Designing, Implementing and Managing Interactive Projects

ATEC 4340
Spring 2008
Professor: Dr. Marjorie Zielke
ATEC 1.102
12:30 to 3:15 pm
Wednesday

Instructor Contact Information:

• Cell Phone: 817-368-5772

• Email: maz031000@utdallas.edu. If you need to contact me by email, please put
subject as: ATEC 4340: Subject.

Course Description: This course teaches students how to design and manage interactive
projects from a marketing, management, financial and behavioral perspective. Emphasis
is on tools and techniques appropriate for interactive project design.

Learning Outcomes:

o Introduce students to full, multi-dimensional, interactive project development

“process” from a design, planning, development, marketing, financial, testing and
implementation viewpoint.
o Introduce scientific principles behind project design and management.
o Introduce students to principles of good leadership, team membership and client
management.
o Introduce students to business principles behind project design and management.
o Introduce students to “constantly evolving” environment in which they will be
working.
o Develop a sense of ethical and cultural implications of technology development
o Introduce students to career and project opportunities.
o Create portfolio piece.
Required Texts:

The following texts for the class are required. Students are expected to complete weekly
readings before class:

• Web Redesign: Workflow that Works 2.0, Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler, New
Riders Publishing, 2005 (WR)
• Additional Readings will be assigned throughout the course and will be
included on exams.

You may wish to bring your text to some classes.

Class Grading:

Team Grading
• January 23: Team Project Proposal: 5 percent
• Three Team Status Reports (Submitted Online): 5 percent
o February 6
o March 26
o April 9
• March 19: Team Usability Test of Prototype and oral and written report 10
percent
• April 23, April 30: Final Team Project: 20 percent

Individual Grading

• February 6: Field Trip Paper: 5 percent

• February 13: Individual Research Paper: 10 percent
o What kind of a team member am I?
o What kind of a manager am I?

• February 20: Midterm Exam: 10 Percent

• April 9: Individual Participation in the online course module: 5 percent

o Topic: Ethics in Project Management

• May 7: Individual Take Home Final Exam (Due: 5pm CST): 20 percent

• Class Participation (All Weeks): 10 percent

All assignments based on 100 point basis.

Class Calendar

Note: Project workshops will also be available on weeks when outlined material is
completed.

January 9:

Topic: Class introduction, objectives, instructor and class introductions, assignments for
week two.

1. Review Class Objectives, Texts, Project, and Grading Measurables.

2. Discuss class project.
3. Discussion: How to be a “good” team member. Attend class, attend meetings,
meet deadlines, communicate, and utilize online tools.
4. Team member “roles.” Skill roles and managerial roles.
5. Interactive resumes, instructor and class.

January 16:

Topic: Project Management Overview

1. Lecture: Project Management Overview

2. Form Teams
3. Begin design of team projects. Concept to be presented on January 23.

Readings: Goto: Chapter 1-3

January 23:

Team Project Proposals Due

Topic: The Interactive Customer and Customer Analysis/Global and multicultural

considerations in project design

1. Lecture – The Interactive Customer /Global considerations in project design

2. Class discussion: The importance of the customer. Global and multicultural
implications for class projects.

Readings: Goto, Chapters 4-6,10

January 30:

No Classroom Class…Individual Field Research

February 6:

Topic: Information Architecture, Usability and Prototyping

Lecture: Concepts of Information Architecture, Usability and Prototyping. Designing a

prototype and usability test.

1. Lecture – Concepts of information architecture, usability and prototyping.

2. Discuss Field Research

Team Project Status Report Due

Readings: Goto: Chapter 10

February 13:

Project Management Leadership. Being on a Team. Working with Clients.

Discussion of individual paper.

Readings as assigned.

February 20:

Midterm Exam

February 27

Project Management Tools

Readings as assigned.

----------------------Midterm Grades are due on February 29---------------------------------

March 5
Prototype and Usability Workshop (attendance required)

March 12:
Spring break

March 19

Topic: Class Usability Testing and prototype presentations

1. Presentations of prototypes and usability testing. (graded)

March 26:

E-Marketing Considerations in Project Design

--Discussion of Usability Test and Final Project Development
--Turn in Written Usability Report

Team Project Status Report Due

Readings as assigned.

April 2:

Financial Considerations in Project Design

Readings as assigned.

April 9:

Online Class: Ethics in Project Management

Team Project Status Report Due

Readings as assigned.

April 16:
Workshop (Attendance Required)

April 23

Class Project Presentations

April 30

Class Project Presentations

May 7
Take Home Final Exam Due to Instructor by 5pm CST.

Class Policies:

• In fairness to other students, no late assignments will be accepted without prior

approval. To request an extension, email instructor with the request date before
the deadline. You must keep records of all correspondence. Late assignments are
highly discouraged.

• Attendance at class is expected. Please discuss absences beforehand with

instructor and your team. This is a project oriented class and your team depends
on you. For each unexcused absence, 50 points will be deducted from your total
grade.

• Responses to phone calls or emails from instructor are expected within 24 hours.

• Students are expected to have done weekly assigned readings prior to class.

• Professional conduct as a team member is expected. Teams are encouraged to

work without need for supervision by instructor; however instructor is available
for coaching and consultation on subject matter.

However, should a team encounter nonparticipation (lack of attendance in class or

at other team meetings) by a team member, communication with the instructor is
encouraged and appropriate grade reflection will occur.

Team members are required to communicate with each other on a consistent basis
and to meet team established deadlines.

Team members will be evaluating each other as part of team presentations.

Students who uniformly receive unsatisfactory evaluations from other team
members may receive a decrease in team project grade, after review by the
instructor.
• No extra credit is available. You must be able to work in a cooperative team
environment to complete the class.

• Please be courteous with the use of cell phones, pagers and surfing during class.
Please do not do your homework for other classes in this class.

• Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated.

• The instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to the syllabus as needed.

• Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance: It is the policy of UTD to provide

reasonable and appropriate accommodations for individuals with documented
disabilities. This college will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local
laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable
accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity.