Homework #1

Due per date indicated on class calendar

This homework is to be done as an individual assignment only!

1. If you had any critical incidents or usability problems for the NY Ticket Kiosk on your usability data list (handed back by GTA) that I didn't have on mine (posted on the class web site under In-Class activities), list those here.

2. Go through the list posted on the class web site under In-Class activities (the one labeled at the beginning as My critical incident list for the NY Ticket Kiosk) and merge related and overlapping problems that can be solved by a common redesign solution. Retain the original problem numbers from the list, so a group might have a new number of Problem number 3/4/8. List those groups and explain, for each group, the rationale for grouping them together, more or less as one broader problem.

3. This part is to do a cost-importance analysis. Make a cost-importance table (probably a spreadsheet works best for this) and list the problem groups you created in the preceding step. The first column should be for the problem/group numbers and the second column should contain a very brief (a few key words) problem description, as we did in class. Now add more problems, starting at the top of " My critical incident list for the NY Ticket Kiosk" and including those that didn't get in a group, until you have a total of 20 problems (rows) in your table. You will want to do problems 4 and 5 below as you go, but report them separately in your writeup. In the third and succeeding columns, put:

· Importance (to fix) – give rationale for each in part 4 below

· A few key words describing the redesign solution – give more full description in part 5 below

· Cost estimate to fix (in next-higher integer person-hours – i.e., use "1" for 1 or fewer hours)

· Pull out the absolutely "must do" items and put at the top of the table and draw a line under them

For all the rest of the problems, in succeeding columns, put:

· The computed priority ratio

· Sort your cost-importance by the priority ration column when all the other data is entered

· The priority rank – number these 1 through 20 after the table is sorted

· Add a column for "Cumulative cost" and enter the cumulative cost (i.e., the cost of the first problem, then the cost of the first plus the second, and so on)

· Make up a number for the available number of person hours for making the changes, something that will take you somewhere in the middle of the table (declare this number somewhere easy to see)

· Draw the cut-off line just before the cumulative cost exceeds the available resources and enter into the Resolution column the appropriate notations from:

· Must do

· Will do

· If time permits

· Table until next version, or never

4. Give a one- or two-sentence rationale for each importance (to fix) rating you assigned (do this in a list by problem number, separate from the cost-importance table).

5. State in one sentence, the proposed redesign solution for each problem in your list. Again, list by problem number, separate from the cost-importance table.