GR1 - Project Proposal & Analysis
User Analysis
We have three main types of users represented by the following people (fictional names):
- Jimmy: Ski school director
- Darryl: Administrator and Daily Supervisor
- Sam: Ski instructor
Jimmy: the ski school director
Jimmy is the director the ski school. He is comfortable using a computer, but does not have any experience in web development. Jimmy needs a way to monitor how many instructors he has scheduled for each shift and to track if instructors are missing their shifts. He would like a way for instructors to request a schedule change directly from the supervisor of the shift they are requesting to change and would like a copy of the request to go to the central supervisor email address. He does not like having to make the changes to schedules himself and would prefer that the request go through the supervisor of the shift. If the instructor is making a change near the time of their shift, he would like the computer to block the request and direct the instructor to call the appropriate supervisor since often supervisors may not check their email before heading out onto the snow if it is a last minute change. He would also like to track how many clinic hours instructors have and whether or not they have taken certain required clinics. Additionally, it would be helpful if instructors could submit requests for clinic hours that they got outside the ski area or that didn’t make it onto the sign-up sheet. He would also like an interface that would allow him to post announcements and links to training materials for his instructors without having to directly edit html code.
What we learned from Jimmy
What the current system does well:
- Jimmy can view instructors’ schedules and print of a list for the supervisors each day
- He can also track the number of clinic hours instructors have
What the system currently lacks:
- Instructors can’t enter/edit their schedules
- He has no way to track how many shifts instructors have missed (either excused or unexcused). He would like a way to see how often instructors are being excused from shifts.
- He has no way to track what required clinics instructors have taken so uses an excel spreadsheet, which instructors can’t view. Furthermore, clinic hours are sometimes missed since there is no easy way for instructors to request missed hours and he has to personally try to keep track of clinic hours taken outside the area (ex. exams taken through the Professional Ski Instructors Association)
- An easy way to post announcements and outside links
Darryl: an administrator and daily supervisor at the ski area
He is older and not very comfortable using a computer, but learns how to perform the tasks necessary for the ski school each season. He currently enters all of the instructors’ paper schedules into the computer by hand at the beginning of the season. He would like a way to allow instructors to enter their schedules before Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, he would like a way for the instructors to submit a request to change their schedules so that they don’t have to email him to have him make the change. He is unsure if approval is necessary, if it is far in advance, but would like to receive a notification of what the change was. He would also like instructors to directly call their supervisors if they need to cancel last minute. He would also like a way to see all changes that an instructor has made to their schedule since initially submitting it. He also needs a way to print off a copy of which instructors he has for the shifts he is supervising so that he can take it out onto the snow with him.
What we learned from Jimmy
What the system does well:
- He can view instructors schedules and print out a copy to take with him on the snow
What the system lacks:
- A way for instructors to submit/change their schedule
- A way to track changes that are made to an instructor’s schedule though out the season.
Sam: a ski instructor at the ski area
He is comfortable using computers but does not have any web development experience. He recognizes that the other instructors have a wide variety of computer skills (some instructors are in their 70s) so that the website needs to be usable for people with only very basic skills. He would like to be able to submit and change his schedule online. He would also like an email notification when his initial schedule and any schedule changes are approved. He also likes being able to view which other instructors are on the schedule. He teaches in the children’s area and would like to be able to see which instructors are skiers and which are boarders like he can for the instructors in the adult area. He also likes being able to view other instructors contact information.
What we learned from Sam
What the system does well:
- He can view his schedule and who else is on the schedule with him
- He can view other instructors’ contact information
What the system lacks:
- He hates filling out a paper schedule and wants to be able to submit it online
- He would like a way to request a schedule change if it is a long way in advance
- He would like the to be able to see which instructors in the children’s area and skiers and which are boarders. The current system only breaks instructors down by supervisor and since there is only one supervisor for skiers and boarders in the children’s area, they appear together online.