The prototype

After the analysis phase we moved to prototyping. Here I present the prototype of our application.

Information about the application:

• it will be run on a single computer (PC)
• it should be in Finnish
• the layout should be similar to the paper based calendar
• it should be easy to understand, intuitive

Below there is proposed layout of the main window. We were aiming at the interface similar to the paper-based schedule's interface.

After clicking the bar on the left, the short week's schedule will fold out, the same as the one placed on the cover of paper file.

Adding new clients is being done by entering their names into the upper text input and clicking "Add", instead of putting them directly into the list. We thought this solution will be easier, as if there is no places on the main list, the person will be automatically put into the waiting list and the application will prompt for the client's phone number. The user can see if there are free places, because of the green "tick" next to the input. If there's no places the "tick" will disappear.

It is possible to delete a person from the lists by clicking the small red cross next to their name. The application will ask for confirmation in this case.

It is also possible to mark the people on the list who come and ask for the pass. Then it is enough to click the circle next to the person's name, and it will turn green.

Switching between the classes is done by clicking on the above tabs. Also the user can go to the previous/next week by clicking the blue arrows next to the class information (the first line of text). There is always a possibility to go just one week forward and then go back - as there is no need for archiving the data, and there's possibility to sign up only for the upcoming classes.

On the right, there are two buttons: "Schedule settings", which will be described later, and "Print", which allows to print the current list. There's also panel with current date and time, which we thought will be useful to the user.

After clicking the button "Schedule settings", a new window will appear for adjusting the classes information. The user is given a possibility to edit the classes' time, day of week, instructor's name, level, room, ... All the changes made in this window, after clicking "Done!" button, will affect both thetabs and the short fold-out schedule. Below is the picture of this window:

Each class is represented as a row in the table. To add a new row, the user needs to press the "New class" button, to delete existing one, there's a cross in each row for deleting. To edit the information in each cell it is enough to double click on the cell and edit the information. To move the class up/down, the user can use the little arrows in each row.

The user can navigate away from this window by clicking "back", then no changes will be made to the schedule.

This prototype we were going to show the user, and in process of pluralistic walkthrough evaluate our prototype.

The client finally found

Finally, we have found the client. The manager of the aerobic club replied and he agreed on us doing the project at his club. We have also got a positive answer from Monika's friend, but it turned out that except from paper-based calendar she is also using the electronic calendar in her mobile phone, and that is why we decided on the aerobic club.

The full name of the place is the Eastern Finland Sports Institute (ISLO).

We have also agreed on an observation which will be held on next Thursday, at 10am.

Searching for a customer continues

During past few days we have visited a few potential customers:

- Pizzeria in Länsikatu 18 (they do not really use booking system, not good English)
- StresAway clinic in Science Park (they already use electronic calendar)
- Aerobic club (we need manager's permission. We were giving his email and now we are waiting for reply)

So far not much luck.

Finding the client

Today in the morning we visited Palloilukeidas to find out if we could make the project for them. Unfortunately, the person who we talked with (it was some sort of manager) did not agree to be part of the project. His explanation was they will have soon computer based time management system and they didn't need another one. We tried to explain that we won't implement the system but we will design how it should be like but it didn't help much. It was a big pity because we saw their current paper based system and it looked like a perfect example for this project.

Monika and Pawel also paid a visit to the hairdresser and beauty salon located in Science Park. Unfortunately, the woman at the hairdresser did not speak English well and there could be some serious language barrier when doing the project. At the beauty salon, the owner was concerned about her customer data and wasn't eager to participate in the project.

We are a bit concerned that finding a customer will not be such an easy task. I have contacted today my friend who is a photographer and has her own company. She works mostly with freelancing tasks. Let's see what she answers.

Today we have also distributed the responsibilities in our project. Monika ZL is project manager, Pawel is analyst and Monika M is designer.