1.) Initial Observations
I conducted observations before, after, and between almost all of my classes for a few days. Since much of my class time is spent in the CS department, I mostly saw people using their computers or talking to friends.

2.) Ideas
Here’s a list of ideas I came up with:
– Mini-game server for Princeton campus
– Interactive Princeton trivia screens
– Quick view of important daily information
– Coordinate local upcoming events with friend’s plans
– Quick facts/tips site about various things related to classes
– A minimal e-mail client: for speed over functionality
– Restroom/ snack/ coffee location database w/ map
– Route planner: route efficiency, avoid road blocks and congestion
– List of upcoming deadlines: What’s due when?
– School resource usage info (location based. for laundry, printers, funding even??)
– Quick view of menus / where friends are eating
– Random entertainment generator (like stumble upon but optimized for quick, transient browsing)

3.) Prototypes
I chose to flesh out both my 2nd and 3rd ideas. The 3rd I’ve affectionately called “Nutshell”
Princeton Trivia Network:
– Place large screens all over campus which display various photos and trivia about Princeton
– Play Jeopardy-like quiz games with a few contestants, possibly all over campus
– Waiting time is spent connecting with the school and cheering on friends

I chose this idea to prototype because it seemed like the kind of fun thing that would make people feel more connected to the University.

Nutshell:
– Bring important information into one mobile app:
– Schedule (list view)
– To-do list
– News headlines (with links to relevant stories on mobile site)
– Weather (linked to weather.com or similar service)
– Facebook and twitter feeds (linked to respective apps)
– Upcoming Important dates (From University calendar)

I chose to prototype this idea because I know it’s something I would use, and it also seems to be a recurring theme in software development (iGoogle anyone?) so it felt like a natural starting point.

4.) Prototype pictures
Nutshell:

List view of calendar

View of an event when selected

To do list

News Headlines

Headlines link to relevant mobile websites

Weather from an online source

Clicking on the weather will redirect to the web

Recent activity from Facebook and Twitter

Selecting a story goes to that story’s app

Lists important dates

Dates link to princeton.edu

My roommate pressing stuff

Princeton Trivia Network:

Shows random Princeton trivia. Changes every minute or so.

Asks people the answer to trivia questions on a timer.

Tells them if they got it right or wrong relative to others.

5.) Usage Observations
Nutshell: User testing went very smoothly. There was almost no confusion about anything, and on the whole, it seemed like a pleasant experience for everyone involved. There were two unexpected events:
– I envisioned using a swiping gesture between categories, but no one picked up on that.
– One tester swiped the home screen with his whole hand. It was weird.

Princeton Trivia Network: Again, everything was pretty straightforward for the users. There are only 6 buttons in the whole interface so it was easy to figure out. I got a few “Really? THIS is what you came up with?” looks. In retrospect i have to agree with them.

6.) Insights
The quotations are from user testing
General:
– Buttons are quite intuitive. Swiping is less so.

Nutshell:
– Weather by the hour would have been nice
– There needs to be a back button. Always
– Adding a reminder/alarm feature to the calendar would be helpful
– People value consolidation
– “Where are the games?” People want to be entertained while they wait?
– People want to easily “flip” from one information source to the next

Princeton Trivia Network:
– Not so great…
– “Cute”
– Maybe the answers could “lead to another game”
– “You should tell people how many people got it wrong.”
– “You should have different levels, like easy, medium, and hard.”