Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
Human Computer Interaction
Assignment 1
Document Code: Ass1 – v1.1
Student:
Trần Công Phan Vinh (Mr)
Instructor and Evaluator
Huỳnh Anh Dũng (Mr)
Hanoi, Sep 18th 2010
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
RECORD OF CHANGE
Effective
Date
Changed Items
A*
M, D
Change Description
New Version
Sep 18th
Assignment 1
A
Newly created
1.0
Sep 19th
Conclusion
M
Add detail
1.1
(A – Added
M - Modified
D – Deleted)
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
SIGNATURE PAGE
ORIGINATOR:
REVIEWERS:
Trần Công Phan Vinh
Sep 18th
SE0417
Student
Huỳnh Anh Dũng
Sep 20th
Human Computer Interaction
Instructor
3
Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 5
1.1
Purpose ................................................................................................................5
1.2
Scope ...................................................................................................................5
1.3
Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations ...............................................................5
1.4
References ...........................................................................................................6
1.5
Overview ..............................................................................................................6
2
MY BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................ 7
3
FILE SPLITTER AND JOINER V3.X ................................................................................................ 8
3.1
What is FFSJv3.x? .................................................................................................8
3.2
What task does this software perform?...................................................................9
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3
3.3
3.3.1
3.3.2
4
Present one way in which this software is usable for me ....................................... 14
Summary of this software usability .................................................................................... 14
Why it is usable for me ....................................................................................................... 14
3.4
How would someone else find this product difficult to use? ................................... 16
3.5
How could this difficulty be resolved? ................................................................... 17
KANA TUTOR V4.2 ........................................................................................................................... 18
4.1
What is Kana Tutor v4.2? .................................................................................... 18
4.2
What task does the software perform? ................................................................. 18
4.3
Present one way in which this software is difficult for you to use? .......................... 22
4.3.1
4.3.2
5
Splitting ................................................................................................................................. 9
Joining ................................................................................................................................. 11
MD5 Checksum ................................................................................................................... 13
Summary of this software usability .................................................................................... 22
Why it is not usable for me? ............................................................................................... 22
4.4
How could this difficulty be resolved? ................................................................... 24
4.5
How would someone else find this software easy to use? ...................................... 25
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 26
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1
Purpose
This document reports the usable aspect of two human-computer interaction
product, both are software, one uses to join and split files, another uses to learn
the Japanese alphabet.
- Software:
Fastest File Splitter and Joiner v3.x
(Usable)
- Software:
Kana Tutor v4.2
(Not usable)
The purpose of this report is to practice describing and analyzing a product’s
interface as well as develop awareness to different kinds of users and to what
constitutes good or poor design.
1.2
Scope
The software FFSJv3.x which was analyzed in this report is the joining and
splitting files software.
The software Kana Tutor v4.2 which was analyzes in this report is the software
that provides a way to learn the Japanese alphabet
In order to make sense of this assessment, this report will only describe the
attributes that related to HCI terms, joining and splitting files terms and
Japanese alphabet terms.
1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations
Acronym
Definition
HCI
Human Computer Interaction
FFSJ
Fastest File Splitter and Joiner
Kana
Japanese Alphabet
(Hiragana + Katakana + Manyougana)
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Note
Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
1.4 References
No
Document
Issued
date
Source
Note
1
Template Software
Requirements Specification
Sep 10th,
2009
http://cms.fpt.edu.vn/
A report
template.
2
Interaction Design
Beyond Human-Computer
Interaction 2nd edition
Sep 06th,
2010
FPT University
Library
Text book
1.5
Overview
The rest of this HCI report contains:
-
My background – This can affect my opinions and decisions.
-
An analysis of FFSJ v3.x usability:
o What is FFSJ v3.x?
o What task does the software perform?
o Present one way in which this software is usable for me.
o How would someone else find this software is not usable?
o How could this difficulty be resolved?
-
An analysis of Kana Tutor v4.2 usability:
o What is Kana Tutor v4.2?
o What task does the software perform?
o Present one way in which this software is not usable for me.
o How could this difficulty be resolved?
o How would someone else find this software is usable?
-
A short conclusion of the software FFSJv3.x and Kana Tutor v4.2.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
2 MY BACKGROUND
In this report, I am the user and the one will do an assessment of those products. It is
obviously that my background is the most important aspect to consider those products are
usable or not. In this case, my psychological profile will be used to describe my
background in order to simplify the connection between my background and my opinions
in this report.
Related Information
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Cultural:
Religion:
Job:
Years of experience in using Computer:
Interest in download file and the need
of joining and splitting software?
Learning Japanese?
Disability:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Preferred Languages:
7
Status
Trần Công Phan Vinh
Male
20
Vietnamese cultural
No
Software Engineering student
More than 6 years
Yes
Yes
No
-experiences in using Window’s software
and application
-have learned Japanese for 2 years
-impatient when doing a hard and
confusable task
English, Vietnamese
Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
3 FILE SPLITTER AND JOINER V3.x
3.1 What is FFSJv3.x?
FFSJ is a small program for splitting and joining files, because nowadays, when
people upload or transfer data, they usually encrypt to prevent errors and save
time.
FFSJ was developed by Le Minh Hoang since 2006, but FFSJv3.x was released
since 2007.
The owner has introduced the strengths of FFSJ as below:
-
Very fast:
FFSJ can optimize disk-cache and memory usage, this
makes FFSJ 3-5 times faster than HJ-Split, Win Split, Master Splitter in
both splitting and joining tasks. Of course, it is much faster than any
compression program.
-
Simple:
FFSJ works well on all Windows platforms.
-
Small:
FFSJ are small enough to fit on a floppy disk.
-
Easy to use:
any file.
FFSJ has a friendly user-interface; it can be used to split
-
Easy to be integrated:
Since v3.0, FFSJ published its
command-line interface. End-users can split/join multiple files using a
.BAT file. Developers can write their own interface (in any language) to
perform splitting/joining tasks from their applications.
-
Secure:
FFSJ uses an advanced encryption algorithm to
make your data much more secure from unauthorized access. Since v2.9,
MD5 checksum algorithm has also been integrated to verify data integrity.
-
Compatible: FFSJ can join parts produced by HJ-Split.
-
Free and Safe:
FFSJ free and clean, it do not contain any form of
adware, spywares, viruses, Trojans and backdoors.
I checked, and most of the above are true. FFSJ can join parts produced by
HJ-Split, if the split parts have the right format extension. FFSJ took 20
second to join 4 parts; each part’s size is 150MB, when HJ-Split took 25
second. FFSJ’s size is very small, only 350KB.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
3.2 What task does this software perform?
FFSJv3.x can perform three main tasks: Splitting, Joining and MD5 Checksum.
3.2.1
Splitting
1.
Switch to the "Splitting" tab:
2.
Select the source file. There are several ways to select the source file:
- Choose the source file from open dialog
- Drag a file from Windows Explorer and drop to the "Splitting" tab
- Edit source file name directly.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
3.
Setup parameters according to your preference: change output directory,
change number of split parts, change part limit, etc.
4.
Click "Split" button, enter your password if you want to encrypt the data,
and wait until File Splitter completed the task. You will see the message:
5.
Done.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
3.2.2
Joining
All split parts must have the same name, except for their extensions (.001, .002,
.__a, .__b, etc.). Joining split parts is equivalent to restoring original file.
1.
Switch to the "Joining" tab:
2.
Select the first split part (.001 or .__a file). There are several ways to
select the first split part:
- Choose the first part from open dialog
- Drag the first part from Windows Explorer and drop to the "Joining" tab
- Edit the first part name directly
3.
Check the list of split parts from drop-down list.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
4.
Setup parameters according to your preference: Change output file,
specify your split parts are in different locations, etc.
5.
Click "Join" button, enter the password if your split parts are passwordprotected, and wait until File Joiner complete the task. You will see the
message:
6.
Done.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
3.2.3
MD5 Checksum
1.
Switch to "MD5 Checksum" tab:
2.
Select a file to get MD5 signature. There are several ways:
- Choose a file from open dialog
- Drag a file from Windows Explorer and drop to the "MD5 Checksum"
tab
- Edit the file name directly
3.
Click "Get & Copy" button, and wait until File Checksum complete the
task. You will see the message:
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
4.
Done. MD5 signature has been copied to clipboard, you can paste MD5
signature to somewhere and keep this signature with your file.
3.3 Present one way in which this software is usable for me
3.3.1
Summary of this software usability
FFSJv3.x is a simple splitting and joining files software. Its design has
applied the Nielsen heuristics, the heuristics help the interface of this
software look prettier and easier for me to use.
Nevertheless, I am not the only user of this software. My perspective of it
may not be applied for all other users. Some other can find this software
practically hard to use because they expected a more detailed tutorial or a
system recovery if they make mistake for example. But most of those
problems can be solved without redesign too much.
In conclusion, this program is a usable product.
3.3.2
Why it is usable for me
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
Heuristics
My perspective
Visibility of
system status
FFSJv3.x always keep users informed about what is going on,
through providing appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
For example: When FFSJ completed splitting task, you will hear a
sound and see a message
Match between
system and the
real world
Because the owner is Vietnamese, so it was written in two languages,
Vietnamese and English.
Error prevention
FFSJv3.x provides MD5 Checksum to help users check the integrity
of files. It helps users prevent from downloading error files.
Recognition
rather than recall
The buttons are all big and have good metaphor, so inexperienced
users can understand, recognize the function of each button for the 1st
time using FFSJ.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
Since v3.0, FFSJ has published its command-line interface (CLI) in
order to make FFSJ more flexible.
Examples: To split file c:\test\LargeFile.dat to 5 equal-size parts,
save to c:\test\SP directory:
Flexibility and
efficiency of use
Aesthetic and
minimalist design
FFSJ.exe "-Task=Split" "-Input=c:\test\LargeFile.dat"
"-Output=c:\test\SP\" "-PartCount=5"
FFSJv3.x is very simple but pretty design, it has few buttons but can
carry all the tasks it need to do.
3.4 How would someone else find this product difficult to use?
Problem
No
1
2
3
Heuristics
How do they find this software is not usable?
User control
and freedom
When FFSJ is splitting or joining, you cannot stop or escape until the
program finished its task. It violated the rule “emergency exit”.
Help users
recognize,
diagnose, and
recover from
errors
Help and
If users tick “Delete split parts after joining” and besides, users do
not have all file need for joining (some files are error or missing),
FFSJ will create an incomplete file and delete all the split parts (not
delete to the Recycle Bin). So users have to re-download all the
files again, it take time and make users feel uncomfortable.
I was surprised after 2 years of using this software that it provides
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
Help and documentation.
documentation
Users have to click on the red-border area to get help. It is too difficult to
recognize. And it has only online documentation, so users with no
internet connection cannot read it.
3.5 How could this difficulty be resolved?
Problem
No
Way to solve
1
Make a new button to help users stop when FFSJ is joining or splitting. Many times
I wanted to stop because I found out I have made some mistakes but FFSJ do not
provide me anything to halt the process. When FFSJ is processing, users cannot do
anything except wait until it finished it tasks.
Provide users some methods to recover from errors, for examples, do not delete
immediately and move the split files to the Recycle Bin. By this way, users can
restore the deleted file and save time for not re-download them again.
Make a new button (clearer) to inform users about the help and documentation. And
make offline documentation, so everyone can use it for help.
2
3
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
4 KANA TUTOR V4.2
4.1 What is Kana Tutor v4.2?
Kana Tutor v4.2 is software by South Street Software released as a shareware.
Kana Tutor v3.0 setup is approximate 2 MB in size and it runs on Windows
95/98/Me/NT/2000.
Kana Tutor v4.2 helps Japanese learners learn Japanese Kana.
4.2 What task does the software perform?
Kana Tutor v4.2 helps you learn Japanese Hiragana and Katakana.
You can display the desired kana, and then practice drawing it on the drawing
pad.
Click the "animate" button to view the animated strokes in order.
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
It also includes male and female voices speaking the Kana.
To help make it easier to navigate the Kana and learn them, they have been
organized into three sections. The Base Alphabet contains the primary 46 kana.
Once you have learned to draw these, choosing the Full Alphabet will give you a
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Human Computer Interaction – Assignment 1
further 25 kana which are based on the original 46 kana but contain an "accent",
thereby changing its pronunciation. The Yoo-On Table contains the final 33 kana.
These are combinations of two kana and are easily learned once you have
mastered the first 71.
Kana Tutor v4.2 also includes two tests to help reinforce your learning.
Recognition displays 25 kana in a 5 x 5 grid. You are given the English
pronunciation of the kana and you must find it in the grid.
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