UMD+Notes+User+Needs


 * User Needs Documentation for UMD Notes **
 * __The Interviews__ ** In the first step of obtaining user needs, each member of our group interviewed members of our target audience, UMD students. Prior to conducting interviews, we compiled a single list of twelve questions we would ask our interviewees. The questions are as follows:
 * What major are you? What year are you?
 * In which classes do you take notes?
 * How often to do you take notes?
 * How would you rate the quality of your notes (readability, depth, coverage, accuracy)?
 * Describe how you usually review your notes.
 * What makes good and useful notes?
 * Are your notes mainly tailored for yourself or will others understand them?
 * Would you use a note sharing website and how often would you use it?
 * Do you currently know of or use any note sharing websites? Which ones?
 * Are you comfortable with uploading your own notes?
 * Would you use the website if there are limitations to your use? Limitations such as not being able to download or view an unlimited about of notes without uploading your own.
 * What are some reasonable incentives or rewards that would motivate you to upload your own notes?

**__User Feedback__ ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Our interviewees consisted of students of various majors such as Biology, Economics/Finance, Women's Studies, Psychology, Government and Politics, and Public Health. We also had one graduate student interviewee. Of our seven interviewees, six were female and one was male.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> First, we began our interviews with simple questions, such as what fields they were studying and in which classes they took notes. The interviewees took thorough notes in all of their core classes, such as Math, Biology, Chemistry, Government and Politics, and History. Next, when asked to grade the overall quality of their notes (readability, accuracy, and depth) half of the interviewees rated their notes as just “good” or “average.” However, two users gave higher scores of 8-9 out of 10, explaining that they took “intense” notes and had “good organization.”

We then asked how they reviewed their notes when studying and if their notes were mainly tailored for themselves or could be usable by others. All users went back and reread their notes before exams and about half said they rewrote or retyped their notes for re-enforced memorization. Our one first year interviewee used notes as a supplement to the textbook. Lastly, when asked to describe what makes good and useful notes, their main concerns were good organization, clear and concise writing, breadth of content, and specific details (such as people’s names and dates). Overall, there was a general theme that they wanted to recall what they had learned in class.

Our next set of questions dealt with our interviewees’ current knowledge of note sharing websites and their thoughts on such websites. Most interviewees were not aware of any note sharing websites. Only one responded to having used a note sharing website like Koofers and Cramster. Subsequently, we found that most users would only use the website during exam periods, which presented a potential problem of extremely fluctuating use of the website over the school year. Next, all the interviewees stated they would not have a problem submitting their own notes. One user stated he would be fine with associating his personal information (such as real, full name) with his notes.

In terms of incentives and motivations for the user to upload their own notes to the website, most of our interviewees wanted monetary compensation or discounts. One user suggested a ranking system such that users who uploaded more notes would receive more benefits, monetary or otherwise. A critical question we asked was whether or not they would use the website if there were limitations to the amount of notes they could view. A hypothetical limitation that we explained was a system where after a certain number of free views, one would have to upload their own notes in order to view others’ notes. Most of the interviewees responded that they would not use the website if there were such limitations, but two would consider using the share-to-view system if it was a simple process.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Tentative List of Requirements Gathered from Feedback__ **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The user would like a single website where they can find any class notes that they are looking for. This website should be free, easy to use, and as non-limiting as possible. Possible users have stated that they wanted a system to rate and comment on existing notes, as well as get paid for any new notes that they upload. Users have also stated, that they would probably not use the website if there were too limitations to viewing notes. A basic scenario for using our website would be during midterms or finals, a student would check this website, find and view the notes that they need, use those notes to study for the exam, and then rate, annotate, or comment on the quality of the notes and hopefully upload new notes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Introduction and Overview: **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">List of ‘User Wants’: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Easily find the notes that they are looking for
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Search for notes on the website by keywords and class.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Browse notes for each class by title - be able to look at notes by their quality (5 star), upload date, number of views.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Upload/Download Notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User can easily upload Word files, PDFs, scanned notes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User can easily download notes that they are viewing.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User will be prompted to upload notes after viewing X notes without uploading. User will then be able to view as many notes as they want for that day.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Annotate/Highlight/Comment/Rate Notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For each set of notes that the user views, they must be able to annotate, highlight, comment, and rate the quality of notes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Create user accounts
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Can create two types of accounts, student accounts and professor/ta accounts.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User accounts have real names.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User accounts have contact information for users to communicate with each other.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Get rewards for uploading notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User receives cash for uploading X amount of notes a month.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User receives discounts for uploading X amount of notes a month.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User can view X amount of notes for uploading Y amount of notes a month.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User receives recognition for uploading X amount of notes a month (badge rating system).
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Be able to communicate with other users
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Messaging system between users.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Provide contact information for each user.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Description of Complete Jobs - Ordered by task, each case involves a full and detailed use case **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finding Notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The user arrives at the website and then immediately browses for notes by class or utilizes the search bar to find the notes by title.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If the user searches for the notes by class, they can click on the class they want, and then browse the list of notes. They can also reorder the notes list by quality and upload date.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If the user searches for notes using the search bar, a list of matching notes are returned. They can then categorize the list by class, quality, or upload date.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The user can then remain on that note set for as long as they desire, or browse for different notes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If the user views X notes without uploading, they will be prompted to upload a set of notes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After uploading a set of notes, user can continue using the site and view as many notes as they want for that day.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Creating User Accounts
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The user has the option to use the website anonymously or create an account to upload notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The user will click a link to create his/her account and provide their name,* email address*, and any other profile information they would like, i.e. class standing, current courses, description of user etc. (*’s are mandatory).
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Uploading Notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User goes to a screen to upload notes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The user will import the notes that they want to upload as well as enter in any descriptions for the notes (title/subject, class, semester, short description).
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The notes will be uploaded into the system and automatically categorized and imported into the database.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Getting Rewards
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Each time a user adds notes to site the system shows how many rewards/points they have.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After a certain amount of uploads the user will be able to claim their rewards (cash, discounts, badge recognition).

**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Public Reports and Annotations on Note-Sharing Websites__ ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> **Jones, Mallory. "Popularity of Online Note-sharing Websites Grows, Concerns Professors - The Michigan Daily." The Michigan Daily - University of Michigan's Student Newspaper. Daily, 9 Feb. 2009. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://www.michigandaily.com/content/2009-02-10/students-use-online-note-sharing-websites>** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The author, Mallory Jones, is an editor for the Michigan Daily. Her article describes potential problems with the growth of note-sharing websites. One such problem is that easy accessibility to lecture notes may prevent students from attending lecture and result in decreased academic performance. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Farley, Kate. "TheDartmouth.com: Web Sites Facilitate Note-sharing."TheDartmouth.com: America’s Oldest College Newspaper. Founded 1799.Dartmouth, 3 Apr. 2009. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. <http://thedartmouth.com/2009/04/03/news/web>.** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This article by Kate Farley, a member of the Dartmouth Senior Staff, provides student opinions on note-sharing websites. The main student response was that they would not use these websites because of uncertainty of the source of the notes, the inconvenient process of submitting one's own notes, and the general lack of uploaded notes for each individual school. **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Seidman, Karen. "Note-sharing Websites Raise Concern; 'It Can Undermine Learning'; Universities Frown on Them, but Some Students Say Benefits Outweigh Risks." The Gazette (Montreal) 21 May 2011: A6. Print. ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The article mentions how note-sharing can undermine learning. While it can be helpful in certain situations (such as an excused absence) it can often cause students to miss class intentionally because they can just download the notes. A counter-point is that students already do plenty of note sharing so a note-sharing site won’t do much harm and the benefits will outweigh the risks. **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sani, Rozana. "Self-made Webpreneurs." New Straits Times (Malaysia) 1 June 2009: 4. Print. ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The article is about people who have made a living off of their website. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__www.physics4spm.com__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is one example mentioned of a website that includes note-sharing services. Ahmad Rifaei describes how he no longer has to actually go to a job because of the money he makes off of his site. This shows how a note sharing site could provide more revenue to UMD. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> **GradeGuru <www.gradeguru.com>** GradeGuru.com is also a notes sharing website. However, GradeGuru focuses more on collaboration and studying with peers than just sharing notes and exam questions. The website will host your study materials, help you draw concept maps, make flash cards, and make study guides. The site has a notes ranking system as well as a user profile linked to your Facebook account. **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Major System Requirements__ **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Class Notes Sold Online: Sharing or Cheating?; Two New Websites Let Students Catch up on Missed Lectures." The Toronto Star 21 Mar. 2011: GT1. Print. ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The article speaks about how note sharing could possible have legal repercussions.. These include copyright infringement. It also speaks about how note sharing could possibly allow students more time to think about what is being discussed instead of just writing it down without understanding it. Another positive is that students who have missed a class can more easily make up for it.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Koofers <www.koofers.com> ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Koofers.com is a prominent notes sharing website and online study aide for students. Koofers has its own webpage for each school where students can logon and post notes, exam questions, and study guides. Browsing for notes is free, however certain notes/exam questions must be bought with ‘vouchers.’
 * ShareNotes <www.sharenotes.com>** ShareNotes.com brings a commercial side to notes sharing. Notes are uploaded by students from all around the U.S. and are categorized by subject. Students can then price their notes and then upload them into the community database.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Must Include: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Very simple process to view notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A number of free views with or without registration
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Easy and fast registration process
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Two types of accounts: student and teacher
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hassle-free
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Simply asks for user name and password and does not require personal information
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Convenient way to download or upload notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Support for multiple file types
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Text
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pictures (Scanned notes)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">External links to useful resources
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Compensation or motivation for uploading notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Money
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Discounts
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Long-term or permanent free note viewing
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Basic search and filter functionality
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By course, major, teacher, or note rating


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Should Include: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Annotate/Comment/Highlight ability on notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Registered users have limited ability to edit or markup notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rating system for notes
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Multiple sets of notes of similar content can be distinguished by a rating system based on overall quality (readability, usability, accuracy, coverage, and depth)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Reward system for highly rated notes to benefit the submitter
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Verification as a student or teacher of UMD
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Terpmail e-mail verification check
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Real ID” system (use of real names)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Discourages malicious actions on the website


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Could Include: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Communication system between users
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Private Message/Mailbox (PM)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Forum
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Profiles with contact information
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Social network integration
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook, Twitter, Google+
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Shared repository for each course
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">User-editable calendar with dates of upcoming assignments and exams
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">File system of course documents

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The key users will be UMD students. A major concern of current and potential users of note-sharing websites is that there is a general mistrust of the source of the uploaded content. By focusing only on UMD, we can provide a centralized service that ensures all the content is coming from members of our community.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Key Users: **