12th October 2013
Today I read through the SDD HSC major project guidelines and specifications, I still don’t know what project I am going to attempt to create however I want to use geometric shapes and do something with graphics. I don’t know if I have the skill to complete a project however I think if I work gradually through each stage of the assessment I will be able to complete the project and manage the workload.
15th October 2013
Today in class we brainstormed ideas for the SDD Major project. I am considering creating a three dimensional shape that the user will essentially be inside of. The shape will be a polyhedron and images uploaded by the user will be displayed on the inner side of each face. The space will act as a virtual art gallery, which the user will be able to navigate around.
21st October 2013
Today I began to write my project proposal. I have specified the aim of my project and discussed possible clients. I need to work out the details of how the program will actually work from the users point of view (user interface). I also need to talk with clients to identify their needs and preferences for my project. Client communication will be key to creating a successful project.
29th October 2013
I started to create my Gantt chart. I am not sure how detailed it needs to be, do I need to define tasks for every stage of the project or just the stages for now. I am also unsure of the dates that the next sections of the project are issued and due. I will talk to my teacher and ask what needs to be included.
31st October 2013
I talked to my teacher and asked about the issues I had with the Gantt chart. He told me the dates for each section i.e. planning and design, implementation, testing and evaluation. He also said it wasn’t necessary to include specific task in these next sections and that we will add them as we go along. He said that if I wanted to I could add some milestones but it wasn’t needed at this point.
12th November 2013
Today I worked on my project proposal. I needed to make it more detailed and specific. I also determined the maximum amount of sides that I wanted the shape to be and researched some more options of shapes. I decided that I am going to have an option for the user to determine the shape of their gallery from a bank of options; this will give the user more flexibility and artistic licence.
13th November 2013
I began drawing my screen designs for my project. I decided that I would hand draw them on grid paper and then scan them onto the computer and add colour. This means that I don’t have to deal will drawing on the computer which is often difficult.
15th November 2013
I scanned my screen design drawings onto the computer and thought that it is probably easier to use them as a guideline as it is too difficult to draw the shapes neatly on the computer. I used Photoshop to change images of the polyhedrons (the ones I am using in my screen designs) to white with black outline and then colour them on the computer. This made my job much easier. It also meant that I didn’t have to worry about sizing of shapes in comparison to one another, improving overall consistency in the design.
17th November 2013
I finished my screen designs and completed the storyboards. I didn’t have much difficulty doing this however I want to communicate with clients to make sure my screen designs are readable, consistent, appealing and structured.
20th November 2013
I created a survey on survey monkey to send to my clients about my idea. I want to see if they have any ideas/criticism to develop my project as well as any criticism about my screen designs.
21st November 2013
I am making my IPO chart and I am not sure how specific I have to be in terms of making it like how you would write it in code. I asked by dad whether he thought this was what I needed to do and he thought it was ok. I will send it on to Mr. Drake later to see if I have done it right.
22nd November 2013
I have done my context diagram. I didn’t have too much difficulty but I am not sure how detailed it needs to be for this stage of the project. From the textbook it looks fairly simple and then the data flow diagram should define it more specifically.
24th November 2013
I have looked over some responses that I collected from my survey and most people think that it is a great idea. I need to make a few adjustments to my screen design though. They said that the black box on the opening page is too big and that there needs to be some information on what the program is i.e. a ‘what does it do?’ page.
25th November 2013
We went over data flow diagrams, structure charts etc. in class and I am now more clear on what I have to do. I am still not completely clear about data dictionaries but I can get some help from my Dad. I completed the data flow diagram by adding more detail to the context diagram. We had gone over this in class which made it easier for me to do it as in the past I have had difficulty.
29th November 2013
I finished my structure chart on Google docs. The program made it easier to make the flag arrows (with the circles on the ends). I don’t think it is detailed enough so I will send it to Mr. Drake for a final check before I submit it.
I created the flow chart on draw.io and I will also send this to Mr. Drake to make sure it is ok. I am starting to understand how to create all this documentation more comprehensively. I am running behind schedule but all I have left to do if the social & ethical issues and reflection stages tomorrow.
30th November 2013
I am determining which social and ethical issues are appropriate for my project. I have done this before in design and technology so I shouldn’t have too much difficulty.
I have no idea what and how to upload things to my hippo page so I have to ask someone to help me on Monday at school.
1st December 2013
I have read over the social and ethical issues in the textbook and then applied them to my system. I have also written my reflection.
2nd December 2013
Today I learnt how to upload things to the website (hippo). I have reformatted all my documents onto web pages and uploaded them. It seems to be a simple process but it takes a bit of persistence to get it working right. I also went over my documentation with Mr. Drake. I have to make a few minor changes to elements of the documentation. Firstly I have to add an input/output box that shows how the user interacts with the view i.e. navigation. I also had to add a few items to my data dictionary; I was not sure whether these things were to replace ones I had already included. I asked Mr. Drake and now understand why these things were needed. Furthermore I have to create another structure chart, I already constructed one to view gallery but I need another one for create gallery. Lastly I have to look over my IPO chart and make sure it is consistent with the other diagrams and documentation.
3rd December 2013
I have made the changes to the documentation that Mr. Drake suggested and I am reading over my other documentation to make sure that it is complete. I have to make some changes to the client communication, add more details about how I can implement some client suggestions for my project. I found out that the due date is actually a day later so I have decided to change the format of my website. I am now using a program called Wix to create my website as it has a much better look and it is easier to use.
4th December 2013
Today I have added the final touches on my website, my documentation and completed my logbook. It will be a challenging project to complete due to my lack of skill and experience however I think I will be able to produce a good solution.