Assignment 1 Brief
Introduction
The objective of this assignment is to provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate that they can assess the effectiveness and suitability of an IT application or product by a particular group of users.
Research
You will be allocated a particular user area within College where a range of IT applications and products are in regular use by staff and/or students. Your task is to select an application or product (or both) and note its function and purpose in that area in general terms and, for suitable specific application, assess in detail its suitability. You will discuss users' needs and the extent to which the selected application or product meets these at present, with particular attention to how they interact with it and actual or perceived problems that have arisen.
Review
You will investigate alternatives available, either through adjustments that may be possible to an existing facility or by replacement with another application or product in part or in whole with a view to providing an improvement in usability across the range of existing and possible future users.
Report
Report on the results of your research and findings with recommendations which you believe would be feasible and practical ways to enhance the interactivity noted. Outline a plan for testing a new product or application and comparing results to existing experience. This report should include reference to and summaries of both legal requirements for accessibility in the case studied and also what is currently regarded as good practice in this respect and how you envisage trends in such good practice developing in the short term and the impact that this may have on, or how such impact may have been included in, your recommendations.
Note
In the course of your research and observations you may encounter a range of standards of knowledge and skill amongst staff and students, some of which may be lower than one might expect in the roles concerned or which may demonstrate a lack of expertise or understanding of a product or application. You should remember that the focus of your research and recommendations is the appropriateness of the product and usability and accessibility. Confidentiality should be respected at all times and the identities of persons referred to neither stated nor deductible by inference without their written consent to the statements or opinions made in your report being received by your tutor prior to publication of your report.
60% 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7
