TheModuleHandbookincludes:

1. TheModuleGuide

2. NotesforGuidanceonUsingtheJoseserver

3. Assignment­Checkpoint1ProjectAimsandObjectives(10%)

4. Assignment­Checkpoint2RequirementsandEvaluation(5%)

5. Assignment­Checkpoint3DatabaseDesign(5%)

6. Assignment­RichInternetBlogApplication(30%)

7. Assignment­AcademicReport(50%)

8. GenericGradeStructure(UniversityofHertfordshirestandard)

9. AcademicReportTemplate(availablefromStudynetasaworddocument)

MODULEGUIDE

STCA Online Module Guide 2010 Version 2 last updated 16/08/2010 page 1 of 6

SchoolofComputerScience

ModuleGuide2011/12

RichInternetApplicationsDesign&Development

Modulecode:6COM1016/7

Semester:CNumberofCredits:30

ModuleLeader:SueAttwood

IntroductiontotheModule

Manyusersaredissatisfiedwiththecapabilitiesandperformanceoftoday'sHTML‐basedWebapplications.UserswantdesktopapplicationfunctionalitywiththeeaseofinstallationandaccessibilitythatWebapplicationsoffer.ARichInternetApplication(RIA)isawebapplicationthathasmanyofthecharacteristicsofdesktopapplications.WhilstRichInternetApplicationsasanapproachisrelativelynewthetechnologiesthattheyuseareoftenmature,oneofthemostprevalentisAJAX,ThetermAJAXhascometorepresentabroadgroupofwebtechnologiesthatcanbeusedtoimplementawebapplicationthatcommunicateswithaserverinthebackground,withoutinterferingwiththecurrentstateofthepage.Aspartofthismodule,youwillberequiredtodevelopaRIAusingASP.NETAJAX.

STCA Online Module Guide 2010 Version 2 last updated 16/08/2010 page 2 of 6

1. ModuleTutors

Name Tel Email PreferredModeofContact

SueAttwood +441707286423 s.c.attwood@herts.ac.uk Email

BernadetteByrne b.m.byrne@herts.ac.uk Email

IainWerry i.p.werry@herts.ac.uk Email

2. ModuleAims

Thismoduleaimstoenablestudentsto:• IncreasethedepthoftheirknowledgeandunderstandingofInformationTechnology;• Applytheirknowledgeandskillstothedesignanddevelopmentofrichinternetapplications;• Practiceandenhancetheskillstheyhavegainedthroughparticipationinaprogrammeofacademicstudyin

InformationTechnology,orasaresultofaperiodofrelevantworkexperience;• Designaprogrammeofindependentpracticalwork,manageittocompletion,andevaluatethequalityof

theirworkagainstanappropriatesetofcriteria.3. ModuleLearningOutcomes

KnowledgeandUnderstanding.Successfulstudentswilltypically:1. Understandacoherentsetofprinciplesandtechniquesappropriatetothesolutionofapracticalproblem

thatinvolvesthedevelopment,application,deployment,ormanagementofInformationTechnology;2. AppreciatewhenandhowtoapplythoseprinciplesandtechniquestothesolutionofInformation

Technologyproblems.

LearningOutcomes:SkillsandAttributes.Successfulstudentswilltypicallybeableto:3. Identifyanddefineasubstantialpracticaltaskthatrelatestothedesignanddevelopmentofrichinternet

applications,andapplyknowledgeandunderstandingofabroadrangeofInformationTechnologysubjectstoitssolution;

4. Planandconductaprogrammeofpracticalworkindependentlyofclosesupervision;5. Selectandapplyanappropriatesetofcriteriaagainstwhichtheirownprojectworkandtheworkofothers

maybeevaluated;6. Document,reporton,andcriticallyevaluate,theirworkinamannerappropriatetotheneedsofaspecified

readership.4. ContactArrangements

How ServiceLevel

ClassdiscussionAcademicstaffwillmoderateclassdiscussionsonMondays,WednesdaysandFridays.

EmailResponsewithin2workingdays.Pleasemakesurethatyou:

• Includeyourfullname,studentnumberandmodulecodeinyouremail

ProjectMeetings

TheteachingteamwillrunsynchronousgroupprojectmeetingsusingBlackboardCollaborate.Thesesessionswillbesupplementedbyclassdiscussions.Forfurtherdetails,pleaserefertomoduledeliveryplan.

STCA Online Module Guide 2010 Version 2 last updated 16/08/2010 page 3 of 6

5. Moduledeliveryplan(17weeks)

Weekno.

Beginning PracticalWorkandTasks Assessment/KeyDates

1 28May2012

1. LogontoStudyNet:• IntroduceyourselfintheDiscussionForum.2. Ensureyouhavethesoftwarerequiredtocomplete

thetaskofcreatingarichInternetApplication(seeSection8oftheModuleGuide)

InductionWeek

2 04Jun2012Logontotheprojectserver(Jose)anduploadthebasicBlogapplicationtothe‘practice’folder.

3 11Jun2012

1. AttendtheProjectMeetingconductedviaBlackboardCollaborate(Essential)

2. Reportanydifficultiesregardingsoftwareand/orprojectserver

ProjectMeeting:Introducingtheproject.Projectaimsandobjectives.

4 18Jun2012 SubmitCheckpoint1Checkpoint1(10%):Projectaimsandobjectives

5 25Jun2012

6 02July2012

7 09July2012 SubmitCheckpoint2Checkpoint2(5%):RequirementsandEvaluationofRIAs

8 16July2012

9 23July2012

10 30July2012 SubmitCheckpoint3Checkpoint3(5%):DatabaseDesign

11 06Aug2012AttendtheProjectMeetingconductedviaBlackboardCollaborate(Essential)

ProjectMeeting:WritingupyourFinalProjectReport.

12 13Aug2012

13 20Aug2012

14 27Aug2012

15 03Sept2012

16 10Sept2012 FinalProject(50%)BlogApplication(30%)

17 17Sept2012

Practicalwork/tasksshowninthemoduledeliveryplanshouldbeundertakenalongsideyourindependentstudyhoursforthismodule.

STCA Online Module Guide 2010 Version 2 last updated 16/08/2010 page 4 of 6

6. AssessmentRegime

Topassthismoduleyoumustpassoverall.Althoughthereisnorequirementtopassindividualassignments,youareexpectedtomakeareasonableattemptatallassessedcomponentsofthismodule.

LatesubmissionofcourseworkThestandardpenaltywillbeappliedtoalllatesubmissions.Ifyousubmituptooneweeklate,yourmarkwillbecappedtoamaximumscoreof40%.Iftheworkissubmittedmorethanoneweeklate,youwillbeawardednomarks.Theonlyexceptiontothisrulewillbewhenastudent’sseriousadversecircumstanceshavebeenreceivedandacceptedbytheSchoolAssessmentPanel.PleaserefertotheProgrammeHandbookforfurtherinformationaboutextenuatingcircumstances.Alternatively,youcanemailtheProgrammeTutoratBScOnlineTutor@herts.ac.uk.SoftwareapplicationandfinalreportItisarequirementofthismodulethatyousubmitasoftwareapplication(writteninVBusingMicrosoftASP.NETandAJAX)alongwithafinalreport.Notes:

1. Inpracticalterms,thismeansthatIFYOUFAILTOSUBMITASOFTWAREAPPLICATION,thenyouwillreceivezeromarksforthefinalreport.

2. IFYOUSUBMITANAPPLICATIONINC#youwillreceivezeromarksforthesoftwareapplication.

STC

A O

nlin

e M

odul

e G

uide

201

0 V

ersi

on 2

last

upd

ated

16/

08/2

010

page

5 o

f 6

6.

Assessm

entRe

gimecontinue

d…

No.

Type

Title

%of

Total

DateSet

Subm

ission

Date

Target

Datefor

Return

Individu

al

orGroup

1

23

45

6Type

ofF

eedb

ack

1Ch

eckpoint1

ProjectA

ims

andObjectiv

es

10

04Ju

n20

12

18Ju

n20

12

09Ju

ly

2012

Individu

al

xx

x

xx

ScoreviaStud

yNet,plus

academ

icstaffcom

men

tson

subm

ission

.

2Ch

eckpoint2

Requ

irem

ents

andEvaluatio

n

504

Jun

2012

09Ju

ly

2012

23Ju

ly

2012

Individu

al

xx

xx

xx

ScoreviaStud

yNet,plus

academ

icstaffcom

men

tson

subm

ission

.

3Ch

eckpoint3

DatabaseDesign

504

Jun

2012

30Ju

ly

2012

13Aug

2012

Individu

al

xx

xx

x

ScoreviaStud

yNet,plus

academ

icstaffcom

men

tson

subm

ission

.

4Re

port

Acade

mic

Repo

rt

50

04Ju

n20

12

10Sep

t20

12

28Sep

t20

12

Individu

al

x

xx

ScoreviaStud

yNet,plus

academ

icstaffcom

men

tson

subm

ission

.

5Software

App

lication

AjaxBlog

30

04Ju

n20

12

10Sep

t20

12

28Sep

t20

12

Individu

al

xx

xx

x

ScoreviaStud

yNet,plus

academ

icstaffcom

men

tson

subm

ission

STCA Online Module Guide 2010 Version 2 last updated 16/08/2010 page 6 of 6

7. Studytime

Total: 300hoursconsistingof:

GuidedStudy: 96hours

IndependentStudyandAssessment: 204hours

8. OtherInformation

Aspartofthismodule,youwillreceiveacopyofthefollowingtitle:

• Spaanjaars,I.(2010).BeginningASP.NET4:InC#andVB(WroxProgrammertoProgrammer)

Inaddition,youwillneedtoselectaDevelopmentEnvironmentwithwhichtodevelopyourASP.NETapplication.Youcaneither:

• DownloadVisualStudio2010ProfessionalfromtheFacultySoftwareRepository(http://fsc.stca.herts.ac.uk/).

• DownloadVisualWebDeveloper2010from

http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/#2010‐Visual‐Web‐Developer.

ModuleGuideModeration

Ihaveexaminedthismoduleguideandallthesectionshavebeencompletedwithappropriateinformation.Iconfirmthatthemoderationprocesshasbeencompletedsatisfactorily.Theprintedsignedcopyofthismoduleguidemustbelodgedinthemoduleboxbythemoduleleader.Signature(moderator)

Name(moderator)

Date

NOTESFORGUIDANCE–USINGJOSE

1

NotesforGuidance‐ThefirstiterationoftheBlogapplicationandaccesstoprojectserver,Jose

ForthismoduleyouarerequiredtodevelopanAJAXenabledBlogapplication.

Atthispointyouhaveachoice–youcanusethebasicBlogapplicationavailableonStudyNetasabasisforyourpracticalworkordevelopyourownfromscratch.

TheapplicationavailableonStudyNetisaverysimpleBlogthatallowsuserstologinorregisterinordertoviewtheentriesoftheblogowner.Theapplicationhasasmalldatabasetostoreuserdetailsandblogentries.ItalsohasasimpleCascadingStyleSheet(CSS)filetoseparatecontentfrompresentation.

Inordertouploadyourpracticalworktotheprojectserver,JoseyouwillneedanappropriateFileTransferProtocol(FTP)client.

1. DownloadyourchosenFTPclient–twopopularapplicationsarelistedbelowandarefreetodownload.CoreFTP:http://www.coreftp.com/download/coreftplite.exeFileZilla:http://filezilla‐project.org/download.php?type=client

2. InstallyourchosenFTPclient.3. ToconnecttoJoseusethecredentialssuppliedtoyouintheemailfrom

HELPcomt@herts.ac.uk–theemailaddressoftheSchoolofComputerScience,TechnicalSupportTeamatUH.

Figure1UsingCoreFTP

2

Figure2UsingFileZilla Figure3SolutionExplorer

4. Figures1and2showthesettingsneedtoconnecttoJoseusingCoreFTP(Figure1)andFileZilla(Figure2).NotethatthereareanumberoffilesandfoldersalreadyinyourareaonJose–pleasedonotdeleteanyoftheseIfyouexperienceanydifficultieswiththisprocessemailHELPcomt@herts.ac.ukorposttheerrortothediscussionforumontheRIADDModulesiteonStudyNet.

5. Downloadtheapplication:

TeachingResources>Application>blog.rar

6. Unzipthearchivefoldertoasuitableplaceonyourcomputer.

7. Openthedevelopmentenvironmentofyourchoice(VisualStudioorVisualWebDeveloperforinstance)anduseFile>OpenWebSitetoopentheapplication.ToviewthefilesthatmakeuptheapplicationlocatetheSolutionExplorer.SeeFigure3.

8. Runtheapplicationinabrowser(clickthegreenarrow)–seeFigure4.

3

Figure4–RunningtheApplication9. Theapplicationshouldlaunchabrowserwindowrunningunderthelocalhostwebserver.If

youexperienceanyproblemswiththisprocessposttheerroronthediscussionforumoftheRIADDModulesite(StudyNet).

10. Registeryourselfasauser,rememberthenameyouuse.Closethebrowserwindow.

11. Editline8oftheweb.configfiletomakeyourselftheBlogowner(thecurrentBlogownerisVeronica).

<addkey="BlogOwner"value="Veronica"/>

NowwhenyoulogontotheapplicationitwilltakeyoutotheblogEntries.aspxpage.

12. Editlines4and5oftheweb.configfile.Belowisline4–theconnectionstringtotheBlog_Datadatabaseonyourlocalmachine,deletethisline.

<addname="connect"connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;DataSource=|DataDirectory|\Blog_Data.accdb;PersistSecurityInfo=False;"/>

Belowisline5–theconnectionstringtotheBlog_DatadatabasewhenitishostedonJose

<!‐‐<addname="connect"connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;DataSource=c/Inetpub/wwwroot/maetsca/test/App_Data/Blog_Data.accdb;PersistSecurityInfo=False;"/>‐‐>

Line5iscurrentlycommentedoutandhenceshowningreen,youneedtouncommentthecode,removethe<!‐‐fromthefrontoftheconnectionstringandthe‐‐>fromtheend.

Itshouldthenlooklikethis:

<addname="connect"connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;DataSource=c/Inetpub/wwwroot/maetsca/test/App_Data/Blog_Data.accdb;PersistSecurityInfo=False;"/>

13. Thelastthingtodoistochangetheusernameintheconnectionstring.Currentlytheusernameismaetsca,changethistoyourownUHusernameonJose.

14. Savetheweb.configfile.

15. UploadthecontentsoftheBlogapplicationfolder(notthefolderitself)tothetestsfolderonJose–seeFigure5.OncethefilesareuploadedyoucanviewtheoutputgeneratedbythewebserverbyappendingyourusernametotheURL,forexamplehttps://jose.stca.herts.ac.uk/<username>/test/home.aspx NOTE:removetheanglebracketsaroundtheyourusernameandchangethefoldername‘test’ifyouhaveuploadedtoadifferentfolder)

4

Figure5–TransferringfilesusingCoreFTP.

Notes: TheapplicationisincompleteandlacksmanyfeaturesofastandardBlog.However,youcanuseitasabasisforallyourpracticalwork,addingfeaturesandfunctionsasyouseefit.YoushouldalsobeconsideringwhichaspectsofaBlogapplicationmaybenefitfromtheadditionofrichInternettechniques. Trytoexerciseaformalapproachtoversioncontrolandsaveeachworkingadditionthatyoumake.Don’tforgetthattheapplicationwillremainavailabletodownload–soifyou‘break’yourversionyoucandownloadtheoriginal.

CHECKPOINT1

1

Checkpoint1–ProjectAimsandObjectives(10%)

ScopingYourProjectWorkForthefirstCheckpointonthismoduleyouarerequiredtosubmitadocumentthatdetailsyourproject’saimsandobjectives.Thelengthofthisdocumentshouldbebetween1,000and1,500words,excludinganyreferences.

AnExamplefromLiterature

Everyprojectshouldhaveaims(oraaim),andasetofobjectives.Anexampleofaprojectaimcouldbe:

“DevelopandevaluateanArtificialNeuralNetworktopredictstockmarketindices”(Dawson,2005:p.59).

Theprojectobjectivesgeneratedfromtheaboveprojectaimmightinclude(Dawson,2005:p.59):

• “Completealiteraturesearchandliteraturereviewofexistingstockmarketpredictiontechniques”

• “DevelopasuitableArtificialNeuralNetworkmodel”

• “Identifyandcollectsuitabledataforanalysesandevaluation”

• “Evaluatethemodelusingappropriatestatisticaltechniques”

• “Completefinalreport”

YourProjectAims Yourprojectaimsarethethingsyouhopetoachieveasaresultofyourwork‐whatyousetouttodo.Aimsgenerallycannotbeeasilymeasuredbecausethereisnothingspecifictocheckiftheyhavebeenmet.Itisnotuncommonforstudentstolisttheirsystemrequirementsasprojectobjectivesandthisisincorrect,pleaserefertotheexampleaboveandnotethatprojectobjectivesdifferfromsystemrequirements.IngeneraltermsyouraimistodeveloparichInternetapplicationbutyoushouldtrytobemoredescriptiveaboutyourobjectives.Aimscanbetargets,datesforinstance,theseaimsarequantitativebecausetheyinvolvespecificdatesorfiguresetc.Quantitativeaimscanbeeasilyconvertedintoobjectivesandmeasured.However,theseareusuallylesssignificantthanqualitativeaims.Aqualitativeaimcouldbetoofferawell‐implementedAJAXenabledBlogapplicationthatoffersarichinterfaceandenhancedinteraction.Toconvertaqualitativeaimintoameasureableobjectiveyouwillneedtocriticallyevaluatetheproposedwork.

2

YourProjectObjectives

Objectivesequatetotheactivitiesthatyouwillundertakeinordertomeettoyouraim(s).Itshouldbepossibletomeasuretheextenttowhichtheobjectivehasbeenmet.Likeyourprojectaims,someobjectiveswillbequantitativeandsomewillbequalitative.Aqualitativeobjectivewillrequireanimpartialevaluationinordertomeasuretheextenttowhichithasbeenmet.

Youshouldbeabletoclassifyyourobjectivesintocoreandadvanced.

Asageneralrule,assumethatcoreobjectivesarethoseobjectivesthatyoumustcompleteinordertobeawardedagoodpassgradeforthemodule.

Advancedobjectivesshouldrepresentasignificantchallenge,andarelikelytobeachievedonlybythosestudentswhoseperformanceisatFirstClassHonourslevel.Whenwritingyouradvancedobjectives,itisimportanttorememberthataprojectthatisonlymoderatelydemanding,evenifconductedtoahighstandard,wouldbeunlikelytobeawardedaFirstClassHonoursgrade.

Asstatedabove,youareencouragedtoensurethatyourprojectobjectivesareSMART(Specific,Measurable,Appropriate,Realistic,andTimely).Dawson(2005:p.60)suggeststhatthefollowingquestionsareaskedinordertoassesswhetherornotprojectyourobjectivesareSMART:

• Specific:“Doesthisprovideuswithenoughideaofwhatweshouldbedoing?”

• Measurable:“Howcanwemeasureprogressonthisobjective?Howwillweknowwhentheobjectiveiscompleted?”

• Appropriate:“Isitanappropriateobjectivetohave,bearinginmindthelong‐termgoalofourproject?”

• Realistic:“Inthetimewehaveavailablecanwerealisticallyexpecttocompletethistask?”

• Timely:“Haveweidentifiedhowlongthetaskwilltakeandwhenweexpecttocompleteitby?”

NOTE:Ifanyofyourobjectivesstatethatyouwillundertakeusertestingi.e.youwanttocarryoutresearchinvolvingparticipants,youMUSTobtainethicsapprovalfirst.

References

Dawson,C.(2005).ProjectsinComputingandInformationSystems:AStudent'sGuide.Harlow,England:AddisonWesley.

CHECKPOINT2

1

Checkpoint2–RequirementsandEvaluation(5%) Usingthetemplatesupplied,selecttheRequirements(functionalandnon‐functional)thatyouwouldliketoimplementinyourapplication.ItwillbeessentialtoevaluateyourfinalapplicationagainsttheRequirementsyouselect,alistofRequirementsisgiven–itisnotexhaustivesofeelfreetoaddyourownideas.WhenyoucompleteatemplateforyourchosenRequirementsyouwillneedtoprovidemuchmoredetailthanthatgiveninthelist. Youarerecommendedtosplityourfunctionalandnon‐functionalrequirementsintocoreandadvanced.Thenumberofrequirementsyouspecifyisuptoyou. Asageneralrule,assumethatcorerequirementsarethosethatyoumustcompleteinordertobeawardedagoodpassgradeforthemodule.

Advancedrequirementsshouldrepresentasignificantchallenge,andarelikelytobeachievedonlybythosestudentswhoseperformanceisatFirstClassHonourslevel.WhencompletingyourRequirementtemplates,itisimportanttorememberthataprojectthatisonlymoderatelydemanding,evenifconductedtoahighstandard,wouldbeunlikelytobeawardedaFirstClassHonoursgrade.

Eachrequirementtemplatehasthefollowingitems:

• Aname,• Anumber,• Adescription,• Arationale‐thefundamentalreasonorreasonsforincludingtherequirement,• Ameasureabletestofsuccess.

DetailingtherequirementsofyourBlogapplicationinthiswaywillhaveanumberofbenefits:

1. Youwillbeabletocreateatestplanbasedonthesuccesscriteriaspecified2. Youwillbeabletoevaluateyourfinalapplicationintermsofthequality(howwellthey

worked,notjustiftheywereimplemented)oftherequirements.

ExampleRequirement

Requirement Notificationofnewblogentry.

Number 1

Description Anupdatepanelwillbeusedtoshowthenumberofblogentriesandwillbeupdateddynamicallywhentheblogownerpostsanentry.

Rationale UsersshouldbenotifiedofnewentriesmadewhilsttheyareonlineandreadingtheBlog.

Successcriteria Theupdatepaneldynamicallyupdatesthecurrentnumberofblogentries.

2

RequirementsTemplate(foryoutocomplete)

Requirement

Number 1

Description

Rationale

Successcriteria

RequirementstoConsider

1. Theblogownercaneditentries.2. Theblogownercandeleteentries.3. Theapplicationimplementsaspellcheck.4. Theapplicationallowstheownertoassigndifferentlevelsofuseraccessthatwillallow

differentconfigurableprivilegeswithregardtopublishing,editing,optionsetc.5. Registereduserscanmaintainaprofileandleaveauthenticatedcommentsontheblog.6. Blogownerscanenable/disablecommentsfromvisitors.7. Theblogownercanchoosetohidepostsfromlowerlevelusers.8. Visitorscanbrowseblogentries.9. Blogentriescanberatedbyusers(dependingonlevelofaccessgranted)10. Thebloghasafullsearchfacility.11. UserscandisplayBlogentrieschronologically,byrating,alphabeticallyetc.12. Theapplicationwillhavepageswithnon‐blogcontent–staticpageslike‘AboutMe’13. TheapplicationhasanHTMLeditorthatallowsuserstofullycustomisethelookandfeelof

theirentriesorcomments.14. TheapplicationincludesappropriateRSSfeeds.15. Theapplicationisintegratedwithsocialnetworking/mediasites(Twitter,Facebook,Flickr

etc).16. Norebuilding–changesmadetoentriesetcarereflectedimmediatelyontheblog,withno

needtorefresh/regeneratepages.17. Passwordprotectedentries–passwordscanbeassignedtoindividualentriestohidethem

fromthepublic.Privateentriesarealsoallowed–viewableonlybytheblogowner.18. UserscanrateBlogentries.19. Allmajoredits,additions,deletionsfromtheblogareaccompaniedbyappropriate

warnings,feedback,confirmationsetc.20. Allformsofdataentryarevalidated(emailaddressesshouldbevalidforinstance).21. Theblogallowstheapplicationofthemestoalterthelookandfeelofthebloginterface.22. Theapplicationallowsvideostobeuploaded/displayed.23. Theapplicationallowsphotostobeuploaded/displayed.24. TheapplicationhasHTMLmarkupthatisdesignedandwrittenproperlykeepingsemantics

inmind,promotingbettersearchengineresultsandmaintainability.25. TheapplicationusesCSSandMasterpagestoseparatecontentfrompresentation.

3

26. Theapplicationusesthecodebehindmodule(aspx.vbfiles)toseparatethepresentationcodefromtheapplicationlogiccode.

27. Integratedstatistics‐theapplicationisdesignedtogiveup‐to‐the‐minutestatsonhowmanypeoplearevisitingtheblog,wheretheycomefrom,whichpostsaremostpopular,andwhichsearchenginetermsaresendingpeopletoyourblogetc.

28. Fullstandardscompliance‐thecodeisinfullcompliancewiththestandardsoftheW3C.29. Theapplicationisfullysecure(usingthemembershipframeworkforexample).30. TheapplicationrunsontheJoseprojectserver.

NOTE:Includedinthelistaboveareonefunctionalandonenon‐functionalrequirementthatshouldbeconsideredessentialinthecontextofthisproject.

CHECKPOINT3

1

Checkpoint3–DatabaseDesign(5%) ForthethirdCheckpointyouarerequiredtosubmitadocumentthatdetailsdesignofthedatabasethatwillsupportyourBlogapplication.ThedocumentsshouldattheveryleastincludeanfullEntityRelationshipDiagram(ERD)ofyourdatabasedesign.Youwereprovidedwithaverybasicdatabasethatyoucanchoosetoextendoryoucanproposeanewdesign.YourERDshouldshow:

1. Entities2. Relationships3. Attributes4. Cardinality

Pleaseensurethatyoustateclearlyyourchosennotation(Crow’sfoot,Chen’sorRamakrishnanandGehrke)

BLOGAPPLICATION

1

RichInternetBlogApplication(30%‐40marks)

BlogThemeThethemeofyourBlogshouldbeoneofyourchoice.ItisexpectedthatyouwillBlogregularlyaboutyourchosensubject

PracticalitiesPrevioustaskshaverequiredyouto:

1. DownloadthefirstiterationoftheBlogapplicationfromStudyNet,editthecodethenuploadtheBlogapplicationtoJose(theSchool’sprojectserver);

2. Proposeasetofaimsandobjectivesforyourproject;3. AsetofrequirementsfortheBlogapplication;4. Extendthedatabasetoprovidetosupportfortheprojectrequirements.

TheBlogapplicationforthissubmissionmustdemonstratetheapplicationofAJAX(richInternet)techniquesandbebasedonthesetofrequirementsyousubmittedforCheckpoint2.

Youhavebeenprovidedwithausernameandpassword,aswellasyourownareaonJosetouseinconjunctionwithyourpracticalwork.ItisarequirementofthisassignmentthatyourASP.NETapplicationwillbedeployedonJose;applicationsthatonlyrunlocallyorondifferentserverswillnotbemarked.

SubmissionYoumustensureyourapplicationisuploadedtoJoseonorbeforeMonday10September2012.

InadditionyoumustsubmityourcompletedAssignmentBriefingSheettoStudyNetonorbeforeMonday10September2012.Thisisarequirement,2markswillbedeductedfromyourSoftwareApplicationscoreifyoufailtosubmitanAssignmentBriefingSheet.

SoftwareDemonstrationInaddition,youwillberequiredtodemonstrateyoursoftwareapplicationtotwomembersoftheacademicstaff.ThedemonstrationwilltakeplaceusingasoftwareapplicationcalledElluminate.ThewillbeopportunitiestouseElluminatethroughoutthemodule.

Studentswhofailtoattendtheirassignedprojectdemonstrationslotwillhavetheirsoftwareimplementationscorecappedto40%.

2

MarkingScheme

CriteriaMarks

AvailableFor(description)

10marksTheuseofAJAXtechniquesisoutstandingandsignificantlyimprovestheuserexperienceoftheapplication.

8marksTheuseofAJAXtechniquesisverygood‐appliedinanappropriateway.

6marksTheuseofAJAXtechniquesisgood‐althoughnotalwaystothebenefitoftheuser.

4marksTheuseofAJAXtechniquesissatisfactory‐notparticularlyappropriatebutpresent.

Section1RichInternetFeatures

0‐2marks TheuseofAJAXtechniquesisparsimonious–barelypresent.

10marksTheapplicationmakesoutstandinguseofappropriateWeb2.0features.

8marksTheapplicationmakesverygooduseofWeb2.0featurestoaddlevelsofinteraction.

6marksTheapplicationmakesgooduseofWeb2.0features–althoughnotextensive.

4marksTheapplicationmakessatisfactoryuseofWeb2.0features–notparticularlyappropriatebutpresent.

Section2Web2.0Features

0‐2marks TheapplicationmakesverylittleuseofWeb2.0features.

10marks

Theapplicationwasclearlydevelopedoveralongperiodoftime;extensiveblogentriesdemonstrateanoutstandinglevelofreflectionabouttheprocessofdevelopingarichInternetapplication.Thebloghasattractedagoodnumberofcomments.

8marksRegularblogentriesgiveaclearaccountoftheprocessofdevelopingarichInternetapplication.Thereisagoodlevelofreflection

6marksBlogentriesareintermittentbutsubstantialdemonstratingareasonablelevelofreflectionabouttheprocessofdevelopingarichInternetapplication.

4marks Veryfewblogentriesandverylittlereflection.

Section3BlogEntries

0‐2marks Someblogentries,noreflection.

3

Score=sections(1+2+3+4+5)

%overallforthemodule=score/40*30

5marksTheapplicationworksexactlyasexpected–therearenobugs,crashes,lossofdataetc.

4marksTheapplicationworksmostlyasexpectedoccasionalerrorsorsmallbugs.

3marks Theapplicationhasbugsbutisstill,withdifficulty,usable.

2marksTheapplicationhasmanybugsorverysignificantbugsthatmakeitverydifficulttouse.

Section4Reliability

0marks Theapplicationisunusable.

5marksTheapplicationcopeswitherrorsgracefully;errormessagesareinformativeandwelllocatedtocatchtheuser’sattention.Alldataentriesarevalidated

4marks Errormessagesareinformative–notalldataentriesarevalidated.

3marksErrormessagesarenotinformative–notalldataentriesarevalidated.

2marksTheapplicationdoesverylittledatavalidationanderrormessagesareinsufficientandorbadlyplaced.

Section5Robustness

1mark Atokeneffort.

ACADEMICREPORT

1

AcademicProjectReport(50%)

SubmityourAcademicProjectReporttoStudyNetonorbeforeMonday10September2012.Youarerequiredtosubmitafinalreportinwhichyoudescribeandreflectontheworkthatyoucarriedoutaspartoftheproject.

Inordertoprovideacomprehensivepictureoftheworkthatyoucarriedoutaspartoftheproject,youarerequiredtowriteaboutthedifferentstagesinthedesignanddevelopmentofyourwebapplication,aswellasreflectontheprojectasawhole.

Youarealsorequiredtolinkthesechapterstogether,inordertoformacoherentandcompellingacademicreport.

Yourreportshouldbeapproximately7,000wordsinlength(notlessthan6,000ormorethan9,000).Bibliographyandappendicesshouldnotbeincludedinthewordcount.

MarkingschemeMarkswillbeawardedfortheacademiccontent,andoverallstructureofthefinalprojectreport.

Itisarequirementofthismodulethatyousubmitasoftwareapplicationalongwithafinalreport.Inpracticalterms,thismeansthatifyoufailtosubmitasoftwareapplication,thenyouwillreceivenomarksforthefinalreport.

Criterion

Actualmark

Maximummarks

available

Presentation,structureandlanguage.

10

Scholarlyapproachtowork.Clearevidenceofresearch.Sourcescorrectlyreferenced.

10

Technicalcontentofreport,withreferencetothedesignanddevelopmentofRichInternetApplications.

15

Criticalanalysisandevaluationofworkconducted.Conclusionincludingsummaryandreflectionoftheextenttowhichtheprojecthasbeensuccessful,identificationofenhancements/futurework.

15

Total 50

GENERICGRADESTRUCTURE

Und

ergrad

uateGen

ericGrading

Criteria

NumericGradeNumeric

Descriptor(class.band)

Commun

ication:

Presen

tingwork,useofa

ppropriatestructures,

metho

ds,lan

guage,grammarand

sou

rcematerials.

Dem

onstration

ofK

nowledg

e:

Integrationofth

eoryintoworkan

d/orbread

th/dep

th

inapp

lyingtheo

ryand

/orknow

ledge.

App

licationofTechn

olog

y/Dem

onstration

of

PracticalSkills:

Programming,useofa

pplications,app

lyingtechno

logy

toproblem

s.

Ana

lysis,CriticalEvaluationan

d/orReflection(w

ith

derivation

ofsolution):

Dem

onstratio

nofevaluation,te

stingan

drefle

ction.

80‐100%

Outstanding

(1stclass)

Outstandingpresentationandclarity

.Nosignificant

gram

matical/spe

llingorstructuralerrors.Ide

as

presen

tedwith

excep

tionalclarity.O

utstandingstand

ard

ofreferen

cinginte

xtand

highlyaccurate.

Outstandingbreadthand

dep

thdem

onstrated.

Outstandingintegrationofliteratureand

/ortheo

ryinto

work.

Outstandingexploratio

nandde

mon

stratio

nofto

pic

show

ingindep

thkno

wledgeandun

derstand

ing.

Outstandinguseofa

ppropriatete

chno

logyasappliedto

theprob

lemdom

ain.O

ccasionallystepp

ingbe

yond

expe

ctationsusingsop

histicated

solutions.Co

nsistently

accurateand

outstandingapp

licationofskillsand

techniqu

esdem

onstrated.

Outstandinglevelofa

nalysis,criticalevaluationand/or

refle

ctionwith

outstandingapp

licationtoderived

solutions

(whe

rereq

uired).

Highlyde

velope

d/focusedwork.O

riginaland

well

inform

edpersonalrespo

nse.

70‐79%

Excellent(1

stclass)

Excellentstructure.Fluen

twritin

gstylewith

veryfew

errors.V

eryminorgrammatical/spe

llingorstructural

errors.Ideaspresen

tedwith

excellentclarity.Excellent

standardofreferen

cinginte

xt,and

highlyaccurate.

Excellentbreadth&dep

thdem

onstrated.Excellent

integrationofliteratureand

/ortheo

ryintowork.

Excellentlevelofkno

wledgeandun

derstand

ing

demon

strated.Coversallrelevantp

ointsandissues.

Excellentuseofa

ppropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.Excellentand

highlyaccurateapp

lication

ofskillsand

techniqu

esdem

onstrated.M

inorerrorsin

techniqu

eand/orapp

licationwith

littleorno

impacton

deliverables.

Excellentlevelofanalysis,criticalevaluationand/or

refle

ctionofissueswith

excellentapp

licationtoderived

solutio

ns(w

herereq

uired).Welldevelop

edpersonal

respon

se.

60‐69%

Verygood(Upper2

nd

class)

Verygoo

dclearstructure.Articulate,flue

ntwritin

gstyle

andstructure.Veryfewgrammaticalerrors,spe

lling

mistakesorstructuralissue

s.Ideaspresen

tedwith

clarity.

Verygoo

dstandardreferen

cinginte

xt,w

ithvery

accurateusewith

minorerrors.

Verygoo

dbreadth&dep

thdem

onstratedapprop

riateto

topic.

Literatureand

/ortheo

ryintegrated

verywell.

Verygoo

dlevelofkno

wledgeandun

derstand

ing

demon

strated.

Verygoo

duseofapp

ropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.Highleveland

veryaccurateapp

lication

ofskillsand

techniqu

esund

erstandingdem

onstrated.Small

errorsinte

chniqu

eand/orapp

licationwith

littleim

pacton

deliverables.

Verygoo

dlevelof,analysis,criticalevaluationand/or

refle

ctionbu

tnotcon

sisten

tlyta

kentofu

llextentwith

verygoo

dapplicationtoderived

solutions(w

here

requ

ired

).Partialpersonalrespo

nsetend

stowards

descriptive.

50‐59%

Good(Lower2

nd

class)

Goo

dstructure.W

ritin

gism

ainlyclearbu

tsom

espelling

and/orgrammaticalerrorswith

som

estructuralissues.

Ideaspresen

tedwith

som

eissuesinclarityVerygood

standardreferen

cinginte

xt,w

ithveryaccurateusewith

someerrors.

Goo

duseofliterature/the

ory.Dep

thapp

ropriateto

topic

BUTmod

eratebreadthorviceversa.Lite

ratureand

/or

theo

ryintegrated

intowork.

Goo

dgraspofth

etopicandsomeofitsim

plications.

Know

ledgeandun

derstand

ingisdem

onstrated.M

inor

errors/omission

s.

Goo

duseofapp

ropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.Goo

dandreason

ablyaccurate

applicationofskillsand

techniqu

esdem

onstrated.Som

eerrorsinte

chniqu

eand/orapp

licationwith

minorim

pact

ondeliverables.

Goo

dlevelofa

nalysisand/orreflectionbu

tcritical

evaluatio

ncouldbe

expande

don

furthe

r.G

ood

applicationtoderived

solutions(w

herereq

uired).

Prim

arilydescriptiv

epe

rson

alrespo

nsesometim

es

restricted

toim

med

iatecon

cerns.

40‐49%

Satisfactory

(3rdclass)

Satisfactorystructure.Notalwayswritten

clearlyand

has

gram

maticaland

/orspellingerrors.Ideasno

talways

clearlypresen

ted.Satisfactorystandardreferen

cingin

text,relativelyaccuratebutsho

wingerrors.

Satisfactoryuseofliteratureand

/ortheo

rydem

onstrated

butlim

itedinbreadthORde

pth.U

ncriticaland

quo

ted

with

outcom

men

t.Satisfactoryconten

t/levelof

know

ledgeofth

etopic.A

ddressesparto

fthe

que

stion.

Someerrors/omission

s.

Satisfactoryuseofapp

ropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.Satisfactoryapplicationofskillsand

techniqu

esdem

onstratedbu

twith

minorinaccuracies.

Errorsinte

chniqu

eand/orapp

licationwith

som

eim

pacton

deliverables.

Satisfactorylevelofa

nalysisand/orreflectionbu

tlim

ited

eviden

ceofcriticalevaluation.Satisfactoryapplicationto

derivedsolutio

ns(w

herereq

uired).Descriptiv

epe

rson

al

respon

sem

ainlyrestricted

toim

med

iatecon

cerns.

30‐39%

Marginalfail(Fail)

Poorstructure.Hasm

anyspellingand/orgram

matical

errors.Po

orpresentationofideas.Lim

itedreferencingin

text,referen

ceusesho

wsinaccuracyand

/ormanyerrors.Li

mite

dinbreadthand

dep

thdem

onstrated.Lite

rature

and/orused/qu

oted

with

outcom

men

t.Lim

itedconten

t/

know

ledge.Lim

itedorm

uddled

und

erstandingofthe

topic/qu

estio

n.

Limite

duseofapp

ropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.Lim

itedapplicationofskillsand

techniqu

esdem

onstrated.M

anyerrorsinte

chniqu

eand/orapp

licationwith

highim

pactonde

liverables.

Limite

deviden

ceofa

nalysis,criticalevaluationand/or

refle

ction.Lim

itedapplicationtoderived

solutions(w

here

requ

ired

).Too

descriptiv

einparts.Lim

itedpe

rson

al

respon

se.

20‐29%

Clearfail(Fail)

LackingStructure–argum

entd

ifficulttofollow.Po

orly

written

and

/orpo

orspe

llingand

grammar.Fewclear

ideaspresen

ted.Lackingreferen

cingwith

inte

xtwith

a

highlevelofinaccuracy.

Lackinginbreadthand

dep

th.Som

eliteratureand/or

theo

ryirrelevantto

topicarea.Lackingkno

wledgeCo

nten

tirrelevant/inaccurate.

Doe

sno

tadd

ressth

equ

estio

nandthereforedo

esnot

meetthe

learningoutcomes.

Verylittleuseofa

ppropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.V

erylittle

skillandapplicationof

techniqu

esdem

onstrated.H

ighnu

mbe

roferrorswith

very

highim

pactonde

liverables.

Lackinginitslevelofa

nalysis/criticalevaluationand/or

refle

ction.M

inim

alapp

licationtoderived

solutions(w

here

requ

ired

)Mainlyde

scriptive,lackinginpersonalrespo

nse.

0‐19%

Nothingofmerit(Fail)

Nodiscernablestructure.Verydifficulttofollow.M

any

gram

maticalerrors.M

anyspellingmistakes.N

opresen

tatio

nofideas.Unsatisfactoryreferencingwith

in

text.R

eferen

celistdoe

sno

tmatchreferen

cesinte

xt.

Referenceslisthasincorrectcita

tionsand

/orisnotth

erecommen

dedform

at.Noreferencelistinclude

d.

No/un

satisfactoryeviden

ceoflite

ratureand

/ortheo

ry

beingreferred

to.M

uchofth

eliteratureand/orth

eory

used

irrelevantto

topicarea

No/un

satisfactorylevelofkno

wledgede

mon

strated.

Conten

tnotapp

ropriateto

thetopic.

Nouseofapp

ropriatete

chno

logyasappliedtoth

eprob

lemdom

ain.Noskilland

app

licationofte

chniqu

ede

mon

strated.V

eryhighnum

beroferrorsindeliverable

ornode

liverablesub

mitted

.

Unsatisfactorylevelofa

nalysis/criticalevaluationandor

refle

ction.Noapplicationtoderived

solutions(w

here

requ

ired

)Who

llydescriptiv

e.N

ope

rson

alrespo

nse.

PROJECTTEMPLATE

1

UNIVERSITYOFHERTFORDSHIRE

ModuleCode:6COM1016/7

RichInternetApplicationsDesignandDevelopment

(SemesterC2011/12)

DesignandDevelopmentofanAJAXEnabledBlogApplication‐ProjectReport

Yourname

Yourstudentnumber

Date

2

Abstract

Thepurposeoftheabstract isthegivethereaderaclear ideaofwhatthereport isaboutwithoutreadingthereportinitsentirety.Theabstractshouldtypicallybeastatementofuptohalfapageinlengthdescribing the subjectmatter of theproject report and themain findings and conclusions.

3

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgementofpeopleyouwishtothankforhelpingyouwithyourproject.Thiscan includefriends,familyandmembersoftheacademicstaff.

4

TableofContents

1.INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 PROJECTAIMS................................................................................................................. 1

1.2 PROJECTOBJECTIVES......................................................................................................... 1

1.3 REPORTSTRUCTURE.......................................................................................................... 1

2.BACKGROUNDINFORMATION.................................................................................................. 2

2.1 WHATISARICHINTERNETAPPLICATION?.............................................................................. 2

2.2 THEKEYELEMENTSOFARICHINTERNETAPPLICATIONS............................................................. 2

2.3 THECHALLENGEOFDECIDINGHOWMUCHRICHNESSTOADD.................................................... 2

3.ANALYSISANDDESIGN............................................................................................................. 2

4.IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................................... 2

5.TESTING ................................................................................................................................... 3

6.EVALUATION............................................................................................................................ 3

7.DISCUSSIONANDCONCLUSION................................................................................................ 5

8.REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 5

ListofAppendices

PleasedonotputanythingintheAppendicesthatispertinenttothetextinachapter.ThistendstointerrupttheflowthereaderwhilsttheyflickbackwardsandforwardsbetweenthereportandAppendices.

<yourname><SRN>

1

1

1.Introduction

Theintroductionmustabsolutelywithoutfailsetoutyourprojectaimsandobjectives.

1.1 ProjectAims

RefertoyoursubmissionforCheckpoint1

1.2 ProjectObjectives

RefertoyoursubmissionforCheckpoint1

1.3 ReportStructure

The introduction should also give a very brief statement of the contents of each chapter of thereport, just tohelp the readergainan ideaofhowyouaregoing topresent theoutcomeofyourwork.

GeneralInformationaboutthecontentofyourreport

It is generallyaccepted thatyour reportbewritten in thepast tenseas the report represents theresultsoftheprojectwhichyouhavecompleted.However,wesuggestthatthepresenttenseshouldbeusedwhenreferencingtheworkofothers.

Someresearchauthorsarerenownedforoverusingjargonandproducingpompousprose,however,youcannotavoidnecessary jargoninyourdiscipline,norshouldyoutrytodoso.Academicjargonoftendoesspecialistthingsandoftenhasamoreprecisemeaning.Butyoushouldalwayscheckthatyoufullyappreciatethemeaningsofthewordsyouuse.

Avoidjokesandpersonalasidesandavoidshortenedformssuchasisn’tinsteadofisnot.Becarefulabouttheuseofacronymsinyourreport;onlyusethemforspecialisedconceptsthatoccuroften.Choose the simplest form of the acronym, for instance Nato or NATO, but not N.A.T.O. Eachacronymshouldbeexplainedonitsfirstuseandalsoifyoustartreusingitafteraperiodwhenithasnotbeenpresent.

Moving away from basic grammar what you should always keep inmind is your report’s overallcontentandstructure.Yourreportshouldbeconstructedsothatithas:

1 Abeginning,theintroductionandbackgroundinformationthatsetthescene.2 Amiddle,thebulkofthereportwherethemaincomponentsofyourprojectarediscussed.3 Anend,thesummary,conclusionsandrecommendationsforfuturework.

Thiskindofstructureshouldalsobeevidentwithintheindividualchaptersofyourreport.Theytooshouldhaveanintroduction,themainbodyofthechapterandanend,possiblyachaptersummaryorconclusionsfromthechapter.

<yourname><SRN>

2

2.BackgroundInformation

Thischaptershouldincludethefollowinginformationandanyotherresearchyouhaveundertaken:

2.1 WhatisaRichInternetApplication?

2.2 TheKeyelementsofaRichInternetApplications

2.3 TheChallengeofDecidingHowMuchRichnesstoAdd

Youmayassumethatyourreadershiphasthelevelofknowledgeofadegreestudentwhohastakenthe same courses as you. Bear this inmind when writing your report and do not present eitherinformation that sucha readerwould already knowor large amountsof backgroundon the topicarea that could be read in a standard textbook on the topic. Simply reference the source of theinformationinyourReferencessection,andkeeptheinformationyoupresentveryspecifictoyourownwork.

3.AnalysisandDesign

Thefollowingchaptersshoulddescribethetasksthatyoucarriedoutasyouworkedtomeetyourobjectives,butitisnotagoodideatoadoptadiary‐styleorderofpresentation.Itismuchbettertoorganisethechaptersaroundtopicsortasks–suchasanalysisanddesign.

ThischaptershoulddescribetheprocessofanalysinganddesigningyourBlog.WhetheryoubasedyourapplicationontheBlogsuppliedorbuiltyourownfromscratchyouneedtojustifyyourdesigndecisions.

Ifyouranalysisincludessomeresearchintosimilarapplicationsyoushoulddetailandanalysethoseapplicationshere.StateinwhatwaytheapplicationsarerichInternetapplications–itwouldalsobenicetoseesomeobjectiveevaluationoftheapplications.

RefertoyousubmissionforCheckpoint2–RequirementsSpecification.

4.Implementation

In the followingchapters it isvery important topresent theresultsofyourprojectworkproperly,especiallywhenthemaintaskoftheprojectisasoftwareartefact.

Inthischapteryoushouldreporttheprocessofimplementingyourapplicationandspecificallyhowyourapplicationworks.SincetheprojectisaboutdevelopingarichInternetBlogapplicationalargepart of this chapter should focus on the AJAX elements you used andwhy. Youmay also like toinclude screen shots of the principal features of the Blog interface. You should also describe anyparticularly challenging aspects to implementing the Blog and how overcame them (or to whatextentyouovercamethem).

Onceagaindonotforgettorefertoyourprojectobjectives.

<yourname><SRN>

3

5.Testing

Thischaptershouldprovideanaccountofyourapproachtotesting;atestplanmay includewhitebox,blackbox,unittesting,andbrowsercompatibilityforinstance.

Thischaptershouldincludetheresultsofyourtests.Doesyourapplicationworkasexpected?(fromandobjectivepointofview).

Onceagaindonotforgettoreferbacktoyourprojectobjectives.

6.Evaluation

Thegenericgoalofmostevaluations istoprovide"useful feedback"toavarietyofaudiencesthatmayincludesponsors,donors,client‐groups,administrators,staff,andotherrelevantstakeholders.Inyourcase,theacademicteam.

Thischapter isnotaboutwhetheryourapplicationworks‐thiswasansweredbyresultsoftestingbut“howwelldoesitwork?”(“howusableisit?”).

You are advised to conduct an expert review; expert reviews are not a substitute for usabilitystudies involving users but they are very useful, there is no need for ethics approval from theUniversityanditisagreatwayofidentifyingcriticalerrors.

HeuristicEvaluationoriginallydevelopedbyNielsenandMolich(1990)isamethodforquick,cheap,andeasyevaluationofuserinterfacesandisaformofexpertreview.

HeuristicEvaluationischaracterisedby:

1 Small test scenarios that use prototypes (from paper based mock‐ups or screen shots to aworkingversion)whichcaneasilybeupdatedfromonetestsituationtothenext.

2 Aninformalbasisforassessmentthatdoesn’trequirepsychologists3 Ahighsuccessrate4 Afewkeyguidelines(10)

PlanYourEvaluation‐ Identifyandtestthetasksthatarecritical toyourBlog’ssuccess–youwillwant all users to be able to perform these tasks with ease. Evaluate these tasks – a HeuristicEvaluationisadvisedbutotherformalmethodsareacceptable.

1. VisibilityofSystemStatusProbablythetwomostimportantthingsthatusersneedtoknoware;Wheream I? andWhere can I gonext? It is essential that your interface keepusersinformedaboutwhatisgoingon.Toensureyourapplicationdoesnotviolatethisguidelineappropriate feedback should be given within a reasonable time following each userinteraction.

2. Match Between the System and the Real World The system should speak the users’language, using words, phrases and concepts that are familiar to the user, rather thansystem‐orientedterms.Eventhoughyoumightusewhat isconsideredstandard jargonfor

<yourname><SRN>

4

the topic on which your site focuses, consider including a further simplification orexplanationofthewordsyouhaveused.

3. UserControlandFreedomSitevisitorsoftenchoosefunctionsbymistake,andwillneedaclearlymarked“emergencyexit”to leaveanunwantedpagewithouthavingtogothroughanextendeddialogue.Whilethereisadefiniteneedforordertoexistinyoursite,agreaterdegreeofuser controlmaybe required to cater to theneedsofmoreexperiencedusers.An example of a control elementmight be a link to the homepage on every subsequentpage.It isasimplewaytoletusersfeel incontrolofthesystem–theyknowtheycanlinkbacktothehomepage(oropt‐out)atanystageofaprocess.

4. Heuristic ‐ConsistencyandStandardsUsersshouldnothavetowonderwhetherdifferentwords, situations,or actionsmean the same thing. It isbest to follow theuniformand/orplatformconventionstowhichyourusersareaccustomed.

5. ErrorPreventionEvenbetterthangooderrormessages isacarefuldesignthatpreventsaproblemfromoccurringinthefirstplace.Thebestwaytoavoiderrorsistoconducttesting,more testing, and even more testing. However, if errors do occur, try to provide user‐friendlymessagesinnaturallanguageratherthancode.

6. RecognitionRather thanRecallMake sureobjects, actions, andoptionsarehighly visible.Yoursitevisitorsshouldnothavetorememberinformationbetweendifferentpartsoftheirdialoguewith your site. Instructions for use of the system should be visible – or at leasteasily retrievable –whenever your users need them. This increases the chance that yourvisitorswillbeabletorecognisewheretheyare,sotheywillnothavetoretracetheirpathfromthehomepage.Forexample,ifyoucreateaWebsitewithalotofsubmenus,thenuseasystemthatwilllettheusersknowwhatsectiontheyareinatalltimes.Youcoulddothisby leaving a breadcrumb trail, ormaybe applying a colour scheme that differentiates thevarioussections.

7. FlexibilityandEaseofUseAccelerators,whichmaybeunseenbythenoviceuser,canoftenspeeduptheinteractionfortheexpertuser,andallowthesystemtocatertobothtypesofvisitors.

8. AestheticandMinimalistDesignExtraneousinformationonapageisadistractionandcanslow‐down thepage load.Make rarelyneeded informationaccessible via links so that thedetailsareavailablebutdonotinterferewithcontentthatismorerelevant.

9. HelpUsersRecognise,Diagnose,andRecoverfromErrorsErrorswilloccurdespiteallyourefforts to prevent them. Your application’s error messages should be expressed in plainlanguage with no codes or jargon. The message should detail the problem, andconstructivelysuggestasolution.Forexample,ifaformisincorrectlycompletedyourerrormessage should alert your user to this, identify which fields will need to be refilled, andperhapshighlightthosefieldswhentheuserreturnstocompletetheformaftertheydismisstheerrormessage.

10. Help and Documentation Ideally, every online system could be used withoutdocumentation.However,itmaybenecessarytoprovidehelpanddocumentationtocatertotheneedsofallusers,andbeonthesafeside.Yourhelpdocumentsshouldbeeasytosearch, listtheconcretestepsusersneedcompleteinordertoachievetheirgoals,nottoolarge.

SeeAppendixA

Onceagaindonotforgettoreferbacktoyourprojectobjectives.

<yourname><SRN>

5

7.DiscussionandConclusion

What is crucial about this chapter iswhether it contains a self‐critical evaluationof the extent towhichyouhaveachievedtheobjectivesyouset.Youarenotpenalisedforacknowledgingthatyoufailed to achieve all of your objectives, and especially not the advanced ones, but you certainlywouldbecriticisedifyougavetheimpressionofnothavingnoticedthatyouhadfailedtomeetanobjective,orevenofhavingforgottenaboutthemaltogether!

Theextent towhichyoudemonstrate theability to reflectuponyourwork isvery important.Youmayfinditassistsyoutoevaluateeachofthefollowing,whererelevanttoyourproject:

1. Theprojectplananditsmanagement;2. Thechoiceofpracticalmethodology;3. Thepracticalprocessyouwentthrough;4. Theproductofyourpracticalworkbothonitsownmeritandagainsttheprojectsobjectives;5. Theprojectasawholeagainsttheobjectives;6. Thesuitabilityandthequalityoftheobjectivesyouchose.

Reflection isanexplorationandexplanationofevents–not justadescriptionof them.Genuinelyreflectivewriting often involves ‘revealing’ anxieties, errors andweaknesses, aswell as strengthsandsuccesses.This isfine, infact it isoftenessential.As longasyoushowsomeunderstandingofthepossiblecausesandexplainhowyoumightimproveinfutureprojects.

8.References

Nielsen, J., and Molich, R. (1990). Heuristic Evaluation of User Interfaces, Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Seattle, WA, 1-5 April), pp. 249-256.

In your project report some of the subjectmattermay have beenwritten about, discussed or insomewaycoveredbyanotherauthor.Avoidplagiarism(presentinganother’sworkasyourown)bybeing scrupulous about referencing your sources. There are several good reasons for doing this ‐apart from avoiding the severe penalties for being caught. One reason is that reading andreferencing appropriate sources places your work in context with other recognised publications.Furthermoreyoucansupportandvalidateanystatementsyoumakeusingpreviousworkpresentedinpeer‐reviewedpublications.

Referencestoallmaterials(books,journals,conferenceproceedings,websitesetc.)usedduringyourprojectmustbe included in thebibliography. If youwish toquotedirectly fromyour sources thismustbedonein invertedcommas,“…”,andgiveapagereference.Youmayfindthisuseful intheproductionofreportbutdonotoverdoit.

<yourname><SRN>

6

AppendixA

HeuristicReportForm

Severity HeuristicViolated Whereintheinterface Issue Remedy(0–4)

Severity

0 Nousabilityproblems.

1 Cosmeticproblemonly:neednotbefixedunlessextratimeisavailableonproject

2 Minorusabilityproblem:fixingthisshouldbegivenlowpriority.

3 Majorusabilityproblem:importanttofix,soshouldbegivenhighpriority.

4 Usabilitycatastrophe:imperativetofixthisbeforeproductcanbereleased.

Pleaseuse0todenotefeaturesthatpromoteusabilityandshouldberetainedinfutureiterationsoftheprototype.Clearly,thesewillnothaveremedies.

Itisimportanttounderstandthelikelyimpactofausabilityproblem.Severityisacombinationof3factors

Frequency ‐ how often does problem occur? Impact ‐ Will it be easy or difficult for users toovercome the problem?Persistence ‐ is it a once in awhile problem, orwill users be repeatedlybotheredbytheproblem?