CSE 171, Spring 2006

User-Interface Design: Social and Technical Issues

Group Project


See the instructions below for important information about submitting each phase of your project.


The project for this course will be completed in groups of 3 or 4 members, which must be declared by a given deadline [worth 4 points].

Your group will design and implement a user interface based upon the principles learned in the class. The goal is to focus upon design principles including value-driven design (assessing and serving the needs of stakeholders). The goal is not to focus on technical implementation details or algorithmic efficiency.

You will elicit the requirements for the interface you design from a real community. The interface must have a computational component, but it need not be Web based or even screen based.

Keep in mind that though the project is open ended in terms of technology and implementation, you will need to be rigorous, complete, and careful in your analysis, design, and application of the concepts and theory covered in this class.

Project Ideas

Your first submission as a group [worth 6 points] will be a description of 3 different ideas you have come up with together. Think broadly about interfaces: you could use cellular phones, video gaming machines, personal computers, telephones, wireless handheld devices, or other platforms. You could implement interfaces for Web-based services, games, e-commerce applications community building and networking applications, educational technologies, interactive narratives, or more.

When brainstorming, you should first generate as many ideas as possible before criticizing any of them; after that, you should evaluate the various options, combine and modify as necessary, and finally pick your top 3 to submit. When choosing these, consider the shared interests and enthusiasm of your group members, the technical expertise you will need for the implementation phase, and how much you can expect to do in the time available.

Finally write a clear, concise paragraph explaining each idea; this is what you will submit. The instructor and TAs will review this and give you feedback, perhaps suggesting particular areas for emphasis or possible modifications.

The paragraph for each project idea must contain

If a simple statement why the project is needed or desirable would help us understand it, please include such a statement; but if this seems unnecessary or inapplicable, leave it out.

Finally, if you have any questions or encounter any difficulty at this stage, please contact us right away. As always we encourage you to post general questions to the message board.

Formal Proposal

At this stage you will have chosen your project based on the criteria listed above under Project Ideas, taking into account feedback from the teaching staff. You will have identified the community from which you will elicit requirements and ideally will have obtained commitments from individuals in that community to work with you. Your proposal will specify in detail the steps you will take to gather requirements and build your prototpye. The document should be well written and throrough, perhaps 4 to 5 pages (1,200 to 1,500 words) long.

Your formal proposal should include

Final Submission

The final submission for your group project will be a complete design document and a prototype user interface for the system you have proposed. You will include the results of your requirements-gathering efforts and justify your design decisions in terms of the requirements you have gathered. The document may vary considerably in length depending on formatting and content such as diagrams and images, but might be 10 to 15 pages (3,000 to 4,500 words) long.

Your final submission should include


Submission Instructions


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