Chloe’s Weblog

Presentation 2:

A 5-minute presentation to show your process and where your iPhone application design.

I think I need a new plan.

I am currently having trouble incorporating the shared product database into my iPhone application.  The main reason for its inclusion was to add an extended feature to my iPhone application.  I felt that my application was a little too simple to be just a currency converter.  An added feature would make my application be a lil more ‘meaty’. 

My idea for the shared product database was to allow friends to share their ‘best buys’ online…that was basically how far i had thought of this feature.

 But theres a few downfalls already with this idea:

Rob: difficult to see how this feature relates to my initial application as a currency converter.

This is true…it really doesnt have much significance.  I guess i was thinking of it as a way of showing best buys overseas, but thats as far as its use is.  It has no relation to currency converting.

Drew: Products you buy may be overseas. 

It may be a possibility that friends may visit the same countries, but it is highly unlikely.  Prehaps they can order these products online??? But that would mean the cost would be higher due to shipping and what not. 

This has got me thinking of getting a new feature…

Patrick has suggested a really good idea- looking at my application as a way to aid travellers, is to use the GPS navigation system which will locate places where you can exchange your currency.

This relates to my iPhone application, which makes more sense than i shared product database.

What to do what to do next?

I think i will survey travellers to see if they have trouble locating money exhange places.  From my experience i know they can be readily found in airports…

This can help me extend the iPhone application.

I wrote a survey with five quick questions, which were emailed to my MSN contacts list, and also deposited to people in my neighbourhood.

Below is a sample of my questions:
–
Please underline the following:

1.Your age group:

10 – 20 21 – 30 31 – 40 41 – 50 51 – 60 61+

2. Have you/your family travelled overseas more than once?

Yes (please proceed to the next question)

No (please proceed to question 4)

3. Do you find the conversion of currency during your travels a hassle?

Yes

No

If you have circled Yes please explain why?

4. What other situations have you encountered that requires the conversion of currencies?

5. Would you consider buying the iPhone?

Yes

No

Undecided
–

Ok…so i can see the hopes of getting a distinction is slipping away.
I haven’t blogged since too long!
I cant even remember when i last blogged, which makes it even more depressing.
—
Next assignment due: 14 Sept
whats due: Website documenting inital design idea, prototype and feedback from users

First things first:
1. Website:
I have finally made somewhat of a website which i am happy with, it has taken me so far more than 2 weeks to realize how to create it. Justin made CSS look so bloody easy, but WRONG its been tough.
I’ve never had any experience what so ever on making websites: html, xhtml, CSS…its like learning a whole new language. I think i have pretty much found how actually how computer illiterate i am. Yes i know how to use programs on the computer, but anything deeper than that, and im a gonner…
Theres still bits i need to fix up such as:
-the middle column seems to be none existant atm:S
-making the text bigger
-making workable links, that dont take you to ‘forbidden’ pages…
-adding graphics and what not to it
so theres still a fair bit to go, which ill tackle tomorrow at uni.

2. The prototype:
I understand i have to make a low fidelity prototype, but im thinking of what?? So i started off with the most obvious, make a cardboard prototype of the iPhone (i think everybodies done that)…But ive been racking my brains about how to prototype my application…
The best i can come up with is using cards to represent each screen shot (since i cant seem to be able to do anything fancy)

3. User feebback:
That’s coming along. I made a survey that I emailed to friends, who have emailed it to other friends and so on (its kinda like being treated as a chain mail), and i have been getting good feedback back. I also plan to continue to survey, except this time i was thinking of giving them out to the nieghbour hood, just to get a ‘different’ group of people and demographics to my survey. This will aid me in created a better application.
I tried to make the survey as quick as possible:
1. getting people to indicate their age group
2. to find out whether they have travelled before
3. do they find conversion of currency difficult
4. if you have not yet traveleed what other situations have they encountered that required currency convversions
5. would they think of purchasing an iPhone
This survey was just to give me an indication if the application would actually be of use, and determining what the application really needs

Oh my,

It’s been a while since i last blogged

This whole blogging thing is still not a habit

From what i have just read that last thing i documented what the presentation on the 24th of August

And since then new ideas and refining what i have has been occuring.

So it finally seems that i have a somewhat decent idea, i can see it working as a web 2.0 application, but i think i need to apply myself more in order for it to work

Where to go from now:

Assignment 2: due 7 September (long weekend, so that will be changed)

Create mini-site 1: Presentation of results from gathering user requirements and initial prototyping of idea.  Website documenting intitial design idea, prototyping and feedback from users.

im still in the beginning stages of my assignment 2 (which is so not good, considering it currently only gives me approximately a week to get moving)

And plus i gotta work out my mini-site, which is again another hurdle with all this CSS stuff floating around in the midspace of my mind, not making complete sense.

So the aim for today:

Work out websites (work out CSS stuff)

And see what i can do to spurce up my websites o_O

And the idea of the ‘currency converter’ will continue floatig in the subconscious of my mind

*sigh*

The net connection at home is just not happening, so blogging at uni is the next best thing

So a quick run-down of what has happened last week and this week:

16 August- Lecture: ‘Process of Interaction Design’, looking at user requirements, techniques of gathering data

PRESENTATIONS ON 24 FRIDAY

Lab: working continously on our applications

Lecture: XHTML

Lab: converint our webpages to xhtml

23 August- Lecture: User central design, how a designer can find out user requirements through ethnography, coherence, contextual design and participating design

Lab: working on the 5 minute presentation for tomorrow…and blogging…

I have finally (or currently) settled on the idea of a ‘currency converter’

I’ve been thinking about it constantly these part few days (and somehow dreamt about it last night o_O), so this morning on the train i decided to write down the things i have thought about-

Heres the splurge:

The main user group is travellers

Presuming the the iPhone is costly (approx. $500) already limits down to a specific user group.  It can be presumed that they are of middle-high income either for recreational purposes, business, visitng friends/relatives, immigration??

It can also include people who are constantly or regularly purchasing goods from online websites- not necessarily of their ‘home’ curreny

This application will be a quick and efficent way wihtout the hassle of using a website, to check currency exchange rates anywhere-anytime.

It is a good way of comparing prices- as a person is always checking for a bargain (cheap stuff)

If you were overseas it allows you to see how much currency you need to exchange

Particularly useful if you are travelling to several countries at once-where it is difficult to keep calculated how much money needs to be exchanged

??Could it possibly limit the amount of stress on travel??

It allows a user to set the ‘home’ country they are in

A GPS navigation device of some sort can locate the country the user is in- or- maybe the user can manually key in the destination of where they are travelling (should these 2 options be allowed)

Exchange rates of currencies are often changing, this application can keep you updated to the latest exchange rates

Currencies for major cities/tourist destinations

So these ideas are pretty much what are floating around my head, its all still in the beginning stages, so nothing yet finalised

The lecture this morning has yet again tipped my mind upside down.
Today, we looked in to detail about finding user requirements and different ways of collecting user datas and motivating them to become attracted to your web 2.0 application.
Using methods such as:
-surveys
-questionnares
-interviews
-spending time with a target group
will all you to collect vital information to help make your application as attractive as possible.
Also, we discussed about creating scenarios to motivate users such as the iPhone scenario advertisment
(-interesting ad, not sure how watching Pirates of the Caribbean will get you hungry for calamaris…) and we were encouraged to create our own

It was at this point where i thought sh*t the security idea was looking more and more distant…
So what was i going to write about as a scenario….Protect yourself…but against what???
So i am about to flush the idea of security down the drain…despite my last blog…
And, yes i know, time is running short, we have out first assignment due next friday…
So i am not crazy, i do know the time-frame in which i am working in (procrastinate)

So I decided to do a little more research after the let-down of my non existant security idea
and i am starting to realize that it is actually hurting my brain to think of an idea that is actually not done in the iPhone- how everybody else has managed just blows me away…
The iPhone is bloody revolutionary (despite its ‘flaws’)
It has been equipped with pretty much everything, with a multitude of functions
It is a-
Phone: calls, voicemail, sms, photos
Widescreen iPod: music, videos
Internet: safari, mail, maps, widgets, youTube
High technology: multi-touch screen, OS X, wireless, sensors

see what i mean….
everything!

But then i got thinking again
Although the iPhone may have EVERYTHING, not everything is easy to search for
One thing is that i constantly go overseas to visit relatives, and each time i go i aways experience the problem of currency changing. We usually go and visit more than one country which becomes a hassel in keeping track the changing money exchanges.
So i thought maybe adding a converter for currencies (and possibly even other things like measurements and time) which can really aid a person, as i am thinking that there are people who are also in this type of situation.
Instead of needing to constantly check it, this application can track the current currency exchanges in major cities (because keeping track of the whole world would be insane), keeping it updated.
This would mean travelling can become easier
if other conversions were to be put in, it can also help everyday situations.
So i converter sounds like a good idea
(next step…is to discuss it with rob)

This would have to my most unproductive week for DECO1200
Multiple power failures in uni (awesome pics at Beth’s blog) made this week a little bit disorganised
But i have made a decision as this weekend we had to ‘hone in’ on our decision
and…
I have decided to stick with the security idea, because it is practical and useful, but it needs more elaboration and also incorporating web 2.0 application.
But at least I have an idea which now i can really get down to.
My target tomorrow-
- Find ways of incorporating web 2.0
- Start thinking about user requirements
- And…try work out how the heck am i suppose to make a design prototype…

Lets get down to business

The iPhone:
‘A revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply tapping a name or number in your address book, favourite list or call log.’
- Wireless data
- Camera
- Audio
- Video
So, in conclusion on the surface it seems like a pretty cool phone

And i guess just for fun while browsing:
Top 10 things to love about the Apple iPhone:
–>link

Top 10 things to hate about the iPhone:
–>link
Thought i would check this out to check some for more ideas…but no such luck

But, i did ask my handy trusty brother about what he thinks of the iPhone.
He’s response: “Oh yea, I’ll have one of those”
When asked why?
“Cause it looks cool”
nice.
So it looks cool…
That’s it
But…then he tossed a few ideas for me-
In the time that we are, security seems to be a major issue. A person wants to be guaranteed that they are protected in every possible way. So this gave me an idea of maybe giving addative security to the iPhone. Possibly something like fingerprint scan, or a voice recognition of some sort, or maybe something else?? The ideas are still vague. But at least this will be a practical application to the iPhone, which will be continue to be relevant in the future.

And here’s just something i googled:
A security glitch in the iPhone:
–>link

Okay, the second week of uni has passed-
And something tells me that i should have taken up IPT in school…

I thought it’ll be a good idea to create a run down of the things we’ve been through this week:
1. Lecture: on design principles and conceptual models
Lab: Something new for me, using simple HTML to create out own webpage

2. Lecture: Cognitive models
Lab: Reasearch and more brainstorming of the iPhone

So, thats been it

the end

So i finally have a blog up and running…it all seems so new

But heres the real nitty gritty part- brainstorming

Problem: The design of a Web 2.0 application for the iPhone
Solutions:…ideas…NONE

So ok, unlike others, i have not yet thought long and hard about it. To me simply a phone is something that i use to communicate with people eithering through calling them, or texting, that is all. These functions are the only things i need…so asking me to think of more is..woah O_O
But i did get thinking in the lab today, after seeing that everybody else had started and i am intersted in the idea of interaction- interacting with the device. Maybe extending the idea of touch screen??? e.g. having the idea of a touch screen that extends beyond the screen?
These are just very very very raw ideas.

But first…what exactly is the iPhone???