GenderMag Design Catalog

The purpose of the GenderMag Design Catalog (http://gendermag.org/dc/) is to provide ideas for making software user interfaces inclusive to more cognitive styles.

Overview of How to Contribute

Prerequisites: These instructions are for GenderMagProject/dc repo collaborators with access to gendermag/dc on the OSU guille server. Please contact The GenderMag Project at gendermag.method@gmail.com if you'd like to become a new collaborator.

Overall procedure for getting started and contributing:

1. Modify files in gendermag/dc as needed.
2. If you feel like it, update GitHub:
   1. Add the guille server address as a local repository.
   2. DO NOT pull changes from GitHub, that will overwrite the live files.
   3. Commit, then push to origin.

I know this setup is a little unconventional, but it should be fine for our purposes for now.

How to Add to the Catalog

1. Create a new top-level folder. The name of the folder is title (short description) of the design change.
2. Add these files to the folder:
   • cats.txt (the non-facet categories the design goes in, one per line. options: survey, opensource, website)
   • problem.txt (why the design isn't inclusive to some cognitive styles)
   • solution.txt (how the design tries to solve the problem)
   • facets.txt (one facet per line, use these abbreviations: m, cse, atr, ips, ls)
   • zoom_before.png (what the design looked like before it was changed; png or jpg; other image formats might also work)
   • zoom_after.png (what the design looked like after it was changed; png or jpg; other image formats might also work)
   • evidence.txt (what paper proves it's a good design change -- optional)

• long_title.txt (a brief description of the problem / design change, about a sentence)

3. See rubric below for more guidance

Facets Cheat Sheet

• m - Motivation
• cse - Computer Self-Efficacy
• atr - Attitude Toward Risk
• ips - Information Processing Style
• ls - Learning Style

Rubric for adding a new design

• Folder name / Title: follow the format of the other titles.
• Long title: put solution first followed by verbage used in the facet description (e.g., helps with confidence, navigating, etc.)
• Problem Column:
  • Problem statement about which items specifically in the UI are problematic (past tense)
  • A single facet is chosen as the “prominent” facet and used to describe why a user would run into issues (present tense)
  • "Also affects users with:" other facets that are implicated but said with an Abi or Tim trait (i.e., low computer self efficacy, selective information processing style, etc.)
• Solution Column:
  • Solution statement about which items specifically in the UI were fixed (past tense)
  • Reference a single “prominent” facet to describe how the fix helps that type of user. Also, include how it doesn’t hinder a persona with the opposite end of the spectrum facet. (i.e., help risk aversion but doesn’t hurt risk tolerant) (present tense)
  • Use wording that applies to the fix (e.g., Better organization also helps users with:) and list the facets that were implicated with the problem column
• Evidence File (optional):
  • Add a validation (e.g., user study) (past tense)