Get Help!
It was a bit difficult to visualize how lost users can be in the old app, cos we were not given the old app to navigate through ourselves and the assignment alr provided us with lots of description on how the app is like. It is difficult to get first hand experience feeling on the app.
Only until the presentation I began to see how problematic the odd app can be. No wonder during one of the workshop I heard Su Yuen mentioned that they took 1 day to build the final project app. I was thinking how is it possible? So this was the inside story to the 1 day app. They did prepared and did a lot before that 1 day, not that they dragged everything to the last minute, it was just that they want to perfect their user experience that they redo everything. Luckily they were able to deploy their app in the end. To tear down the app and rebuild it in one day is not an easy task, they must be very skilled in technical aspect! Admiration for them!
The wonderful five lessons learnt:
I think the main reason for why I don't get to know how to use it at first is cos that page I am in doesn't support drag n drop. The reply I got seems to suggest I am not geek enough to use their app (what?!), i think it is not a nice way to reply to users. Furthermore almost everyone does searching, ppl range from 8 to 80. Why restrict the users to the app? All these aside, the reply said they don't hv time to do tutorials. Actually a short explanation of just a few sentences (no need to be long) like what is in the reply alr can explain how the app is to be used is enough. I would say that the addin idea itself is very good, but just maybe the way the app is marketed is not good.
Recently I also found an interesting website. It is a campus kind of cooperative website. I find it from an event in Facebook that my CS3216 classmate is attending. I think it is an idea similar Get Help, and it seems to be doing quite well too. It involves virtual money and real money, what a good way to make money!
Only until the presentation I began to see how problematic the odd app can be. No wonder during one of the workshop I heard Su Yuen mentioned that they took 1 day to build the final project app. I was thinking how is it possible? So this was the inside story to the 1 day app. They did prepared and did a lot before that 1 day, not that they dragged everything to the last minute, it was just that they want to perfect their user experience that they redo everything. Luckily they were able to deploy their app in the end. To tear down the app and rebuild it in one day is not an easy task, they must be very skilled in technical aspect! Admiration for them!
The wonderful five lessons learnt:
- Too Many Choices and Aesthetics Cause Confusion
- Users Need Guidance
- Creating Context from User Interactions
- Meaningful Incentives
- The Cold-Start Problem
I think the main reason for why I don't get to know how to use it at first is cos that page I am in doesn't support drag n drop. The reply I got seems to suggest I am not geek enough to use their app (what?!), i think it is not a nice way to reply to users. Furthermore almost everyone does searching, ppl range from 8 to 80. Why restrict the users to the app? All these aside, the reply said they don't hv time to do tutorials. Actually a short explanation of just a few sentences (no need to be long) like what is in the reply alr can explain how the app is to be used is enough. I would say that the addin idea itself is very good, but just maybe the way the app is marketed is not good.
Recently I also found an interesting website. It is a campus kind of cooperative website. I find it from an event in Facebook that my CS3216 classmate is attending. I think it is an idea similar Get Help, and it seems to be doing quite well too. It involves virtual money and real money, what a good way to make money!
Varsity Chronicles
At the begin of the this speech, Prof Ben mentioned abt the idea we wrote for the application to get into this module. I admit I am guilty of it =X Being not a Facebook app regular user or a business person, how shld i get myself into this module? Yup, at the point when I wrote my idea down I know it is not achievable given the little time we have in this module. But it is indeed an app "a cool Facebook app that you *really* want to build" and I could only thought of this cool one at that point of time. Coincidently, it was an RPG game relating to Superpowers.
At that time being a non-gamer, I didn't even know it was called an RPG game. What makes me think of such a game was probably my interest in watching fantasy related dramas. I don't just watch these dramas though (i watch serious ones too), just other dramas genres are not relevant here. Now being a non-official gamer, i still find my idea fun...
Back to discussion on Varsity Chronicles. Their idea is interesting, but the execution is disastrous. What I think that the main cause of their failure is not due to their technical disability, it is all in the mindset, like what Prof mentioned. Mindset as in not that they don't want to succeed, it is they don't get realistic. As a saying goes "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail".
Every iteration being a different idea which they can't deploy their app was a surprise for me. And given that they were trained in scrum and waterfall concept, they still ruin their project in such a way was even more shocking for me. Read this: "Despite the additional manpower, every design meeting meeting the team had resulted in new features being added to the game. Effectively, the team is starting from ground zero again. Much of these decisions were based on theories and past experiences". This should be adequate to support my claim on them being unrealistic.
As for why I say the main cause of their failure is not technical issue. Reason: If they were more technical capable, they might be even more ambitious and come out with crazier ideas, as a result, their fall is more painful. So the lesson learnt when building sth is to take one step at a time. Of course in theory, a baby when grown up will eventually be able to run, but u can't expect it to run in a few months time right?
At that time being a non-gamer, I didn't even know it was called an RPG game. What makes me think of such a game was probably my interest in watching fantasy related dramas. I don't just watch these dramas though (i watch serious ones too), just other dramas genres are not relevant here. Now being a non-official gamer, i still find my idea fun...
Back to discussion on Varsity Chronicles. Their idea is interesting, but the execution is disastrous. What I think that the main cause of their failure is not due to their technical disability, it is all in the mindset, like what Prof mentioned. Mindset as in not that they don't want to succeed, it is they don't get realistic. As a saying goes "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail".
Every iteration being a different idea which they can't deploy their app was a surprise for me. And given that they were trained in scrum and waterfall concept, they still ruin their project in such a way was even more shocking for me. Read this: "Despite the additional manpower, every design meeting meeting the team had resulted in new features being added to the game. Effectively, the team is starting from ground zero again. Much of these decisions were based on theories and past experiences". This should be adequate to support my claim on them being unrealistic.
As for why I say the main cause of their failure is not technical issue. Reason: If they were more technical capable, they might be even more ambitious and come out with crazier ideas, as a result, their fall is more painful. So the lesson learnt when building sth is to take one step at a time. Of course in theory, a baby when grown up will eventually be able to run, but u can't expect it to run in a few months time right?
Finally I would say the speaker Justin is a good speaker, his clarity in speech made his experience so real in front of us.Together with Prof's suitable interrupt to backup the ideas taught, made the session really worth while.
Tmr I am hvg a test, why am I writing a blog now? I think the experience with CS3216 sessions were too interesting, since I got new ideas now, I scared if I don't write now I may forgot later... Every Thu is my very very busy day, lessons from 11am - 10pm... so I doubt I can write any blog then.
PS: Hope the wave assignment marking will be faster enough so that I can remove the embedded wave from my blog soon. Cos I have been receiving complains that ppl don't dare to come to my blog cos the wave is loading very slowly. The wave is causing me to lose readership, oh....
