Week 3: Post 8, Progress Report 2

Date: 05-June 2008
To: Dr. Jan Holmevick
From: Katie Goergen

Introduction
A usability test of the Office of Sponsored Programs website and the Limited Submission Program will be conducted in order better understand how users use these tools. This study will reveal usability flaws and provide recommendations forboth of these interfaces which will in effect improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the pre-award submission phase at Clemson University.

Work Completed
Thus far I have the majority of my proposal drafted as the introduction, current situation, and project plan are currently constructed. I spoke with Karen (POC) yesterday and there has been a slight change due to budetary issues. I am now vieing for an assistantship in the Office of Sponsored Programs for the fall semester. What I am battling is the $6000 requested for equipment to complete the study. This $6000 would cover the software program Morae, a laptop on which to install it, a web camera, and a license for Adobe Premiere. Well, risk losing the chance for an assistantship, as much as I would like to use Morae, I'm thinking I can benefit more from the work experience than a program I can read up on and view tutorials online. Besides, Morae is really not the wave of the future in the field of eye-tracking. It's the TOBE eye-tracking system that is currently possible and which is still very expensive (approx. $25,000) and still has technical problems that need to be worked out. So, risk losing the opportunity for an assistantship through the Office of Sponsored Programs, I opted to nix equipment that is not necessary to complete the study. This will not effect my study in anyway as proof from the last study in which I did not use any of that equipment and it still yielded valid and reliable data. But, I am getting closer to getting approval to conduct the usability test. Should have an answer within the next week or two.

Next Steps
I need to now sit down and begin refining my draft and constructing a more formal and finalized version. As I do this, I also need to consider the methodology in regards to eliminating the use of Morae. Again, in place of Morae, I will rely on field notes, video-taping, direct-observation, and talk-aloud protocol, so as you see, it is not a detrimental to remove the Morae component. I need to whittle down my current situation so that I do not exceed the page limit, as well as follow Ron's advice and be sure to separate the more "active" components of the current situation and perhaps apply them to the methodology or even conclusion in identifying future steps. So, by Monday, I will have a complete draft of the entire proposal.

In completing this draft I want to first focus on the current situation and get that down to a reasonable page limit, and then I want to focus closely on the methodology. I feel as though I have identified the major steps and maybe start working on those smaller components, such as the instruments (but that may be a little too much, we'll see). Finally, once these parts are written, I think finally, I will have a very clear idea and understanding of what I am trying to accomplish and I will go back and re-write my executive summary to reflect this.

Conclusion
I am starting to get excited over the prospect of this actually coming to fruition. If the short one page proposal I have submitted to Dr. Gallicciho and Dr. Prizrembel is rejected, I need to start from scratch with this. That's OK, it wouldn't be the end of the world, I do have another idea lined up as a back-up, but still, I would really like to see this happen. As of now, I am going to keep working on this proposal and hoping for the best =)