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In my opinion, we did well in integrating the comments we received during each step of the design process. However, it would have been better if we has implemented a more detailed computer prototype. Many of the comments we received for HW2 dealt with the fact that our prototype was unattractive (which was a result of our misunderstanding that external libraries like Bootstrap could not be used). We would have been able to get better feedback, and thus improved our final version more, if our prototype had been better. In addition, we would have done better to choose a backend early in the implementation process, which would have allowed us to focus more on frontend during implementation.
Paula Jacobs
This was my first UI oriented class and I think it was a success. Actually going through the design process, working with feedback at earlier stages, and creating with a team were all very useful experiences that I know I will refer to in the future. I’m happy with our final product, even if it wasn't perfect, and I've gained more confidence in my web programming abilities. If I had to do this all again, I would have asked about using bootstrap or Jquery UI for the front end earlier. I may have went with Jquery UI because it seems a lot more flexible than bootstrap. I really liked parse and found it easy to learn for the backend, but the javascript version seems a little limited at this point. Still, I think everything turned out alright, but I think if we had started the backend a little earlier (which would have required us to know a little bit more about backend options and have confidence we made the right choice), we could have smoothed out all the wrinkles in our final iteration. Given our level of experience though, I think we did wonderfully. As far as what features we used, we pretty much took it straight from our user tests and TA feedback. I would do the same again; only maybe I’d do another round of testing later in the process.
Carlo Mannino
Our design relied heavily on extra feedback due to the setback we suffered in our computer prototype. We incorrectly assumed we were not allowed to use outside libraries for the front end, which cost us valuable feedback for our computer prototype, since most comments were directed to the aesthetics of our design instead of the functionality or the details.
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Finally, user input is invaluable. There were many cases where a feature that seemed completely natural and beautiful to us was awkward or misleading to other users. This is particularly true when trying to work on a problem whose affected population we have no connection to. It is a great experience to have; most projects one is likely to work one deal with populations at least slightly removed from the programmers, such that it is very useful to know how to approach such a problem.
Hannah Walker
A big part of what I learned from this iterative design process is that you will never make everyone happy. This really bothered me at first, because I am very much a people pleaser. I just want everyone to be happy with the design and our product, so it was hard for me when feedback from users was contradictory.
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