ssessment item 2
Assignment 2: Evaluation of User Interfaces
Value: 20%
Due date: 09-Apr-2017
Return date: 04-May-2017
Submission method options
Alternative submission method
Task
You have been asked to provide an expert review of the Kakadu National Park (Jabiru, Northern Territory, Australia) web site http://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/
You are to make specific reference to the use of:
• Navigational features;
• Graphics used;
• Colour schemes used;
• Themes used;
• Hyperlinks supplied.
Your expert review should also examine the usability of the site. You are to make specific reference to:
• The organisation and consistency of information;
• Navigation; and
• Searching the site for specific items;
Your review should consider these specific elements and comment on their use and appropriateness on the news site as part of the overall design of that website.

As part of your review, you must also seek the opinions of three (3) users of that site. These users may be family, friends or colleagues, but MUST NOT include other students enrolled in this subject. You need to prepare a simple questionnaire for these users to complete so that you can determine how effectively they can use the site. The questionnaire is to be based on the following scenario:

You need to be able to:
1. Find out things to do in ‘Kakadu National Park’;
2. How to plan your trip to ‘Kakadu National Park’?
You should ensure that all participants have to check for the same information.

Your questionnaire should be included in your report as an appendix.

You should discuss the findings of your user survey as well as any recommendations for changes to the interface as a result of your review. You should also discuss how any suggested changes will improve the usability of the news site interface.

Rationale
This assignment covers the following learning outcomes of this subject:
• Components of human computer interaction.
• Cognitive framework - perception and representation, attention and memory constraints, knowledge and mental models, metaphors and conceptual models, social and organizational aspects, user level of expertise.
• Human interaction with input and output devices, interactive styles and their relevance to context.
• Principles of Graphic Design.
• Evaluation of User Interfaces.
Marking criteria
Criteria Marks
Description of existing User Interface that
• Identifies both good and poor design points of the UI;
• Discusses the UI navigation and its problems (if any);
• Discusses the effectiveness of hyperlinks used;
• References to academic/practitioner literature to support argument. 30
Review of the usability of the UI.
• Discuss what guidelines appear to have been employed in the design
• Discuss how usable the site is for the target audience and why;
• References to academic/practitioner literature to support argument. 40
Discussion of interface improvements and changes:
• Identification of interface changes;
• Discuss how these changes will improve the interface;
• Justification for these changes by reference to academic/practitioner literature to support argument. 30
Deduct marks for poor presentation, spelling and grammar -5
Deduct marks for poor or no APA referencing -5
Question HD DI CR PS FL
Description of
existing UI Comprehensive description of the UI including:
· Good and bad design
· UI navigation issues
· Use of hyperlinks
· References
With excellent illustration of examples Detailed description of the UI including:
· Good and bad design
· UI navigation issues
· Use of hyperlinks
· References
With some clear illustration of examples Thorough description of the UI including:
· Good and bad design
· UI navigation & issues
· Use of hyperlinks
· References
With some illustration of examples Adequate description of the UI including:
· Good and bad design
· UI navigation & issues
· Use of hyperlinks
· References Incomplete or irrelevant description of the UI
Review of
UI Usability Comprehensive description and assessment of the UI usability, with excellent illustration of examples, including:
· Guidelines used
· How is the site usable
· References Detailed and succinct description and assessment of the UI usability with some illustrative examples, including:
· Guidelines used
· How is the site usable
· References Thorough description and assessment of the UI usability with some examples, including:
· Guidelines used
· How is the site usable
· References Adequate description and assessment of the UI usability with some discussion of the usability, including:
· Guidelines used
· How is the site usable
· References Incomplete or irrelevant description and assessment of the UI usability
Discuss UI
Improvements Comprehensive discussion of identified UI changes with clear illustration of how the changes will improve the UI
· References Detailed discussion of identified UI changes with some illustration of how the changes will improve the UI
· References Thorough discussion of identified UI changes with detailed discussion of how the changes will improve the UI
· References Adequate discussion of identified UI changes with some discussion of how the changes will improve the UI
· No references Incomplete or inadequate discussion of some UI changes with no clear illustration of how the changes will improve the UI
Presentation,
grammar and spelling
(-5 marks) Marks will be deducted for poor presentation, spelling and grammar mistakes.
Note please follow the given report format in Subject Outline for this assessment
APA referencing
(-5 marks) Marks will be deducted for not providing / following the proper APA style referencing.
Note that the guide for APA referencing is provided in the Resource section of Interact site .
Presentation
Reports should use the presentation template contained in Interact Resources. Reports should be submitted in MS Word format. Your review should be about 2,000 words (Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing, 12 point text), excluding questionnaire and references. As part of your evaluation, you must refer to academic and/or practitioner literature to support your argument. All references must be in APA format, as per the requirements of the Faculty.
Requirements
Online submission via Turnitin is required for this assignment.