InfoCity 2000 propose to develop a product that will enable the user to navigate through a variety of information pages concerning issues related to the Year 2000. It will act as an encyclopaedia so those pages within the site will cover the various categories as stated in the requirement analysis. The site will provide a platform where the user will be able to access information that will be informative and educational. We intend to provide a service that will have concise and quality information, using various graphics, animation and sound.
Working method
Phase 1: Analysing the need for Encyclopaedia 2000 information.
Through our market research and various surveys, we will be able to analyse the need for our proposed product and deter mine the impact it may have on our intended users. We aim to differentiate between the Year 2000 and the millennium 'bug' by defining a clear specification of what is meant by each. As an example, when most people were asked about what they knew about the Year 2000, the most common response was information on the millennium 'bug'.
Phase 2: Designing and implementing the Encyclopaedia 2000 product.
We will be designing a navigational multimedia product for the information as specified in the summary. The product will give a better understanding of what information in the year 2000 is all about. It will extend and enhance information on this topic.
Which design principles?
When proposing a project to a client it is important to analyse all products on the market, so that the proposal put forward is best suited to the requirements and the most cost-effective package.
As our product is designing and implementing a web page, which will be providing an information service, we have identified the best packages and design features suited to this product.
Based on our market research, we have looked at the various representation methods that are currently available. These included: -
Menu driven systems
Source: Web Style Guide, Yale C.
Easy to follow through pages that uses mainly text-based formatting. Very common but can be tedious to follow for the user if the information they require is not obviously stated.
Hyperlinked Systems
Source: Web Style Guide, Yale C.
Very bland, not very interesting to the user and not much multimedia technology used to exploit the range of services available.
Descriptive Icons
An effective way of showing information and links through a web site. The user can 'hover' their mouse cursor over an icon and a message will pop-up giving a short and brief description of that icon link. We will implement this method into our recommendation.
Languages/Packages
VRML - (Virtual Reality Modelling Language), A three-dimensional navigation design tool. Best used to simulate three-dimensional objects or virtual worlds.
HTML - (Hypertext Mark-up Language), A document formatting language, widely used in creating web pages on the WWW.
JAVA SCRIPT - A web page scripting language, can be used in conjunction with HTML.
Graphic/Sound/Images
JPEG - Graphical File, Higher amount of pixels used for a sharper image
GIF - Graphic File, Uses Less pixels than JPEG, so image is not that sharp,
but still very good quality
BMP - Graphical File, Uses the least amount of pixels, average standard of
graphical image
AVI - Image File, Video and images are incorporated in this file.
PDF - Image File, High level of images
MPEG - Sound File, A very popular sound file, with good quality sound.
WAV - Sound File, These are basic sound files.
We will be investigating and comparing the above item by the following criteria to discover which is suited best to this project.
The chosen items should be the most:
- Cost Effective
- Useful
- Reliable
- User Friendly
- Robust
Phase 3: Evaluation and testing.
The kind of evaluation we propose to use is a formative evaluation that includes an on-going evaluation throughout the design and implementation stages. We also include a 'summative' evaluation. This will include getting feedback at the end of development. There will be a testing programme used to help in the development and usefulness of the product. This will be aimed at the client and the potential end users.
We see this as the best method to evaluate our product. Having a suitable 'user-based' methodology, we can monitor how our site is being used. Determining how many people 'hit' or use our web site is also essential in highlighting the usefulness of our product. Also we propose to include an email facility for any recommendations to the site
Recommendation
Our product will introduce an 'image map' based method that will attempt to keep the user interested in using our service. The majority of people have used a map at some point or another and is familiar with the concept. We are looking to exploit this method into a multimedia representation.
The multimedia product will be developed using raw HTML and will use various image and graphic files. These will range from GIF files to MPEG files. We are also considering using AVI footage for training facilities.
The product will consist of a number of pages linked together to simulate a working encyclopaedia. It will display a listing of topics under each general heading and then show relevant information on those selected topics. The design behind the pages will be consistent throughout the site to show professionalism.
Our idea is to design a frame that will sit on top of all the pages that will display a map of where the user is in relation to the site. This would help the navigation of the user graphically.
Future prospects would be to implement a similar system across Europe and then across the Globe. It could then take into consideration the language barrier between the countries that access the system. Currently we are only focusing on the UK as our initial proposal.
