being possible anytime soon. The barriers to flexible working are fore mostly  because there is no trust  between working colleagues when it comes to working away from the office. Besides that, there are also not enough  businesses around (29% of businesses across Europe)that are providing corporate guidelines on flexible work whiles 64% of European businesses allow their staff to work  flexibly. 

Prototype Plan:

Product, The Spruce Docket

Scope: students who work

Challenge: How to help working students manage and ease unexpected situations.

What:

The Spruce Docket is an application designed to combat stress and issues that students encounter. We propose a virtual workplace that syncs up to different schedules that the students use in school, work and their social lives. The Spruce Docket brings together different schedules like, blackboard, Facebook, and work schedules and organizes them into coherent and pleasant agendas for everyday.

Why

Research revealed that the target group is largely organized and takes the time to plan their days. However when things start to go wrong they feel stressed.

The challenges above resulted from interviews with the students.  The Spruce Docket answers both these challenges and even goes above board.  With easy planning and scheduling skill that include visualized plans to a smart agenda in-sync with public transportation and all their relevant schedules, the Spruce Docket encourage self discipline while creating comfort for the students who use it.

The Spruce Docket makes everyday an adventure. It uses tools our target group already uses, like to do lists on paper and builds on that with the use of positive reinforcements and efficient directions to match the students’ optimal rhythms. With these tools, the Spruce Docket together with the students creates the perfect day, everyday!

Who

Spruce Docket Prototyping plan

Assignment and Specification

-       Test of rough sketch of Spruce Docket in action.

-       Go through a day in as short an amount of time as possible. (24 hours in 30 min Max.)

-       Test how the users interact with the surroundings (apartment, room, hallway, transportation) -> saves time, reclaims time, makes day more attractive and not messy, how does it refer to application they might use?  

-       Test of how each part functions -> provides information for bicycle, tram, and other transport related things

-       Test of usability -> is lifting really not needed, how does the product interact with the user, is the use simple, is the set simple and understandable. Where do they look? What do they click, what do they not notice?

-       Test of modularity -> does it fit for system, user and day? Does the user have to change anything, day to day?

-       Test of statics -> can the phone or system support the system? How stable is the product? How reliable is the product? How does the product deal with forces and pressure?> is it really reassuring or just annoying?

-       Analyze product for improvements for 2^nd generation prototypes 

How to build

There will be around 8 people who will test the product. The user will be asked to perform a day of 24 hours into 30 minutes. So the test will only take 30 minutes. During that “day” of 30 minutes, the user will interact with the product to see if it’s really useful and user friendly. After the test there will a short interview with several questions.

            Steps and manufacturing process.

Go down the page for more information.

Assembly.

Coming soon

Explanation of the assembly parts.

Schedule

DAY	PLAN AND WHO	DESCRIPTION
Friday 13 dec	Prototype discussion.	We will see expert for prototype discussion and further plan for prototyping. Material optimization discussion. Further adjustments in concept prototyping.
Monday next week.	Ordering materials and prototype discussion and optimization.	We will order necessary materials and we will do further discussions on the use of the materials to accomplish our goal. We will see expert in making decisions on materials. Acquainting with manufacturing technique.
Monday next week	Begin prototyping	We will start with our prototyping in the school workshop expert in the school workshop will help in prototyping.
Wednesday	Prototyping	We will continue prototyping.
Thursday	Prototyping and parts optimization	Continue prototyping and make sure if already prototype parts matches our demands.

Bill of Materials and budget;          

MATERIAL NAME	DIMENSION		COST
Materials	Size		Price of material
Cardboard Paper Colored paper	A3 pieces A3 pieces A4 pieces		.. … ….
Scissors Protractor Stickers	Normal Normal Depicting activities		… … …
		Total cost Should already be available in the Lux lab
		Euros: Free

Location

The prototype will be tested in the LUX lab (Lab User eXperience). In this room is a one-way-    mirror, a camera and a realistic living room optional. Before the test, the user will be asked for permission to film it. Besides this location is very central for students from The Hague. It’s very important to make the LUX lab a realistic place, so the outcome of the test will be positive, in a way the designers can evolve the product.

The LUX (Lab User eXperience). Perfect for user interface testing.

The Prototype

The prototype will be made out of paper. This is called a “paper prototype”. Paper prototyping is a used method in the user-centered design process, a process that helps developers to create software or products that meets the user’s expectations and needs. The prototype will be an application for working students. It is not possible to make an application in the amount of time there is available. So this is the reason why there will be a paper prototype. Because the product is an application, there will be made a mobile phone out of cardboard (or something else) to make the application realistic. By replacing the screens of the user in the mobile phone, the user will be given the idea that he is using a real phone and application.

Tasks

During the usability test with real users, the user performs realistic tasks by interacting with the paper prototype. The prototype is manipulated by, for instance the designer, to reflect the software’s reactions to the user input actions. The tasks will be formulated when the paper prototype has been finished.
The protocol

Think aloud protocol

 Before the test starts, the user will be asked to think aloud. This means that every action the user takes, will be combined with a short explanation. This gives the designers an opportunity to ask about those actions during the interview after the test. When something is wrong about the interface, together with the interview, and the thoughts of the user, the designers can solve the problem.

Interview

After the test it’s important to understand why something went wrong or right. The camera recorded the actions and emotions of the user, but it didn’t record the reason why the user did something. That’s why you need an interview to perceive the information.- How did you think it was going?
- What did you like about the product?
- Where there any struggles?
- Do you have any experience using products like this?
- Would you like to add something to the product?
- What did you think about the functions of the product?
- Would you purchase this product?
- Would you recommend this product?
- Do you have any announcements or questions about the product?
- Are there any questions about the test itself?

Storyboard

Here is the storyboard for the prototype: