30/05/2014

Had a meeting today that I thought would take longer due to the amount of issues that needed to be covered. I was however pleasantly surprised that we finished everything necessary in a short amount of time. We uncovered and discussed the crash issues as well as the over-identification and are opting currently to do as best we can to fix it, if not we will document it and move on.

Requested posters to be done by tomorrow as I need to send it off to other parties involved, hopefully to get their support. It's important in my view to know what external resources we would have (even if we're not running the event for real) as it tells us how much we have at our disposal as well as some insights into the project that I couldn't foresee (I try to be as psychic as possible in predicting every possible outcome).

Currently the project is progressing at a good rate, with things happening at the times I designate (more or less) and any errors in communication aren't too costly as I reserved time for such things in advance.



On a very separate note I just wanted to mention some articles here that I have been quoted in by Edwin:

Article 1
Article 2

29/05/2014

Test 3

Did not happen due to the person's phone crashing on start up and this is a major problem that needs solving (hopefully with some help)

28/05/2014

Did my second round of testing today with another participant who was a bit more critical. The results can be found in a package that I will update on Friday with everyone else's work and results.

Some things that came out of the testing today:

- Some limitations of AR where if the distance is too great it may flicker between images as it recognizes more than one target at once.

- A completed version will need to have as much clarity as possible in leading and guiding the participant. 

- A set of instructions is absolutely critical.

- When doing a test on a non-complete app a thorough explanation is necessary.

- The locations appear to be relatively easy enough to find.

- UX can vary greatly on the person's involved.

- Different phones have different processing power and thus may or may not have performance issues, I'm not sure how much of this factor is in our control.

- It is easiest to communicate with gestures and at most writing and showing, have yet needed to text somebody directions or communicate with them in that matter.

 - These ideas will need to be mentioned on the instructions.

Will wait to make any big changes until we have our collaborated results in for the first week. Understandably these issues would be resolved with a fully working app. 

The team has been keeping up with the work and we have encountered problems that we are resolving as fast as possible.  

I need to start writing what would be on the promotional material so that we can get that done and sent off to AuSM ASAP, Also emailed the manager of the hub and will hope to get a reply soon. 

26/05/2014

Did the first test of the app today and the results can be found in the dropbox package. Some of the interesting observations that came from it were that my original idea of using texts to communicate was not really necessary. Gestures appear to get the message across much quicker and easier since it's a natural process. Any time there was need for conversation, very quiet whispers were done which I wanted to avoid as much as possible. One last communication I used was the notepad on my iPod, simply typing out what I wanted to say and showing it to the participant.

There were some targets that did not work but as I found out later in the day it may be a problem that's not AR not recognizing the target. I have relayed the problems to my team and hopefully we will get a fix and some more results in the coming week.

I went to go speak to AuSM directly and they require a promotional poster or some form of file that could help them understand what we are doing. I attempted to contact the manager of the hub unsuccessfully and will try again tomorrow.

Apparently the app froze somebodies phone (I don't know if trolling or not)

23/05/2014

A face to face group meeting today with insights from several different minds. In explaining the project, it's focus, development and goals ten-thousand seven hundred and twenty-one times each explanation clarified the thought process for me at least. In doing this it makes creating the UX map and instructions that much easier in future.

Some things discussed were ideas that could be implemented on top of what we currently had. Some issues were raised about engaging with the content itself (the books) I expressed the issue with availability however I have taken note of this and will figure if there is a way to incorporate the idea. It was explained that perhaps the books wouldn't have to be specific and perhaps a picture taken on the phone would suffice. Other ideas were a leading journey through the library instead of a go out and find. One clue to the next. I considered this in earlier stages, however when I came to map the route I found it would be easier on Hiram if he only had to worry about AR and modelling. This is not to say I am discarding the idea, I can certainly think of a way to incorporate it using the paintings on a secret route to a secret reward, granted we have the extra time and funds. All these ideas considered I put them in the 'wants' category for now, as we need to focus on the 'needs' (which we discussed is the bare minimum to run the event). In approaching the project from this method we will definitely have a run-able event by the end of this, and anything we can add on top will enhance the experience.

One last thing about things discussed was the bodyguard which with a bit of back and forth realized we would probably need to budget a pay rate for them. This led to the incentive which some thought would detract from the goal of the event to get people involved in the library. While this raised some issues in my head I set them aside and see what the testing can tell is for now. The other thing that came up was how the concept of advertising for the AUT shops would perhaps subsidize the prize and hopefully lessen our rather generous budget.

Progress wise many things were revealed today, we now know the AR aspect is working and fully functional under a variety of conditions. With this in place the next steps are much simpler and more 'fun'. With working targets we can now at the very least work on the catalogue so by Monday we have a working version to test in the coming week.

Unfortunately one of my instructions may have been lost on the online communication, thankfully it is not a huge deal as there is the weekend to work on it, and it should not take more than that amount of time. As long as the goal is met at the time then the progress will continue as planned.

The week to come will include testing, testing and testing. In testing I've asked everybody to ensure that they also test the non-verbal communication aspect and analyse that as well. While testing I've set Ke and Simon the task to collect images to use in the promotional material which they will be working on at the same time. I've set Hiram to work on creating the objects on Unity based off the sketches produced over the weekend.

The team is working well and a busy week is to come. My next steps are to talk to AUT campuses food distributors and work out a deal with them. Hopefully a response from AUSM would lead to that happening in a much better setting. In writing this I realize I know somebody in AUSM as a leader so I might ask them to help me set up a proper meeting.

22/05/2014

Still no reply from AUSM director, resent the email, hopefully for a reply.

21/05/2014

Had a meeting with the Library staff today and they were very co-operative. I got everything we needed out of the meeting and if the event were to really run it would be possible. However I have not fully discussed the gameplan for the event with my team because it's difficult to understand in writing so we will discuss in our next meeting. I have still given them directions that move towards the ultimate goals so there is not time wasted.

I planned for a non-verbal communications test next week and I will also discuss that with my team in our coming meeting.

So far there aren't any real problems to comment on, I believe those will come later in the testing stage.

19/05/2014

Identified the areas in which participants would go to in the treasure hunt and while in the library thought up a much simpler design to the event that allowed for better aesthetic freedom. Essentially the participants would hover over the Dewey Index and certain areas would be highlighted with AR. The participants would then have to go around to each of those sections and camera over the signs. Once they did that they would have a completed pass phrase which would be shown to a 'gatekeeper' on the third floor who would open the door to a study room with a free food voucher. I avoided any 'quiet study areas' as much as possible to keep the peace of the library.

I will run this by the group at our next face to face meeting. In the meantime I am getting them to design objects for the areas that represent the areas of study, while also learning vurforia. I took pictures of the signs I plan to use as markers, although better versions will need to be taken in future, it should serve well enough for a preliminary app to test in the coming week. More details and better quality markers can be added at a later time.

Confirmed a meeting date with the library staff on 21/05/2014 at 2.00pm. I do this so if the event were to self run this step can be skipped for the event planner.

We decided on a logo today and the output of my team on time gives me great confidence. Much of my Gantt plan is going astray as I am moving along since there were some considerations I did and did not make. For me Gantt planning doesn't seem to work for me as there are always things I will think of and remember to do along the way. I already know what needs to be done and by when but I feel it's better to release the tasks after the first one has been completed.

The structure of this project allows for flexibility in areas of aesthetics however I leave less room in the area of functionality so that we have something solid to come back to if things go astray.

16/05/2014

There was a lot done today. Meeting with the group and discussing the next steps which can all be found in the minutes as well as the Google doc. Roles have been assigned and duties to go with it.

One thing to note on collaborating our research was that it gave us a very rough indication on direction. Although most of the information wasn't used parts such as motivators and what people liked about the library were. The thematic consideration was set aside and we opted to keep the theme to the library itself in consideration of our limited knowledge of Unity and a quicker working prototype.

In terms of Working space I am using my home desktop to command everything from. I prefer to do everything as digital as possible since it saves on space and allows me to transfer files containing directions and information easily and efficiently.

In terms of Collaborative space we are mainly using a secret Facebook group and chat to give direction and discuss ideas. This works better for everybody since the travel from home to AUT facilities will take at least 40 mins for each person which could be spent working. The other space we will have to use is the AUT library and our annual in-person meetings will be on Fridays with the Interaction and Play workshop. In using this space it allows our mixed schedules to not be an inconvenience and the information will always be readily accessible.

In terms of Scrums we will be collaborating over Facebook for the reasons of convenience and time efficiency. We all agreed that after 7pm it would be possible to communicate and even if a member is not present they can come back to find what is going on and what is happening next.

On visiting the library we finalized the organisation of the event. Our event is going to be a treasure hunt and we are going to use the Dewey Decimal signs as markers for the AR app to capture because they are things that will have the least likeliness to change or disappear. We also considered using books from the high demand section as they too will not disappear. In consideration with the libraries main selling point 'the quiet' we are figuring out ways to make the whole event run without disturbing the peace of the library.

All of these things considered we are planning to use AR technology to recognize certain areas of the library and point to the next area of interest or 'clue'. Once all 'clues' have been gathered the participant must show their phone with the completed message to the guard in front of a study room door to gain access and win a voucher for free food. This is also to avoid the participants from telling each other the pass-phrase and bypassing the intention of the treasure hunt.

Before leaving I consulted with the library staff about setting up the event and they pointed me to another person who sent me to email another. I want to cover as many bases as possible so I am contacting all the important people ASAP to get approval and help in planning the project. I emailed the last directed to person and they wish to set up a meeting to discuss the matter further. All things considered I did forget to mention that the event would be held in re-orientation week and is perhaps the reason for much of the apprehension from the staff. I also did not have a Major goal in mind to pitch to them so they might have been confused as to the direction I was heading towards. I remedied this when emailing Kate Lin attempting to outline our intentions and timelines much clearer. I am going to hold off on contacting the Culinary Arts until more of the project has fleshed itself out.

My next role is to map out the destinations of the participant and give those to Hiram so that he can go onto making sprites on Unity straight away. A thought and question for the library staff came to mind and that was about the route. Originally it was to direct and show people where to go and how to find what they needed. In consideration that this will also cater to existing students, perhaps this is trivial and one other way of approaching the route is to find sections that have had the least use, perhaps showing something new to the existing student. A full plan of progress can be found within the Gantt file found in the package on Facebook.

UX flowchart also needs to be created and is something I will need to discuss with my group about. I am unsure of a time to approach this or if it's truly necessary at this point since most of the event is fairly straightforward.

12/05/2014

Decided to ask my Interactive Media Production class the questions for a targeted demographic, that demographic being Communications students (and one other).

Some of the answers I received were not very helpful (such as those involving the staplers) but that was to be expected and those answers were on questions that were not so important. Other questions such as the favorite aspect was good in getting useful responses however they were not directly useful to our cause since they indicated long term changes that were not applicable in our event. They did however assist in giving us an indication of what to emphasize about the library when constructing our event (such as the quiet study space). The MUST ANSWER questions yielded more useful responses and in the process sparked some discussion between the interviewees about some of the potential improvements as well as things to include in the event.

Within the important questions the responses towards improving the interest in the library were varied, a lot tended towards making the space more comfortable. The most important question about the favorite fantasy provided me with some good information and data about the themes to include, Harry Potter, Narnia, Sci-fi, Nordic Myth and Game of Thrones came up and from a cursory glance at other responses from my team sci-fi seems to be quite popular.

One very important thing that came out of the discussion is that food is a very good incentive as well as library freebies so that might be part of the prize structure.

If we are having food as part of the prize structure then we should consider collaborating with the Culinary Arts department so that we could potentially set up a themed buffet of some sort. On top of that we would require AUSM to help promote the event as well as co-ordinate with AUT library.

People we need to talk to:

• Aut Library Staff.
• AUSM.
• Culinary Arts Department

Managed to figure out how to get AR to work on an android phone, there were issues making it function on the emulator however as long as it works on the final destination I think it will be fine. 

Next steps will include:

• Compiling research.
• Talking to the departments.
• Assigning the roles for sure.
• Tour the library as a team. 

10/05/2014

Group has been set up and the first task is set which includes answering the following questions:

Do you use the Library often? How much? Why not?

What are you studying? (Degree/Papers)

What is your favourite part/aspect of the library (e.g. the quiet, the resources, great place to meet/hang out?)

Is it easy to find what you’re looking for? If not what would make it easier? (MUST BE ANSWERED)

What could be done to make the library more interesting/make you want to come more often (MUST BE ANSWERED)

What is your favourite fantasy (i.e. fiction/manga/anime/moment in history/time period) (MUST BE ANSWERED)

By collecting and collaborating the research gained by this we can then choose a direction to move towards. I have assigned preliminary roles to everybody that are subject to change:

Kevin - Leader, organiser, narrative designer, instructional content designer.

Hiram - Mobile technology designer,

Simon - International consultant, Promotional content designer,

Ke Jiang - Promotional content designer, 

Some initial ideas were:
- To use AR to place landmarks within the library for people to follow.
- Finding a paraphrase within books that the participants would have to relay to the "gatekeeper".
- Instigators to help promote the event as well as break down the apprehension of would be participants.

Some things to consider initially:
- The volume of international students and how they are a major consideration in our design.
- The people we would need to talk to about setting up the event.
- Emergent behavior that could be hazardous/beneficial to our cause.

I have updated the project proposal to outline the goals and details of this project.