The aim of this assignment is to give you practical experience of evaluating the usability of an interactive device or system and to also give you the opportunity to develop presentational and...

The aim of this assignment is to give you practical experience of evaluating the usability of an interactive device or system and to also give you the opportunity to develop presentational and communication skills that are vital skills in the workplace.  It is also designed to give you experience of successfully completing a project in a tight timescale – another common experience in the workplace!
Assignment Brief
This is a short intensive assignment. Your first task is to select a particular interactive device or system and undertake a usability evaluation of the device or system.  The second task is for you to present the results of your evaluation.
 You have total flexibility over what device you choose to evaluate.  The type of device you might consider evaluating could include mobile phones, tablet computers, digital cameras, web enabled interactive Televisions, remote control units etc..  Alternatively you may identify an interactive system such as parking payment kiosks, self service systems such as those found at train stations, airports and in food retailers’ stores etc..
Once you have chosen your device/system you will need to form your evaluation strategy. As you should now be aware, there are a number of ways in which you can undertake usability evaluations.  It is for you to determine and select an appropriate strategy for your chosen device/system.

Typically this is likely to include the following
•    Selecting an appropriate usability evaluation strategy
•    Setting some usability goals and usability evaluation criteria
•    Identifying and selecting appropriate user task goals for the evaluation
•    Identifying and selecting users to conduct the evaluation
•    Selecting appropriate methods and designing forms etc  to capture your results
Once you have undertaken your evaluation you are then required to begin the process of analysing your results and then preparing them for dissemination to a wide audience of people who may be interested in your findings. (Users, retailers, developers etc.).
This is a key part of the assignment and again you have complete freedom and flexibility over how you might wish to communicate your results.  Examples that you might wish to consider include:-
•    Producing a short  ‘You Tube’ type video highlighting  issues with the device and summarising your results
•    Preparing a ‘TechRadar’ type web based report
•    Producing a ‘Powerpoint’ type presentation and presenting it

As stated above, it is entirely your choice but the key