# Generating Designs

The purpose of this activity is to practice designing UIs by sketching. Your goal is to design an interface for controlling the LCD projectors in a classroom like this one. Here's some relevant information from analysis.

### Hardware

The room you're designing for has:

- Two video signal channels sent to a system of LCD projectors arranged in pairs, capable of projecting two different images side-by-side against each wall of the room, so that all students can see the projected images;
- One cable for a laptop;
- One desktop PC permanently installed in the room;
- Ten numbered whiteboards around the walls, each with its own camera focused on it.

### Users

Lecturers are generally faculty members, aged 30-70. All have laptops. Some prepare lectures using PowerPoint; others prefer handwritten notes that they transcribe to blackboards or whiteboards. They don't have time to take a training class about A/V equipment.

### Tasks

- Give lecture, which includes as subtasks:
  - Show slides.
  - Write on board, which may include as a subtask:
    - Hide slides to avoid distraction.
  - Show other material such as videos, web sites, or demos.
- Do small-group activity. Activities happen at the whiteboards around the room. This task includes as subtasks:
  - Explain the activity, which may involve showing a slide, writing on the board, or showing a web page.
  - Discuss a group's results by showing its whiteboard so that the whole class can see it easily.

## Design Sketches

Design the interface that controls the two video signals going to the LCD projectors. (Assume that your interface will run on the built-in PC, so you have a keyboard, mouse, and high-resolution display.) Sketch at least three different designs. To help broaden your thinking, consider alternatives like this:

- a direct manipulation design
- a menu-and-forms design, using standard widgets
- a wizard

...but you aren't limited to these.

## Discussion

After drawing your sketches, discuss their pros and cons. Think about:

- How simple are your designs? Can you reduce them further, or force elements to do double-duty?
- How well do your designs support the tasks?
- Which aspects of usability matter for these users and these tasks? How do your designs fare on those aspects?
- What if MIT decided to staff the classroom with a full-time A/V operator?
- How flexible are your designs for unexpected or new tasks?