Could an iPhone application be made to be used to build technical diagrams for different university students?
iPhone App Designs for a Diagrammatic Software Application
iPhone App Designs for a Diagrammatic Software Application
The findings looked at the potential, diagrammatic drawing software has, for different types of university students on the iPhone. The findings saw if university students needed this sort of software which they can share with others. The design creations were analysed to see how they can be improved upon. This was done by looking at different user feedback from different methods, most notably the prototyping and questionnaire method. The study found that users appreciate the use of this software, and that there is a gap in the Apple market for this type of software. This App could also be extended to other users such as secondary school students or University lectures.
Design
The purpose was to evaluate if an iPhone App can be developed for different types of university students from different degree backgrounds at different levels. They could then use their iPhones to create different technical diagrams. The diagrams would depend on what was required on their course.
This looked in-depth at the different ways that diagramming software can be designed for different users at university. User-interface design could also be used to fit the specifications of the iPhone to make it easier for users to navigate. User feedback of the designs was looked at with various design iteration been developed, in accordance with what users wanted to change. This was done in various ways through letting users experiment with design prototyping and looking at responses to help make changes according to preferences from key users. User feedback is vital as it allowed for the iterations of the designs to show desired improvements that can be made to suit the key users. This would help in creating better innovation developments each time the iteration was done for the design of a product.
The design process was an iterative process which was based on user feedback in two ways. Results from questionnaires from students and results with interactions with users who were part of the prototyping.
The prototyping was done by users getting a mock-up of the iPhone App desgin created by myself. The participants consisted of one male student and one female student, who are both doing an informatics and engineering degree. They were then asked to go through the App by pressing parts on the paper which represented buttons to move on to the next page on the app. Once the users had finished, they were asked to do a short open interview stating what they liked/disliked about the app and what they thought should be changed.
The questionnaire was targeted at specific university students with more 'closed' type questions. This was easier to analyse the majority of results. The reason why it was targeted at different users was because, they would each give their own perspective from their different backgrounds. This was a good idea as it helped help increase a more diverse feedback. Feedback would help show how the app would be improved upon and how each of the groups would have different levels of experience on diagram implementation.
This looked in-depth at the different ways that diagramming software can be designed for different users at university. User-interface design could also be used to fit the specifications of the iPhone to make it easier for users to navigate. User feedback of the designs was looked at with various design iteration been developed, in accordance with what users wanted to change. This was done in various ways through letting users experiment with design prototyping and looking at responses to help make changes according to preferences from key users. User feedback is vital as it allowed for the iterations of the designs to show desired improvements that can be made to suit the key users. This would help in creating better innovation developments each time the iteration was done for the design of a product.
The design process was an iterative process which was based on user feedback in two ways. Results from questionnaires from students and results with interactions with users who were part of the prototyping.
The prototyping was done by users getting a mock-up of the iPhone App desgin created by myself. The participants consisted of one male student and one female student, who are both doing an informatics and engineering degree. They were then asked to go through the App by pressing parts on the paper which represented buttons to move on to the next page on the app. Once the users had finished, they were asked to do a short open interview stating what they liked/disliked about the app and what they thought should be changed.
The questionnaire was targeted at specific university students with more 'closed' type questions. This was easier to analyse the majority of results. The reason why it was targeted at different users was because, they would each give their own perspective from their different backgrounds. This was a good idea as it helped help increase a more diverse feedback. Feedback would help show how the app would be improved upon and how each of the groups would have different levels of experience on diagram implementation.
The results from the questionnaire included questions on, their course and if it involved creating technical diagrams. This allowed to see how the app can be aimed towards a variety of people rather then a small number.
The results obtained show that the majority of Engineering and Informatics students stated 'yes' to most of the questions involving creation of diagrams. Questions were also asked to see if users were confidente with drawing, with most BA students stating they were not. Questions about ERDs were given to all participants to see if they knew what the term was. This was so, to asses their technical level which would reflect on how much technical language would be incorperated in the App. One main issue that was stated on the open-questions was the inclusion of social networking connections been implemented as that was popular among students.
The results obtained show that the majority of Engineering and Informatics students stated 'yes' to most of the questions involving creation of diagrams. Questions were also asked to see if users were confidente with drawing, with most BA students stating they were not. Questions about ERDs were given to all participants to see if they knew what the term was. This was so, to asses their technical level which would reflect on how much technical language would be incorperated in the App. One main issue that was stated on the open-questions was the inclusion of social networking connections been implemented as that was popular among students.
Evaluation
There was five iterations in all that took place
Iteration 1
Iteration 1 was a rough idea of what the outline of the user interface design for the application would be. The current app lets the users send, create and receive diagrams with the option to print them.
Iteration 2
Iteration 2 went in-depth of showing what options a user had with the user interface design for the application. The current app let the user send, create and receive a diagram. The sender needed the phone number of the receiver via text message to receive the diagrams. They also had the option to print diagrams and look at the saved diagrams on the phone through the “Diagrams Saved” option on the main menu.
Iteration 3
Iteration 3 of the design was done as a results of information found doing background research. One of the major issues that was found with this design was that most iPhone applications follow a pattern when going from one menu option to the next. Buttons to the previous page are nearly always on the top left and the page for the next screen is always on the top right with all the information on the top.
**These mock-ups were done in Photoshop with some of the templates provided by ‘TeehanLax’. Available at: http://www.teehanlax.com/downloads/iphone-4-guid-psd-retina-display/.
**These mock-ups were done in Photoshop with some of the templates provided by ‘TeehanLax’. Available at: http://www.teehanlax.com/downloads/iphone-4-guid-psd-retina-display/.
Iteration 4
Iteration 4 looked at users with the prototype testing (as seen in figure 1). The design was changed based on this to make the design suited toward most Apple type products, The prototype testing came up with ideas in response to users feeling the app needed a more "Apple look". The main issue that came from users from the questionnaire were that most participants said that they were not comfortable with drawing. This meant that the changes made were done in the “create section” of the app, as now users can pick different options. Either they can draw the app by scratch or pick pre-made shapes. These included various routes such as UML diagram shapes i.e.Class diagrams or simple shapes to place anywhere on the phone. These two features could be used in conjunction of each other, if the user wants to both use the drawing and template settings.
Iteration 5
Iteration 5 contained prototype testing (as seen in figure 1) and further analysis done on the questionnaire to produce the final iteration of the design of the iPhone App. The iteration changes that was the main concern was with the “Create Diagram” section. Users stated in the questionnaire, that they did not know what certain diagrams meant. They felt that if the different diagram template were split up, it would be easier for different students to find the diagram type they want.
Results
With the data obtained from the results, there was a clear indication that the App was a good source for students to have. There were some issues with the amount that there was from the gender of results as three out of the four participants who did the questionnaire were male. If more females were used they might have produced different results. Asking more questions on the “social networking” element of the application would have been helpful as participants seemed to be rather keen on that component.
Overall, the questionnaires were a real advantages because they gathered information in the quickist way from a large portion of participants. The advantages of prototyping was that each iteration provided early visibility of the prototype to it's audience. If more time was given in the future,the interview method would probably be done on more types of university participants (i.e. PHD student, lecture). An Interviewer can probe deeper into a response given by an interviewee and can produce a higher response rate than other methods such as a questionnaires.
A focus group would additionally been useful to measure group's of people’s reactions to a prototype of a product as they could each counteract different views from others. The researcher can also interact with the participants and information is provided more quickly than if people were interviewed separately.
Overall, the questionnaires were a real advantages because they gathered information in the quickist way from a large portion of participants. The advantages of prototyping was that each iteration provided early visibility of the prototype to it's audience. If more time was given in the future,the interview method would probably be done on more types of university participants (i.e. PHD student, lecture). An Interviewer can probe deeper into a response given by an interviewee and can produce a higher response rate than other methods such as a questionnaires.
A focus group would additionally been useful to measure group's of people’s reactions to a prototype of a product as they could each counteract different views from others. The researcher can also interact with the participants and information is provided more quickly than if people were interviewed separately.
Summary
In conclusion, through the background research, user feedback, methods and iterations,there is a gap in the market for this sort of app. This has been seen through the the various feedback and could motivate people to invest more time in the product if such features as social networking was included. If this was going to be made into an iPhone application, it would be a good idea, due to its many features and its many uses. University students were the main audience, extending this to suit different users (such as businesses or secondary schools) would also be a key factor for the development of this app. It can help extend the use of diagrammatic software on the iPhone further to people other then students from University.