Battleships as a Metaphor for Plans of Planning Exercise

I have learned from engaging with the module that leveraging Agile over Waterfall in terms of software development is particularly useful when there is ambiguity and when, the customer is not certain on what problems they want the software to address. The lecturer aided this understanding through instructing us to play a game of battleships. The battleships, were used as a metaphor for planning.

First, the lecturer instructed us to play a game using a forty-shot iteration e.g. creating one finished product, similar to the waterfall model. Then, we were instructed to play again using a lower number of iterations per game e.g. 10 shots per iteration therefore creating four iterations before the game was over. All members recorded a higher balance after playing the game using multiple iterations. This was because of the high levels of ambiguity, as we did not know where the battleships were.

Below are two results I received from playing the game

1. Using 40 shots (i.e. no iterations)

2. Using 5 shots per iteration (i.e. 8 iterations per game)

Comments

My Research Essay

Usability, requirements analysis and feasibility study, to update the UCD student portal, Blackboard, through the integration of a digital collaboration tool. Complete Research Paper Scully, Nicole and McEntee, Mary-Elizabeth UCD School of Business, Ireland, Nicole.scully@ucdconnect.ie and mary.mcentee@ucdconnect.ie Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current student portal utilised in University College Dublin and to assess how this digital product can be updated to benefit its user base. To conduct our analysis of a suitable update to the portal, we conducted both primary and secondary research. Our primary research took the form of a questionnaire, interviews and observation research. The secondary research conducted for the purpose of this paper included analysing a case study and a literature review. Our research led us to conclude that embedding a collaboration tool into the current product would make it a more user friendly and engagin...

Exercise: Prototyping and Creating Mock-Ups

We were tasked with designing a test-free search page mock-up for individuals who were unable to read. We were first required to create a paper prototype and then use an online tool, Balsamiq. I found the exercise very interesting as it forced me to refine all my ideas into one, single representation. It also involved selecting the most important requirements as we were under a time constraint. I found the paper prototype process slightly easier a using Balsamic introduced constraints, in that I had to create my design choosing from the icons within the Balsamiq tool as opposed to creating my own. I found this exercise very useful and I will aim to introduce quick prototyping in my future roles when applicable.

Week 2 Design thinking - Build the right thing

This week focused around building the thing right as opposed to building the right thing. Great design has always been concerned with the whole experience of interaction. One of the most interesting topics emerging from the class was prompted by a quote from Alan Cooper. It prompted discussion around what do you get when you cross a computer with a camera? A phone? A plane? With a car? A ship? You get a bigger computer. The products we use on a daily basis are becoming ever more like software. Allen stressed that we need to develop an annoyance and radar for bad design and an appreciation for superior design. He showed us a variety of good and bad design examples and showed examples of how users will highlight the problems in your products or else they will leave marks e.g. a sign telling the user how to interact correctly with a product / service During the lecture, we also watched a video "Inside IDEO" which followed the IDEO design team revolutionizing the ...

Design, Development, Creativity

Search This Blog