Presentation 1Informatics 132

William BlaneyChris CombsEllen EramyaDavid Wagner

CustomerDr. Peter J. Bryant Professor, Department of Developmental and Cell Biology

photo courtesy http://dbc.bio.uci.edu/bryantp2.htm

Our Project

We met with Dr. Bryant at the UCI Ecology Preserve to tour the Preserve and to learn more about the details of our project. Through discussions with Dr. Bryant and Dr. Kobsa, we have decided there are three different possibilities for our project.

We will present all three, and give some pros and cons to each.

The Three Possibilities

1.  Optimize the current OC Field Guide website to work well on mobile devices.

2.  Create an interface for an OC Trail Guide mobile application.

3.  Create an interface for an OC Trail Guide website designed to be used on mobile devices.

Option 1: Optimize OC Field Guide

 The Current OC Field Guide:

Option 1: Optimize OC Field Guide

Currently:The O.C. Field Guide home page loads a grid of 16 images that represent categories of wild life living in Orange County that the user can browse through.  Customer view:• Site could be easier to navigate, and access on mobile

devices.

Our view:   • text too small• homepage too cluttered with images• no site navigation bar• images aren't optimized for the web

Option 1: Optimize OC Field Guide

We would work with users to test out different designs for the website based on which kind of technologies they use to access the site and what they hope to learn from visiting.  Advantage of this option:The website can be accessed from desktops, laptops, and different types of mobile devices. Does not require an app to be run on a phone.

Let's "Segway" into the Next Two Options

Options 2 & 3

Options 2 and 3 for our project both involve designing a trail guide for the UCI Ecology Preserve.  We will introduce the UCI Ecology Preserve in the next few slides.

UCI Ecology PreserveThe UCI Ecological Preserve is a 60+ acre site on the southern edge of the campus located adjacent to the University Hills, the Irvine Research Park, and the 73 Freeway.

Our Team at the Site

 

Plants and AnimalsThe UCI Ecology Preserve has many interesting plants and animals.

Gum Plant

Bladder Pod

Plants and AnimalsThe UCI Ecology Preserve has many interesting plants and animals.

Trap Door Spider

Blue Dicks

Option 2: Create Trail Guide AppProblem:Assisting hikers by providing relevant information about plants and animals they are encountering on the trails of the UCI Ecology Preserve.

          This information would be displayed interactively by using GPS data from the mobile device and "popping up" a specific plant or animal when the user is near that plant/animal's known location.

Option 2: Create Trail Guide App

The disadvantage to this option is that it narrows the accessibility to this guide to only users with android devices.

 This app-based approach does allow for a user's GPS  coordinates to be accessed which can potentially show the user more relevant and helpful information than a web based guide could.

Option 3: Create Trail Guide WebsiteLike Option 2, this would aim to provide a useful trail guide that could be accessed through any web browser, thereby widening the range of devices it supports.  However, the trail guide website would somewhat less interactive than an application.  

Option 3: Create Trail Guide WebsiteAdvantage: Works on any mobile phone with internet access, regardless of what O.S. the phone is running.

  

Disadvantage:  Because a website can't directly access a phone's GPS coordinates, the site won't be able to know where users are.  Users will thus have to click to advance the map, or to notify the website when they reach a point of interest.

Users

We plan to interact with about five to ten users, all being referrals from Professor Bryant and his contacts. The list of users we plan to contact range in technical background from an UCI Informatics professor, the creator of a web development company, a park ranger, and beyond. Our primary method will be to conduct in-person interviews conducted with the users on campus or at the Ecology Preserve, scheduled through our secondary method of using email and surveys to determine which questions will be asked and how we will test the interface with each user.

Photo from: http://andrewchenblog.com/2007/12/20/is-your-website-a-leaky-bucket-4-scenarios-for-user-retention/

Users

We enter this project with the assumption that our users have an interest in the trail and will carry phones with data plans that can access the website while on the trail.

We anticipate our subgroups to be:• Users who visit the Preserve often (at least a few times a

month)• Users who do not visit the Preserve often (only a few times

a year)• Users who have not visited before, and would like a guide

before or during their visit

Photo From: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Human_Mobility_Is_Not_A_Random_Event_999.html

Users

Tasks:• Email users to establish contact • Have users complete a survey about how

often they visit the Preserve and what they technology they bring with them

     

Contact:o By email and phone o Will meet at UCI main campus or at

the Ecology Preserveo Meetings will last between an hour to

two hours

Research Phases

Phase 1: Introduction emails and surveysPhase 2: InterviewsPhase 3: Design & User TestingPhase 4: Surveys (? - still debating)Phase 5: RedesignPhase 6: Re-evaluation

Time Schedule

Phase 1: Week 4Phase 2: Week 5Phase 3: Week 6-7Phase 4: Week 7Phase 5: Week 8-9Phase 6: Week 9

Questions or Comments?

   Thank you!