product design challenge Fall 2014

the theme  Any product that uses Computer Science to create it  Possible areas:  Safety  Entertainment  Family/relationships  Organization  Comfort  Utility

the challenge  You’ll select a problem to solve, and design a solution for it  The problem is likely not new/unique, but your product should be  Document the process and the solution  Present it  Prize for the team with the best product based on class feedback

the process 1.Select a problem 2.Design a solution 3.Present your solution

select a problem  Research and Brainstorm problems  Problems come first! Products that don’t solve a problem don’t sell  During Brainstorming, all ideas are good, none are bad  Capture everything in PowerPoint, decide what’s good to move forward with later  Once you have a list, rank them  Practicality  Cost  Potential market  Difficulty  Feedback from real people  Select a problem to solve

know your user  Consider:  Who is your target user?  What is their income? Can they afford your product?  Is the problem relevant/important for them?

know the activities  Focus on the activities the user wants to do  Ask real people, and try the activities yourself  Document and rank the activities

the design  Focus on solutions to the most important activities first, then less important ones  Affordances - things that are obvious by looking at them  Metaphors – it looks and works like this other thing  Consistency – Are your controls consistent with each other? With expectations your user may have from other things they use?  How do you make your solution unique and desirable?  Divide and conquer: Consider whether and when to have individuals on your team tackle the pieces of your problem

the design  What do they expect? What is their mental model that they bring with them?  How many, and what choices will they have? What choices do they want you to make for them?  How do users interact with it?  How does it provide feedback to the user (on actions, information, etc.)  What does it look like?

design: prototype and iterate 1.Sketch out sample ideas – use paper, Photoshop/Illustrator, Sculptris or other software 2.Do they allow the user to accomplish their goals? 3.Test it out: Talk through in detail what and how the user does EACH STEP of an activity 4.How would you make it simpler? How would you eliminate steps? 5.Go back to step 1, multiple times

final design / presentation  Create a PowerPoint deck  Come up with a great product name  Define your user and activities  Document the details  The problem  Target users  Core activities/scenarios  Interaction/feedback  Show the details of the solution  Draft ideas / drawings  Product description, cost estimate, MSRP  Final sketches or drawings

rubric  30pts: Research PowerPoint filled with brainstorming, ideas, research, etc.  70 pts: Summary/Presentation PowerPoint  (40) Content – organization, detail, realistic product  (10) Design / aesthetics / readability of slides  (20) Presentation (individual)  Voice: volume, clarity, inflection, speed  Eye contact  Gesturing, body language