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Screenshot | Design Description | Implementation | Comments |
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 | - Instead of having a lengthy tutorial or video explaining exactly what our application did, we decided to put a short blurb on app startup
- The rest of the directions on how to use the application would be conveniently placed throughout the app in the form of helpful toast reminders that were static or pop-ups.
- We decided to use this method because most users we talked to did not want to bother with a lengthy tutorial video explaninig function/usability.
| - Static page with an image for the description and a single button to continue for simplicity
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| - Our home page consisted of a list of old trips that the user created, and a small input segment for new trips to be added.
- We decided to keep our home interface clean and simple because we realized this made the app more organized and easily accessible by our users.
- The top menu bar easily allows the user to navigate to each of the 4 different pages in our app, the home page, packing tips page, packing page, and settings page.
- We resized our icons to be larger after initial user testing showed us that users were having difficulty pressing the buttons if they had smaller than average smartphones.
| - A SQLite database was used for the backend, storing each trip along with the trip information the user inputs in it
- All data is stored internally on the phone
- The list of past trips, when selected, will lead to the packing page for that specific trip
- A single text field allows users to enter new trips
- Pressing the continue button will lead to the trip information page, where users can enter trip data, but does not save the trip in the database just yet
- We decided to delay saving the trip into the database until after the user had entered their trip details for safety reasons, since users could decide not to add the trip and back out of the page, leading to extraneous data entries in the database
- To eliminate the need for a context menu and save space for the application, an action bar at the top with buttons to navigate between the main pages of the app was implemented
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| - Our trip settings page was created with efficiency in mind.
- Pictures are much more expressive than drop down word menus would be, so for each setting we used a big icon to represent that particular setting
- To keep the app less cluttered, we used simple colors (white and grey) with torquoise to make certain images (aka, the highlighted/pressed buttons) stand out.
- These color decisions were made after users explained that selecting some buttons seemed to have no feedback.
| - We used Android's SharedPreferences feature to keep track of the current trip name the user is accessing on the phone
- SharedPreferences were also used to keep track of the choices the users made in selecting/entering trip information
- Once all trip information is entered, and the user hits continue, the information is added into the database and a list of items is generated
- The trips are canned - 2 trips were programmed into the app, and one trip is randomly chosen as the user's trip
- The quantity of items are determined by the duration of the trip and the item itself (e.g. for a 7 day trip, the app suggests bringing 7 shirts but only 1 toothbrush)
- Error checking is apparent when the user tries to continue without filling in all the information - the page will not advance, and a toast will appear prompting the user to fill out all information
- Information is not saved when the user decides to go back, since we decided not to distinguish between users accidentally hitting go back and users intentionally going back for sake of time in developing the app.
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| - In our packing section, our final design included two major components, a shelf and a backpack.
- Things on the shelf represented items that needed to be packed and things in the backpack represented things that you already packed.
- To show which items belonged to which object, we had a bubble in the middle of the screen that either pointed to the backpack or the shelf, depending on which object you were currently looking at.
- The bubble concept was added after intial tests revealed that users were confused as to which view they were currently looking at, the shelf or the backpack.
| - To represent the different categories of items, a tab layout was implemented
- The shelf view with the items to be pack displays items in the category of the selected tab, which is tap-able and draggable as well
- Tapping items to add to the bubble underneath will log that many copies of the item as packed in the database
- Tapping items in the bubble will do the opposite
- The backpack is also a listener for drag events, allowing users to pack items in bulk
- Each item is given an automatic weight of 1 lb, and the scale to the right of the backpack displays the weight of the items in the bag
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| - Items from the shelf could be tapped or dragged into the backpack.
- These items would then appear in the bubble above the backpack, indicating that these were the items that were already packed.
- Beside the backpack is a weight that tells you how heavy your current items are. The backpack will change into different forms of transportation depending on how heavy your total items are.
- For example, if you are carrying 50lbs worth of material, the image of the backpack would change to a luggage case.
- Once again, these decisions were made because an image is more expressive than numbers or words, so this visual representation of weight helps the user's efficiency.
| - The application keeps track of the weight of the items in the bag, changing the image based on weight
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| - The edit mode of our application is the mode in which you "edit" the shelf.
- The user would do this in two conditions: 1) he doesn't want to bring a particular item that the app auto generated for him to bring, or 2) he wants to add an item that the app did not generate for him.
- When entering edit mode, a trashcan will appear in the bottom left corner to indicate that dragging objects into the trashcan will delete them.
- Additionally, + marks appear at the bottom of each item, which signifies that you can add additional items.
- If the items you want do not appear, there is also a small input that appears right below the shelf which says "add new item."
| - The edit button switches the application into 'edit mode', changing the bubble to contain items that, when tapped, will be added to the unpacked list in the database.
- The list of items contain all the items viewable from each category tab
- The trashcan is also a listener for drag events, allowing users to discard items they do not want to pack from their shelf
- Editable text fields allow the user to add items not visible in the current list to the shelf
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| - The packing tips, weather, and helpful destination-based information are located in the help menu.
- This page was designed as a simple 3-tab, easily navigatable help menu for users to check when they wanted trip-specific information.
- During heuristic evaluations, users complained that the original black background of the packing tips did not fit the overall color scheme of the app, so the background was instead changed to white and the highlights were kept blue.
- The tab was also changed white to match the background of the tab that was currently in view
| - Viewing trip information, such as packing tips and weather information is visible via the question mark button in the action bar
- Tabs reveal static pages displaying information based on the trip chosen
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Evaluation
Testing Procedures
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No. | User Task | Summarized Observations | Plans for Improvement |
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1 | Create a new trip called "Alaska Vacation", by plane from June 1st - June 8th | Users generally had no problem completing this task. The particular android phone we were using did not have a clear ENTER / DONE button on the built in keyboard, and one user was unsure of how to finish typing and close the window. | None |
2 | Pack 2 shirts into your backpack | Two of the users intuitively dragged the items into the backpack, then realized it dragged all the shirts as opposed to just 2. One of the users attempted to drag all the items back, but was unable to do so as this function does not exist. Users that made the mistake were able to move the items back on the shelf after they had understood the difference between dragging and clicking, and easily corrected their errors | Implement ability to DRAG items to different parts of the application, and not just to the backpack (eg, to the shelf, to the bubble that described what was in the backpack). Make the distinction more clear at the beginning - perhaps some popup TIP dialog. |
3 | Pack all the socks | One user tapped once, then realized it was possible to drag everything at once, and so did so appropriately. One user tapped multiple times in order to get all the socks into the backpack. One user dragged (most efficient method) | Emphasize distinction between dragging and clicking (as mentioned above |
4 | Unpack 1 shirt | Users had no difficulty performing this task | None |
5 | Add 1 shirt to the shelf of things 'to pack' | Users had no difficulty performing this task | None |
6 | Edit the shelf so that you won't be bringing any pants | Users had no difficulty performing this task. One user attempted to click instead of dragging items to the trash can, causing a minor bug to happen | Correct the bug that packs your item when you are in the 'shelf editing mode' |
7 | Add 4 pairs of sunglasses to the list of things to pack | One user was confused because the shelf did not change to the category when socks were being added, and so was unsure of whether or not socks were actually being added | Modify program such that when anything is being added to the shelf, the shelf changes to the category of the item being added |
8 | Add 1 fishing rod to the shelf of things 'to pack' | Users had no difficulty performing this task, although when one user forgot to input the number, the original item that had been typed in disappeared. In addition, the screen becomes extremely cluttered when the keyboard appears | Change the look of the screen when the keyboard appears, and make it so that what was typed does not get removed even if the entry is invalid |
9 | Pack the fishing rod | Users had no difficulty performing this task | None |
10 | Change your settings so you are now driving to Alaska | Users had no difficulty performing this task | None |
11 | View the weather information for your trip | Users had no difficulty performing this task | None |
General Summary
It is clear that the distinction between drag and click is not clear (for moving items into the bag/out of the bag/onto the shelf). This can be corrected with several methods - having a tips page at the beginning that is shown to the user or showing a user a tooltip if they are detected to be clicking multiple times in order to move everything into the backpack. In addition, because of time constraints, the dragging model was not implemented the other way around (so moving items in the backpack back up to the shelf). This should be implemented as it would greatly help the consistency of this feature. As well, a minor issue arose when the keyboard appeared during the 'add non-existing item' feature. The screen became cramped as elements were overlapping, and an easy fix to this problem is to make the screen scrollable such that during this action the entire screen scrolls up to make room for the keyboard.
Reflections
What we learned
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