Tyler Brown February, 26, 2007
Assignment 9
User-Centered Design
I took a class last semester that was all about the user-centered design method (CSCI
4838). This class covered all of the design steps in order to create a user-centered
application. We took on a project and followed all of these design steps to create an
easy-to-use on-line medical application. The way we did user-centered design it
incorporated a certain level of meta-design. The users were able to say what they wanted
to change while conducting the studies. We as the designers made these changes and
then conducted the studies again. When we were done with studies we made one last
change to the application yet from then on the application was closed for design
improvements.
Strengths:
- Pointed out problems that we (as the designers) didn’t notice
- Gave us direction on what to implement next (users acting as designers)
- Assured us that certain design decisions were correct (maybe not the best but no
noticeable problems)
Weaknesses:
- Took a lot of time to conduct studies with users
- Hard to motivate users to volunteer for studies (had to use $20 incentive)
- Some participants in the studies had skewed perspectives
Pair Programming
Throughout my computer science undergrad I have used pair programming many times.
I have noticed HUGE benefits to this style of programming all the way from catching
syntax errors before compilation to noticing better class organization models. Although
one person is always “watching” and not coding, the gains outweigh the loss.
Strengths:
- Many of the same strengths that any type of collaboration brings
- Doesn’t have the weakness of “mythical man-month” type collaboration
- Better code structure and encapsulation
- Less bugs in code
- Less boring when working with others (some prefer to work alone so this can be
considered a weakness as well)
Weaknesses:
- Half of the developers are not programming they are “navigators”
- Stronger developers can be “dragged down” by less experienced partners (this however
doubles as training so it is controversial as a weakness)
- Must work together on schedules, coding style, etc…
- Contrasting opinions can hinder development
