COM4007
Introduction to Web Authoring Project
Date for Submission: Please refer to the timetable on ilearn
(The submission portal on ilearn will close at 14:00 UK time on the date of submission)
As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Introduction to Web Authoring assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the module, you should be able to:
Identify design, usability and accessibility issues involved in delivering websites.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the website planning and design processes
Understand web technologies, development environments and implementation methods.
Design, implement, test and document a website solution for a defined scenario.
Graduate Attributes:
Effective Communication: Communicate effectively both, verbally and in writing, using a range of media widely used in relevant professional context. Be IT, digitally and information literate.
All learning outcomes must be met to pass the module.
Guidance
Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in AU Harvard system(s). You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.
You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.
Maximum word count: 3000 words
Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies section here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework
Please note the following:
Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment.
The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count.
Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a 10% point deduction.
Scenario:
You are working as a junior developer at Smashing Websites Ltd. You are part of a team of junior developers that have recently joined the organisation. Smashing Websites provide services to a range of clients in the UK and abroad.
Task 1
The company has been approached by an organisation who would like to create a website for visitors. This will be a website that comprises of ‘mini sites’ that encourage visitors to develop new interests that will engage them in physical activity and stimulating their intellectual thinking.
You have been asked to pitch an idea for one of these mini sites by producing a website specification. The content and topic of this mini site is up to you. The specification should include the following sections:
Objective/Goals
Key audience(s) that includes at least two user personas.
Provisional site structure (to contain at least 5 content pages and a form)
Functional specification
Competitor analysis
Create the specification as a single HTML page with the following file name: [yourstudentnumber]_specification.html e.g. STU96645_specification.html
Please Note:
You are expected to follow the theme provided here for the website which is physical activity. Failure to do so will result in a 50% mark deduction for this task.
Failure to submit this task as a HTML file will award a 5 mark deduction (800 words) (20 marks) (LOs: 1, 2, 3)
Having proposed an idea for a mini website, you have been asked to create your proposal.
Requirements
The site should:
Contain at least 5 pages of content (text, images etc)
Contain a form that collects input (e.g. feedback form, query form)
Use HTML and CSS to structure and format the pages
Limitations
You should NOT use a framework or set of existing templates to create this site. The task is to assess your ability to create these pages from scratch.
The content in your site should be 100% original i.e. you need to write your own text and create your own images. You should ensure that the topic you choose allows you to do this.
You are allowed to use royalty free images from sites such as Shutterstock.
Ensure that sources are well referenced using Harvard referencing format and acknowledged.
You will be assessed on your ability to create pages that effectively use HTML and CSS to present your content and demonstrate your understanding of optimisation, usability and accessibility requirements.
Create a folder called ‘website’ and save all files for task 2 in this folder. (equivalent to 1400words) (60 marks) (LOs: 2, 3, 4)
Provide evidence that you have evaluated your website in terms of usability and accessibility.
Requirements
Include evidence that you have considered how your site will look across different browsers and screen layouts (e.g Tablets, Smart phones, PC monitor etc).
You will also need to check that your site validates correctly in terms of HTML and CSS and the extent to which your site content is readable.
You should document any changes that you have made as a result of testing e.g., before and after reports of your HTML validation (Please include screenshots).
Produce a single web page which presents this evidence, in the form of text and relevant screenshots.
Create this evidence as a single HTML page with the following file name: [yourstudentnumber]_testing.html
e.g., STU96645_testing.html
Please Note:
Failure to submit this task as a HTML file will attract a 10 mark deduction
Please ensure you follow the submission guide as detailed in the Submission Guidance section. (equivalent to 800 words) (20 marks) (LOs: 1)
End of questions
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You have the opportunity to submit your draft specification to receive formative feedback.
The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.
If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work, by email, to your tutor, no later than 2 weeks before the actual submission deadline. If you are a blended learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further details.
Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date or the date specified by your tutor - if a blended learning student.
Referencing Guidance
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide-ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system(s).
Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library
Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.
Your assessment (which is all three tasks) should be submitted as a single Zip file with your student number as the file name.
Do not submit your assignment as a RAR file or any other archiving application (asides the one mentioned above) as this will not be accessible for marking. Failure to submit as a zipped folder will attract a 10 mark deduction.
You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is available on the A-Z key information on iLearn.)
COM4007 Introduction to Web Authoring Project
Task 1 marking criteria: Website Specification (20%)
Criteria | 80% and above | 70-79% | 60-69% | 50-59% | 40-49% | 0-39% | 29% and below |
Objective/Goals What is the primary purpose of the website? (4 marks) | An exceptional articulation of the goals and purpose of the website. There must be clarity, relevance, specificity, inspiring, concise and demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience and prioritize the needs and preferences of the target audience | An excellent articulation of the goals and purpose of the website. There must be clarity, relevance, specificity, inspiring, concise and demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience and prioritize the needs and preferences of the target audience | A very good articulation of the goals and purpose of thew website, with some scope for further development.
There must be clarity, relevance, specificity, concise and demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience. | A good articulation of the goals and purpose of the website, though there may be scope for more depth of development and some aspects lack clarity. There must be clarity, relevance, specificity, concise and demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience. | An adequate articulation of the goals and purpose of the website but generally lacking in depth and there are issues with clarity and relevance. There must be clarity, relevance, specificity, concise and demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience. | An incomplete articulation of the goals and purpose of the website with scope for much more development and clarity. There must be clarity, relevance, demonstrate a clear understanding of the target audience. | A largely absent or insufficient articulation of the goals and purpose of the website. Basic or bullet points of objectives and goals. Or content provided here is not relevant to the provided context. |
Key audience(s) (4 marks) | An exceptional insight into the key audiences for the website. At least 60 words.
Very detailed understanding of the target audience`s demographics, preferences, behaviors, and needs. This can include factors such as age, gender, location, interests etc. More than 2 personas based on relevant characteristics. References or evidence included to justify key audience identification. | A sophisticated insight into the key audiences for the website. At least 50 words.
Detailed understanding of the target audience`s demographics, preferences, behaviors, and needs. This can include factors such as age, gender, location, interests etc.
At least 2 personas based on relevant characteristics | A very good articulation into the key audiences for the website, with minor deficiencies in terms of content and clarity. Shows a very good understanding of the target audience`s demographics, preferences, behaviors, and needs. This can include factors such as age, gender, location, interests etc. At least 2 personas based on relevant characteristics | A mostly coherent articulation into the key audiences for the website, but there is scope for more depth of understanding. Shows a good understanding of the target audience`s demographics, preferences, behaviors, and needs. This can include at least 2 factors such as age, gender, location, interests etc. At least 1 persona based on relevant characteristics. Identify design, usability and accessibility issues involved in delivering websites | A basic articulation of the key audiences for the website with scope for further work in presenting key information. Understanding of the target audience. Demographics missing. At least 1 user persona. Content is relevant to context. | A limited articulation of the key audiences for the website which shows limited depth and understanding. List of users only without any justifications or rational for identification. A sentence or 2 on key audience. Content has very little relevance to context.
1 or 2 user personas present but a lot of details missing. | An insufficient identification of key audiences for the website. Completely missing. Key audiences not relevant to context.
No user persona or basic user persona. |
Provisional site structure (to contain at least 5 content pages and a form) (4 marks) | The site structure is exceptionally clear and logical.
Organized in a logical hierarchy, with main categories and subcategories clearly defined. Navigation labels and menu items should be descriptive and concise, accurately reflecting the content of the pages they lead to. | An excellent outline of the site structure which is highly logical. .
Organized in a logical hierarchy, with main categories and subcategories clearly defined. Navigation labels and menu items should be descriptive and concise, accurately reflecting the content of the pages they lead to. | A very good site structure is presented, with some minor issues in terms of clarity and coherence.
Organized in a logical hierarchy, with main categories and subcategories clearly defined. Navigation labels and menu items accurately captioned. | A good articulation of site structure but there is scope for further development in terms of coherence and clarity
Organized in a logical hierarchy, with main categories and subcategories clearly defined. Navigation labels and menu items accurately captioned | A basic presentation of site structure with scope for much more development in terms of clarity and coherence. | An incomplete or underdeveloped site structure with omissions or errors. | A largely absent site structure or there are significant issues in demonstrating understanding of required aspects. |
Functional specification (4 marks) | An exceptional articulation of functional requirements that is wide ranging in its scope.
Covers a wide range of functionalities and features that the website must have to fulfill its purpose effectively for at least 80% of the pages. Functional requirements are aligned with the needs of the key audience. | An excellent articulation of functional requirements that address many relevant aspects.
Covers a wide range of functionalities and features that the website must have to fulfill its purpose effectively for at least 70% of the pages. Functional requirements are aligned with the needs of the key audience. | A very good articulation of functional requirements that covers the majority of relevant aspects though there may be minor omissions or errors in understanding.
Covers a very good range of functionalities and features that the website must have to fulfill its purpose effectively for at least 60% of the pages. Functional requirements are aligned with the needs of the key audience. | A good articulation of functional requirements that covers a number of relevant aspects though there may be scope for further development.
Covers a range of functionalities and features that the website must have to fulfill its purpose effectively for at least 30% of the pages. Functional requirements are aligned with the needs of the key audience. | A basic articulation of functional requirements, with aspects that are either incomplete or missing or there is a lack of understanding in key aspects.
Covers some functionalities and features of the website and shows some alignment with the needs of the key audience. | An incomplete presentation of functional requirement that contains many omissions of relevant content or demonstrates limited understanding of key concepts. | A largely incomplete set of requirements or very limited understanding of required as |