Individual Journal

Journal entry #1
 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

05/03/09
Today was my first Industry Project class! Paul went through the nitty gritty of the
course outline and what was expected in this class. In the second half of the class we
were in a way, introduced informally to the members of our group for the semester. My
group consists of Bob Brown, Anna Smith, and Anita Chan (Cara). They seemed nice.
My first impressions of them were that Bob was very much a strong character and I
could see him as an instant leader of the group. He spoke very confidently and seemed
to be like a know it all. I was slightly intimidated by Anna when we met. She was a
powerful character. She looked serious and exudes a very mature personality. Cara on
the other hand was very quiet- like most international students. It was a group of very
different and interesting personalities but two leaders emerged in the first meeting
almost instantly. I would say that Cara and myself are the doers in the team and Anna
and Bob are the leaders. It will be interesting to see how we form and perform together
as a team. We traded numbers and details and set a date for our first group meeting-
11/03/09.

Lessons learned:
After this first class with Paul, I decided to analysed myself and tried to understand my
character a bit more. I think that I am definitely a follower but a leader when needed. I
tend to always be the one that breaks the ice. I try to involve people whenever I can. I
will steer most conversations but once they have started I will sit back and observe. I
am good at observing and analysing people and their actions. I listen and try to
understand everyone’s point of view. For this assessment, I believe my strengths lie in
documentation work- writing, editing, finalising- as I have an eye for detail. I am fair. I do
as I’m told but will speak my opinion if necessary. I’m laid back and joke around but
when it comes down to it, I work hard and put in my fair share. I enjoy helping others
and meeting new people. I am looking forward to the challenges and rewards that this
project has to offer us and I am looking forwarding to sharing this experience with my
new team members and hopefully by the end of it make some lifelong friends and not
enemies! :P

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #2
11/03/09
Today was our first group meeting! Cara, Anna and myself met at 11:30 in the Project
Hub. Bob couldn’t make it due to work so he rang us on the phone at 12pm to join the
meeting. Anna was more different from how I thought she would be initially. She’s a lot
like me in some ways. I could easily open up to her and feel like I could tell her my
opinions without it being shut out. Cara was still very quiet and Anna and I tried to get
more out of her but I think she was just shy. At the meeting, we spoke about the course
and confirmed with each other what was needed to get done. Once Bob joined us via
conference call we spoke about our strengths and weaknesses were and how we each
could best contribute to the team and project at hand. We also decided on a team
leader- Anna. It was either going to be Anna or Bob all along but I think (and the others
also thought as well) that due to Bob’s busy work schedule that it was best if Anna took
on the role. I was quite happy with this to be honest because although Bob and Anna
were potential leaders, they were two very different leaders. I felt that Anna was more
approachable than Bob. Bob is more of a do what I say leader whereas I felt that Anna
will listen to all the members. We agreed on the following roles by the end of the
meeting today:

• Team Leader: Anna

• Scribe: Cat
• Researcher/Analyst: Bob & Cara

The meeting ending on us talking about what questions to ask Paul in our next meeting
with him tomorrow. We also set ourselves the task of doing a little research on the
organization and come up with a few questions we would like to ask the client.

Lessons Learned
-

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #3
12/03/09
In today’s meeting with Paul, we told him what the team has done so far- who has what
role etc. Paul spoke to us about his role & what is to be expected from him and from the
client (XYZComm), how to deal with our team & the client (XYZComm), and the
deliverables/ documentation that required from us. We asked Paul to clarify our
questions about the project & the client (XYZComm).
After our meeting with Paul the group stayed back to discuss and concerns or issues we
had & the next meeting’s agenda. It was agreed that we would work on the list of
questions for our client and read and understand what Usability is. We also talked about
& decided on a version control style to use throughout our project. We decided that
minor changes would be increment by 0.1 and major changes will change the version
by a whole unit.

Lessons Learned
-

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #4
18/03/09
Today we spoke about our first contact with the client via emails & discuss a date and
time when we could meet them. We agreed that our first client meeting is to be on
Wednesday 25th March @ 12:30 – 1:30pm. The group decided it was a good idea that
we download & have a look at ABC500 Demo before meeting the client. We went
through the project plan template and assigned sections of the document to team
members according to their strengths and interest in the sections. I was quite
comfortable with my sections. We ended the meeting on agreeing to keep working on
the questions for client and having a look at and attempting the Project Plan.

Lessons Learned
It was quite unclear what is expected of our client Melissa French. From what Anna has
told us about her e-mails and conversations she’s had with Melissa, she seem to be a
no nonsense sort of lady which is kind of frightening. Not ever having dealt with a real
client before I was feeling a little unsure of the whole thing. What have I gotten myself
into? It was scary to think that soon enough that after completing my degree that I would
have to interact with clients such as Melissa. I am really eager at the same time to meet
her so that we can get a start on the project because right now everything seems up in
the air for me.

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #5
25/03/09
Today we meet our client face to face for the first time. Anna and I meet at 10am and
work on the final changes for the interview questions. We met Cara at 11:30 and
headed off to the client site to meet up with Bob. We arrived at 12pm and quickly
debriefed Bob on what has or has not changed. We made our way into XYZComm at
12:15pm and were greeted by Melissa French. She seemed very casual and laid back. I
was really nervous prior to the meeting not knowing what to expect of Melissa as I’ve
heard that she was quite tough and a no-nonsense type of person. Seeing her in person
was kind of a relief. She was pretty nice and not scary at all! I felt more at ease once we
have sat down and were introduced to everyone and the meeting had started. The
meeting went pretty well. We didn’t follow the whole structure of our questions as
planned but it worked out well. During the meeting, I felt that Jack was a bit reluctant to
release information to us. He told us things but I felt he didn’t want to tell us everything.
On the other hand, to my surprise Melissa was quite helpful and willing to help in
anyway. I guess I could say that the meeting went smoothly and we went away some
information about the project and the product under development. Though we did go
away with more information, I felt that it wasn’t clear as to what we were meant to do
from here- it was sort of up in the air so to speak. I think the whole meeting was
satisfying in that got to meet the client, chat to them, and know a bit more about the
product. At the end of the meeting with Melissa, Jack ran us through a demonstration of
the ABC500 Administration Interface. It seemed that the product was incomplete which
will be a challenge for us!

Lessons Learned
From the initial meeting with the client, I learned that you should be prepared. I think we
did pretty well in terms of preparing the questions we wanted to ask. We all came
dressed up in corporate gear which gave us a more professional impression. I always
feared that Melissa wouldn’t take us seriously and that we’re just a group of students
but at the meeting it felt really professional. I was happy about that!

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Journal entry #6
26/03/09
Today we met up with Paul in our usual time slot 12:30-1:00pm in EN209. We
discussed our initial client meeting that we’d had yesterday with Melissa French, Jack,
Widgit, and Richard. I think that our meeting with Melissa and XYZComm went well. We
were all really nervous and excited at the same time I think. Paul gave us some tips on
how to deal with clients like Melissa and Jack which was helpful and we will definitely
take that on board. In today’s meeting we also discussed sections of the project plan
and showed Paul what was done so far.

Lessons Learned
It was very interesting to learn what Melissa was like in person. Surprisingly she was
very nice and easy to get on with. Her colleague however, was…. different! I guess
because Jack is in charge of the development of this application that he is very skeptical
and reluctant to reveal any information. I think he was a little unsure as to why we were
there and therefore was more defensive at times. We found that Melissa was the one
who helped us a lot and push through our ideas to her colleagues. I thought that we
would be dealing mostly with Melissa for this project but it looks like we will be dealing
with Jack quite a bit too. The key now is to get Jack to trust us and to work with us! It
just goes to show that you can’t always assume you know the type of people you’ll be
working with. I learned that people aren’t who you expect them to be. For example, I
thought Melissa was mean and tough, and rude judging by her e-mail and telephone
calls. However, she turned out to be quite easy going and approachable. What we
perceived of Melissa from her e-mails and phone conversations were totally different to
what she was like face-to-face!

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Journal entry #7
01/04/09
Today Anna, Cara and Myself went to see Karola for advice on how to conduct our
usability testing for our project. Karola was really helpful and gave us suggestions on
how we should attack the project. She gave us some examples and tips on how to do
the testing methods we wanted to do. Karola lead us in the right direction. After talking
to Karola, we now know which testing methods would be most suitable and fit the
timeframe we have. We have decided to conduct the following tests:

• Heuristics evaluation
• Quick and Dirty testing
• Camtasia recording

We hope that the next time we see the client we could get Jack to run through the tasks
as we record them using Camtasia. We can then take that away and review and
analyse each tasks. Until our next meeting with XYZComm, there is not much we can
do except the documentations which I believe we are on top of.

Lessons Learned
I have learned this week to use your resources. Seeing Karola this week I believe has
really helped us decide on the testing methods to be used. She is a valuable resource
to us and we have used her wisely. I have learned to get advice and help from as many
people as possible. They might see things differently than you do not being involved in
the project and they might also make suggestions that are very useful and helpful to
you!

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #8
09/04/09
Group meeting with Paul.
Today we had our usual meeting with Paul. Anna mentioned to Paul in the meeting that
we were a little unclear and concerned about Bob’s section of the report. The problem
with Bob’s section is that some parts were not relevant to the project and the report.
Anna had mentioned this to Cara and I earlier and we were all not too sure. So she
clarified it with Paul today at the meeting and he agreed that some parts were not
relevant. The second part of the problem is how to tell Bob. We didn’t know how to bring
it up to Bob without hurting his feelings. So Paul said we could say that we emailed the
draft to him for feedback and those parts need working on.

Lessons Learned
The problem that we faced with Bob’s section of the report demonstrated to me the lack
of effective communication within the group. Because Cara, Anna & I meet up regularly
face to face, we have a clear idea of what was required.

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #9
22/04/09
Today Anna, Cara & I went to see Karola to get advice on our testing. We went through
the application (ABC500) and compared it with the screen shots that we had printed out.
Most of our time was spent on trying to understand how to do the particular tasks from a
users’ perspective. It was very difficult to do for two main reasons:

1. We were not database administration users. Therefore it was hard for the four of
us to know the steps involved & how to do the tasks properly.

2. The software is still under development so it was extremely difficult for us to

know which part of the UI was an actual error/ poor design as opposed to the
design being there for a reason- for example, something an administrator would
know.

We spent 1-1 ½ hour playing around with the software and trying to grasp an
understanding of how things ‘should’ work.

Lessons Learned
One thing I learnt this week is that doing a Usability test on an unfinished piece of
software is very hard!! Not having the needed database knowledge or how a directory is
meant to work makes our project that much harder to do. To make the most of a
Usability test, real end users of the system should be tested. However, for this project
we don’t have access to the end users. This means not only is it much harder for us,
more time will be used on trying to understand the tasks& the end result &
recommendation will not fully reap the benefits of a proper Usability test exercise.

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Journal entry #10

29/04/09
Today we had our interim presentation with XYZComm at 12:30pm at their office in
Kew. It was organized that Anna and Bob were to do the presentation. I was quite
happy with that because both Anna and Bob are much more outspoken than Cara and
Myself. The whole idea of thoday’s presentation was to inform our client of the current
progress of our project. After the presentation which ran for about 20 minutes, Melissa
and Paul left and the team stayed back with Jack to install a newer version of ABC500
onto Anna’s laptop.

Lessons Learned
I felt that today went just OK. There were a few mistakes that we could have avoided
had we had more practices. Personally, I felt that Bob needed improvement. He was
reading off a piece of paper, he wasn’t looking at the people (he was talking to the walls
and windows and only to Paul), he skipped his slide and we had a moment of
awkwardness! I was really worried! But he picked up from there so that was a relief!
Anna, I felt performed great. If we had practiced more I’m sure it would have helped.
Practice makes perfect and I’m sure we will need plenty of practices for our final
presentation!

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #11

07/05/09
In today’s meeting, we did our usual update with Paul on our progress. It seems that we
are on time and on track. After our meeting with Paul, the team stayed back to do our
heuristics testing on the ABC500. Bob had printed screen shots of the tasks & I had
written up the steps for the tasks. We each did 2 tasks each- identifying any problems
we could see on the printouts. There was a heuristics guideline that we were following
but because I hadn’t done Usability before it was easier for me to identify what I thought
was wrong & we would link it up to the guideline later. We did the testing for about an
hour. At today’s meeting also, we had agreed to do the quick & dirty testing next
Thursday in the Usability lab from 1:00pm onwards. In the meantime we needed to
gather a group of database students to do the testing!

Lessons Learned
This week I’ve learnt what is involved in Usability. From the beginning of the project
there was a lot of theory talk about all the Usability testing that needs to be done but
today I finally got to do a test! I found that I quite enjoy it and that it helped me to
understand the project a little better!

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 Industry Project – Sample Individual Journal

Journal entry #12

14/05/09
Today we spent most of our day in the Usability lab testing students. I was assigned by
Anna to sit with the participants at the front room. As they arrived I gave them the
general instructions and consent form to read and sign and return back to me. Then I
handed them each the tasks instruction sheets to read. They would wait there until it
was there turn to do the test. After the participants had done the test I got them to fill out
questionnaires and feedback forms.
Anna and Cara were assessing the participants and documenting their actions while
Bob sat in the test room with them to assist them if help was needed.
Overall it was a long and tiring afternoon with only 7 participants. I was there from
10:30- 2:00pm. By the end of it I think everyone was exhausted!

Lessons Learned
During the testing the group realized that the selected group of database students did
not really match the user type defined. Although they had the database knowledge
these students were not administration user nor have they used a directory for work
before. We found that they all had some sort of problem completing the tasks, indicating
that either the application was not ready for testing purposes or that these are not the
right participants we have for the particular testing required.

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Journal entry #13

21/05/09
Today we had a practice presentation with Paul in the lecture theatre. Though it was
only a practice run, I was so nervous it was indescribable! I hate presentations! As a
group I think we did well. As for the content, we needed to remember that our audience
(aside from Paul and XYZCommm) does not know what our project was about and
therefore we would need to explain and tell them exactly what we did for the last 12
weeks! In terms of our individual presentation style, Paul said that we must resist not
looking at the screen and reading off it! I must admit it is quite tempting!
Considering we pretty much practiced for the presentation that morning, we did
relatively well. I had an idea for the presentation that I will suggest to the team- that is
we should all wear a splash of the same color somewhere in our outfit that day. I
thought this would be a good idea as it would make the group seem tied in together-
that we are a team! =)

Lessons Learned
As much as I hate presentations and doing it in front of people, I believe that it is good
to practice in front of someone. They can hear and see how you are presenting and give
you feedback to work on. I need to learn to calm my nerves. I get so nervous before a
presentation sometimes that I feel sick to the point where I can throw up! I need to be
more confident and not let my nerves get the best of me! Fingers crossed for the final
presentation!!

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Journal entry #14

28/05/09
Today was the BIG day! We did our final presentation to Paul Kindler, Judy McKay,
Peter Eden, our client XYZComm, other guests and students. It was scary for me
because first of all I do not like presentations one little bit and the fact that it had to be
done in front of clients and teachers I knew would be marking me on my presentation
did not help or make it any easier! I was a little disappointed with the way I presented in
terms of how I left out things that I had practiced to say, but when placed in front of the
audience I had forgotten to say it because my nerves took over! I practiced so many
times and felt confident about what I was going to say this morning but when I got up
there and all eyes were on me I got so nervous! I hope it didn’t come across too bad. I
was really proud of my team. I felt they all did a great job! =)

Lessons Learned
Wow! Its over! It’s REALLY over! I really wanted to avoid saying this but… what a relief!
What have I learned over the past 12 weeks in this semester? Industry Project has
given me the opportunity to work with real clients and I have taken away so much.
Learning how to talk and deal with different people in the industry was an experience. I
have learned so much about Usability! It was like doing two subjects at once for me. I
was always learning new things during this project- working well as a team, doing
business with the client, reporting back to the supervisor, getting advice from experts,
learning about Usability, dealing with unfamiliar situations- and in the end it feels so
rewarding! During the project I not only learned more about those I worked with but also
about myself. I think group assignments are a pain in the rear end and unfair sometimes
but it teaches you to work with different personalities, draw on their strengths, and learn
from them. Having done many group assignments throughout my degree I can see the
change it has on me. In bad times it has taught me to speak up, push through difficult
times and not give up. In good times it has taught me to work well with others, rely on
them, trust them, support them, and the reward at the finishing line is a great feeling to
work as a team and get the job done!

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