Introduction
I developed SyncView as an undergraduate working independently under the supervision of Dr. Christopher North of Virginia Tech. SyncView is a small, streamlined application that can be used to view synchronized data sets. SyncView will be used by the Gigapixel Display team to test the usability of large display devices. I will begin this report by explaining what I have learned throughout the course of the project and will conclude by discussing the future of SyncView. For a detailed technical description of SyncView please see the FAQ or the documentation.
Personal Insights
Prior to this project, all of the applications I developed were either for coursework or for my own interests and use. This was the first application I developed for a client. I found that the development process was different with a client involved. First, I found that the development process was iterative, because the application requirements were liable to change as the client and I worked towards a mutual understanding of the desired functionality. Second, I learned that the development process itself often clarifies for the client and the developer exactly which functionality is desired, no matter how clear this may have seemed at the start.
I also learned the importance of testing, particularly with respect to usability. It was very helpful to have someone else periodically use the application as it was developed. This exposed weaknesses in the design and usability issues that would have never occurred to me otherwise. I realized that a user interface feature that seemed obvious to me was not necessarily as intuitive for another person.
I also gained a better understanding of graduate level research and have discovered that this is something I would like to be further involved in. I enjoyed the independent, self-paced nature of the work, and the collegial atmosphere at the lab. I also enjoyed the creative problem-solving process and watching other people make use of what I had produced.
The Future of SyncView
SyncView will continue to evolve in the future. All of the information about SyncView in its current version can be found on this website. Two ideas for change emerged during testing. The first is to make SyncView a client-server application. The control panel will act as the server and will send file requests to clients, who will load the file in turn. On a single machine there will be no performance gains, but if each client executes on a different machine the performance gain will be considerable. The second idea is to make the date format system a little more flexible in order to support a wider range of sources. At the moment, I believe this will involve removing all dependence on dates from the source formatting system. This will allow much broader source compatibility.