Fall 2004: 4.208
Designing Persuasive Environments and Technologies

Project Details


This page provides more information about the final project expectations.

Individuals vs. teams

I expect most students to work individually. In special cases, teams may form, but each team member must have a clearly delineated sub-project that can stand on its own.   

Topic selection

You will be working on your project for the remainder of the semester and it will require a substantial amount of dedication to complete the project and accompanying conference-quality paper. Therefore, you should pick issues that you care passionately about. It is best to pick a platform that relies upon programming/design skills you already have rather than one that will require substantial tool learning in addition to the required academic work. 

Your project must fulfill the following criteria: 

Scope and implementation 

Each project will fit into one of the following types: 

Expectations for each project type are different. 

For the first option, the expectation is that a functional prototype system will be created that works within the limits of the available technologies. A significant challenge will be to design interfaces that work despite imperfect sensors and in situations where the ideal sensor is not available.  New sensors can be used if fully implemented.  You may assume that your system has access to whatever databases of information required, even if such databases are not currently available. Otherwise, however, the device must be fully functional and, essentially, ready to be evaluated. 

For the second option, a study with human subjects must be conducted and concluded by the end of the term where a behavior change intervention is proposed (most likely using some type of technology, albeit easy to implement) and tested in a real environment. This option will require that students create an intervention, design the study, obtain human subjects approval, collect data, and perform statistical analysis on the results. 

For the third option, the expectation is that a complete model for a ubiquitous computing space will be proposed and thoroughly described using renderings and models. A significant portion of the digital component of the interface must be adequately presented (e.g. using Flash mockups) so that a viewer can tell exactly how both the physical and digital components of the proposed space will look at various times. 

Once students settle on specific topic areas, guidelines for the expected scope of each project will be determined one a case by case basis. 

Presentation

Each student will be required to make a final presentation on the the project on the last day of class. This presentation must:  

Paper

Each student will turn in a 6-8 page conference-quality paper in CHI format. This paper must contain the following: 

Expectations are that this paper will flow nicely and be written in a clear and precise scientific conference paper style. The paper should be free of typos and poor grammar (to achieve this you will need several of your friends/colleagues to proof the paper for you). The quality of both your ideas and your writing should be high. 

Last modified: Thursday, September 30, 2004