Course Information

Final Project

Introduction

The final project for this course is an opportunity to apply the theories and techniques of visualization learned in this class to a real-world product, most likely an interactive visualization application for the web (though other mediums are fine too). The project can focus on applying known visualization techniques to an interesting problem in a new and useful way, or designing a new type of visualization that solves a problem not addressed adequately by current visualization methods. Other project ideas are possible, subject to approval. Students are encouraged to work on research projects, although this is not required. You will work in groups of 4-5 people, with a combination of skills and experience in the areas of programming, design, and user research.

Examples of visualizations your projects may aspire to:

Obviously, these were made by experts with more time and experience. These examples should serve as an inspiration.

Project Expectations

Key elements of a successful project:

Project Milestones (details below)

Project Pitch (Optional)

This is an opportunity to share project ideas with each other. Come to class with an idea or two of what you'd like to build/design. If you like what someone suggests, there'll be a time to begin discussion.

Project Proposal

The project proposal is intended to help you formulate a project concept and scope. It should be a description (under 5 pages if possible) of your intended project and include any sketches or visual aids needed to clarify your concept. The purpose of this assignment is to let us know what you want to build so we can give you feedback early. We will ask you to revise your proposal, most likely by focusing the scope. A well-scoped project will be one that can be fully realized and executed well by 4 people working about 50 hours each over the next month and a half.

We expect the style of proposal to vary based on the project, but it should include:

In-Class Mid-Term Presentation

On this day, you will demonstrate initial prototypes of your project to the class. Prototypes should start as paper sketches, but by this point you should have moved to a higher-fidelity interactive medium like Apple Keynote or Powerpoint (or perhaps code) so that you can test it with users.

The duration of the demonstration will be 15 minutes: 12 minutes to present and 3 minutes for questions.

In-Class Final Presentation

For this presentation, you will demonstrate the final version of your visualization to the class. This is an opportunity to show everyone how it works and discuss how you designed and/or built it.

We expect each presentation to include:

The duration of the final presentation will be 20 minutes: 15 minutes to present and 5 minutes for questions.

Final Paper

The final deliverable is a paper on the process your team undertook to complete this project. It should be clearly organized and describe what you made and why you made the design that you did. It should demonstrate completion of each of the milestones described on this page, and include images of each stage of the project, including scans of early designs, photos of usability tests, screenshots, etc. Explain the process you undertook to produce your project, rather than just describing the finished work. It should be sufficiently detailed that others could repeat your process simply from reading your document. Please make an effort to show what you have learned from class. Mention specific details. Show your process, not just your final product.

The paper should be about 12-20 pages (4000-5000 words; please don't double-space), and contain an abstract, introduction, previous work section, the design process including milestones, results of the user study, discussion, redesign, results, further work, acknowledgments, references, and appendices (if needed).

Evaluation details:

If you have produced original research, the paper should be suitable for submission to an appropriate conference or journal.

Provide a link to your working demo and your source code (if you have a demo). If not, please provide a link to a video or some sort of Powerpoint or other walkthrough. Please also provide a separate link to your data.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. The final paper is to be uploaded to the class discussion board.

Here is an example from HCDE 511 Winter 2012: Example final project writeup

Project Grading

(See the Final Project Feedback Rubric in the Catalyst Workspace under Files.)

Please note that individual final project grades are subject to adjustment based on confidential peer assessment forms that will be submitted by all group members. Those who contribute fully will receive the full value of the team's grades, while those who contribute significantly more may receive extra credit and those who contribute significantly less may receive partial credit.

(See the Final Project Peer Assessment Form in the Catalyst Workspace under Files)