Computer Science Databases
Beginner
160 mins
Teacher/Student led
What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC

Testing and Documentation

In this lesson, you'll explore how to test and evaluate your project while documenting your progress. Follow step-by-step guidance on usability testing, peer reviews, and creating a structured report. Build a digital portfolio and complete a self-assessment rubric.
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    1 - Introduction

    In this lesson, you will learn how to test and evaluate your project, and document your work.

    You'll also get guidance on report structure, including the design process and ethics. Activities include debugging, peer review, and uploading to a digital portfolio. By the end, you'll have a self-assessment rubric to review your work. It should take about 240 minutes over several sessions. Work at your own pace, and remember to collaborate with your team where needed.

    Remember, your interactive information system combines a database, backend, and frontend. Ensure everything is integrated and working before starting.

    2 - Usability Testing

    Now that you've built your frontend, it's crucial to test it for usability. This means checking how easy and enjoyable it is for others to use. Usability testing helps identify any issues early, ensuring your interactive information system is user-friendly, creative, and functional. You'll ask peers to try it out and gather their feedback, then make improvements based on what you learn.

    Why Usability Testing Matters: It simulates real users interacting with your system, revealing problems you might not notice yourself, like confusing navigation or slow-loading elements. This step aligns with good UI principles by focusing on accessibility, simplicity, and engagement.

    Testing Steps:

    • Prepare Your Test: Set up your frontend on a device or share a link if it's hosted. Create a list of tasks for testers, such as 'Search for a book' or 'Add an item to a list', based on your system's features.
    • Check Responsiveness: Test how your site looks and works on different devices, like mobiles, tablets, and desktops. Resize your browser window or use developer tools to simulate various screen sizes.
    • Verify Interactivity: Ensure all interactive elements, like buttons, forms, and dynamic updates, work without errors. Click through everything yourself first to catch obvious bugs.
    • Gather Feedback: Ask at least two peers (classmates or friends) to use your system while you observe. Have them think aloud about what they're doing and any difficulties. Afterwards, ask questions like: 'Was it easy to navigate?', 'Did the design feel creative and engaging?', 'What would you improve?' Focus on ease of use, creativity, and functionality.
    • Analyse and Iterate: Note down all feedback, positive and negative. Prioritise fixes, such as adjusting layouts for better responsiveness or adding clearer instructions. Make changes to your HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, then retest if needed.
    Tip: Be open to criticism – it's about improving your project, not defending your design. If possible, record the sessions (with permission) to review later.
    Activity: Conduct a usability test with at least two people. Document the feedback in a simple table or notes, then iterate on your design by making at least one improvement based on what you learned. Test the changes to ensure they resolve the issues.

    3 - Peer Review Activity

    Peer review involves getting feedback from classmates to improve your project. By sharing your work and incorporating suggestions, you'll enhance usability, address ethical concerns, and boost creativity in your interactive information system.

    Why Peer Review Matters: It provides fresh perspectives on your project, helping identify issues like confusing interfaces or overlooked ethical problems that you might miss. This collaborative process encourages iterative improvements, ensuring your system is functional, user-friendly, and aligned with best practices in design and ethics.

    Peer Review Steps:

    • Prepare Your System: Ensure your interactive information system is ready for testing, with all features integrated (database, backend, frontend). Share access via a link or demo setup.
    • Select Reviewers: Choose 2-3 peers (classmates or team members) to review your project. Explain the purpose and provide any necessary instructions.
    • Conduct the Review: Ask them to test key features, noting strengths and weaknesses. Encourage them to focus on usability (e.g., ease of navigation), ethics (e.g., data privacy), and creativity (e.g., engaging design elements).
    • Gather Feedback: Observe their interactions and have them provide input on specific aspects, such as intuitive interfaces or potential ethical issues.
    • Analyse and Iterate: Review all feedback, prioritise changes, and apply iterative problem-solving to make improvements, such as refining UI elements or enhancing data security.
    Tip: Approach feedback positively – it's an opportunity to strengthen your project. If possible, record notes during the session to capture details accurately.
    Activity: Organise a peer review session. Create a feedback form with questions like 'Is the interface intuitive?' and 'Any ethical concerns?'. Make at least one improvement based on the feedback.

    4 - Report Structure Guidance

    Documenting your project in a structured report is essential for communicating your work effectively. This emphasises ethical considerations in your interactive information system.

    Why Report Structure Matters: A well-structured report demonstrates your understanding of the project, from planning to implementation, and highlights how you've addressed ethics like data privacy and accessibility. It helps evaluators see your problem-solving skills, creativity, and adherence to best practices, making your work more professional and comprehensive.

    Report Structure Steps:

    • Introduction: Provide a project overview and identify user needs.
    • Design Process: Detail your planning, including database building, backend and frontend development. Reference concepts from the Algorithms and Pseudocode unit.
    • Implementation: Include code snippets and explanations of how features were built.
    • Testing and Evaluation: Describe the tests conducted and results obtained.
    • Ethics: Discuss issues such as data protection, accessibility, and societal impacts, drawing from the Networking and Society unit.
    • Conclusion: Reflect on your work and suggest future improvements.
    Tip: Use clear headings, visuals like diagrams, and keep language concise to make your report engaging and easy to follow.
    Activity: Draft your report using this structure. Include diagrams of your system architecture and ethical considerations, such as how you handle user data securely.

    5 - Digital Portfolio Upload

    Compiling your work into a digital portfolio is a key final step in showcasing your interactive information system. This involves organising all your project files, documentation, and evidence of your design process, testing, and ethical considerations for easy access and review.

    Why Digital Portfolio Matters: A well-organised portfolio demonstrates your complete project journey, from database integration to frontend design, and highlights how you've addressed ethics like data privacy. It allows evaluators to see your problem-solving, creativity, and iterative improvements in one place, making it easier to appreciate the full scope of your interactive information system and its real-world applicability.

    Digital Portfolio Upload Steps:

    • Gather Your Materials: Collect all relevant files, including code (frontend, backend, database), your report, screenshots of key features, test logs, and any diagrams illustrating system architecture or user flows.
    • Organise Your Files: Structure them into logical folders, such as 'Frontend', 'Backend', 'Database', 'Documentation', and 'Testing' to make navigation intuitive.
    • Choose a Platform: Upload to a service like Google Drive or GitHub for version control and easy sharing. If using GitHub, create a repository and push your files there.
    • Verify Accessibility: Test the portfolio link to ensure everything is accessible, files open correctly, and there are no broken links or permission issues.
    Tip: Use version control on GitHub to track changes – it's a great way to show your iterative process. If sharing publicly, double-check for sensitive information to maintain ethical standards like data privacy.
    Activity: Upload your portfolio and share the link with your teacher for verification.

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