1. Informatics 121 Software Design I
Lecture 9 André van der Hoek
Duplication of course material for any commercial purpose without the explicit written permission of the professor is prohibited.
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
(c) 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

2. © 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek
Today’s Lecture
Design Studio I continuation
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

3. Design Studio I: Your Task
Cooking can be a daunting challenge. There are so many things to think about, so many steps, so many ingredients, and nobody likes the feeling of ruining hours of work and dozens of ingredients when something goes wrong. We feel there is a market for an educational cooking game, where players learn the basics of preparing, combining and cooking ingredients. This game should be real-time, forcing players to get used to the timing of the steps needed when cooking a complex dish or series of dishes. It should also enable players to experiment with new dishes they want to create. The exact interaction used is up to you, but it is important that the game not be too linear. The players should have access to a wide variety of options at all times, and the game should not simply stop a player when they make a mistake, but allow them to proceed with a dish that may be imperfect in some way. We do not know what recipes we want to teach yet, so the game should be able to accommodate new ingredients, tools and dishes, along with the graphics and sound effects that accompany them.
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

4. © 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek
Desgin Studio I: May 1st
Tuesday May 1st
each individual brings three different system designs that address the core concerns differently in each design
each individual brings one extra document that explicitly documents their design process
steps you took
alternatives you looked at
key decisions you made
your goals should be clear and well-articulated
each system design should address, in detail, how it tackles the concerns that form the essence of the “cooking problem”; choose appropriate representations and languages to do so
Each system design must address how you handle different ingredients, combinations, and evaluation of such combinations, though this is certainly not the only concern you should address
Bring TWO copies of everything
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

5. Just Some Questions – Approach
How did you approach coming up with three different system designs?
How difficult was it?
Where resides the essence of this particular design problem?
How do you know?
Did the essence shift during your design process?
What were some of the principal design decisions that you made (for one or more of the designs)?
Are those principal design decisions reflected in each system design?
in its representation
in its broader motivation / description
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

6. Just Some Questions – Meta Approach
Did you clearly articulate your goals?
Are these goal reflected in your representation?
What knowledge did you apply?
Did you find your knowledge lacking?
Did you look for ways of building more knowledge?
Did you make an explicit choice of representation?
Did you make an explicit choice of languages to use?
What design ideas could you easily express?
What design ideas could you not (so easily) express?
Did these improve your design process, ability to design, or insight into the problem and its solution?
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

7. Just Some Questions – The Problem at Hand
Do your system designs talk about:
platform?
internal model?
decision process?
the gaming experience?
Do your system designs talk about how it would be educationally beneficial?
how would you know?
Do your system designs talk about any other primary concerns?
which ones?
Should your system designs talk about other primary concerns?
user interaction, scoring mechanism, multi-player, sharing of recipes, kitchen assistance, …
portability, interoperability, reusability, evolvability, maintainabiity, verifiability, performance, user friendliness, robustness, correctness, …
“buildability” (feasibility)
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

8. Design Studio I: Thursday May 3rd
Each group brings one system design as a 15 minute presentation
you will be cut off at 15 minutes (but will receive appropriate warning beforehand)
each group brings one extra (short) document that explicitly documents their design process
steps you took
alternatives you looked at
key decisions you made
Key step from today until Thursday: bring together the “best” design ideas that have come forward from the individual group members into one coherent system design
Bring presentation on a memory stick or laptop
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

9. Design Studio I: Thursday May 3rd
Ensure that you address
the actual model of food preparation
how dishes are evaluated
creating a model that can be created, used, and updated
As well as the other vital concerns we have identified…
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

10. Design Studio I: Some Hints
Be open to the opinions of others
I do not expect that one particular design will stand up to all of the other design ideas
Step out of the act of designing
periodically examine your approach from the perspective of the product/process framework
Do not be afraid to try something, toss a design aside, radically change it, …
yes, even now
Do not forget to think about which representations and languages you will use and why
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

11. Design Studio I: Some Hints
Clearly articulate your assumptions, communication often is not as straightforward as it is
Remember, the focus is on idea transformation at this point
Do not forget the checklist of dimensions discussed last Tuesday, as well as the longer list discussed today
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

12. Design Studio I: A Look Forward
Tuesday, May 8th
each group brings a document containing a complete system design that they deem best
in full detail
so it can (hypothetically) be handed off to an implementation designer who can now – straightforwardly! – create an implementation design
each group brings an extra document detailing its design process
each group presents their system design in a 15-minute presentation
This is the culmination of this design studio
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek

13. © 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek
Design Studio I: Today
Get organized in permanent groups (for this design studio)
to begin bringing the “best” ideas together into one coherent system design
a twist – you will not reassemble in the same group as last week
group members will evaluate other group members at the end
Begin the conversation “right here, right now”
Feel free to use whichever medium is good for your group
May 8, 2019 – 14:25:25
© 2007 University of California, Irvine – André van der Hoek