CISC474, Homework H01, Spring 2007
Developing your own story

Overview

Think of something that interests you, or think of a problem that could be solved with a web site. For example, is there some kind of web site that would help you get through your day more effectively?
Develop a "story" for this web site. Follow the same guidelines for "stories" that you followed in P01.
Keep your story simple and "high level" for now. You can elaborate on it later.
Don't get bogged down in details such as colors and fonts, how the screen is laid out, or what fields will be in a database. Concentrate on what the website does for the end user, and what the end user's experience is.

Write a draft of your story using either:
- plain ASCII text (e.g.in vi, emacs on Unix, Notepad or WordPad on Windows, or TextEdit on Mac), OR
- HTML
Choose a title for your story that summarizes it well, e.g. "Help students find Group A,B,C classes", or "Help diners find a Newark Restaurant"
To submit, find the WebCT discussion board marked H01, and submit your story idea there, entering the title as the "subject line", and cutting and pasting either your plain ASCII text or your HTML markup as the body of your posting. You don't need to include your name, since that is automatically added by WebCT.

Be sure you are the first to post your idea! Be sure that your story idea does not overlap with anyone else's story idea submitted so far! Your story will receive no credit, or reduced credit if it has significant overlap with someone else's idea. If someone else already posted something similar, then come up with a new and different idea.
Don't include needless words in your title.
- Don't say: "A web site to help diners find a restaurant"
- Do say: "Help diners find a newark restaurant"
- Even better: "Newark Restaurant Finder"
Be sure your story is in the form of a story. See the considerations in P01 for a reminder of what consistutes a story.

20 points for originality (Fair: 14, Good: 16, Very Good: 18, Excellent 20)
20 points for clarity of story (Fair: 14, Good 16, Very Good: 18, Excellent 20)
Your work must be posted on the WebCT discussion board called H01 to get credit.
Do not email your submissions to the Instructor or the TA—post them on WebCT.
You must be the first student to post about a particular idea site in order to get credit—the second studnet to post a particular idea gets no credit for that site or reduced credit.
The instructor and TA will do our best to keep up with the postings, and respond with a reply indicating whether the posting is "accepted as original". We will try our best to do this in a timely fashion.

fair (C) a web site that is "just like" one that already exists somewhere in the world, and is well known. (e.g. a social networking site that is "just like Facebook).
good (B) a web site in an existing category, but with a very different story
(e.g. a social networking site that is like Facebook, but with a "new twist"—some new feature that current social networking sites don't offer.)
excellent (A) a web site in a completely different category, or one with a "story" unlike all the others currently available—a site that really doesn't exist anywhere as far as we know.

poor (D): The story isn't really a story, with a beginning, middle and end, but just a "general description" of a web site.
fair (C): The story is only vaguely described. Or, the description is clear, but it is either sloppy, or contains spelling, punctuation and/or grammar errors that detract from the clarity.
good (B): The story is mostly clear and described neatly and without errors, but perhaps some point is overlooked; a developer would have to ask more questions, or "read something in" to the story to build a web site from it.
excellent (A): The story is described with enough clarity that a developer can understand what is needed, and could sit down and build a web site from the description that would provide the user with a satisfying experience.