THE GARVAN O'DOHERTY GROUP®
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THE GARVAN O'DOHERTY GROUP®
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Human Computer Interaction Problem statement:
“Design a series of web pages whereby someone
can gain useful information about the Carraig bar and also have the opportunity
after having been convinced, from the available information provided, apply for
membership to an exclusive platinum members scheme currently on offer within the
bar.” After
approaching the Carraig with the idea to design for them a web site. I was
greeted with great enthusiasm, as this was something, which they had planned to
do for some time. They even provided me with some of the requirements, which
they would like to see included in the site. Management was not concerned that
the page would not be functional as eventually the same task would have to be
carried out by the company’s own web designer but agreed to aid the project as
it would provide them with an idea for what they would be looking for. After
meeting with management we decided that the page should include a number of
things these can be seen below. The
Activity to be supported: In the creation of this sit a number of areas which had to be
considered in order to make the site beneficial to users including management of
the Carraig and potential viewers was that we had to take into account there
level of expertise. The manager informed me that they themselves have no
experience with web-page design and it usually handled by the design department
in the head office. It was necessary for us to create a page that would be as
informative and uncomplicated as possible and quick to access. For this reason
we have included links to each page on the site on each individual page and each
name for each page is clearly named and should be easily understood. Similarly
as we recognized that more and more families were going online it should be
considered that connection speed may not be great so it would not be
advantageous to place slow to load graphics or movies onto the page as this may
drive potential customers away from the page. For this reason pictures were kept
to a minimum. In doing this we recognized that there had to be a trade-off and
that while we both recognized that as the target audience was students or those
aged between 18-25 we would have liked to have included at least some form of
eye-catching dynamic interaction with the page but in the end we agreed that it
was best to focus on getting the sales pitch across to people and we did not
want to distract from the message of the site i.e., come and visit the Carraig
Bar. Conceptual/interaction/presentation
Design: On original design of the web-site done out on paper
I decided that it would be best examine some of the literature available on
designing web –sites to see if my original ideas could be both workable and
expanded upon. The
first thing, which became apparent, was that it would be necessary to use a
sophisticated web design package to create the web site. It had originally been
my intention to create the site in Netscape Composer but after experimenting
with these packages I realized that it did not offer the professional look,
which both Carraig management and myself felt that the site deserved. The design
was then taken to use Microsoft FrontPage 98 a package that is both easy to use
and offered us the professional quality, which it was felt, was needed. Also
it was recognized that a page should not be cluttered with irrelevant
information and the scattered use of pictures, which provide no useful
information in the overall structure of the page. Indeed after taking this
advice page size and information was cut considerably. On viewing the page in a
browser the advantage of doing this was clearly evident both in download time
and in the time needed to consume the information on the page and scroll down
through it. Requirements
Analysis: Before
attempting to create the sight I examined a number of other web sites, which
detailed information regarding the hospitality industry. These included www.Arkaos.co.uk,
http://cafe-med.com, http://theBarPage.com,
And
of course I also had to check out the parent company’s own web site located at
www.god-group.com. The
first thing, which we agreed on immediately, was that we would like pictures of
the bar incorporated into the site (these would all be provided by the bar
itself). From these a select few were chosen. The
nest step was to outline what type of information would the site incorporate we
therefore decided on the following information to be displayed. -
Location of the premises. -
Opening hours. -
Regular entertainment nights (i.e., when the bar is offering some form of
entertainment i.e., D.J.s. (Management provided relevant details regarding this
information) -
Major up and coming events. A list of these was provided and can be
viewed on the web-page -
Special promotions and admission information. As regards the information
to go on this form it was decided that it should be primarily aimed at the
student population as the bar is so close to Magee university and that this
should be the target audience as it is likely they would seek to take most
advantage of any special deals. So it was decided that we should include only
basic information such as Name, Date Of Birth, Address, Course and Telephone and
E-mail information. In addition to this the management suggested that in future
all this information may be placed in some form of database and that they may
also wish to apprise members of various promotions taking place within other
company outlets. -
Platinum membership application form. (Functioning or non-functioning
this was not an issue for management at this time. -
Garvan O’Doherty Group logo on all pages as well as a link to main
company site contact information for the bar itself. -
Relevant information regarding sales pitch at my discretion but to be
approved by the management. -
I had to insist on the inclusion on each page of a link out of the web
site to a search engine. To give the user the opportunity to leave the site at
their leisure and to provide an easy exit for those taken to the site by
accident. (www.Yahoo.co.uk was chosen) Finally the
finished product would have to be approved by management and a copy of the site
given to them. Screen: As I previously stated what was aimed for was
as much information to be put across in as little space as possible so as not to
bore the viewer for this reason the following was done. - All Buttons,
links made to stand out and be recognized. - Banners,
Headers and logos justified or centered. -
A background colour was incorporated to give the page a unique presence. Usability: Review
of site by Course colleague:
Site could have been improved by adding in some animations. Application
form could have been spread out better and included more details. Site
seemed to be a little to office like i.e., a bit too sterile. Review
of site by 13 yr old:
All links appeared easy to use in that he found no difficulty in locating
all of the sites and seemed to take in all most of the information as I asked
him questions at the end just to see what kind of interaction he had with the
site i.e., did he just look at the pictures or did he scan the text. It appeared
to me that he had taken most time looking at the pictures and merely scanned the
text. Aside from this he had no difficulty navigating the site and exited it
with ease. Other
Factors: After completing the site and reviewing it with the
Carraig bar management we were both quite happy with it and he reported that the
site covered all the information which he required. After re-considering the site myself however I
noticed that thee were a number of things, which I would have liked to have
changed. Firstly the inclusion of forward and back buttons on the actual pages
themselves. Headers could have been bigger and buttons could have been spaced
out more. The most pressing aspect of the site which I would
have liked to have changed would have been the introduction of multi-media
images and much more captivating displays which can be constructed using
applications such as Flash 4 etc. Unfortunately I did not have the technical
expertise and the primary user suggested that it was not an essential
requirement. |
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