Entrepreneurial App

Amanda Wallis Fall Semester 2013

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Table of Contents

2 Part 1: Presentation 12 Part 2: Process 13 Research and Brainstorming 16 Research and Brainstorming: Learning Summary 17 Sketches & Wireframes 20 Sketches & Wireframes: Learning Summary 21 Sketches 24 Sketches: Learning Summary 25 Digital Sketches 27 User Testing 1 28 Digital Sketches 2 31 User Testing 2 32 Final: Learning Summary

Part 1 | Presentation

Part 2 | Process

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App Brainstorm
-Sodium calculator -couples calendar/ collaboration tool more robust more helpful more useful specific updates -weather/activities calendar -holiday stuff -virtual closet multiple photo screens number of clothing items organization each picture is an item identifying tags movie reviewer -Inventory App input inventory categorize add/delete quantity send to computer/tablet (rather than input on clipboard and then to computer/tablet

Entrepreneurial App
-App that controls a 3D printer 1. Load the design you want 2. Set up the printing parameters 3. Press print Output a. Estimated time till print is finished b. Estimated material used and material cost c. App will notify you when print is finished or if any errors occur. Used for: Prototypes Models Artwork Functional things

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Websites Researched
-http://www.makerbot.com/support/guides/design/ First 3D printing iPhone app by Sculpteo: -http://www.3ders.org/articles/20120109-first-3dprinting-iphone-app-by-sculpteo.html http://cubify.com/ http://makezine.com/magazine/guide-to-3dprinting-2014/know-your-slicing-and-controlsoftware-for-3d-printers/ http://www.sculpteo.com/en/app/ http://mattercontrol.matterhackers.com/ Sqwert 3D Printer http://www.solidoodle.com/start-here/aboutyour-printer/

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My Experience This project was difficult for me because I just couldnt come up with any ideas that I thought were worth sticking to until the end. The idea that I almost went with was the virtual closet app that would allow you to have multiple photo screens to go through for certain items. It would have included tagging, bookmarking, sharing, and other organization features. The problem with this app was the user input and I didnt know how to get around that. With the help of a friend I was able to come up with the idea of an app that would control a 3D printer. I wasnt sure at first how to go about making this app or what exactly it would do for me, but as I started doing some brainstorming and research I was able to come up with some ideas. My friend Chris owns a 3D printer himself and is part of a business called Veloce Labs. He is currently working on a project for a 3D printer extruder and allowed me to use the name Sqwert 3D in my designs and as an added on development to their own project. After figuring some things out about what I want my app to accomplish, the functionality will be for the app to communicate with a computer/desktop that is already connected to a 3D printer and to be able to select premade files on a dropbox-like platform and print them wirelessly from your mobile phone. Challenges At first I didnt know how app on a mobile device would be able to communicate with the printer itself and I didnt think it would make any sense to use a cord going from a phone to the printer. That would defeat the purpose of the convenience of doing things wirelessly. I then realized that there will almost always be a computer with the printing programs that is hooked up to the printer itself, so then the question was how does the mobile device connect with the computer?

Thoughts Im happy with the developing solution to my app so far and I am excited to finally have something to work with and get started on the rest of the app development by going into sketching and more ideas to better improve the app capability.

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E N trepre N eur I A l A pp | S K et C H es & w I refr A M es

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My Experience This was probably the most effective part in my thinking process. I found that I had so many more ideas in my head and questions that I wanted to answer by drawing out all of my thoughts about this app. Questions came to me about the functionality, the name, the style, etc. I knew that once I just started drawing out step by step how I wanted it to go, that it would be easier to work through just what I wanted this app to do. I found that I couldnt connect the phone itself to a 3D printer because there was no way to do it wirelessly and by using a cord from the phone to the 3D printer would defeat the purpose of the wireless capability. So I came up with the idea of a dropbox type of functionality inside the app that would link to a computer/laptop that was already connected to the printer in the first place. This would allow you to print selected files from a different location without having to set things up in the same room. Challenges One of the questions I had was if I should have a dropbox or cloud type portal for the app itself, or should I use an existing one that worked along with the functionality of the app? I decided to create a dropbox for the app itself just because I knew it would have to have its own specifications and that it would most likely be easier to have something like a dropbox working with the app instead of being a seperate attachement or add-on to the app.

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My Experience Sketching on to paper prototypes really helped me to see just how the app would function and in what sequence I needed to put the screens in. Putting things on paper really helped me to flesh out some of the ideas I had. I wasnt sure if it would be better to do a linear type of layout where the steps would go in sequence that the user would have to follow, or else if I wanted to let the user have full freedom inside of the app to choose whatever sequence they wanted by having multiple options. I decided that probably wasnt the best idea and that I wanted it to be simple in the natural mapping by adding restraints and guided limitations so that the user could work through the app more smoothly without confusion. Thoughts When working through the idea of having a sequence of events throughout the app that the user would go through, more and more I realized how difficult it could be for a user to have too many choices and pathways to go through inside of an app. This is one of the reasons I chose to limit the users by putting them through just one sequence of events that they could go forward or backward in, but without being able to jump around too much beyond that.

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User Testing Notes:

Need more confirmation for successful login Change headings to match actions Need a way to save new created templates Arrows would be better to explain where they were taking you and for indication of forward or backward steps Task 1. Login 2. Browse Library 3. Search for file0003 choose it 4. Select the 3 mil No support template and continue on 5. Change the rotation in z to 90 degrees and then submit it 6. Something went wrong- stop printing

Thoughts:
Making these basic digital sketches it was nice for me to see how things would lay out before I added the design. I was able to get a good sense of user testing and things that I could change or improve and it helped me to see things that I missed.

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User Testing Notes:

Easy to use Understand how to use if you didnt know what it was for think so Simple instructions on each page Selecting of things was intuitive Down at the bottom meant advance Things were in a consistent location to be able to navigate to the next step Design was simple and not overly cluttered and helped guide along to make decisions

Thoughts:
I felt more confident in these sketches because I was able to develop the design and see exactly how things would lay out. I think it was easier for me to get a sense more for what was needed in the app as I made it look like a real functioning app.

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My Experience Making the first and second digital sketches really helped me to visualize the functionality of my app. I was able to gather good feedback from user testing and I was able to see what was missing and would be helpful and needed in my app. I learned that although I wanted my app to be a unique and original complex idea, I found that the functionality didnt necessarily need to be that way and that it could be simple and easy to use without confusion. I conducted my user testing through the P.O.P. App (Prototyping on Paper) by taking pictures of the app designs on my screen and linking them together for a somewhat realistic user experience. This worked well and I was able to catch a lot of errors that just didnt make sense such as buttons or tags that didnt make sense, etc. The potential I want this app to take on is the capability with a tablet/ipad as well as just a mobile device. It would have the same functionality as the mobile version but on a bigger screen. I would also want this app to be able to expand into a bigger setting than just someone who owns a 3D printer at home, but for it to be able to be used possibly with bigger businesses that handle more than one 3D printer. To be able to keep track of and control what the 3D printers do could be very valuable. Thoughts Overall Im happy with the way my app turned out in the end. I know that this app has so much more potential and can be further developed to be even better. Im hoping that maybe it will be able to function as a real app someday and be useful and helpful to people looking for this kind of functionality in a mobile app.