Prototype P1 Overview
Overview
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Our Prototype v1 (P1) is a fully-functioning email client that includes the ability to send email and tasks. P1 also includes the ability to convert an existing email to a task. Users can also track other task-related information including due date, start date, percent complete, task status, and completion.
When a user specifies a due date, an indicator calculates the whole number of days remaining before the task becomes overdue. This "days left indicator" evolved in response to feedback we received (Focus Group 7-15-2004)
When a task is marked as complete, the days left indicator is replaced with an image of a shooting star. The shooting star introduces an element of playfulness that was designed to make finishing a task rewarding (CI G9-U1). Additionally, the task icon is marked with a red check mark, indicating that the task has been marked as completed.
This prototype addresses the core aspects of sending tasks within emails. We elected to scope out shared tasks or group workspaces the P1 prototype for several reasons. With the functionality pared back, it would allow us to investigate the social aspects of assigning and receiving task, satisfaction in completing tasks and the overall ease of use of managing tasks and converting emails to tasks. In addition, by rolling functionality in two different phases, it would allow development of the shared or collaborative tasks to be created in parallel to testing of the earlier concepts already developed.
Technology
This version of the prototype was built using an open source email project, Columba, as the foundation. We selected Columba because it is the most robust and mature of the available, open-source clients. Also, Columba is written in Java, which is highly-compatible with Sun's development plan.
