Blacksburg, VA., Apr 30, 2015 PhotoClouds went live last Friday for Relay for Life! “Relay For Life” is a 24hour event where communities gather and honor cancer survivors, lost loved ones, and “fight” back against the disease. Users were essentially given the link and/or QR code and had to figure out how to use the applications. Next, they evaluated the application through a survey.
Results from evaluations composed of positive feedback. Users generally desired to use PhotoClouds in the future. Some of the conclusions were expected, such as preferred platforms (application vs browser) and website aesthetics. “Verbally, the people that I had asked to test the applications mentioned that they wish it was an mobile app versus using it from a browser,” said Romico. A conclusion that was not expected were the comments about using the QR code to share. Matt commented, “We made the assumption that people would realize they could also copy and paste the album’s URL to let others see it.” However, these are they types of conclusions that prove to be beneficial! They identify key issues that develops may not notice right away.
The next big event is the ICAT Day on Monday, May 4th. Here, Tyler, Matt, Romico and their peers will showcase their semester long projects at the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT). This week, team Cumulonimbus prepared a practice presentation in front of their peers and Dr. Luther. Helpful comments include adding the evaluation process and showcasing a user profile. In addition, Dr. Luther suggested, “Be able to answer ‘What makes this different than everything else out there?’”
Most of the spotlight in these next few days will be towards preparing for the ICAT Day. However, the project deliverable deadline is May 8th. Once ICAT Day passes, team Cumulonimbus will focus on finetuning PhotoClouds based on the evaluations and peer suggestions. User profiles will be reexamined as well as the sharing functionality.
Team Cumulonimbus is a team of three senior level computer science students at Virginia Tech: Matthew Bock, Romico Macatula, and Tyler Haines. All three of them have extensive skill sets in computer science after their years of study. With several semesters of experience in the field of humancomputer interaction at their disposal, the team is dedicated to creating the best experience possible for their users through rigorous testing and design iteration. Any questions or comments, contact Romico Macatula at rmac817@vt.edu.
