Overview of Assignments
Assignments for Usability & User Experience will be projects done for actual clients/agencies, and our primary clients for projects/assignments will be
- The state of Louisiana’s COVID-19 Communication Health Advisory Council (part of the LA State Department of Health)
- The Health Hut (a non-profit public health provider in Ruston)
Specific Assignments
Assignments and their relation to your grade are as follows (full descriptions of each to follow by separate document):
Title: Weekly Class Activities Value: 10 points each (100 points total) Due: Weekly during quarter
Length: Dependent on Assignment/Activity
Overview: Each week, you will perform an activity relating to the topic(s) covered in a week’s classes. Some activities will occur during Touchpoint Talks; others will involve performing work outside of class and for future sessions. These projects will include individual and group activities and focus on producing materials you submit for review at the end of a class session or week.
Title: Persona Entry & Script-Prototype Map Report (and Memo) Value: 100 points Due: Friday, 2 Oct. 20 @ 8:00pm
Length: ENGL 471 & HNRS 489 – 3.5-5 pages & one (1) context/prototype-script map
ENGL 571 –5.5-7 pages & two (2) contexts/prototype-script maps
Overview:
You will do the research to create a persona for an audience (assigned by instructor) and a script-prototype map of a context/contexts (assigned by instructor) for an activity. You will share these results in a report explaining how to apply this persona and map to create materials for an audience and summarize the report in an accompanying memo.
Title: Instructions Based on Personas and Maps Value: 100 points Due: Friday, 16 Oct. 20 @ 8:00pm
Length: ENGL 471 & HNRS 489 – 3.5-5 pages for one (1) process
ENGL 571 – 3.5-5 pages for two (2) processes
Overview:
You will create instructions for a process or processes (assigned by instructor) and based on the persona entry and script-prototype map created in a prior assignment or assigned by the instructor. These instructions must include:
Title: User Test Report (and Cover Letter) Value: 100 points Due: Thursday, 30 Oct. 20 @ 8:00pm
Length: ENGL 471 – 3.5-5 pages for one (1) user test of one (1) item
ENGL 571 & HNRS 489 – 3.5-5 pages for two (2) user tests of two (2) items
Overview:
You will conduct a user test or tests where you ask three (3) individuals to perform a series of tasks (assigned by the instructor) using a particular item (assigned by the instructor). You will share the results of this testing in a report and summarize the report in a cover letter.
Title: Focus Group Report (and Cover Letter) Value: 100 points Due: 16 Nov. 20 @ 12:00 noon
Length: ENGL 471 – 3.5- 5 pages for one (1) focus group
ENGL 571 & HNRS 489 – 5.5-7 pages for two (2) focus groups
Overview:
You will organize and conduct a focus group evaluation or evaluations of a product (assigned by the instructor). Focus group or groups should be comprised of three to five (3-5) persons who represent the audience for which the product was designed. You will share the results of this testing in a report and summarize the contents of this report in a letter.
Title: Weekly Class Activities Value: 10 points each (100 points total) Due: Weekly during quarter
Length: Dependent on Assignment/Activity
Overview: Each week, you will perform an activity relating to the topic(s) covered in a week’s classes. Some activities will occur during Touchpoint Talks; others will involve performing work outside of class and for future sessions. These projects will include individual and group activities and focus on producing materials you submit for review at the end of a class session or week.
Title: Persona Entry & Script-Prototype Map Report (and Memo) Value: 100 points Due: Friday, 2 Oct. 20 @ 8:00pm
Length: ENGL 471 & HNRS 489 – 3.5-5 pages & one (1) context/prototype-script map
ENGL 571 –5.5-7 pages & two (2) contexts/prototype-script maps
Overview:
You will do the research to create a persona for an audience (assigned by instructor) and a script-prototype map of a context/contexts (assigned by instructor) for an activity. You will share these results in a report explaining how to apply this persona and map to create materials for an audience and summarize the report in an accompanying memo.
Title: Instructions Based on Personas and Maps Value: 100 points Due: Friday, 16 Oct. 20 @ 8:00pm
Length: ENGL 471 & HNRS 489 – 3.5-5 pages for one (1) process
ENGL 571 – 3.5-5 pages for two (2) processes
Overview:
You will create instructions for a process or processes (assigned by instructor) and based on the persona entry and script-prototype map created in a prior assignment or assigned by the instructor. These instructions must include:
- An overview of the process one will perform and the objective of performing this process
- A listing of the tools/materials one will use to perform this process
- A complete set of instructions (steps) related to performing the overall process to completion
- A minimum of three images/graphics that help readers understand how to perform a step or activity
- A concluding section of the results of actions to confirm individuals correctly performed a process
- A list of 3-5 errors/problems (and related solutions) commonly encountered during this process
- Citations (in a “References” section) for sources used in crafting this entry (not part of overall word count)
Title: User Test Report (and Cover Letter) Value: 100 points Due: Thursday, 30 Oct. 20 @ 8:00pm
Length: ENGL 471 – 3.5-5 pages for one (1) user test of one (1) item
ENGL 571 & HNRS 489 – 3.5-5 pages for two (2) user tests of two (2) items
Overview:
You will conduct a user test or tests where you ask three (3) individuals to perform a series of tasks (assigned by the instructor) using a particular item (assigned by the instructor). You will share the results of this testing in a report and summarize the report in a cover letter.
Title: Focus Group Report (and Cover Letter) Value: 100 points Due: 16 Nov. 20 @ 12:00 noon
Length: ENGL 471 – 3.5- 5 pages for one (1) focus group
ENGL 571 & HNRS 489 – 5.5-7 pages for two (2) focus groups
Overview:
You will organize and conduct a focus group evaluation or evaluations of a product (assigned by the instructor). Focus group or groups should be comprised of three to five (3-5) persons who represent the audience for which the product was designed. You will share the results of this testing in a report and summarize the contents of this report in a letter.
Grading Aspects
The point values for each of the assignments related to this course are as follows:
Class Activities Point Value
I will determine your course grade based on where your final point total for the class falls in the following distribution:
500-450 = A 449-400 = B 399-350 = C 349-300 = D 299 or below = F
Class Activities Point Value
- Class Activities 100 points
- Persona Entry and Script-Prototype Map (and Memo) 100 points
- Instructions Based on Personas and Maps 100 points
- User Test Report (and Cover Letter) 100 points
- Focus Group Report (and Cover Letter) 100 points
I will determine your course grade based on where your final point total for the class falls in the following distribution:
500-450 = A 449-400 = B 399-350 = C 349-300 = D 299 or below = F
Grading Criteria
Grades for all assignments will be assessed according to the following factors:
- Quality of information presented
- Clarity of presentation
- Organization of presentation
- Appearance (professional or not) of final product
- Conformity to assignment requirements as presented in assignment descriptions provided during the quarter