COM7034M User Centred Design Assignment Brief 2024-25 | YSJU

COM7034M UCD Assignment Description

Assessment Task

This coursework will assess your User-Centred Design-related skills in real-life scenarios/problems. You must choose the application or device from a range of Project Topics, which are given at the end of this document or choose any topic, for example, the Well-being applications and inform the module leader about the topic. The topics provided in the assignment are comprehensive, so you have to narrow down the topic to a small part that can be solved. Please make assumptions whenever needed to clarify and justify your point of view. Each project topic includes a system specification and basic details of its intended operation. Beyond this, you will be free to interpret all other aspects of the system specification. For this coursework, you are required to write an Assignment for a prototype application or a device that you will develop.

You will devise a plan to identify requirements and prototype the application or device and its design. You will need to think about and reflect on the methods, techniques, and tools you will use to complete the coursework and then implement these. To do this, you are expected to draw from the material covered during the module, as well as to go beyond what was taught and use several external sources. The content must be underpinned with the inclusion of relevant academic theory, concepts, models, where appropriate, and contemporary industrial insights. According to York St John Harvard Referencing, these should be accurately cited and referenced. This assignment should be written up in the form of a report as outlined below.

A. Introduction: In this section, you will introduce the project and briefly describe the User-Centred approach. Additionally, indicate the business requirements, the methods and tools used for prototype development, justify the decision-making process and demonstrate the integration of references to support your choices [Marks -20%].

B. Requirement gathering: In this section, you will describe how you generated and developed your requirements and will formally describe the requirements for your project. This should include information about the participants that you think is relevant, e.g., numbers involved, age, gender, background, etc., and a description of how you obtained the requirements, including the methods used and your reasons for selecting these methods (using references to support your decisions). Where relevant, this section should present the results of any applicable requirements-gathering activities concisely and informally; for example, any tables or graphs, observations, quotes, or other data (if included) should be easy to read and understand
[Marks -20%].

C. Prototype Design: In this section, you will explain how you translate the user requirements into the design of the prototype solution. You need to show a diagram based on your project flow. For example, it can be a flow chart diagram or an Activity based on your chosen project. You should include screenshots or sketches of the interaction design for the prototype you created to show essential design elements or features (10 marks). You can use a software tool to create your illustrations and other techniques; hand-drawn designs are unacceptable. You will explain the rationale for the selected design solutions, connecting both your requirements gathering and design. Principles drawn from the literature (using references where necessary to support your choices) to your prototype solutions (20 marks). You will not need to develop a fully working application or device - this coursework focuses on interaction design rather than on the underlying functionalities of the technology or software. Your high-fidelity prototype, you could record a short demonstration video for the prototype (10 marks), [Marks - 40%].

D. Poster Presentation of your project: In this section, you will create a well-designed poster; you will effectively show critical findings, engage viewers and spark discussions. It aims to engage the audience with engaging visuals, succinct content, and data visualisation. You need to insert this as a Figure in your report [Marks -10%].

E. Reflections: You must summarise the solution, lessons learnt, limitations and reflections. References and citations must be provided. The arrangement of the table of contents, text, headings, subheadings, and visuals on the page should be appealing and easy to follow. Consistency in formatting font, terminologies, and style throughout your Assignment. Figure numbers and references to the figure numbers are essential [Marks - 10%].

Deliverable- Multiple file submissions:

• Assessment report: The Report should include supportive screenshots (should be formatted into figures) along with well-justified explanations for the screenshots provided.
• Also, you should record a short demonstration video of the prototype and
• The design/coding files you created for this project.

Sample List of Topics

Emotional Design:

• Basic Requirements: Well-being applications can be created for any age group, supporting users in maintaining a positive mindset and improving their lifestyle.

Metaverse system for education:

• Basic Requirements: This system allows learners to access their learning materials in a virtual environment. Students can gain practical experience through simulations and role-playing exercises, enabling them to apply theoretical knowledge in a safe and controlled setting.

Smart Home Design:

Basic Requirements: You can design your dream home with sensors, signals, and application controls.

Purchase the app using Barcodes:

• Basic Requirements: The system will allow users to purchase goods from a shop or supermarket using barcodes. Users can scan products with their applications and make payments, avoiding the need to wait in a queue to pay bills.

System to manage, organise, personalise and analyse gaming activity:

• Basic Requirements: The system will allow users to manage their games, rank them, monitor time spent on each gaming activity, and visualise data through graphs and charts.

Sports Injury Tracking System:

• Basic Requirements: The system will allow users to take a picture of their injury, assess the severity, and book a doctor's appointment.

Plant Monitoring System:

• Basic Requirements: The system will allow users to monitor their soil and plants, ensuring proper weather conditions and humidity levels through sensors and tracking via an application.

General Considerations

• Sample Design Tools: Please consider using the following tools to design your applications: Balsamiq, Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD, Gravit Designer, Aeon XR.
• Submission Guidelines: You are expected to submit original and reflective text. Ensure you provide proper in-text citations and use appropriate referencing techniques to avoid plagiarism. A complete reference list must be included at the end of the report.
• Report Submission: Submit a report summarising your findings, including survey links, interview forms, illustrations and any tables and charts that support your analysis. Be sure to include a brief discussion of any limitations related to your design.
• Understanding the Subject: A high level of understanding of the subject must be demonstrated.
• Marks Allocation: This assessment consists of five sections following the cover page, with each section carrying a specific allocation of marks.

COM7034M Learning Outcomes

PLOS 7.1-7.7

This coursework is designed to achieve the following PLOS:

PLOS 7.1-7.7

1. Evaluate computer science concepts and principles and their application to computer-based systems' effective design, implementation, and usability.
2. Apply the findings of advanced scholarship and/or contemporary research and practice to solve computer science problems.
3. Critically evaluate computer science problems, including those at the forefront of the field.
4. Demonstrate operation within applicable professional, legal, social and ethical frameworks.
5. Demonstrate originality and creativity in the solution of computer science problems.
6. Recommend, with detailed justification, the appropriate computer science principles and practices to apply to significant domain-specific activity.
7. Apply standards, quality processes and engineering principles to solve computer science problems.

Advice Guidelines

Guidelines for Students

Students must submit their work. They must acknowledge the sources used in this assignment; failure to acknowledge would be plagiarism, which is an academic offence, and a penalty can be imposed. Students need to write by reading other papers on their own, with citations and leave references at the end of the assignment.

Students' work would be submitted to the national plagiarism facility. This identifies the sources from the internet and other extensive databases. Once the student's work has been submitted to detection services, the work is stored in databases electronically and compared to their work from other sources. It is necessary to keep a backup of their work. Students' materials would be stored in the database electronically for indefinite periods.

You must acknowledge the source of any research, information, ideas, opinions, theories, or other material that is not your own. Effective referencing, quoting, paraphrasing, and summarising show evidence of the reading you have done and ensure that you avoid accusations of plagiarism.

The University's fundamental stance on the use of Turnitin is geared toward supporting students' academic development. You can use this link to check your work for areas where you might be at risk of plagiarising.

Please submit your assignment on time. All assignments may be electronically submitted using Turnitin (via Moodle) by midnight on the due date. Please do not submit your assignment last minute. Please also allow time for any problems or issues with systems.

The work you present should be your work, and not just copied from others. You can quote from others, but you must say who the author is and use quotation marks or paraphrase. If you do not do so, we will investigate your work for academic misconduct. This is particularly likely if your Turnitin similarity score is above 25% and/or individual matches are above 6%.

The content must be underpinned with the inclusion of relevant academic theory, concepts, and models where appropriate, as well as contemporary industrial insights. These should be accurately cited and referenced according to York St John Harvard Referencing throughout.

Please refer to the York St John University Code of Practice for Assessment and Academic Related Matters 2023-24.

We ask that you pay particular attention to the academic misconduct policy. Penalties will be applied where a student is found guilty of academic and/or ethical misconduct, including termination of the programme (Policy Link).

You are required to keep to the word limit set for an assessment and to note that you may be subject to a penalty if you exceed that limit. You are required to provide an accurate word count on the cover sheet for each piece of work you submit (Policy Link).

For late or non-submission of work by the published deadline or an approved extended deadline, a mark of ONS will be recorded. Where a re-assessment opportunity exists, a student will normally be permitted only one attempt to be re-assessed for a capped mark (Policy Link).

An extension to the published deadline may be granted to an individual student if they meet the eligibility criteria of the (Policy Link).

How is this Assessment Marked?

Your work will be marked according to the assessment instructions provided within this document and the selected Learning Outcomes (LOS) (see above).

Furthermore, this assessment is marked using the assessment marking criteria or a similar rubric that aligns with the University's Generic Assessment Descriptors (see below).' This is to ensure all assessment decisions are comparable regardless of the discipline or mode of assessment.

Please note that you must meet the required baseline standards (50-59%), which will include the LOs and minimum expectations of the assessment. Further still, you must ensure you meet the requirements of each grade boundary to progress to the next, i.e., you should demonstrate your learning through the standards of the Pass, Merit and Distinction to reach a Distinction (70-84%). These standards are designed to scaffold and build your learning to achieve your fullest potential in each criterion being assessed.

Deliverables for Task:

Assessment Descriptor