Abstract:

Students undertaking a taught Masters Degree in Computer Science (in Technological University Dublin) are given the option for their capstone project of either completing an individual dissertation project or working on a group-based project. The group project provides the students with the opportunity to undertake a significant software development project from initial concept stage right through to delivery, in a team environment that closely represents the project environment in the IT industry. All students are expected to contribute to all aspects of the project, and they are all required to help devise and implement an UX evaluation process that is customized to the project they are working on.

This paper describes one such project that focused on the design, implementation and evaluation of a mobile-first web application called “FinOptimise”, that allows players to take part in a virtual stock trading game, and to help them build a healthy approach to stock investing. The FinOptimise system is designed to be a group-based game in which players compete against each other in a league, and each player has a virtual portfolio with an initial sum of virtual money, that they can invest in different stocks until the goals of that league are completed.

The User Experience methodology developed for this project can be categorised for convenience into five discreet stages (but in practice there was a degree of overlap and interaction between the stages):
- Phase 0: Market Research and Analysis
- Phase 1: Feature Prototyping and Design of Application
- Phase 2: Prototype End-to-End Usability Testing
- Phase 3: Autobiographical Testing
- Phase 4: System End-to-End Usability Testing

This methodology proved to be very valuable in helping to guide the design of the application towards a user-friendly and accessible system. It also demonstrated the importance of user feedback throughout the development process to ensure that the resultant system is both fun and functional.

Keywords:

User Experience, UX Methodology, Stock Trading Game.