Moving toward the end

A few posts ago I had a list of tasks to complete. Most of those tasks are done or as done as they can be at this point.

• Personas - DONE
• Finalize controlled vocabulary - Most DONE; category terms sent to manager
• Synonym file - DONE
• Finish use cases and scenarios - DONE
• UX testing - Prepped; testing to be done next week
• Finish project report - In progress

Most of the final project report is done, but the section on UX testing won't be completed until after testing is done next week. I can't report results until I have them! Also, I have some of the technology section done, but I need some details from the developers to flesh that section out.

So, what's left to do?

UX testing

UX testing will be done next week. It looks like I should be able to do both phase 1 (testing the administrative project entry interface) and phase 2 (testing the portal interface). For a while, it looked like only the administrative side would be complete enough to test before the end of the semester, but all the fields have been added to the database, so we should be able to seed it with projects and test the search functionality.

Infoshare

The last item on the internship schedule was an infoshare and staff training. For the infoshare, I will need to present to the group about the project. I'm not quite sure what is expected (there are several ways to present the project, depending on the focus), but I have another week to work that out. I'm sure Tassie, my supervisor, will be able to help me prep.

Staff training

I am not sure if there will be time for staff training before the end of the semester. At the very least, I can probably come up with some 'best practices' for project entry that will make search work better. Having standardized formats and such will ensure that the data are consistent. And consistency simplifies a lot when it comes to search!

Project report

My project report, as noted above, is almost complete. The last bits will get added as I finish UX testing and after I get more information on the custom analyzer, filters, and such for the technical section.

I think that's all I have left. 

I've had a pretty good internship experience. There were a few challenges (scheduling meetings and such, getting feedback mid-semester when people were out of the office, etc), but it's been very positive. All the AVL staff members have been very helpful, answering my questions. I've felt like I belonged, like I was part of the group.