Merchant Navy Touch Screen Application Project Evaluation

Project overview

I was asked to develop an interactive product for The Hull Independent Merchant Navy Association (HIMNA)

The Hull Independent Merchant Navy Association (HIMNA) had a long standing aim to raise awareness of the wider Merchant Navy (and not just the Hull branch) contribution in times of conflict.

They wanted a product that allowed members of the public and fellow merchant navy mariners to access and search some of the amassed content and information now held by the association such as imagery, records, lists of sailors who lost their lives in service etc.

I am the only Interactive Multimedia designer in my year group, I was given this project suited towards my course discipline but it meant I would be working on my own rather than in a group.

This had its advantages and disadvantages I had to work wearing many hats so to speak. I have had to work as project manager, designer, developer, data inputter and user tester, this has presented its own problem but overall I believe it has helped me develop a greater understanding of the entire process and it has given me a good understanding of the individual roles within designing an interactive project.

During this project with help from my lecturer Gareth Sleightholme I have worked hard on creating a strong visual theme for this piece and I am happy with my accomplishments. I have explored possibilities and made educated decisions to enhance the feel of the final product.

For a more detailed overview please see below:

Merchant Navy Touch Screen Kiosk Application Overview Booklet.

I had a few technical issues along the way working with flash and PHP together but in the end the product works fine with only one problem. The roll of honour does not paginate multiple pages of results but this is a problem that I believe could be solved in time or with the aid of a specialist scriptwriter.

With this been a client project I have had to work closely with my client liaison Lesley Binks, I have tried to meet the needs of the clients whilst also tailoring the product to meet the needs of the end user. In my meetings with Leslie I have done my best to empathise and I have tried to make the technical issues as easy as possible for her to understand. I have successfully met all deadlines and I hope that Leslie and the HIMNA are pleased with the product I have produced.

This has been a fulfilling project and I am very pleased with my own contribution. I am very thankful for the opportunity to have been involved with a project that represents a tremendous effort and service that ultimately cost many their lives so we could live in a free world today.

User Testing

User Testing is an invaluable part of the development process; it gives direct feedback on how real users use the application. There are different methods that can be applied to evaluate a user interface and I have chosen to monitor users while they complete a task sheet that I have designed. I designed a user testing sheet after adding to my knowledge of the subject from previous projects by looking at online usability websites and guidelines

http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/usability-testing.shtml

http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/usertestingonabudget

I also took on board information from a book that I am currently reading

Measuring the User Experience by Tom Tullis and Bill Albert.

I monitored the testing in order to make observations of the user’s experience and this was very useful. The aim of my monitoring was to observe people using the product in the hope of discovering errors and areas requiring improvement. I was looking at the user’s efficiency, accuracy, recall and emotional response whilst they completed the tasks.

I could see the logic they used in determining how to complete the tasks set and I could also see how they used that logic in exploration. I was also looking for frustration as this would be a sign of aspects that may not be intuitive or easy to use.

The aim of my usability testing was to test the applications capacity to meet its intended purpose in this case I particularly was interested in the user ability to successfully interact with the application using a touch screen monitor as this is the intended interaction method for the final piece. The purpose of the application is to deliver information so I am also looking for feedback on amount of and the arrangement of information displayed upon the page. I also wanted to gain some feedback on the aesthetic appeal of my design and the merits of the idea behind the project.

User research is a crucial factor in the development process and I put a lot of effort into getting feedback on the project. I sought advice from my lecturers and fellow students at regular intervals whilst also having regular consultations with my client throughout the project to make sure that I met the needs of the user whilst also providing a product that satisfies the requirements of the client. User testing provides a way of finding out whether the research, planning and advice in the earlier stages of the design process have delivered a successful product.

Overall user feedback was extremely positive but a larger focus group may have produced more varied results.

The response to the thematic design and information delivery came back with extreme popularity. The usability in particular button sizes and positioning in terms of navigation and on screen keyboard provides 100% success rates. I did notice that the page turn in the gallery feature was useable but not as easy as I had hoped although that is partly due to the response of the touch screen that the application was used on.

There were a few problems that were discovered as a result of the user testing:

Problem

The start button in the navigation seemed to imply an action to some users.

Solution

I have changed the start button to a welcome button this echoes the first line in the information on that page

“Welcome to the Hull Independent Merchant Navy Associations public information portal.”

Problem

One of the navigational buttons linked to the wrong page and two buttons had selectable text labels.

Solution

I linked the button to the correct destination and made the text unelectable on the buttons in question.

Problem

The delete button was not working on the onscreen keyboard.

Solution

I checked the Action Script and made the required adjustments.

Problem

The audio player did not stop playing when the stop button was pressed.

Solution

I removed the audio from the timeline and the application now controls the audio using Action Script.

There was one more issue that I wish to address as a result of user testing, a number of testers tried to press the URLS in the resources section expecting a them to take them to a page. I have not done anything about this as they information is valuable and it would be inappropriate to allow users to connect to other sites as part of the application. I believe that the desire to click the links so to speak is a result of users associating the application to a website when testing it on a normal computer. If application was being displayed in a thematic kiosk casing in a museum setting people would not associate it as being a website. I do not wish to provide users with confusion but in my opinion the need to provide the user with information out ways any slight confusion in this case.

Rememberence card

I have been producing last minute content for the application and one of my favourite bits is the remembrance card. In the content given to me by Leslie there is a picture of a burial at sea and I thought it would be a good idea to turn this into a remembrance card. Remembrance cards are enduring mementos of lost loved ones that usually feature a religious or meaningful verse and a picture of the person to be remembered. They do not usually feature a picture of the burial but in this case I feel it works as a symbol of the meaning behind the card.

disaster

Not much to say, flash crashed and I have lost two weeks worth of progress, I will have to work twice as fast and hard now.