In-Class Final Exam

SECTION 1: WEB DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Complete the name of each of the following five steps in Goto and Cotler's core web development process.

1. Define [blank]
2. Develop [blank]
3. Design [blank]
4. [blank] & Integrate
5. [blank] & Beyond

For each of the five steps above, explain briefly(!) what takes place during that phase of development.

1A.
2A.
3A.
4A.
5A.

SECTION 2: RESOURCE TRIANGLE

The concept of the resource triangle consists of three parts. Name them.

1.
2.
3.

4. If a project has a tight timeframe and a limited budget, what area of the triangle is likely to be compromised and why?

SECTION 3: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Information architecture as a discipline is often expressed as a Venn diagram showing three overlapping circles. Name each of the areas represented by these circles.

1.
2.
3.

4. What is the single most important thing to know in order to create a website that is user-friendly?
5. Explain the difference between website goals and business (or organizational) goals.

SECTION 4: INTERNET AND WEB HISTORY

1. Who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web?
2. Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn invented HTML -- that's why they're credited with creating the Internet. (True or False)
3. The launch of Sputnik, a Soviet satellite, was an important event in the creation of the Internet. (True or False)
4. HTTP is a set of rules that facilitates the exchange of information in HTML form. (True or False)
5. Netscape was developed before the World Wide Web was created. (True or False)

SECTION 5: WEBSITE DOCUMENTATION

1. The information about website structure contained in a content inventory can most easily be represented graphically by:
(A) a wireframe
(B) a site diagram

2. A [blank] is used to represent the structural elements of an individual website page or page type (like a template), rather than the information structure of a whole website.
(A) a wireframe
(B) a site diagram

3. What's the purpose of including a key (or legend) in a site diagram?
4. Explain the difference between a high-fidelity wireframe and a low-fidelity wireframe.
5. Give an example of how (or when in the site development process) each might be used (that is, when one might be preferable to another).

EXTRA CREDIT

1. What is the name of Patrice's business?
2. Must a business' domain name correspond exactly to a business' legal name?
3. When is the best time to decide how to measure a website's success?
4. Who succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple?
5. What is likely to be Mark Zuckerberg's biggest legal challenge in managing the growth of Facebook?

Link to Your Blog Post for November 30

Please post a link to your tenth and final article review.

Link to Your Blog Post for November 23

Please add a link to your penultimate article review.

Link to Your Blog Post for November 16

Please add a link in the comments to your eighth article review. Remember that linking from these posts is your official submission of work.

Content Inventories, Site Diagrams, and Wireframes

The articles below provide a review of the documentation techniques that we discussed in class on Wednesday night (November 9). Each article concentrates on one of three subjects: content inventories, site diagrams, or wireframes.

Everything you read should sound familiar, although each author offers a slightly different perspective on what we discussed in class. The first article is the most succinct and clear, but all will add to your understanding of these techniques.


1. Doing a Content Inventory (Or, A Mind-Numbingly Detailed Odyssey Through Your Web Site)
By Jeffrey Veen
http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000040.php

Download Jeffrey Veen's sample content inventory spreadsheet at the end of the article and check it out. It's more elaborate than what we discussed using, but it's a good example of how you might use this method to document an existing site.

2. Site Diagrams: Mapping an Information Space 
by Jason Withrow
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/site_diagrams_mapping_an_information_space

Jason Withrow, author of the second article, also discusses content inventories, but focuses more on creating site diagrams. We discussed in class how site diagrams relate to content inventories, but he adds more information about iconography and additional uses for this type of representation.


3. The what, when and why of wireframes 
by James Kelway
http://userpathways.com/2008/06/26/the-what-when-and-why-of-wireframes/

James Kelway discusses wireframes and their relevance to the development process in this third article. It's a little fragmented, but he makes some observations worth reading about why they still have a place in a world of rapid prototyping.

Link to Your Blog Post for November 9

Please add a link to this week's article review in the comments of this post. As I mentioned in class tonight, please keep an eye on formatting consistency from review to review. Only three more to go!

Link to Your Blog Post for October 26

Please add a link to your article review for this week.