ITC504 – Assessment item 3 – Peer review and Usability Evaluation

ITC504 – Assessment item 3 – Peer review and Usability Evaluation

Value: 20%
Due Date: 06-Sep-2020
Return Date: 29-Sep-2020
Submission method options: Alternative submission method

TASK
Overview
Your task is to:
1. Conduct a peer review of a given design for the Performance Horses control panel. The design will be given to you by the Subject Coordinator.
2. Conduct a usability evaluation of that design.

Tasks:
1. Conduct a peer review of a given design:
a. Review the given design for technical soundness and clarity of design. Your peer review is to be a maximum of 6 pages which details:
1. The design being reviewed,
2. Does the design satisfy the requirements given in the case study? Discuss your reasoning for your comments (10 marks).
3. Is the design easy to understand and aesthetically pleasing? Include your reasoning along with references to the principles of design (10 marks).
4. Discuss how, and why, you think the design could be improved. Include your reasoning along with references to the principles of design (20 marks).
5. Provide a list of recommendations for improvement, based on your comments above, in order of priority (10 marks).
2. Conduct a usability evaluation of the given design using the Neilsen heuristic. This evaluation is to be a maximum of 6 pages which details:

a. The design being evaluated ,
b. Each heading in the heuristic should be listed followed by a discussion of the
related issues found in the design. This should include:

1. What the issue is and where is it located (5 marks),
2. Why the issue is a problem (10 marks),
3. Whether the issue is a significant or a minor issue (5 marks),
4. Possible remediation actions that could resolve the issues found (10 marks).
c. Discuss the reasoning behind your evaluation and remediation decisions. This reasoning must demonstrate an understanding of the heuristic being used (20 marks).

Important Note
Your evaluation will be given to the student responsible for the design. You must ensure that your peer review and usability evaluation is as accurate as possible, as that student will use your peer review and usability evaluation as part of their final design.
Ensure that your review and evaluation are not overly negative or derogatory. You need to think and act as a professional designer and provide commentary that is designed to assist the designer to improve their design.

RATIONALE
This assessment task will assess the following learning outcome/s:
• be able to explain the relevance of integrating aspects of the human, social and organisational context into the design process.
• be able to demonstrate and articulate the importance of the principles of design that are applicable to the design of an interface.
• be able to evaluate the effective usability of an interface and recommend changes to improve its usability.
• be able to design a usability strategy to ensure that an interface meets its usability goals.
• be able to interpret and evaluate usability testing results to plan interface improvements.