Design Studies Flashcards
Design Studies
A series of scale models are explored in order to get a better feel for the design space
Design Space
Range of possibilities available as solutions
Design Studies Definition
a rigorous and systematic evaluation of the factors that influence a design.
Begins with a determination of the relevant criteria, metrics, and thresholds.
The study itself consists of a comparison of variable possible approaches.
Design Space
explore a space of possibilities
aesthetic factors and should be examined
objective factors should be examined
Overall goal of a Design Study
Repeatability
Somone else should be able to take your report, recreate it, and come to the same conclusion you did.
Sections of Report:
Context
Provides background and motivation for the study
Sections of Report:
Research Questions
Examines the tradeoffs between various non-functional requirements (like space vs time)
Each of these is expressed in the form of a question.
Each question should be in a neutral fashion
Each question should be numbered for reference in report.
Sections of Report:
Subject
What we are studying;
however a design study compares multiple subjects.
Each subject should be briefly described for differentiation
Sections of Report:
Experimental Conditions
Running several versions of a program, making measurements, and evaluating results.
These evaluations take place on different environments all of different levels of hardware and software impact.
Experimental conditions defines the environment in which the study will take place, and the experimentation it took to get to that decision.
Sections of Report:
Variables
Independent and dependent variables must be identified and appropriate metrics specified.
Each has a unique name, description, and a unit of measurement (seconds, etc)
Includes summary table with 3 columns
Research Question, Independent Variables Used, Dependent Variables Used
Sections of Report:
Method
Includes the number of trials, measurement devices and tools, randomization technique, significant digits, etc
Includes explicit statement of which subjects will be run and arguments used
briefly describes any statistical techniques used
Sections of Report:
Results
Presents the data collected and their statistical analysis.
Sections of Report:
Discussion
Provides the opportunity to interpret the data collected and provide a discussion of its implications. Also allows to reflect on the experimentation itself.
Sections of Report:
Conclusions
Summation of the results and provide the conclusions drawn upon the results.
This section provides explicit answers to each research question.
