Proposal for Recommendation Report

To: George Mcshan

From: Jared Young

Date: July 20, 2008

Re: Recommendations on how to control the recent rise in gang activity


I am writing to you to ask your permission on doing a formal report on various ways to decrease recent gang activity that has been plaguing the Harlingen area lately. This report would be based on research done by me using recent articles in local newspapers, the Internet, and magazines.

The Harlingen area has seen a major surge as of late concerning gang activity. My report will be researching the best practices for addressing juvenile crime and gang violence.



The following is a list of recommendations that will be detailed and discussed on how to deal with this growing problem.

1. Improving local law enforcement
2. Including the local community in more decisions on what proper tactics to use
3. Having more youth oriented programs aimed at under-privileged teens, which are the main targets of gang recruitment
4. Educating youth of the dangers of gang activity at a earlier age
5. Implement harsher penalties for repeat offenders and offer programs to deter repeat offenders while incarcerated

Thank you so much for your time and consideration concerning this issue. These are only a few of the many options that can help in decreasing the ongoing problem related to gang activity. With this report, I hope to highlight several different options to help fight this growing problem.

This project-report will be completed at no cost to you. This project-report should also be completed by July 27, 2008. I will be doing the research for this report with a desktop computer and resources provided by the local library.

Once again, I would like to thank you for your time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at (956) 454-5314 or by e-mail at onegroove72@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Jared Young

Reflect on Instructions and Usability

1.What did you find was easiest about doing the usability test? I believe that the actual preperation of the enchiladas was the easiest thing in the test.

2.What did you find was missing in your test? I found nothing missing.

3.What did you learn about your instructions form the test? I learned how to prepare a dish that I had no idea how to prepare at the start of the instructions. I also learned that every step should be explained thoroughly. You have to look at it from the someone point of view that has no idea what they are doing.

4.Did you find the test valuable? Why or why not? I don't think the test was that valuable because the instructions were so clear and precise to follow that the test seemed redundant.

5.What changes did you make to your instructions after user testing them? Did the results of usability testing surprise you? No changes were made after the test. No

6.Comment on working collaboratively? How was this similar, different, easier, more difficult than other projects you have completed on your own? I really enjoyed working with Cynthia, she seems to be a very intelligent young lady and was eager to help me with any problem that occurred. I would say that this was a little more difficult than other projects because hers and my schedule conflicted so that it was hard to get together a lot of the times.

Main sections in Recommendation Report

1. Introduction- states what the report is about and gives a brief overview

2. Technical background- explains the technical aspects of items that will be discussed in report

3. Background on the situation- Discusses the problems,needs or the opportunity brought about by this report

4. Requirements and criteria- Discusses the requirements you will use to reach the final decision or conclusion.

5.Discussion of the options-Explain how you narrowed the choices down to the one you reported on

6.Category by Category comparisons-very important, this is where you compare the options of what you are reporting on.

7.Conclusion- where you restate what the outcome of your comparison section.

8.Recommendation- States your recommendation

Usability Test -Questionnaire for subjects

1. Why did you decide to take this test?

To learn how to prepare a new item to prepare for dinner.



2. Were the instructions precise and detailed in order to accomplish the task?

Everything was explained so that someone who had no experience cooking would have no problem with the instructions.



3. Were all the supplies needed stated in the instructions?
Yes, everything that was needed was told in the instructions

4. Was the terminology used in the instructions easy to understandable? Yes they were easy to understand.

5. Did the test provide the user with any warnings that could be helpful? Yes but it was common knowledge.

6.Was the test completed by the time stated in the instructions? Yes, the time was precise.

7. What was the reaction of the subject towards the questionnaire? The reaction was fine, the subject was expecting to fill out a questionnaire.

8. How long did it take the subject to fill out the questionnaire? Ten minutes maximum.

9. Did the questionnaire pose any problems being filled out. No one seem to have any problem.

Project goals

1.What are the goals of your instructions? The goal of the instructions was to teach the reader the proper procedure on making enchiladas.

2.How are they useful or beneficial to the user? What do users want or need to do? They would be useful in making a dinner for yourself and family. The user would need to want to learn how to prepare enchiladas.

3.What is the general background of the users? The users background could be a wide array of options. Chefs, mothers, students, or anyone who desires to learn how to prepare a new dish.

4.What is the context in which the user is working? The users will be working in a kitchen and will be using basic kitchen utensils.

5.What has to be left to the machine? What to the user? The stove will be the only appliance that will be used. It will be used for cooking the food the proper way. All other aspects will be done by the user by hand.

Reflection on Instructions

With my set of instructions, I believe that anyone with a passion for music or the desire to learn to play a new instrument would be my target audience. I chose to include visuals of the equipment that will be needed in order to complete the instructions. This way the reader would know exactly what supplies and equipment will be needed in order to learn how to mix.
I believe the most important design element in my instructions would probably be the warnings. The equipment used is so valuable and can be damaged very easily. I have seen equipment ruined in every possible way imagined. At least with the warnings that I stated, the readers will be forewarned.
I believe my instructions would be used more on the web than any other medium. There are not many books that I know of that discuss the art of mixing. The web is the only way that the readers would be able to access this kind of information. The user of this test would hopefully take what they learned and use it to play in front of crowds to entertain or just use it to quench their musical thirst.
I think I would change my set of instructions very little if I had to physically present them to a user. The one thing I would do is to go over all the features of the equipment and how they properly work. This would make the set of instructions a little more easier to learn once they have that knowledge.

Test Plan

What do we want out of this test, how will we conduct the test, and what will we ask users during the test?

From this test we want to know how efficient our instructions were. We want to know if the instructions are easy to comprehend or difficult to follow. How the reader felt after reading the instructions. Did they feel that they need more experience with cooking certain dishes that are similar to enchiladas? We will be conducting this test by asking our participants to read our instructions on how to make enchiladas, ask them question about how they felt after reading them, if they are clear and straight forward or difficult to understand. We will ask them to fill out a questionnaire. We will ask them about how difficult they thought the instructions were, the clarity of the instructions, if they would attempt to follow our instructions, how often do they cook a week, and we will ask them their overall impression of following the instructions.

Test Plan

Project goals

The goals of our instructions were to provide an easier way for people to cook enchiladas. To help bring families together at dinner time by helping others learn to cook a new dish. To teach people that it is easy to learn how to cook a new dish. These instructions could be beneficial to the readers by teaching them something new and to help bring their family together. The user just needs to want to learn to cook something new. The reader just needs a basic background of how to cook. They do not need to be a professional cook to follow our instructions they just need to know how to use their stove and oven. The context that the user will be using is basic knowledge of how to cook. Basically the user will be doing most of the work. The oven and stove will heat the food or cook the food, but the user will complete all other steps.

Testing Goals

We will be focusing on learn ability. We want our readers to not only use our instructions but to learn them as well. We think that we would learn something new and how to be able to bring my family closer together. We would hope that the reader will learn to maybe appreciate the effort and work that goes into creating something new. As well, we want the reader to appreciate all the excitement that they can experience in completing the instructions. I hope that providing all this information to the reader will help them in carrying out our instructions.

User Profile

We believe that our users are probably going to be adults who are interested in cooking. People who are open to trying new recipes and new dishes of food are probably the readers that will be attracted. They will learn how to make enchiladas differently and probably try to incorporate their own likings into the recipe. The users probably want to learn to cook and do not really need to know much about cooking. They really just really need to know the basics of knowing their way around their kitchen. The general background of the user is probably adults who are open to trying new things. They could be someone who is trying to perfect their recipe so they might incorporate some things from our recipe. I do believe that the user can work at their own pace to accomplish the usage of our instructions. If the user makes mistakes it’s ok. Nobody is perfect and they will not damage the whole recipe if they make a mistake. They just got to clean up the mess and continue making the reset of the batch.

Scenarios and Tasks

Think about if one day you get home and you walk into your kitchen. See all these ingredients on our counter top with a recipe sitting to the side of them. You look at the instructions and think, “you know what I can do this”, so you give it a try. You set everything up and go at accomplishing your goal of creating your very first attempt at enchiladas. You follow the instructions step by step. You first set up all your equipment and put your ingredients in order. You then start on step two of heating up your stove, while you are opening up our cans of chili and beans, tomato sauce, and shred your cheese. Third you start warming up the sauce in the pan, and then you dip your tortilla in the sauce, put it on your tortilla on the plate or glass tray, add your fillings, roll up your tortilla, add extra sauce, once your tray is full of enchiladas add more cheese on top. Lastly cover your tray with foil paper and then put them in the oven at about 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. I will be asking the reader to go home and try to accomplish using the instructions.

Testing materials

We will be using a questionnaire and verbal questioning. So we will be using regular word documents or maybe excel. We will be taking short hand notes while interviewing people. During the test after we have interviewed the user we will give them a paper copy of the questionnaire. We do not think we will need any other material.

Testing Protocol

We will be conducting the test on May 11 and we will be testing at least 10 people. We will break the interview into two parts 20 minutes in the verbal interview and the other 10 minutes so that the user can fill out the questionnaire. We allow the user a few minutes if they get stuck at any point during the testing but we will try to guide them to finishing the interview or questionnaire. We allow them to ask us questions but we will try to guide them to finishing the testing. We will also try to answering their question with a question to help get the thinking so they can answer all out questions. We will be asking several questions during the test but I do not think we will ask anything after the test. We will be giving a test report after the test to show our results but other than that we do not think we will be needing to provide anything else.

Elements in usability test

1.Project goals in which you describe what the goals for your original project are; in this case, your original project/product is your instructions.
2. Testing goals in which you explain what you want to learn from the test, what you hope to achieve.
3. Scenarios and Tasks in which you detail the hypothetical situation and tasks which you will give your test participant to perform.
4. User Profile in which you explain the type of user which you expect will be using your product.
5. Testing Materials in which you detail what you will need to have to conduct your test.
6. Testing Protocol in which you provide step-by-step specifics as to how you will conduct the actual test.

Website address for "Instructions"

http://onegroove72.googlepages.com/instructions

This is the address for my instructional manual. Enjoy

Introduction for instructions

A beginners guide to mixing vinyl

Ever wonder what it is like to control a room full of people all by what record you play?Being the disc jockey(dj), you control the entire atmosphere of where ever you may be playing at. The art of mixing(blending one record into another so that both records are playing as one) is a talent just like any other musical instrument. It takes time, patience, and a great ear for music to learn this craft. This will be a step by step guide so that anyone with the desire to learn how to mix may do so after this reading. I will explain the proper technique and the proper equipment needed in order to learn to mix. Because the equipment used can be rather expensive, I will be providing tips and warnings to care for your equipment.
To understand and use this guide, you will need some basic understanding of how a turntable operates. You will also need some minor knowledge of basic electronics like receivers and speakers.

Conclusion for instructions

Congratulation, you have now synced the two records so that they play as one beat. Give yourself a hand for accomplishing your task. Once you have gotten the timing for these records down, introduce another record and so on. Try putting the records in an order as if you were trying to tell the listener a story. Use your imagination! Remember to practice until you feel comfortable enough to play in public. Above all, just enjoy yourself and the music!