Electronic Writing & Publishing

Fall 2007

Final Group Project

Due: various deadlines depending on the part. Worth: 35% of final grade

In small groups (3-4 people) you will create and develop a website of about 8-10 “pages” or “nodes” (more is fine, if less talk to me). The website should respond to some real need of a group or organization of some sort and fits into a genre of website (it can fit into a few genres, but should have a dominate genre). This could be an actual service project where you create the website for the group or organization with the need and the group uses the website. Or your group could just create a website to fit a perceived need, but never show it to the group. I recommend the former, if possible.

Do consider ways your project can help the community—whether this be the GSU community or another community. Perhaps you could develop a website for some part of the department or perhaps some local community service group needs a website.

This project will have several parts:

• Idea Posting: Due 10/16, counts as a Reading Response.
For this post 2-3 ideas you have for websites to do for your final project. For each idea provide a few sentences discussing and describing your idea. Do discuss the community the website is for and how your idea responds to some need in this community. Also, discuss what genre this site would fall into. Post this to the “Final Project Ideas” forum by the start of class. Feel free to respond to other's ideas and start discussions in the forum about the ideas. Come to class ready to choose a project.

• Proposal: due 11/1 on paper, worth 15% of project grade.
This is a proposal to let me know what you are planning to do before you get too involved in the project. These should be a 2-4 pages long. Tell me the audience, purpose, and use of the site. You could also tell me why you came up with this idea. You will also need provide your planning for the website. The planning should include a site map or outline of the proposed site. You should discuss how this site will match current web genre(s) and what, if any, ways the site will depart from its genre/genres. You will be writing this proposal for my approval of your project. If your project is not approved I will not accept the final website and report (but if the idea is not approved you will have opportunities to provide me with more information so it may be approved). Turn this in by the end of class 11/1 on paper. Parts of the proposal:

• Summary or Overview: a paragraph or so summarizing the whole proposal, which includes a concise statement of problem(s) and objective
• Description of the proposed project with a a detailed discussion of the:
  • Problem (statement of problem): What is the problem you hope to solve? What is the need?
  • Project goal/ purpose/objective: What is the purpose? What do you plan to do? What is your objective?
  • Plan/proposed solutions to the problem (which may be combined with the goal): How will this solve the problem?
  • Audience: Who is the site for? Provide a detailed audience profile, perhaps even niches and personas of audience. Consider (hint!) using the Jeney Audience Analysis Form on page 38.
  • Use & goals: How will the audience use the site? What will they do? What tasks can the complete? What goals will they come to the site with?
  • Website plan: What do you plan to do? What will your website look like? What will it include? Discuss the proposed outline or possibly a site map (which can be attached)
  • Genre: what genre(s) is the website? How will it fit within the genre? What ways, if any, will it differ?
• Statement of Work/Work Plan: Provide a plan of your work complete with dates, tasks/components, and who will be doing what (responsibilities, tasks, and roles)
• Qualifications/Personnel/Facilities: Optional, as needed
• Budget: Optional, not needed for this proposal
• Conclusion: which includes
  • A summary of the proposal
  • A statement on why the audience (of the proposal (in this case me), not of the site) should accept your proposed proposal idea

What an example? Check out this proposal done by students in a previous class.

• Website Draft & Usability Tasks: due 11/13, needed for usability testing.
I will just check to make sure it is there is enough of the site to be used for the usability testing and that you have at least 3 tasks prepared for the testing with needed testing materials (at least a test plan). I do not need my own copy of the tasks and materials. This counts towards your participation grade. YOu will need to test at least three users.

• Website Report: due 11/27 on paper, worth 25% of project grade.
This will be a 4+ page report (single spaced) which will include your usability testing results and analysis, along with a discussion of your website. You will describe your design decisions and explain how the site responds to your audience, purpose, and uses. You will need to compare your site to other sites in its genre and discuss any differences. You will also analyze how the site responds to issues like usability. I will use this report when grading the final website, so it is a good idea to especially discuss issues for which you think I might need more information (such as going against a rule). I do recommend you use screen shots, especially when showing what changes you made due to the usability testing. This report should be written in the report genre. I have provided a potential and recommended outline below. Do make sure that if you include any appendixes that you refer to the appendixes within the report; don't just stick items in the appendixes that are not discussed, explained, and referred to in the body of the report. You may use the content from previous items (like your proposal) as needed, just make sure you adjust them appropriately. Hint: think of this report as a way to convince me your site is fabulous. Show me how it is fabulous and convince me of your informed design decisions.


Outline:

• Introduction
• Problem/Need for the website
• Description of Project:
  • Purpose for site: explain the purpose or mission of the site. Why did you create this site? Discuss what the users will do on your site. What goals will the users come to the site with? What needs does the site respond to?
  • User Analysis & Profiles: discuss who is the site for. Provide a detailed audience/user analysis, perhaps even niches and personas of audience. Consider (hint!) using the Jeney Audience Analysis form on page 38.
  • Site overview: summarize site content, should include an outline or site map in the appendix (does not count towards the 4 page paper minimum) which is properly referred to in this section
  • Site Design: explain all design decisions from colors and layout to navigation, redesign, usability issues, and the writing style.Tell me why you made the design decisions you did, especially if any decisions go against what we covered in class. Discuss where your content came from, including images. If any content is from outside sources discuss how you handled copyright issues.
  • Genre Comparison: compare your site to other sites in its genre and discuss any differences and similarities
• Usability Testing Report: Include the testing objectives, type of test, tasks, performance objectives, test materials (the test materials such as your task list should be appendixes, which do not count towards the report minimum page count), list members roles in testing, test plan, data & findings, and analysis including the cause of problems, scope/severity of problems, and changes and recommendations.
• Conclusion: Summarize the report and provide any final comments

• Final Website: Due 11/27, worth 35% of project grade. Submit via email by midnight w/ full group CC:ed.
This is it, the final website. It should be an original website 8-10 pages/nodes long (more is fine). It should follow the design guidelines discussed in class—it should be usable, readable, and so forth. It should clearly respond to your audience, use, and purpose. It should also apply the stronG web writing techniques including: short text, scannable text, hot links, chunky paragraphs, reduced cognitive burdens, and meaningful menus. All images should load and all links should work. Email the URL to me in an email with all group members CC:ed. Do make sure that anything on the website that was not created, written, or designed by your group members gets proper credit. This means that any text that you take directly or paraphrase, any information, any images, any buttons (and so on), and any designs that are not original to your group should be correctly acknowledged. Do make sure, as a group, that none of your group members has accidentally included this information without proper acknowledgement, because any problems found with the group project are group problems, and will be treated and graded accordingly.

• Website Presentations: Due 11/27-11/29, worth 15% of project grade.
Your group will present the website to the class. Pretend we are the group or organization you made the website for. You goals will be twofold—“sell” the website to the group and acquaint the group with your website. These goals will likely be intertwined in your presentation. You may also want to present some usability testing results (this should help you sell your design). You will have 5-9 minutes of presentation time and 3 minutes of Q & A.

• Group Work Evaluation : Due: 11/29 midnight (technically 11:59:59 pm), worth 10% of the project grade.This reflection opportunity for you to discuss how the collaboration component of your final project went. For this reflection, you should discuss your group work experience and evaluate each member, including yourself. Rate each person from 0-10 on each of the following (with one exception), with 0 being the lowest and ten being the highest. You must be able to provide support for whatever rating you give, especially a 10 and a 0.

1) Timeliness

2) Dependability

3) Cooperation

4) Quality of work

5) Contribution to proposal

6) Contribution to website

7) Contribution to usability testing

8) Contribution to oral presentation

9) Contribution to report

10) Overall contribution (do this in percentage of 100%, so the total scores for the group add up to 100%; you may also give them a 0-10 if you want)

11) Your desire to work with this group member again

You might consider making a table or other figure to make it easier for me to communicate this information. You should add explanations for why you chose the ranks you did, and these can either be in the graphic or in accompanying text. You may want to email the memo to me, or you may wish to give it to me in class. Either option is acceptable. Please make certain that you give each person a ranking in each category, including yourself (except for 11, you will have to work with yourself again).

Feel free to be honest, as this reflection will be kept confidential. Your grade for this refection will be based 80% on the scores you received from your group and 20% on the quality of this reflection (but if you do not hand this in you will receive a zero). You may turn this is a regular email, or you may include it as a Word or Rich Text attachment.