version 0.1
For this first prototype of the second semester, I wanted to start a really rough Proof-of-Concept implementation. I want to get a version out to the public by the end of the semester, so I wanted to get a better grasp of the system I was trying to implement. You can check out the prototype here.
Document your latest prototype on your blog. Analyze your learnings from this prototype. Address the following questions:
- Does it feel more or less promising? Why?
More. Even though there are 1000 things wrong with it, it is now a real thing and works. This gave me the confidence that I can iterate on what I have. I’m sure I still have big changes to make, but I’ll better be able to scope how long those changes will take.
I was able to get a lot of good feedback from my classmates because I brought it to a real place. If I had just done another UX prototype, I probably wouldn’t have been able to learn as much.
I like it because this simple working version has helped me prioritize what I need to improve first. Now that I have an implementation todo list, I feel more like this can become a real thing.
2. What were unanticipated challenges or successes?
I never thought I would get it this far. I got a really good technical consult from Jenil and was able to learn the basics of React and Firebase by making this prototype. I feel really confident in expanding on what I’ve made.
What was challenging was picking to an implementation strategy and sticking to it. I wanted something that was flexible and could do some of the things I had in my head, but that meant choosing something I wasn’t completely confident in. Now I have to wrestle with keeping what I’ve done so far or just scrapping it.
I’m also getting a lot of feedback from a lot of different people, which is hard to prioritize. They are all good suggestions, but I need to makes sure I take care of the most important ones first.
I made big structural changes, but didn’t do enough to account for them in my XD prototype. Now I’m spending time in XD catching up to where my working prototype is. Probably not a good thing.
3. What are key insights and implications of this exploration to your thesis exploration and concept?
Visualizing and explaining how the system works is going to be challenging. I need to spend significant time focusing on the IA, and stop being concerned about HiFi visuals or implementation details. In other words, I should spend the next couple weeks wireframing.
A lot of the feedback was on the page hierarchy. Everything from how the sections are titled, to how pages will be found, to the the ideolgoies/subideologies will be explained to newcomers needs to be made more clear.
The “savvy” and the “politicos” probably won’t read this. They have enough sources and they feel confident in assembling a new opinion about recent events. My target is the people who don’t really know much or have a limited set of sources for news. Maybe they haven’t been too concerned about current events/politics, and have no clue where to start. If I want “new” people, then I need to cater to where they feel uncomfortable.
For example, Janel suggested I should give really good background on an issue. I also kept hearing that people don’t understand the meaning of the different perspective. I want to allow for a ~200 character synopsis on what each ideology/perspective means. For example, why are new england liberals different than california liberals?
4. Regardless if this is the idea you’ll be pursuing moving forward, reflect on the insights learned that may be applied to future prototypes (for example, lessons on reward, cue indicators, etc.).
I need to keep reminding myself that most people aren’t deeply engaged in politics. I’m hyper-engaged (which is probably unhealthy). I care not to know how many times I check twitter a day.
So I need to remind myself that people don’t understand the nuances of the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign, or Bernie Sanders’ medicare-for-all plan, or Kirsten Gillebrand’s close ties to the Clinton network.
They also don’t understand the difference between Ideology A and Ideology B. Neither do I in a lot of cases. What kinds of people end up with that type of ideology? What are the strong beliefs and weak beliefs of those people.
I need to keep thinking about ways to expose the things most people don’t know.
