GR2
Scenario
Max Power, 25, is an adventurous graduate student. He likes to record all of his traveling experiences, including the places he has been to, the friends he has made, and the different food he has tried.
He is currently at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Wanting to capture this breathtaking view, he takes out his smartphone and opens the Travel Book application. He creates a new post on his timeline, which then prompts him to add a photo. He takes a picture of the view, and adds it to his post. He then writes a small description: "Here is the beautiful view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. The weather is perfect- a clear blue sky with a couple of puffy clouds!" He saves the post, and views his timeline to see the changes.
This is when he realizes that the photo he has posted is not so great-- there was a stranger in a corner staring awkwardly toward the camera when the picture was taken. Max immediately edits the post, by taking and adding a new photo.
Finally, Max decides that the photo is worth sharing with friends, so he adds "Yes, envy me!" to his description and shares his post on Facebook, through the Travel Book application.
Satisfied, Max continues on with his adventure, and heads off to his next stop, the Arc de Triomphe.
Designs
Each of our three designs has two screens: the timeline screen and the view/edit screen. The view/edit screen has two modes, one for viewing a post and one for editing it, which may look more or less similar to each other depending on the design.
Design 1
Prototype |
Description |
Learnability |
Efficiency |
Safety |
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Design 2
Prototype |
Description |
Learnability |
Efficiency |
Safety |
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Design 3
Prototype |
Description |
Learnability |
Efficiency |
Safety |
Timeline Screen View Screen
 
Edit - Text Tab Edit - Photos Tab Edit - Contacts Tab
  
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The timeline screen in this
design shows posts in
chronological order along
horizontal axis. Each post is
represented by a thumbnail of
the first photo in the post.
Ideally, the display of the
timeline will scale and adjust
to the density of posts, so that
there will not be large gaps
between posts.
Tapping any individual post
will bring you to the view
screen. To share this post,
the user will tap his phone's
menu button and select "share".
To edit this post, the user will
also tap his phone's menu
button and select "edit." This
will bring you to the edit screen.
Tapping "New Post" on the
timeline will also bring you to
the edit screen.
The edit screen contains
three tabs, for editing a text
description, adding photos,
and adding contacts.
The + sign in the photos tab
will bring you to your phone's
camera interface. The + sign
in the contacts tab will bring
you to your phone's contacts
interface.
Tapping SAVE on any tab will
bring you back to your updated
timeline.
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Pros:
- The "New Post" box
on the timeline screen
indicates where the new
post will be if you create it.
It teaches the user that
all his posts will be added
to his timeline upon
creation.
- Internal consistency- the
left and right buttons in
the timeline, view, and edit
screens have the same
appearance and
functionality. The - and +
signs are also consistent
across screens.
- Design is simple - it has
a small but efficient set of
buttons, and the edit mode
is neatly organized into
three tabs.
Cons
- The "SAVE" button might
cause the user to believe
that you must save after
every edit, instead of doing
so only once at the very
end.
- It might not be easy for
users to learn to use their
phone's menu button for
sharing and editing
purposes.
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Pros:
- You can quickly view a
recent post by tapping on its
thumbnail in the timeline.
- Saving a post immediately
brings you back to the
timeline.
- The - and + signs provide
quick ways of adding/deleting
entries.
Cons:
- If your timeline is very long,
it will be slow to find a specific
post from long ago (you can
only keep tapping the left
arrow).
- Editing can take longer
because you need to switch
between tabs.
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Pros:
- Every mistake that you might
make in a post is easily corrected
by going to the edit screen.
- Every mistake is visible and
easily detected on the timeline
screen or view screen.
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