NOTE -- THIS HAS NOT YET BEEN REVISED FOR FALL 2000
Your course project Web site is the culminating project for CIS 212. It will bring together the planning, design, and production skills you've acquired throughout the semester. Your site should have at least 7 separate pages with original content and graphics (you may use clip art, but you should include some original graphics). Here are some of the milestones for your project:
Step 1: choose a topic
Here's a bit of advice to help you choose a topic:
 | You're going to be spending many hours on this project. Make it count by choosing a topic that interests you! |
| Stick with a subject area you already know to keep your research to a minimum |
| Make sure the topic is neither too broad nor too narrow. You should be able to brainstorm 5-7 subcategories or pages that would need elaboration. |
| If you don't have a final project topic in mind, review past projects or dip into the idea pool. |
| It's a good idea to get a little feedback from your instructor before you work on the project proposal. |
| Expanding your personal homepage is not appropriate for this assignment. Neither is a site that just links to other pages. |
Step 2: project proposal
Once you have a topic idea, you can begin to flesh out your vision of what the site will include. Before you get started, take a look at these online resources:
| Crash Course in Information Architecture |
| The New Web Strategy |
Here's what you need to include in your project proposal:
introduction |
Include your name, your topic, and a title for the site | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
audience |
Who will look at this site? Be as specific as possible (age group, educational background, gender, etc.). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
client |
Who are
you creating the site for? Are you creating for a business owner? Club?
Organization? Yourself? This is generally where you get information and
feedback. If you were doing Web design professionally, this is who would pay you.
THE CLIENT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS THE AUDIENCE! For example, imagine that your topic is Bob's Church, your audience is "families who attend Bob's church, generally well educated and family-oriented, not all church members have experience with computers and the Web." Your client is Bob or the board members of Bob's Church. Get the difference? They're the ones who would approve your work and pay you (if you were doing this professionally). |
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site goals |
What do
you hope to accomplish with this site? What could you measure to evaluate whether the
goals were met? Site goals are different from your personal goals. Here are some
sample site goals:
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content |
Brainstorm
a list of the content you would like to include in your site. At this point, you
don't have to organize or refine the list. Just list everything that comes to mind.
Start with the information you want to cover, then describe images, sounds, or video
clips if you have any in mind. Make your own list, then look at related sites for
ideas. Here's an example for Bob's church:
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interface |
Given your
audience and goals, how should this site look and behave? For example, you might
want a simpler site for kids or beginners. If your site is for seniors, you might
consider larger fonts. Kids like brighter colors and a whimsical interface. If
your audience are business people, you might want subdued colors and a no-nonsense
professional look.
It's a good idea to sketch ideas for your main and secondary pages. |
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related sites |
It's always a good idea to look at other Web sites for inspiration. List the URL's for at least 3 other sites with similar content. |
Your proposal should be a file called proposal.htm in a folder called project. Worth 25 points.
For a good example, See Tammy Marshall's 1999 proposal.
Step 3: flowchart
The flowchart helps describe your site content and structure in a visual way. Once you have finished your proposal, you are ready to refine and organize your brainstormed content list. The big secret here is to think about your audience and what they will want to see, and how to best organize the content to meet their needs. If you are planning to do a lesson, you may want to have a sequential structure with "Previous" and "Next" buttons. For most sites, a hierarchical structure works best. Think about whether you site meets the needs of first-time visitors as well as return visitors.
The flowchart is basically a bunch of labeled boxed connected with lines. Each box represents a page in the final Web site and the lines represent links. Sometimes it's hard to show all the links, but you should be able to show the basic structure of the site. Some students like to turn in a flowchart and an outline so they can clarify the content on each page (a useful step even if you don't turn it in!). You may do your flowchart on paper, in MS Word, or in another application (desktop publishing, draw program, etc. -- just make sure to save it in a format I can read. Ask if you're not sure.). Turn in your work by mailing it to me at Cuyamaca College (you can also put it in my mailbox), faxing it to me (ask me for the fax number), posting it on a Web page, or attaching it to an e-mail message. Make sure I get it by the due date!
Here's an example of the flowchart for my CIS web site. I did not show the full hierarchy here, but hopefully you get the idea.
Step 4: prototype
The prototype is like a rough draft and should be complete enough for you to get feedback on what you're most uncertain about. On the day the prototype is due, come prepared to get feedback from your classmates.
Step 5: peer review
For this class activity, you'll use a scoring rubric to provide feedback to your peers. They'll do the same for you, so you should have a good idea of what needs work on your site. Your completed project will be graded using the same rubric.
Step 6: final Web site
The final project will be graded using a scoring rubric.
Step 7: presentation
During the last week of class, each student will present site highlights. Your presentation should be 3-5 minutes & should cover the highlights of your site.
