Project 1
Student id: b11
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<DOC>
<docHead>
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<title>Writing Project 1 - Annotated Bibliography</title>
<author xml:id="b11">Seth Bakes</author>
<version n="3" date="2016-07-13"/>
<!--note that the date must be YYYY-MM-DD for the document to be valid-->
</docHead>
<annotated_bib>
<problem_stmt> The web app Northeastern University uses to help students search for co-ops
is antiquated. The tools provided to navigate the site are lackluster and the whole
service suffers from poor contributer<note type="instructor">contributor*</note> (co-op
providers) input. It is important to focus on the issue being one of usability and
interface quality rather then this being a back end problem.<note type="instructor">Is
this focus important because of your specific discipline/approach to the problem or
because of the poor contributor input or something else?</note> This meaning the
issue is primarily related to the aspects of the web service that the user can see and
interact with (or not in the case of a lack of features). </problem_stmt>
<citation style="MLA" n="1">
<author>Julie M. Rinder</author>
<ref>https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/12257/Rinder2012.pdf?sequence=1</ref>
<title>The Importance of Website Usability Testing</title>
<!-- Rinder, Julie M. The Importance of Website Usability Testing. University of Oregon, 12 July 2012.
Web. 11 July 2016. <https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/12257/Rinder2012.pdf?sequence=1>.-->
</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="source">Rinder's capstone report brings together a large collection of
professional works regarding the history of website usability and the actual process
of testing it. The author brings this to us in the form of a scholarly annotated
bibliography This University of Oregon report also provides us with a large scope of
website usability, including recent influences on web usability all the way through
how businesses can adapt to these influences. </background>
<summary type="approach">The Importance of Website Usability starts off with a strong
idea: that perceived usability is key to user satisfaction. Though Rinder often
takes a business focused lens when discussing usability and why it is important, the
ideas are relevant to all circles. The report outlines the criteria it used for
sources, including looking for authority and quality. After the bulk of the report
consisting of annotated bibliographies, Rinder has a lengthy conclusion, breaking
down what the author considers to be the defining principles of usability, comparing
and contrasting researched ideas and often noting the similarities. The majority of
his<note type="instructor">Rinder is female, no?</note> analytical work comes in
the conclusion, and it focuses heavily on the importance and process of reliable
testing. </summary>
<relevance type="application"> Rinder presents this simple idea: Users use and return to
websites if they can easily find useful information-in other words, the
acceptability of web applications relies on their usability. This is well said.
Unfortunately in some cases, users don't have the choice. If you are looking for
compelling reading into why you should appreciate well made web services, look no
further. Although Rinder focuses heavily on usability testing rather then the
philosophy behind usability, readers may find the conclusion detailing usability
more relevant for creating arguments for and how to improve services. </relevance>
</annotation>
<citation style="MLA" n="2">
<author n="1">Rex P. Singular</author>
<author n="2">Roselle S. Basa</author>
<ref>Journal of Educational Technology and Society 14.4</ref>
<title>Factors Affecting Faculty Web Portal Usability</title>
<!-- Bringula, Rex P., and Basa, Roselle S. "Factors Affecting Faculty Web Portal Usability."
Journal of Educational Technology & Society 14.4, Advanced Learning Technologies (2011):
253-65. Web. 12 July 2016. <http://www.ifets.info/journals/14_4/21.pdf>. -->
</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="author">From the College of Computer Studies and Systems at the
University of East-Manila, Philippines, Singular and Basa investigate what can
impact web portal usability. The results of their research were intended to aid the
university's online services, specifically in the interest of developing new ones.
Included in their work is a large study of the present faculty including the
questionnaire used. </background>
<summary type="general"> The article takes an analytical approach to different paradigms
explaining the common occurs low usability of web services. The two authors look at
a number of publications that analyze similar topics and add to previous work in the
field. Similar to other medium analysis<note type="instructor">what does 'medium
analysis' mean?</note> work, the two authors develop their own principles of web
design and go into an in-depth explanation of each. The authors also provide
evidence for a number of original thesis statements relevant to the development of
faculty and staff web portals. </summary>
<relevance type="application"> As outlined in preface of their research, the majority of
the authors' claims are targeted at university web portals for faculty and students.
If this is what you are researching, this is paper is loaded with relevant original
data and analysis. That should not discourage other researchers. The two authors
make a number of important queries into the effects of images and layouts to
navigability, which could be applied to any web service. The data the two authors
collected is gathered mostly from tech savy<note type="instructor">savvy</note>
students, which presents a clear bias. Although that may be unavoidable at such a
technical college.<note type="instructor">this sentence is a fragment; you could add
this as a dependent clause to the previous sentence, preceded by a comma</note>
Despite this the research is valuable and the authors make a number of interesting
arguments throughout the piece that anyone interested in digital interfaces would
benefit from reading.<note type="instructor">so I take it that it would be relevant,
specifically, to your problem?</note>
</relevance>
</annotation>
<citation style="MLA" n="3">
<author n="1">Alexiei Dingli</author>
<author n="2">Sarah Cassar</author>
<ref>http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/2014/479286/</ref>
<title>An Intelligent Framework for Website Usability</title>
<!-- Dingli, Alexiei, and Sarah Cassar. "An Intelligent
Framework for Website Usability." An Intelligent Framework for
Website Usability. Department of Intelligent Computer Systems,
Faculty of ICT, University of Malta, Malta, 14 Apr. 2014. Web.
12 July 2016. <http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/2014/479286/>. -->
</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="source"> The introduction to this article discusses a very common
theme among web design research; websites play a central role in modern marketing.
Specifically that at one time, it was enough to just own a website, but now that
website are forced to compete vigorously.<note type="instructor">seems like you
might be missing a clause in this sentence, but now that they are forced to
compete...then what?</note> This paradigm influences the majority of the piece,
and and provides the reader with a valuable bare bones history<note
type="instructor">a history of this shift?</note>. </background>
<summary type="interpretation"> The meat of article is the discussion surrounding the
technical elements and procedures to automate usability. The authors suggest discuss
a number of empirical testing methods and already available analysis tools. The
articles can be summed up with this: <q>As a means of assisting website designers in
developing usable websites, the aim of this paper is to present a tool which
automates the process of website usability evaluation in order to eliminate the
current obstacles preventing this process from being exercised in practice.
</q><note type="instructor">citation?</note>
</summary>
<relevance type="application"> Despite the overwhelming majority of the article being a
discussion about automated usability testing, this article has a number valuable
outlines regarding what is expected of usability, referencing a number of previously
existing standards.<note type="instructor">this sentence seems like value statement
to me</note> Although the bulk of the tools listed and the discussion itself is
oriented at an professional audience, anyone can benefit from reading this article
by internalizing the paradigms that influenced it. In regards to the paper's
credibility, it is incredibly well sourced and provides a lengthy look into the
research process. </relevance>
</annotation>
<citation style="MLA" n="4">
<author n="1">Rodrigo Coutinho</author>
<ref>https://www.outsystems.com/blog/2011/01/what-makes-a-great-web-app-great.html</ref>
<title>What makes a great web app great?</title>
<!-- Coutinho, Rodrigo. "What Makes a Great Web App Great?" Web log post. N.p.,13 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 July 2016.
<https://www.outsystems.com/blog/2011/01/what-makes-a-great-web-app-great.html>.-->
</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="author"> Coutinho is an author and developer at Outsystems. Outsystems
is a business oriented application service that focuses on providing total packages.
For example: complete services like a web app and mobile that are integrated. </background>
<summary type="summary"> The author's short blog post provides us with a developer's
experience of web application design. He begins to talk about the external (user
end) experiences that create a valuable service, but then switches his focus to the
inner workings of a great web app. The author summarizes the characteristics that he
believes set an application up for success. The author also reminds of a common
pitfall of web development, and that is how the back end of the application must set
the front end up for success. </summary>
<relevance type="value_stmt"> Although short, the author uses the size of this blog post
well. Straight to the point, the author identifies what he wants to convey quickly
and effectively. Anyone in or outside the industry can benefit from reading this
blog post, especially if you are considering developing a web application.<note
type="instructor">last sentence might fit the definition for @type
application</note>
</relevance>
</annotation>
<citation style="MLA" n="5">
<author n="1">Paul Boag</author>
<ref>https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/how-to-build-a-better-web-application-for-your-business/</ref>
<title>How to Build a Better Web Application for Your Business</title>
<!-- Boag, Paul. "How To Build A Better Web Application For Your Business – Smashing Magazine." Smashing Magazine. N.p., 10 Aug. 2011.
Web. 12 July 2016. <https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/how-to-build-a-better-web-application-for-your-business/>.-->
</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="source"> Right out of the gate, Boag's blog post smacks you in the
face with its intentions. <q>Are you fed up with hearing about yet another Silicon
Valley Web application built with fairy dust and funded by magic pixies?</q> The
answer for many is yes, and Boag's candid humor sets the mood the reader. The post
is long, and detailed, but segmented in a way that is easy to digest. </background>
<summary type="approach"> As Boag puts it: <q>For us, developing a web application is
about meeting a particular business need</q> A clear and concise explanation,
Boag explains how most developers have to work around business interests.
Specifically stating that it is a luxury for a developer to have the digital
infrastructure as the primary concern. Without actually stating it, Boag explains
why it is common to see poor usiablity<note type="instructor">usability</note> on
highly funded projects. As a developer himself, Boag uses this blog post to share
his "secrets" of working with web applications within the confines of business
interests. Interestingly, they are not technical solutions, but personal ones. This
isn't always the approach of software developer, and it leaves the reader with more
to think about than just the relevant software development issues. </summary>
<relevance type="application"> Anyone looking to develop business oriented web
applications should read this blog post. The questions asked not only point out ways
to create better software, but also how to better interact in compartmentalized
corporations. Contractors, outside developers, or in-house developers will benefit
from Boag's ideas. This personal approach to developing is something all industry
workers should be conscious of, whether you lead a product or just joined a scrum
team. </relevance>
</annotation>
</annotated_bib>
<docReview>
<reviewer type="instructor" xml:id="kgs"/>
<report type="instructor" resp="#kgs">
<p>This is great work. I like the problem you selected, it seems well targeted and very
useful for NU, students, and the companies who employ co-op students. There are
certainly moments where the elements and attributes you used could be further
complicated: moments where 'application' bleeds into 'value_stmt' for instance, or
summary @types 'general' and 'approach' were hard to distinguish from one another.
These moments may simply be you pushing against the constraints of the schema, but
they may also have resulted from your choice to use just one @type of each of the
three required elements in your annotations, rather than, say, two summary elements
in one annotation and two relevance elements in another.</p>
<p>The other main thing I picked up on was that after reading your annotations, I wasn't
exactly sure how these would specifically help you solve or begin to design an
approach to the problem outlined in your problem statement. Do any of your sources
give you insight into a methodology for approaching the problem (i.e. how to get
contributors to increase their input on the interface? Or how to undertake usability
testing in a university/corporate environment? All of your sources are definitely
topically related, I'm just not totally clear on how they give you a sense of how to
approach your specific problem.</p>
</report>
</docReview>
</DOC>