Week 2 of the new quarter brings usability testing!

♫...and on the second week of research, our project leader gave to us...usability testing! ♫

Yeah, it doesn't exactly sync-up with the original; it also doesn't say anywhere on my resume that I'm a song writer.

It's the start of Winter quarter here at RIT, and we've been hard at work for the past two weeks making some great progress on Access Lecture. Our main areas of progress have been in...

• Database construction
• A lower-level understanding of how the system will function
• A better understanding of several key components of iOS app programming
• Preparation for usability tests

1. The database
Abhishek lead the effort to construct a remote MySQL database prototype that will be used to store and retrieve lectures. The database can handle a hierarchy of multiple schools/universities, teachers/professors, courses, and students. We plan to implement this database to use with all of our testing, so this has been an important development for us. Luckily, Abihshek has already had industry experience with constructing complex databases; this made the matter rather trivial (for Lindsey and I at least!).

2. System functionality and iOS understanding
We have always had a high-level understanding of exactly how our software and hardware would interface to bring real-time lecture note access to the iPad, but the details remained a mystery. Recently, we have put some time into researching how the hardware would likely work, and what our application would need to do to service that hardware. This lead to the construction of the database described above, as well as some fundamental changes to our development strategy.

3. Usability testing
Perhaps the biggest thing that we've been gearing-up for is a series of documented usability tests that are currently scheduled to be conducted the week after we return from the holiday break (mid-January). These tests will involve using low-vision students as testers, and having them give us their feedback on various feature sets that we are considering (such as pinch zooming vs tap zooming). This will help us solidify our project requirements. We currently have two usability test prototype apps ready to go, and hope to have the full set complete shortly.

Until next time...

- Alex