Aim

Investigate and understand current design/usability practices and guidelines for designing interfaces. You must reference at least three (3) academic journal articles, credible websites, or a combination of both.

Assignment Overview

Due date: Sun 19 Apr at 11:59pm (end of the intra-trimester break)
Weighting: 15%
Mode: Individual
Requirements: As a written report, you will present and succinctly capture current design/usability perspectives, thinking and good practice for software/applications based on the readings/research conducted.
Related ULOs & GLOs: ULO 1, ULO 2 & GLO 1, GLO 4

Assignment Summary

The purpose of this assessment is for students to analyse and familiarise themselves with current interface design/usability principles, UI and user-centred design (UCD) guidelines. Your research and focus in this report should relate to the types of user interfaces used in software/applications common in the field you hope to work in or area of interest. For example:

• Cyber security staff may monitor network activity via an installed application or hosted online so GUI (Graphical User Interface) or website/web app usability guidelines could be considered;
• Programmers may use development platforms and SDKs in GUI applications;
• Web designers could create websites using online tools and applications so the emphasis would be on website/web app usability guidelines;
• Testing and QA for games and applications on consoles, PCs or VR devices could involve GUI guidelines on game or VR design;
•  Project managers may monitor and oversee their projects using dashboards online for reporting purposes meaning effective website design is needed.

This task will start having students focus on usability and more broadly, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) and User eXperience (UX). The outcomes from this research should be presented as a written report and used to structure an evaluation in the second assessment task – Usability Evaluation Report using an example of a piece of software/application from your desired work or interest area.

Report Content Requirements

This report will contain a number of sections including, but not restricted to:

• an introduction that presents the need for design/usability guidelines and principles including any challenges for designers in adopting them.
• the presentation of your relevant interface design guidelines and principles that are intended to improve the usability of systems.
• a justification on the value of these interface guidelines/principles and demonstration of improved usability
• a conclusion providing a summation of the primary key benefits and advantages for designers who follow these interface guidelines
• a list of 3 or more references in Harvard style with citations (with at least two from 2019-2020)

Note: the focus of your report must be based on interface design/usability guidelines that apply to the types of interfaces used in software/applications relevant to the industry/work you hope to be in after your studies, or area of interest.

Submission Requirements

Your submission must be in the form of a report. A suggested approach is: title page, table of contents, introduction, interface design/usability guidelines, justification, conclusion and references. The length of the report should be 1500 words (excluding references). If you include significantly more content, this does not guarantee higher marks, and remember this task is worth 15% of your overall mark for the unit. You must acknowledge all statements and information taken from other sources and adhere to the guidelines published regarding plagiarism. All ideas and material taken from references must be cited within the report itself and a full reference list and bibliography (if appropriate) must be provided at the end of the report. Diagrams and/or tables may be used if you think this will strengthen your arguments. Remember that diagrams and tables adapted from other sources must be cited as well. Advice on referencing (Harvard style) and report writing is available on the Study Support site.

The assignment is to be submitted online through the assignment folder in the unit site as either a Word document or PDF.

Marking Criteria

This task is worth 15% of your total mark. You must demonstrate that you:

1. Are able to examine and evaluate multiple sources on UCD and HCI literature with details regarding interface design guidelines/principles for software/applications specific to the area you wish to work in, or area of interest.
2. Can use the appropriate number of quality references.
3. That the usability guidelines cover multiple aspects of interface design, such as (but not limited to) layout, colour and navigation.